WEBVTT - Talking Tech 10th December 2024 0:00:08.030 --> 0:00:11.600 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:15.440 December the 10th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.070 you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated 0:00:19.070 --> 0:00:22.760 stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network. 0:00:22.790 --> 0:00:25.880 There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.460 need to do is search for the two words. Talking 0:00:28.490 --> 0:00:31.700 tech and Anakin. All come usually on a Tuesday afternoon 0:00:31.700 --> 0:00:34.940 just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask 0:00:34.940 --> 0:00:38.120 your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:43.370 radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:49.339 with me. Vision Australia's national access technology manager. Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo. 0:00:49.430 --> 0:00:50.599 Hi, Stephen. 0:00:50.809 --> 0:00:55.459 Let's remind people about the vision store of Vision Australia, 0:00:55.459 --> 0:00:58.550 which is a very useful resource, particularly this time of 0:00:58.550 --> 0:01:00.890 the year, with Christmas only two weeks away. 0:01:01.100 --> 0:01:06.380 Yes, definitely. If you're looking for gifts or you're looking 0:01:06.380 --> 0:01:09.119 for gift ideas for people to buy for you? Uh, 0:01:09.119 --> 0:01:13.200 definitely worth having a look at the various things on 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.890 offer at the vision store. There's, um, all kinds of products, 0:01:16.890 --> 0:01:19.619 everything from sort of daily living aids to help with, 0:01:19.649 --> 0:01:22.439 you know, cooking and personal care, those sorts of things 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:27.270 right through to, you know, tech products, magnifiers. There's games. 0:01:27.270 --> 0:01:29.280 So if you're going away camping or you've got a 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.130 bit of time just to sit and relax, things like Braille, 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.619 you know, playing cards and board games and all those 0:01:34.619 --> 0:01:37.770 kinds of things, there's some new products that we have 0:01:37.770 --> 0:01:41.550 for kids. Uh, if you're a handyman kind of guy, 0:01:41.580 --> 0:01:43.770 there's things like the talking tape measure that we talked 0:01:43.770 --> 0:01:46.050 about a couple of weeks ago, the tape king. So 0:01:46.050 --> 0:01:48.210 lots of good stuff. But if you're going to order 0:01:48.210 --> 0:01:52.020 online particularly, you need to do that fairly soon so 0:01:52.020 --> 0:01:54.480 that you can get things shipped to you in time 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.390 for Christmas. There is also the stores though, so if 0:01:57.420 --> 0:02:00.480 you if you have a vision store in your area, 0:02:00.510 --> 0:02:02.940 you can come in, have a look around and look 0:02:02.970 --> 0:02:06.330 and feel of the products that are on display so 0:02:06.330 --> 0:02:08.560 that you can make sure that they're right for you. 0:02:08.590 --> 0:02:11.500 A lot of low vision equipment isn't there. Stuff that 0:02:11.500 --> 0:02:13.660 could be very handy. Maybe for mum or dad. 0:02:13.690 --> 0:02:18.490 Yeah, absolutely. Even sometimes, just a simple, uh, magnifier that 0:02:18.490 --> 0:02:20.710 you can put on a page just to make something 0:02:20.710 --> 0:02:24.790 easier to read right through to your big, um, video 0:02:24.820 --> 0:02:27.550 magnifiers that allow you to, you know, sit there and 0:02:27.550 --> 0:02:31.419 read the newspaper or do the crossword. There's also task lighting, 0:02:31.420 --> 0:02:34.360 which is really important. You know, sometimes just being able 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.150 to illuminate the thing that you're working on can make 0:02:37.150 --> 0:02:40.390 a massive difference to how easy it is to do. 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:40.960 Mhm. 0:02:40.990 --> 0:02:47.169 So that's Vision Australia's vision store. Shop vision Australia. Org 0:02:47.170 --> 0:02:52.390 shop dot vision Australia. Org. Around now people will be 0:02:52.390 --> 0:02:56.500 seeing the latest Apple updates on their devices. 0:02:56.770 --> 0:03:01.480 Yes. So iOS 18.2. Possibly by the time this goes 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:03.639 to air a lot of people will already have it. 