S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: December the 10th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have
S1: you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated
S1: stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network.
S1: There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you
S1: need to do is search for the two words. Talking
S1: tech and Anakin. All come usually on a Tuesday afternoon
S1: just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask
S1: your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia
S1: radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast
S1: with me. Vision Australia's national access technology manager. Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo.
S2: Hi, Stephen.
S1: Let's remind people about the vision store of Vision Australia,
S1: which is a very useful resource, particularly this time of
S1: the year, with Christmas only two weeks away.
S2: Yes, definitely. If you're looking for gifts or you're looking
S2: for gift ideas for people to buy for you? Uh,
S2: definitely worth having a look at the various things on
S2: offer at the vision store. There's, um, all kinds of products,
S2: everything from sort of daily living aids to help with,
S2: you know, cooking and personal care, those sorts of things
S2: right through to, you know, tech products, magnifiers. There's games.
S2: So if you're going away camping or you've got a
S2: bit of time just to sit and relax, things like Braille,
S2: you know, playing cards and board games and all those
S2: kinds of things, there's some new products that we have
S2: for kids. Uh, if you're a handyman kind of guy,
S2: there's things like the talking tape measure that we talked
S2: about a couple of weeks ago, the tape king. So
S2: lots of good stuff. But if you're going to order
S2: online particularly, you need to do that fairly soon so
S2: that you can get things shipped to you in time
S2: for Christmas. There is also the stores though, so if
S2: you if you have a vision store in your area,
S2: you can come in, have a look around and look
S2: and feel of the products that are on display so
S2: that you can make sure that they're right for you.
S1: A lot of low vision equipment isn't there. Stuff that
S1: could be very handy. Maybe for mum or dad.
S2: Yeah, absolutely. Even sometimes, just a simple, uh, magnifier that
S2: you can put on a page just to make something
S2: easier to read right through to your big, um, video
S2: magnifiers that allow you to, you know, sit there and
S2: read the newspaper or do the crossword. There's also task lighting,
S2: which is really important. You know, sometimes just being able
S2: to illuminate the thing that you're working on can make
S2: a massive difference to how easy it is to do.
S3: Mhm.
S1: So that's Vision Australia's vision store. Shop vision Australia. Org
S1: shop dot vision Australia. Org. Around now people will be
S1: seeing the latest Apple updates on their devices.
S2: Yes. So iOS 18.2. Possibly by the time this goes
S2: to air a lot of people will already have it.
S2: This is quite a big update because it's the first
S2: one that gives us the Apple intelligence, and there's been
S2: a bit of a buzz about that, but it really
S2: is a sort of the most significant makeover that Siri
S2: has had in quite a long time. But it's not
S2: just Siri. It affects a number of other things as well.
S2: So it gives us the ability to do things like
S2: summarize your emails and text messages, your notifications on your
S2: on your lock screen. You know, if you've got a
S2: multi email sort of thread you can summarize that. You
S2: can also access things like ChatGPT. So if Siri doesn't
S2: know the answer to something, it'll say, do you want
S2: me to use ChatGPT for that? And it'll go and
S2: give you a much more detailed answer than it might otherwise.
S2: They've changed some of the voices a little bit as well.
S2: The male Siri voice Australian one I'm not sure I like.
S2: It almost sounds a bit more sulky than it used to.
S2: You know, it'll say, do you want me to use
S2: ChatGPT for that? And I'll say, no, and it'll say,
S2: all right, I won't. It just sounds grumpy. I don't
S2: know why they did that, but it is quite a
S2: significant update. And, you know, having played with some of
S2: the beta versions and things, Siri is finally getting back
S2: to the point where it's actually useful. I used to
S2: get really frustrated with it, but I'm finding now I'm
S2: going to it more so than my smart speaker devices,
S2: because I can get more detailed answers.
S1: And there are updates to other Apple operating systems, such
S1: as watchOS, the iPad, and the Mac OS. Let's delve
S1: into this in more detail next week.
S2: Yeah, sure. Definitely. But I'm quite excited about about this release.
S1: iOS 18.2. You do a lot of cooking, don't you, Damo?
S2: I do Stephen yeah, particularly outdoor cooking. I've got a
S2: meat smoker. So around about this time of year, I
S2: do sort of my own Christmas ham from scratch. So
S2: I actually cure all the the pork and then put
S2: it in the smoker and do a double smoked Christmas ham.
