WEBVTT - Talking Tech 9th July 2024 0:00:21.168 --> 0:00:24.978 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:24.978 --> 0:00:29.658 July the 9th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:29.658 --> 0:00:33.078 you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, Associated 0:00:33.078 --> 0:00:37.968 Stations of Australia or perhaps the Community Radio Network. There 0:00:37.968 --> 0:00:40.398 is also the podcast. To catch that, all you need 0:00:40.398 --> 0:00:43.728 to do is search for the two words talking tech 0:00:43.728 --> 0:00:46.128 and Dan. It can all come usually on a Tuesday 0:00:46.128 --> 0:00:50.048 afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is to 0:00:50.048 --> 0:00:53.288 ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play Vision 0:00:53.288 --> 0:00:58.238 Australia Radio talking tech podcast Vision Australia Radio talking tech 0:00:58.238 --> 0:01:01.838 podcast with me, someone who can explain all this tech 0:01:01.838 --> 0:01:06.818 stuff really well. Vision Australia's national advisor on access technology, 0:01:06.818 --> 0:01:11.768 David Woodbridge. David, we'll start with the product minute. A 0:01:11.768 --> 0:01:15.558 a product from the vision store of Vision Australia. Another 0:01:15.558 --> 0:01:17.538 piece of headwear, I know. 0:01:17.538 --> 0:01:20.298 And this one's actually really, really cool. It's actually called 0:01:20.298 --> 0:01:25.488 the head beam. Plus in effect it's a wearable torch. 0:01:25.488 --> 0:01:28.428 So you've got this band that goes around your head. 0:01:28.608 --> 0:01:31.158 So it's a soft fabric type band. It's got a 0:01:31.158 --> 0:01:35.028 little torch on the front of it, and it illuminates 0:01:35.028 --> 0:01:40.028 either spotlight or in general, so it can spotlight onto 0:01:40.028 --> 0:01:43.178 particular tasks such as, you know, um, doing your nails, 0:01:43.178 --> 0:01:46.358 for example, um, or you're doing sewing and so on, 0:01:46.358 --> 0:01:50.438 or it will do a general sort of floodlight type thing, 0:01:50.438 --> 0:01:52.808 and that means you can use it for, I don't know, 0:01:52.808 --> 0:01:56.528 looking in your pantry fossicking around in your car boot. 0:01:56.528 --> 0:02:02.068 So it's a general purpose headlamp to assist not only, 0:02:02.068 --> 0:02:03.508 you know, people with sight, but of course for us, 0:02:03.508 --> 0:02:07.378 for people with low vision. And you can adjust each 0:02:07.378 --> 0:02:11.068 one of those illumination ones. So the spotlight and the 0:02:11.068 --> 0:02:14.938 floodlight and it's also got an SOS. So it's got 0:02:14.938 --> 0:02:18.088 a red flashing light for SOS. But what I think 0:02:18.088 --> 0:02:22.738 is really cool about it is it has a motion sensor. 0:02:22.738 --> 0:02:25.598 So if you wave your hand in front of your face, 0:02:25.598 --> 0:02:27.938 it'll turn the torch on you wave your hand in 0:02:27.938 --> 0:02:30.608 front of your face again, turns the torch off. Now, 0:02:30.608 --> 0:02:33.158 I think that's really fantastic because I know a lot 0:02:33.218 --> 0:02:36.518 of times, um, my wife has turned up at our 0:02:36.518 --> 0:02:38.858 house and I forgot to. I'm doing something with the 0:02:38.858 --> 0:02:41.858 Wi-Fi network and the front lights off. Um, and she 0:02:41.858 --> 0:02:44.468 has a trouble finding her keys in a bag. Um, 0:02:44.468 --> 0:02:47.228 if she had that available, she could just look down 0:02:47.228 --> 0:02:49.148 in the bag and see, okay, straight away. Or even 0:02:49.178 --> 0:02:52.018 see the keyhole, where