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.490 This is quite a big update because it's the first 0:03:06.490 --> 0:03:09.800 one that gives us the Apple intelligence, and there's been 0:03:09.830 --> 0:03:13.100 a bit of a buzz about that, but it really 0:03:13.100 --> 0:03:17.000 is a sort of the most significant makeover that Siri 0:03:17.030 --> 0:03:19.370 has had in quite a long time. But it's not 0:03:19.370 --> 0:03:22.850 just Siri. It affects a number of other things as well. 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:25.970 So it gives us the ability to do things like 0:03:25.970 --> 0:03:30.380 summarize your emails and text messages, your notifications on your 0:03:30.410 --> 0:03:33.170 on your lock screen. You know, if you've got a 0:03:33.170 --> 0:03:36.860 multi email sort of thread you can summarize that. You 0:03:36.860 --> 0:03:40.850 can also access things like ChatGPT. So if Siri doesn't 0:03:40.850 --> 0:03:43.370 know the answer to something, it'll say, do you want 0:03:43.370 --> 0:03:45.800 me to use ChatGPT for that? And it'll go and 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:50.090 give you a much more detailed answer than it might otherwise. 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.660 They've changed some of the voices a little bit as well. 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:58.550 The male Siri voice Australian one I'm not sure I like. 0:03:58.580 --> 0:04:01.340 It almost sounds a bit more sulky than it used to. 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:03.050 You know, it'll say, do you want me to use 0:04:03.050 --> 0:04:05.360 ChatGPT for that? And I'll say, no, and it'll say, 0:04:05.390 --> 0:04:08.240 all right, I won't. It just sounds grumpy. I don't 0:04:08.270 --> 0:04:10.380 know why they did that, but it is quite a 0:04:10.380 --> 0:04:14.040 significant update. And, you know, having played with some of 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.549 the beta versions and things, Siri is finally getting back 0:04:17.550 --> 0:04:19.470 to the point where it's actually useful. I used to 0:04:19.500 --> 0:04:22.050 get really frustrated with it, but I'm finding now I'm 0:04:22.050 --> 0:04:25.890 going to it more so than my smart speaker devices, 0:04:25.890 --> 0:04:28.350 because I can get more detailed answers. 0:04:28.380 --> 0:04:32.370 And there are updates to other Apple operating systems, such 0:04:32.370 --> 0:04:38.159 as watchOS, the iPad, and the Mac OS. Let's delve 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.020 into this in more detail next week. 0:04:40.050 --> 0:04:45.810 Yeah, sure. Definitely. But I'm quite excited about about this release. 0:04:45.810 --> 0:04:51.930 iOS 18.2. You do a lot of cooking, don't you, Damo? 0:04:52.170 --> 0:04:55.349 I do Stephen yeah, particularly outdoor cooking. I've got a 0:04:55.350 --> 0:04:58.770 meat smoker. So around about this time of year, I 0:04:58.770 --> 0:05:01.560 do sort of my own Christmas ham from scratch. So 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.950 I actually cure all the the pork and then put 0:05:04.950 --> 0:05:07.770 it in the smoker and do a double smoked Christmas ham. 0:05:07.770 --> 0:05:11.440 But I also do the the Christmas turkey I have 0:05:11.470 --> 0:05:13.870 English heritage, so even though it's boiling hot, we still 0:05:13.870 --> 0:05:16.900 do the roast turkey on Christmas Day with the the 0:05:16.900 --> 0:05:19.990 brussel sprouts and the roast potatoes and the mushy peas 0:05:19.990 --> 0:05:22.840 and all of that sort of thing. So, uh, yes, 0:05:22.840 --> 0:05:24.760 very much into my outdoor cooking. 0:05:24.790 --> 0:05:29.260 Okay. Tell me about your latest toy for managing the 0:05:29.290 --> 0:05:30.340 cooking of the meat. 0:05:30.430 --> 0:05:34.090 Yes. So this is a mainstream product. It's not an 0:05:34.090 --> 0:05:37.360 assistive tech product as such, but it is extremely accessible, 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.700 which is one of the reasons I like it. It's 0:05:39.700 --> 0:05:43.360 a meat thermometer called the meter, spelt m e a 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.920 t e r. It comes in various forms. There are 0:05:47.950 --> 0:05:50.980 sort of single probe versions, which is the one I have. 0:05:51.010 --> 0:05:54.099 And then there's the the meter block which is allows 0:05:54.100 --> 0:05:56.680 you to have up to four probes. Now the way 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:02.260 that these work is the probe itself, uh, probably looks 0:06:02.260 --> 0:06:07.150 a little bit similar, uh, to, uh, perhaps a ballpoint pen. 0:06:07.150 --> 0:06:11.800 So it's a long, thin metal probe, unlike a lot 0:06:11.830 --> 0:06:16.430 of other devices of this type, there are no wires, 0:06:16.430 --> 0:06:19.430 so the thermometer that I was using previously had a 0:06:19.460 --> 0:06:21.260 sort of a heat proof cable that went from the 0:06:21.260 --> 0:06:24.680 meat probe to a little box. This one doesn't have that. 