S2: But I also do the the Christmas turkey I have
S2: English heritage, so even though it's boiling hot, we still
S2: do the roast turkey on Christmas Day with the the
S2: brussel sprouts and the roast potatoes and the mushy peas
S2: and all of that sort of thing. So, uh, yes,
S2: very much into my outdoor cooking.
S1: Okay. Tell me about your latest toy for managing the
S1: cooking of the meat.
S2: Yes. So this is a mainstream product. It's not an
S2: assistive tech product as such, but it is extremely accessible,
S2: which is one of the reasons I like it. It's
S2: a meat thermometer called the meter, spelt m e a
S2: t e r. It comes in various forms. There are
S2: sort of single probe versions, which is the one I have.
S2: And then there's the the meter block which is allows
S2: you to have up to four probes. Now the way
S2: that these work is the probe itself, uh, probably looks
S2: a little bit similar, uh, to, uh, perhaps a ballpoint pen.
S2: So it's a long, thin metal probe, unlike a lot
S2: of other devices of this type, there are no wires,
S2: so the thermometer that I was using previously had a
S2: sort of a heat proof cable that went from the
S2: meat probe to a little box. This one doesn't have that.
S2: So it has a wooden cradle that the probe sits
S2: in when it's charging. But then you take that out
S2: and you insert it into the piece of meat that
S2: you're cooking. It has a nice tactile notch partway along
S2: the body of the probe, and that lets you know
S2: how far to insert the probe into the piece of meat.
S2: So you want to insert it to the point where
S2: you can no longer feel that notch, and there'll be
S2: a little bit of the probe sort of poking out
S2: of the end of your joint of meat. So it
S2: does the meat temperature, but it also does the ambient
S2: temperature of your oven or smoker or whatever it is
S2: that you're you're using, and it pairs to an iOS
S2: device or an Android device. And the app is fully accessible.
S2: So you can go through and say, uh, I'm cooking beef.
S2: It's this type of cut, a rib fillet or a
S2: topside or something like that, and I want it cooked
S2: medium rare and it will monitor the temperature. It'll give
S2: you an estimate of how long the meat's going to
S2: take to cook. That takes a little while to come through,
S2: and then it will let you know when the food's
S2: almost ready. And then when it is ready, because cooking
S2: to temperature is often really important, particularly with things like
S2: pork or poultry. You don't want to undercook it, because
S2: that's a good way to give yourself a dose of
S2: botulism or salmonella or something very nasty. So being able
S2: to cook to temperature rather than time is often a
S2: good idea. The other thing that you can do, you
S2: can save your cooks so that you can you can
S2: go back and sort of review what you did. And
S2: you can also monitor from anywhere. So if you've got
S2: a device like an iPad, for example, you can leave
S2: that within Bluetooth range of your thermometer. So on your
S2: patio table or your kitchen table or something like that,
S2: but then you can monitor it from any other device.
S2: So what that allows me to do is if I'm
S2: doing something like a brisket, which might take 12 or
S2: 14 hours to cook, I can set that up. The
S2: iPad talks to the thermometer. I can then go out
S2: to the shops and still monitor from my iPhone what
S2: my cook is doing, you know. So if it's getting close,
S2: I know, right? We better get home and get this off. Um,
S2: so it does allow you to monitor it from anywhere.
S2: And the app is extremely accessible. There's a bunch of
S2: tutorials as well to demonstrate how to do different things.
S2: So I really like it. It's been a big step
S2: up for me from my previous Maverick wired thermometer that
S2: I was using.
S1: So where can you get this talking thermometer?
S2: I got mine from off Amazon, but they are also
S2: available from most barbecue shops.
S1: What sort of money are we talking about?
S2: So the one that I have, which was the metre
S2: plus was 199. I think the the four probe version,
S2: the metre block was around about 400 or 450.
S1: So that's meter m e a t e r as in.
S2: That's right. Yes.
S3: Yeah.
S1: Metre plus or metre block? You went for the metre plus.
S1: Let's talk about getting around now. Shall we say mobility technology,
S1: whether it be hardware, devices or software. It's a changing field,
S1: isn't it?