to insert the key. So that's 0:02:52.018 --> 0:02:54.838 actually really handy. So I really think the the headlamp 0:02:54.838 --> 0:02:57.148 plus it's one of those things if you're low vision 0:02:57.148 --> 0:03:00.688 or you know, somebody that has difficulty seeing in dark, 0:03:00.688 --> 0:03:03.898 gloomy conditions, this thing is absolutely fantastic. And the fact 0:03:03.898 --> 0:03:07.198 about it is it's only $25. So to me this 0:03:07.198 --> 0:03:09.958 is one of those things that's sort of like a 0:03:09.958 --> 0:03:12.448 no thing to even purchase. If you need one of 0:03:12.448 --> 0:03:17.478 these devices, it's called. It's actually called the Head Beam Plus. 0:03:17.478 --> 0:03:20.778 So that's the name of it, Head Beam Plus. And 0:03:20.778 --> 0:03:22.008 it's $25. 0:03:22.188 --> 0:03:27.078 Head Beam plus from the vision store at Vision Australia. 0:03:27.378 --> 0:03:32.568 Now speaking of Vision Australia, the bursaries for students are 0:03:32.568 --> 0:03:36.348 open for application again for next year's bursaries. Tell us 0:03:36.348 --> 0:03:36.888 about it. 0:03:37.218 --> 0:03:41.068 These are available every 12 months. And it's for people 0:03:41.218 --> 0:03:45.658 undertaking certificate four and above tertiary studies. So you know, 0:03:45.658 --> 0:03:49.018 things like TAFE and universities and so on. And it's 0:03:49.018 --> 0:03:54.028 available for students to help you buy your assistive technology. 0:03:54.268 --> 0:03:56.758 And the way you get involved in this is you 0:03:56.758 --> 0:04:01.678 go along to Vision Australia org forward slash bursary. And 0:04:01.678 --> 0:04:04.548 it's got all the application details there. What sort of 0:04:04.548 --> 0:04:07.368 things you have to fill in. Um who you probably 0:04:07.368 --> 0:04:09.768 need to talk to, where you get your assessments done 0:04:09.768 --> 0:04:13.428 and so on. And they close at the end of September. 0:04:13.428 --> 0:04:16.218 And then you will get notified towards the end of 0:04:16.218 --> 0:04:20.538 the year if you're successful or not in your bursary award. 0:04:20.658 --> 0:04:23.358 And then normally what happens in the new year is 0:04:23.358 --> 0:04:26.418 that you get a full assessment done by one of 0:04:26.418 --> 0:04:30.848 our technology staff just to finalize your assistive technology equipment. 0:04:30.848 --> 0:04:33.968 Then it's ordered delivered to you, set up and off 0:04:33.968 --> 0:04:37.118 you go, hopefully for your fantastic course next year. 0:04:37.148 --> 0:04:41.228 Very good. The Vision Australia bursary. Go to the website, 0:04:41.228 --> 0:04:43.898 have a scratch around and give yourself plenty of time 0:04:43.898 --> 0:04:49.088 to get organised because it's fairly comprehensive. Yes, fairly thorough, 0:04:49.628 --> 0:04:53.698 but well worth it by the end of September. The 0:04:53.698 --> 0:04:56.368 BT speak. We've spoken about it a number of times 0:04:56.368 --> 0:04:59.818 over recent months. There's an update just come out in 0:04:59.818 --> 0:05:00.958 the last few days. 0:05:01.078 --> 0:05:03.808 Look, I quite like these updates. I must say. The 0:05:03.808 --> 0:05:05.998 thing that's got my attention is that the the new 0:05:05.998 --> 0:05:08.878 version has got games in it now, so I can 0:05:08.878 --> 0:05:12.538 play a little text adventure game. Um, it's got black 0:05:12.628 --> 0:05:15.538 blackjack on there and a few other little interesting bits 0:05:15.538 --> 0:05:20.198 and pieces. It's also got the new Vocalizer voices now. 0:05:20.198 --> 0:05:22.958 So that's