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:26.900 So it has a wooden cradle that the probe sits 0:06:26.900 --> 0:06:29.330 in when it's charging. But then you take that out 0:06:29.330 --> 0:06:32.000 and you insert it into the piece of meat that 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:37.160 you're cooking. It has a nice tactile notch partway along 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:40.010 the body of the probe, and that lets you know 0:06:40.010 --> 0:06:42.620 how far to insert the probe into the piece of meat. 0:06:42.620 --> 0:06:44.659 So you want to insert it to the point where 0:06:44.660 --> 0:06:46.969 you can no longer feel that notch, and there'll be 0:06:46.970 --> 0:06:50.360 a little bit of the probe sort of poking out 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.419 of the end of your joint of meat. So it 0:06:53.420 --> 0:06:56.360 does the meat temperature, but it also does the ambient 0:06:56.390 --> 0:06:59.210 temperature of your oven or smoker or whatever it is 0:06:59.210 --> 0:07:05.240 that you're you're using, and it pairs to an iOS 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:08.900 device or an Android device. And the app is fully accessible. 0:07:08.900 --> 0:07:13.680 So you can go through and say, uh, I'm cooking beef. 0:07:14.070 --> 0:07:16.470 It's this type of cut, a rib fillet or a 0:07:16.470 --> 0:07:19.680 topside or something like that, and I want it cooked 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.790 medium rare and it will monitor the temperature. It'll give 0:07:23.790 --> 0:07:26.340 you an estimate of how long the meat's going to 0:07:26.340 --> 0:07:28.950 take to cook. That takes a little while to come through, 0:07:29.370 --> 0:07:31.410 and then it will let you know when the food's 0:07:31.410 --> 0:07:34.890 almost ready. And then when it is ready, because cooking 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.530 to temperature is often really important, particularly with things like 0:07:37.530 --> 0:07:40.950 pork or poultry. You don't want to undercook it, because 0:07:40.950 --> 0:07:42.480 that's a good way to give yourself a dose of 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:46.320 botulism or salmonella or something very nasty. So being able 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.200 to cook to temperature rather than time is often a 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.690 good idea. The other thing that you can do, you 0:07:51.690 --> 0:07:54.030 can save your cooks so that you can you can 0:07:54.030 --> 0:07:56.880 go back and sort of review what you did. And 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.820 you can also monitor from anywhere. So if you've got 0:07:59.820 --> 0:08:03.150 a device like an iPad, for example, you can leave 0:08:03.150 --> 0:08:06.840 that within Bluetooth range of your thermometer. So on your 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:10.080 patio table or your kitchen table or something like that, 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.660 but then you can monitor it from any other device. 0:08:12.660 --> 0:08:14.430 So what that allows me to do is if I'm 0:08:14.430 --> 0:08:17.460 doing something like a brisket, which might take 12 or 0:08:17.460 --> 0:08:20.400 14 hours to cook, I can set that up. The 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.950 iPad talks to the thermometer. I can then go out 0:08:22.950 --> 0:08:25.980 to the shops and still monitor from my iPhone what 0:08:25.980 --> 0:08:28.200 my cook is doing, you know. So if it's getting close, 0:08:28.230 --> 0:08:31.680 I know, right? We better get home and get this off. Um, 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.620 so it does allow you to monitor it from anywhere. 0:08:34.620 --> 0:08:37.349 And the app is extremely accessible. There's a bunch of 0:08:37.349 --> 0:08:40.859 tutorials as well to demonstrate how to do different things. 