S2: It really is. And we're kind of spoilt for choice
S2: in some ways, I think, in that there are a
S2: bunch of phone based mobility solutions, and then there are
S2: sort of standalone devices and which one you would go
S2: for really kind of depends on your use case and
S2: what you do, how often you use it, that kind
S2: of thing. We're talking secondary aides here. We're not talking
S2: cane or dog, which is what you would class as
S2: a primary mobility aide. I do use a stellar Trek
S2: device as my sort of main GPS unit, and there's
S2: a couple of reasons for that. One is that I
S2: like to have tactile buttons rather than having to navigate
S2: a touch screen, because I figure I have one hand
S2: tied up working my seeing eye dog and I don't
S2: want to have to use, you know, face ID, unlock
S2: my phone, swipe around the screen to figure out what
S2: direction I'm travelling, what house number I'm outside of. Those
S2: kinds of things. So I find that with the stellar track,
S2: I can just pop it on my belt. And if
S2: I want to know where I am, I can just
S2: sort of hit the where am I? Button. And also,
S2: it has some really good features for map browsing virtually
S2: so that you can figure out how you might get
S2: from point A to point B, you can easily record
S2: landmarks and you can use it in open areas. So
S2: Marion and I have a caravan and we go away
S2: for sort of three weeks over at Christmas, usually in January,
S2: and we do a few trips throughout the year. So
S2: to be able to mark things like your caravan site
S2: or the exit off the beach or open area travel
S2: where you're you're not necessarily on a street map. I
S2: find that really helpful. But then I do use other things.
S2: So I use my metal glasses paired to my phone.
S2: So I might use that in conjunction with the tracker.
S2: So I'll use the stellar track to get me to
S2: where I want to be, but then I'll use the
S2: glasses to perhaps help me locate a shop or a
S2: particular sign or something like that, or another landmark. And
S2: I'll also use the phone for things like public transport apps.
S2: So TransLink, which is the one up here in Queensland,
S2: you know, public transport information. Next, there is another one
S2: that gives you sort of idea of the next buses
S2: and trains that are in your area. There are also
S2: free GPS apps though. So for people who don't necessarily
S2: want or need a standalone device, there are apps like Lazarillo,
S2: which is a good free solution. That's l a z
S2: o r I l o, and that is available for
S2: both Android and iOS. And that'll give you sort of
S2: basic navigation and allow you to set landmarks and do
S2: some of those things. And if you just, you know,
S2: if you're in a taxi or an Uber and you're
S2: not quite sure where you are, those sorts of apps
S2: will will also allow you to just fire up your
S2: phone and check. But I do find for my particular
S2: use case, not having the touch screen and having buttons
S2: that I can press when I'm walking around. It just
S2: makes it a little bit easier to navigate. I also
S2: use the stellar track when I'm riding my tandem as well. So, um,
S2: you know, I can sort of see what speed we're
S2: doing and where we are and that kind of thing. Um,
S2: and just to be able to have that information given
S2: to me without having to press a button or interact
S2: with the device and just leave it on my belt
S2: is sometimes pretty handy.
S1: And the future looks rosy for further devices, doesn't it,
S1: to help with getting around.
S2: It really does. You know, I think, you know, particularly
S2: with some of these wearable devices, you know, the things
S2: like the meta glasses and some of these other things.
S2: If we can get to a point where you can
S2: use your wearable device to help with GPS navigation and
S2: some of those things, I mean, we can already sort
S2: of read signs and do text recognition and that sort
S2: of thing. But if you can have a something hands
S2: free where you can sort of do your GPS through
S2: your glasses, that to me would be the next big step.
S2: But there's also lots of other things. You know, we
S2: have things like the guidance device on its way that
S2: we talked about a couple of months ago. That's sort
S2: of the robot guide type device, I think with AI
S2: and camera technology improving. There's there's definitely a lot of
S2: potential there for further growth and further improvement.
S1: Before we go, just a reminder that you can find
S1: details of what we've been talking about in this and
S1: previous editions of the program by going to VA radio.org/talking tech.
S1: VA radio.org/talking tech. To write to the program you.
S2: Can email me Damo Damo dot McMorrow Mkmo r o
S2: w at Vision australia.org. And I really appreciate the people
S2: who have emailed in and given me feedback. Thank you
S2: very much.
S1: Damo. Dot McMorrow at Vision australia.org. This has been talking
S1: tech with me has been Vision Australia's national Access technology
S1: manager Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk
S1: more tech next week. See you.