things like Tom and Samantha and so on. 0:05:22.958 --> 0:05:26.138 So just to remind people, you now have choice between 0:05:26.138 --> 0:05:32.948 Espeak the Dectalk voice, the RH voice or voices and 0:05:32.948 --> 0:05:35.888 the vocalizer voices, like I just said, like Tom and 0:05:35.888 --> 0:05:39.638 Samantha and so on. So that actually really makes things 0:05:39.638 --> 0:05:43.438 very clear because as people always know, whilst the ECB 0:05:43.438 --> 0:05:45.988 can speak many, many languages, it's not the most clearest 0:05:45.988 --> 0:05:47.398 voice on the planet. 0:05:47.458 --> 0:05:49.888 And we should just remind people what this amazing little 0:05:49.888 --> 0:05:50.878 device is. 0:05:50.878 --> 0:05:53.788 Simply, it's a note taking device. And it's also got 0:05:53.788 --> 0:05:58.048 a full desktop version. Um, it does lots of things 0:05:58.048 --> 0:06:01.858 like text editing. You can do web browsing on it, 0:06:02.008 --> 0:06:06.098 you can record music, you can play radio stations, you 0:06:06.098 --> 0:06:09.518 can use a calculator. Um, it just got a new 0:06:09.518 --> 0:06:11.738 phone book, which I'm trying to work out. Why, you'd 0:06:11.738 --> 0:06:13.358 want a phone book on something that doesn't have a 0:06:13.358 --> 0:06:16.328 phone in it. Um, so it's got all different types 0:06:16.328 --> 0:06:18.278 of things. And of course, once you use the desktop 0:06:18.278 --> 0:06:21.428 mode of it, that gives you access to email and 0:06:21.428 --> 0:06:24.098 lots of other things as well. And it's based on Linux, 0:06:24.098 --> 0:06:28.628 not Android, and it's constantly under development. So, you know, 0:06:28.628 --> 0:06:30.598 like I said, about once a month you can expand 0:06:30.598 --> 0:06:33.448 a new new update to come out. And the one 0:06:33.448 --> 0:06:35.968 thing I just realized too, that it's got today in 0:06:35.968 --> 0:06:40.138 there too. They've split up the BT learn for learning Braille. 0:06:40.138 --> 0:06:44.428 So you've got a test mode in there, a games mode, 0:06:44.428 --> 0:06:47.068 and a mode just for learning the different letters of 0:06:47.068 --> 0:06:49.468 the alphabet. So I think that's actually quite good as well, 0:06:49.468 --> 0:06:53.248 especially since the BT Speak Pro has a Braille input keyboard. 0:06:53.248 --> 0:06:56.088 Yep, that's what it's called. The BT Speak Pro and 0:06:56.088 --> 0:06:58.818 the Braille input keyboard is the key thing, isn't it? 0:06:58.818 --> 0:07:01.908 It's just using those braille keys so you can do 0:07:01.908 --> 0:07:04.878 it very easily. It doesn't take up too much space. 0:07:05.718 --> 0:07:10.218 Now also there's been an update to the device. From 0:07:10.218 --> 0:07:15.768 now on they sell an eight gigabyte version for Ram. Um, 0:07:15.768 --> 0:07:19.678 up until now, it's been four. and you can have 0:07:19.678 --> 0:07:24.568 your device modified to get that eight gigabytes. I think 0:07:24.568 --> 0:07:28.048 it's about $150 US. It would mean sending the device 0:07:28.048 --> 0:07:30.658 away and getting it back, but there are some benefits 0:07:30.658 --> 0:07:33.058 that they talk about on their website with that. So 0:07:33.058 --> 0:07:34.828 people might like to keep that in mind if they 0:07:34.828 --> 0:07:35.398 have one. 0:07:35.908 --> 0:07:37.348 I'm sort of going to wait and see what other 0:07:37.348 --> 0:07:39.778 people say on the internet. I don't tend to use 0:07:39.778 --> 0:07:42.768 many things in parallel on my system at the moment, 0:07:42.918 --> 0:07:45.918 and I don't use the desktop mode very heavily, which 0:07:45.918 --> 0:07:48.318 I'm assuming that's where you'd probably want the eight gigabytes 0:07:48.318 --> 0:07:50.538 coming in. Um, so I'm just going to do a 0:07:50.538 --> 0:07:52.338 bit of a bit of wait and see, because at 0:07:52.338 --> 0:07:54.948 the moment, the way I use my one is quite okay. 0:07:55.098 --> 0:07:59.478 Speaking of the BT speak, let's talk about the long 0:07:59.478 --> 0:08:03.378 awaited announcement from the orbit. People about the orbit speak. 