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.770 So I really like it. It's been a big step 0:08:43.770 --> 0:08:46.979 up for me from my previous Maverick wired thermometer that 0:08:46.979 --> 0:08:47.760 I was using. 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.130 So where can you get this talking thermometer? 0:08:50.339 --> 0:08:53.939 I got mine from off Amazon, but they are also 0:08:53.939 --> 0:08:56.879 available from most barbecue shops. 0:08:56.910 --> 0:08:58.499 What sort of money are we talking about? 0:08:58.530 --> 0:09:00.719 So the one that I have, which was the metre 0:09:00.750 --> 0:09:05.759 plus was 199. I think the the four probe version, 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:10.380 the metre block was around about 400 or 450. 0:09:10.410 --> 0:09:13.890 So that's meter m e a t e r as in. 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:14.729 That's right. Yes. 0:09:14.790 --> 0:09:15.030 Yeah. 0:09:15.099 --> 0:09:18.280 Metre plus or metre block? You went for the metre plus. 0:09:18.309 --> 0:09:22.959 Let's talk about getting around now. Shall we say mobility technology, 0:09:22.959 --> 0:09:28.240 whether it be hardware, devices or software. It's a changing field, 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:28.989 isn't it? 0:09:29.079 --> 0:09:33.099 It really is. And we're kind of spoilt for choice 0:09:33.099 --> 0:09:34.990 in some ways, I think, in that there are a 0:09:34.990 --> 0:09:39.849 bunch of phone based mobility solutions, and then there are 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:43.030 sort of standalone devices and which one you would go 0:09:43.030 --> 0:09:46.540 for really kind of depends on your use case and 0:09:46.540 --> 0:09:48.550 what you do, how often you use it, that kind 0:09:48.550 --> 0:09:51.940 of thing. We're talking secondary aides here. We're not talking 0:09:51.939 --> 0:09:54.339 cane or dog, which is what you would class as 0:09:54.339 --> 0:09:58.690 a primary mobility aide. I do use a stellar Trek 0:09:58.689 --> 0:10:02.559 device as my sort of main GPS unit, and there's 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.949 a couple of reasons for that. One is that I 0:10:05.949 --> 0:10:09.099 like to have tactile buttons rather than having to navigate 0:10:09.130 --> 0:10:11.379 a touch screen, because I figure I have one hand 0:10:11.380 --> 0:10:15.819 tied up working my seeing eye dog and I don't 0:10:15.819 --> 0:10:18.380 want to have to use, you know, face ID, unlock 0:10:18.380 --> 0:10:20.959 my phone, swipe around the screen to figure out what 0:10:20.990 --> 0:10:24.619 direction I'm travelling, what house number I'm outside of. Those 0:10:24.620 --> 0:10:27.349 kinds of things. So I find that with the stellar track, 0:10:27.349 --> 0:10:30.199 I can just pop it on my belt. And if 0:10:30.199 --> 0:10:31.370 I want to know where I am, I can just 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.890 sort of hit the where am I? Button. And also, 0:10:33.890 --> 0:10:37.339 it has some really good features for map browsing virtually 0:10:37.339 --> 0:10:40.010 so that you can figure out how you might get 0:10:40.010 --> 0:10:43.370 from point A to point B, you can easily record 0:10:43.370 --> 0:10:47.630 landmarks and you can use it in open areas. So 0:10:47.660 --> 0:10:49.760 Marion and I have a caravan and we go away 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.910 for sort of three weeks over at Christmas, usually in January, 0:10:52.910 --> 0:10:56.689 and we do a few trips throughout the year. So 0:10:56.689 --> 0:10:59.270 to be able to mark things like your caravan site 0:10:59.270 --> 0:11:02.809 or the exit off the beach or open area travel 0:11:02.809 --> 0:11:05.540 where you're you're not necessarily on a street map. I 0:11:05.540 --> 0:11:09.800 find that really helpful. But then I do use other things. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.199 So I use my metal glasses paired to my phone. 0:11:12.199 --> 0:11:14.360 So I might use that in conjunction with the tracker. 