0:08:03.468 --> 0:08:05.538 Yes. This has been one of those things that I 0:08:05.538 --> 0:08:08.048 think you and I have been talking about for. Geez, 0:08:08.048 --> 0:08:10.088 I want to say about 18 months now or more. 0:08:10.358 --> 0:08:14.978 So for people that might remember the orbit writer, which 0:08:14.978 --> 0:08:17.108 is the, you know, little Braille input keyboard that you 0:08:17.108 --> 0:08:19.448 can link up to your smartphone. Well, if you can 0:08:19.448 --> 0:08:23.648 imagine that device and then turn it into also speech output. 0:08:23.648 --> 0:08:26.888 So that's what the orbit speak is. And there's two 0:08:26.888 --> 0:08:29.708 versions of the orbit speak. The orbit speak and the 0:08:29.708 --> 0:08:34.548 orbit speak plus Plus, both versions have various note taking functions, 0:08:34.548 --> 0:08:38.208 very similar in some ways to the basic version of 0:08:38.208 --> 0:08:40.758 or the traditional mode of the Speak Pro. So you've 0:08:40.758 --> 0:08:45.468 got things like an editor, a book reader, a calculator, 0:08:45.468 --> 0:08:49.188 a clock, date and time, um, and so on. So 0:08:49.188 --> 0:08:52.218 it's a basic note taking device, but then if you 0:08:52.218 --> 0:08:56.228 spend $100 us more, so the basic version is 5.99. 0:08:56.228 --> 0:09:00.038 The plus version is 6.99. You basically get what's called 0:09:00.038 --> 0:09:03.248 the entertainment version. So that includes things like being able 0:09:03.248 --> 0:09:07.898 to listen to podcasts, being able to stream internet radio, 0:09:07.898 --> 0:09:09.998 being able to do a voice recording because it does 0:09:09.998 --> 0:09:12.998 have a built in microphone and so on. I know 0:09:12.998 --> 0:09:16.268 it's $100 us cheaper to me. If you're going to 0:09:16.268 --> 0:09:18.428 buy something like one of these note takers, you're better 0:09:18.428 --> 0:09:20.788 off buying the one that's got more functionality in it. 0:09:20.818 --> 0:09:23.398 So have a bit of a think about it and 0:09:23.398 --> 0:09:27.238 just people's information. Any of the orbit reader products are 0:09:27.238 --> 0:09:29.698 not available in Australia, so you'll have to buy them 0:09:29.698 --> 0:09:30.628 from overseas. 0:09:30.658 --> 0:09:34.318 And talking of the orbit products, the orbit reader 20 0:09:34.318 --> 0:09:36.988 and the orbit reader 40, you can now get a 0:09:36.988 --> 0:09:41.218 Q 20 and a Q 40. So that's the Qwerty keyboard. 0:09:41.218 --> 0:09:43.378 Which I think is actually really, really good. This is 0:09:43.378 --> 0:09:46.718 the unit with the Braille display. And to me this 0:09:46.718 --> 0:09:49.688 reminds me of the the mantis Q40. A lot of 0:09:49.688 --> 0:09:54.908 people are really good typists, as in keyboard typists, but 0:09:54.908 --> 0:09:56.678 you're a Braille user, so you want to be able 0:09:56.678 --> 0:10:00.368 to read in Braille. And this hits that sweet spot dramatically. 0:10:00.368 --> 0:10:02.528 And of course, it's a lot cheaper than, you know 0:10:02.528 --> 0:10:05.708 what the man is currently sells for. Um, like you said, Steve, 0:10:05.708 --> 0:10:08.318 it's got a 20 to 40 cell version of it 0:10:08.318 --> 0:10:13.258 with the Qwerty keyboard, and it interacts with your windows computer, 0:10:13.258 --> 0:10:17.098 your Mac, your Android device, and so on. So a 0:10:17.098 --> 0:10:21.058 really good implementation of having a device that has a 0:10:21.058 --> 0:10:23.218 Qwerty keyboard and a Braille display. 0:10:23.638 --> 0:10:26.158 Tell me about the 11 labs reader. 0:10:26.158 --> 0:10:28.918 So this is going to be interesting. So people might 0:10:28.918 --> 0:10:32.608 fondly remember 11 labs where you log on to their website. 0:10:32.608 --> 0:10:36.168 And and you can copy a document into it and 0:10:36.168 --> 0:10:39.618 have it read out of these really fantastic different voices. Well, 0:10:39.618 --> 0:10:42.438 you've got an A app version of this now for 0:10:42.438 --> 0:10:48.018 both iOS and Android coming soon. So you basically pop 0:10:48.018 --> 0:10:50.178 your text into this text field, and you can choose 0:10:50.178 --> 0:10:54.528 from stacks and stacks of different voices, including some well 0:10:54.528 --> 0:10:57.728 known voices like Laurence Olivier and so on. And then 0:10:57.728 --> 0:11:00.098 you can have it read back to you. And Thomas 0:11:00.098 --> 0:11:03.908 Donville from Applevis did a really good podcast on using 0:11:03.908 --> 0:11:07.388 the 11 labs iOS app, and it's actually called reader 0:11:07.388 --> 0:11:10.448 when you run it, and it's absolutely fantastic. And what 0:11:10.448 --> 0:11:14.378 he does, he uses the share tab on, you know, 0:11:14.378 --> 0:11:17.018 the files app or in a web page or on 0:11:17.018 --> 0:11:19.898 an email to then send whatever he wants to read 0:11:19.898 --> 0:11:23.898 out to 11 labs reader and just the voices that 0:11:23.898 --> 0:11:27.318 it reads out, you would not imagine that that's not 0:11:27.318 --> 0:11:29.388 a human being reading the document to you. 0:11:29.958 --> 0:11:33.138 11 labs reader. And then on your device it'll be 0:11:33.138 --> 0:11:38.028 known as reader. Correct. The ABC listen app has had 0:11:38.028 --> 0:11:42.708 an update, a little difficult for users, but it's on 0:11:42.708 --> 0:11:44.388 its way and you can give them feedback if you 0:11:44.388 --> 0:11:45.828 don't like it, you can. 0:11:45.828 --> 0:11:48.398 And again, this applies for both the iOS version or 0:11:48.398 --> 0:11:52.418 the iPhone version and the Android version. So to me, 0:11:52.418 --> 0:11:55.928 what's happening at the moment is sometimes less than iOS. 0:11:55.928 --> 0:11:58.028 You to think of magic double tap to start and 0:11:58.028 --> 0:12:03.008 stop playing doesn't always work. The play button, whether you're 0:12:03.008 --> 0:12:06.908 playing a station or anything else, um, doesn't change between 0:12:06.908 --> 0:12:10.118 play and pause. It just says play. And because the 0:12:10.118 --> 0:12:13.458 screen has got lots of information on the home screen now, 0:12:13.458 --> 0:12:15.888 it's a bit hard to find things. Now, before we 0:12:15.888 --> 0:12:18.018 came on air, you suggested, Steve, that if you go 0:12:18.018 --> 0:12:21.858 to your listen, then you can navigate by Henning, and 0:12:21.858 --> 0:12:24.168 that's a better way to find content within the app 0:12:24.168 --> 0:12:26.598 at the moment. And as you just said, there's got 0:12:26.598 --> 0:12:29.748 a feedback link there where you can say if you're 0:12:29.748 --> 0:12:33.018 having any issues with the actual ABC listen app itself, 0:12:33.018 --> 0:12:35.178 which they encourage you to give them feedback. You can 0:12:35.198 --> 0:12:37.328 send them feedback, and I've done that for voiceover, at 0:12:37.328 --> 0:12:38.378 least at the moment. 