0:11:14.359 --> 0:11:16.700 So I'll use the stellar track to get me to 0:11:16.729 --> 0:11:18.330 where I want to be, but then I'll use the 0:11:18.329 --> 0:11:21.659 glasses to perhaps help me locate a shop or a 0:11:21.660 --> 0:11:26.219 particular sign or something like that, or another landmark. And 0:11:26.219 --> 0:11:29.460 I'll also use the phone for things like public transport apps. 0:11:29.459 --> 0:11:31.920 So TransLink, which is the one up here in Queensland, 0:11:31.949 --> 0:11:34.950 you know, public transport information. Next, there is another one 0:11:34.949 --> 0:11:36.719 that gives you sort of idea of the next buses 0:11:36.719 --> 0:11:40.349 and trains that are in your area. There are also 0:11:40.349 --> 0:11:43.229 free GPS apps though. So for people who don't necessarily 0:11:43.229 --> 0:11:47.309 want or need a standalone device, there are apps like Lazarillo, 0:11:47.339 --> 0:11:51.239 which is a good free solution. That's l a z 0:11:51.270 --> 0:11:54.719 o r I l o, and that is available for 0:11:54.719 --> 0:11:58.649 both Android and iOS. And that'll give you sort of 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:02.640 basic navigation and allow you to set landmarks and do 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:04.469 some of those things. And if you just, you know, 0:12:04.500 --> 0:12:05.910 if you're in a taxi or an Uber and you're 0:12:05.910 --> 0:12:07.890 not quite sure where you are, those sorts of apps 0:12:07.890 --> 0:12:10.290 will will also allow you to just fire up your 0:12:10.290 --> 0:12:13.620 phone and check. But I do find for my particular 0:12:13.620 --> 0:12:16.890 use case, not having the touch screen and having buttons 0:12:16.890 --> 0:12:19.239 that I can press when I'm walking around. It just 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.749 makes it a little bit easier to navigate. I also 0:12:22.780 --> 0:12:26.589 use the stellar track when I'm riding my tandem as well. So, um, 0:12:26.589 --> 0:12:28.030 you know, I can sort of see what speed we're 0:12:28.030 --> 0:12:30.309 doing and where we are and that kind of thing. Um, 0:12:30.309 --> 0:12:32.260 and just to be able to have that information given 0:12:32.260 --> 0:12:35.350 to me without having to press a button or interact 0:12:35.349 --> 0:12:37.270 with the device and just leave it on my belt 0:12:37.390 --> 0:12:39.130 is sometimes pretty handy. 0:12:39.130 --> 0:12:43.360 And the future looks rosy for further devices, doesn't it, 0:12:43.390 --> 0:12:45.160 to help with getting around. 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.579 It really does. You know, I think, you know, particularly 0:12:48.579 --> 0:12:51.429 with some of these wearable devices, you know, the things 0:12:51.429 --> 0:12:54.460 like the meta glasses and some of these other things. 0:12:54.490 --> 0:12:56.559 If we can get to a point where you can 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.880 use your wearable device to help with GPS navigation and 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:02.890 some of those things, I mean, we can already sort 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:05.829 of read signs and do text recognition and that sort 0:13:05.829 --> 0:13:08.710 of thing. But if you can have a something hands 0:13:08.709 --> 0:13:10.660 free where you can sort of do your GPS through 0:13:10.689 --> 0:13:14.109 your glasses, that to me would be the next big step. 0:13:14.109 --> 0:13:15.880 But there's also lots of other things. You know, we 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.640 have things like the guidance device on its way that 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.140 we talked about a couple of months ago. That's sort 0:13:21.140 --> 0:13:25.250 of the robot guide type device, I think with AI 0:13:25.250 --> 0:13:29.449 and camera technology improving. There's there's definitely a lot of 0:13:29.449 --> 0:13:32.239 potential there for further growth and further improvement. 0:13:32.449 --> 0:13:35.359 Before we go, just a reminder that you can find 0:13:35.390 --> 0:13:38.390 details of what we've been talking about in this and 0:13:38.390 --> 0:13:43.639 previous editions of the program by going to VA radio.org/talking tech. 0:13:43.670 --> 0:13:49.249 VA radio.org/talking tech. To write to the program you. 0:13:49.250 --> 0:13:55.130 Can email me Damo Damo dot McMorrow Mkmo r o 0:13:55.130 --> 0:13:59.239 w at Vision australia.org. And I really appreciate the people 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:01.429 who have emailed in and given me feedback. Thank you 0:14:01.429 --> 0:14:02.179 very much. 0:14:02.209 --> 0:14:07.400 Damo. Dot McMorrow at Vision australia.org. This has been talking 0:14:07.429 --> 0:14:10.849 tech with me has been Vision Australia's national Access technology 0:14:10.849 --> 0:14:14.900 manager Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk 0:14:14.900 --> 0:14:16.309 more tech next week. See you.