0:12:38.588 --> 0:12:41.648 The user interface has changed quite a lot, so you've 0:12:41.648 --> 0:12:43.718 got to play around with it and get familiar with it, 0:12:43.718 --> 0:12:45.728 and you'll find it pretty good. But there are a 0:12:45.728 --> 0:12:49.958 few funny things some people have experienced drain on their 0:12:49.958 --> 0:12:55.088 battery of their iPhone anyway, so that's one thing that 0:12:55.088 --> 0:12:57.818 will need attention, but I'm sure it'll all get fixed 0:12:57.818 --> 0:13:01.078 and run very smoothly indeed. They're very good. The ABC 0:13:01.078 --> 0:13:07.468 at responding to difficulties, particularly in the accessibility area. Tell 0:13:07.468 --> 0:13:10.798 us about Arcs and the latest update. 0:13:11.218 --> 0:13:14.338 So this is the wearable headset. So you've literally got 0:13:14.338 --> 0:13:18.868 a camera on a bone conduction headset. And that plugs 0:13:18.868 --> 0:13:23.068 in via a USB-C cable to traditionally your Android phone 0:13:23.068 --> 0:13:27.128 or your blind Sherlock Classic two. And there is an 0:13:27.128 --> 0:13:29.738 app version for Arcs, which is the app that drives 0:13:29.738 --> 0:13:34.058 the headset coming out for the iOS system in. I 0:13:34.058 --> 0:13:36.188 think it's about four weeks as we go to air, 0:13:36.308 --> 0:13:39.848 which means on your iPhone 15 and above, because it 0:13:39.848 --> 0:13:41.558 has a USB-C port, you'll be able to plug in 0:13:41.558 --> 0:13:44.738 and use it, and which is actually really, really exciting. 0:13:44.738 --> 0:13:48.778 And 1.5 being the new version of the hardware. I 0:13:48.778 --> 0:13:50.608 had a look at it last week, and I must say, 0:13:50.608 --> 0:13:54.988 the new hardware looks really comfortable. Um, and a little 0:13:54.988 --> 0:13:58.108 bit more adjustable than the version 1.0. And of course, 0:13:58.108 --> 0:14:01.198 it does things very similar to what you'd expect a 0:14:01.198 --> 0:14:04.108 wearable headset to do, such as scene detection and so on. 0:14:04.108 --> 0:14:08.008 And as with Android, the iOS version will also work 0:14:08.008 --> 0:14:12.718 with Navi lens for tagging and tag tracking, and also 0:14:12.738 --> 0:14:16.668 the seeing AI app from Microsoft, which is really, really exciting. 0:14:16.668 --> 0:14:19.938 So that's going to be very interesting. Before we go, 0:14:19.938 --> 0:14:22.068 a reminder of where there are details of what we've 0:14:22.068 --> 0:14:25.548 been talking about in this and previous editions of the program, as. 0:14:25.548 --> 0:14:27.498 Always, you can check out my blog site, which is 0:14:27.498 --> 0:14:32.238 David would be Dot Podbean pod Band.com David. 0:14:32.238 --> 0:14:36.348 Would be our podbean pod b e a n.com to 0:14:36.348 --> 0:14:37.648 write to the program, you can. 0:14:37.648 --> 0:14:39.418 Write to me at Vision Australia where I work, which 0:14:39.418 --> 0:14:43.438 is David Woodbridge, how it sounds at Vision Australia. 0:14:43.648 --> 0:14:48.178 Org David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org. This has 0:14:48.178 --> 0:14:51.118 been talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's national 0:14:51.118 --> 0:14:55.858 advisor on access technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolly. Take care. 0:14:55.858 --> 0:14:57.628 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.