WEBVTT - Talking Tech 15th April 2025 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:11.840 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.920 April the 15th, 2025. I'm Stephen Jolly, great to have 0:00:15.919 --> 0:00:19.680 you with us listening through Vision Australia Radio, associated Stations 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.880 of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network. 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.960 There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.320 need to do is search for the two words talking tech. 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:32.040 And it can all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.240 just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.760 your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:44.120 radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast 0:00:44.599 --> 0:00:50.159 with me. Vision Australia's national manager. Access technology. Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo. 0:00:50.559 --> 0:00:51.440 G'day, Stephen. 0:00:51.919 --> 0:00:57.160 Let's start by talking about another AI advance. This one 0:00:57.160 --> 0:00:58.480 with ChatGPT. 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:02.400 You might remember a few episodes ago we talked a 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.990 little bit about notebook LLM and the fact that it 0:01:04.990 --> 0:01:08.830 was an AI powered research assistant that allowed you to 0:01:09.310 --> 0:01:14.350 add sort of content related to a particular topic into notebooks. Well, 0:01:14.390 --> 0:01:19.109 ChatGPT have now sort of copied that functionality. They call 0:01:19.110 --> 0:01:22.990 them projects. The idea is that if you're doing research 0:01:22.990 --> 0:01:25.789 on a particular topic, you ask a number of questions. 0:01:26.149 --> 0:01:29.789 You can put those answers into a project, and then 0:01:29.789 --> 0:01:32.030 you can go back to that at a later date 0:01:32.470 --> 0:01:36.669 and open that project up and continue asking questions, uh, 0:01:36.670 --> 0:01:39.789 or doing doing further research. And what it does is 0:01:39.789 --> 0:01:42.790 it will remember the things that you've uploaded in relation 0:01:42.789 --> 0:01:45.309 to that project. So you might have uploaded pictures or 0:01:45.310 --> 0:01:48.389 manuals or any number of other things, and it'll also 0:01:48.390 --> 0:01:51.230 remember the information that it's already given you so that 0:01:51.230 --> 0:01:53.550 you can build on that. It allows you to sort 0:01:53.550 --> 0:01:56.950 of group the content, um, because, you know, people use 0:01:56.950 --> 0:02:00.470 these things a lot and for a number of different things, 0:02:00.470 --> 0:02:02.350 and sometimes you want to go back to it, you know, 0:02:02.390 --> 0:02:05.970 particularly if you're using it for coding or, you know, 0:02:05.970 --> 0:02:09.810 using it for information about a piece of radio equipment, 0:02:09.810 --> 0:02:12.530 which is one of my primary uses. You know, what's 0:02:12.530 --> 0:02:15.330 the the keyboard layout for this? How do you enter 0:02:15.330 --> 0:02:18.090 a frequency here? Those kinds of things. You know, I 0:02:18.090 --> 0:02:20.330 could I could set up a project for a particular 0:02:20.330 --> 0:02:23.130 piece of radio equipment and gradually build on it as 0:02:23.130 --> 0:02:26.410 I discover that I need to know more information. So 0:02:26.650 --> 0:02:29.450 quite a handy feature. And it is available in both 0:02:29.450 --> 0:02:34.330 the web version of ChatGPT and also the ChatGPT app 0:02:34.330 --> 0:02:36.250 that you can access from your smartphone. 0:02:36.770 --> 0:02:40.330 That sounds like a good way of keeping track of 0:02:40.330 --> 0:02:41.690 what you've asked before. 0:02:42.130 --> 0:02:44.490 Definitely. I think you'll find it handy, given that you've 0:02:44.490 --> 0:02:46.410 been using it quite a bit for Linux and that 0:02:46.410 --> 0:02:48.050 kind of thing. You can sort of go back to 0:02:48.050 --> 0:02:50.690 it and group all of your little, you know, interesting 0:02:50.730 --> 0:02:52.770 tidbits about Linux that you've picked up. 0:02:53.250 --> 0:02:55.770 So let's just recap again for everyone. That one. 0:02:56.290 --> 0:03:00.370 So it is uh, a feature called projects and it 0:03:00.370 --> 0:03:04.520 is part of ChatGPT. So you can add particular answers, 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:08.240 questions and answers, or things that you've uploaded to a 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.280 project and give it a name so that you can 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:11.800 go back to it at a later date. 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.240 A ChatGPT subscription would be required for this feature. 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:19.160 Yes, I believe so. At this stage, yes, they may, 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.600 as they often do, sort of move it down to 0:03:21.640 --> 0:03:24.040 the free tier at some point, but at this stage 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.240 I believe it's a paid feature. 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.840 Let's talk about another AI tool now, a sort of 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:33.600 closer to home. It's from Freedom Scientific, EFF's companion. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:37.400 Yes, this is just a little tip for people. The 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.880 EFF's companion feature is something that came out with Jaws 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:44.560 and Fusion 2025, and it allows you to ask questions 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.440 about those products. So, for example, if you wanted to 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:52.880 know how do I name row and column titles in 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:57.520 Excel enjoys, you could go jaws Keyspace followed by F1 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.840 and it'll pop up the FFS companion webpage and you 0:04:00.950 --> 0:04:04.510 can type your question in, press enter and it will 0:04:05.390 --> 0:04:08.430 come back with a detailed instructions on how to do that. 0:04:08.430 --> 0:04:11.310 So it's a lot more comprehensive than the old command search. 0:04:11.910 --> 0:04:14.550 What this tip involves is the fact that you can 0:04:14.550 --> 0:04:18.789 also ask your question via voice. So you can go 0:04:19.589 --> 0:04:24.190 jaws keyspace followed by F1 and then go alt shift 0:04:24.230 --> 0:04:28.670 D to activate the dictate button. Speak your question alt 0:04:28.670 --> 0:04:32.270 shift D again to stop the dictation and then tab 0:04:32.270 --> 0:04:36.870 across and press enter to send the query. So where 0:04:36.870 --> 0:04:39.510 you might use this is if you're not exactly sure 0:04:39.510 --> 0:04:42.670 how to spell something. Putting it into the keyboard with 0:04:42.670 --> 0:04:46.430 the keyboard might mean that you end up with results 0:04:46.430 --> 0:04:48.830 you don't want, or it might be that you just 0:04:48.830 --> 0:04:51.630 have a really quick question and you just want an 0:04:51.630 --> 0:04:55.630 answer very fast. Sometimes doing it by voice can be helpful, 0:04:55.670 --> 0:04:59.670 particularly if you're not the world's fastest typist. Or it 0:04:59.780 --> 0:05:01.940 might just be that for what you're trying to do 0:05:01.940 --> 0:05:04.020 at the time, that's the easiest way to get it done. 0:05:04.020 --> 0:05:07.020 It's always nice to have options. There are situations when 0:05:07.140 --> 0:05:10.460 you might want to type it in, because that ensures 0:05:10.460 --> 0:05:12.620 that it is spelt correctly and you don't have to 0:05:12.660 --> 0:05:15.460 think about, will that understand what I'm saying here? That 0:05:15.460 --> 0:05:18.060 kind of thing. But it's it's nice to have the 0:05:18.060 --> 0:05:20.060 option to be able to do it by voice if 0:05:20.100 --> 0:05:22.980 you need to or you want to. So again, alt 0:05:23.020 --> 0:05:26.180 shift D to bring up the dictate button. Speak your 0:05:26.180 --> 0:05:30.460 question alt shift D again to stop dictation and then 0:05:30.580 --> 0:05:33.020 tab across to the the send button. 0:05:33.300 --> 0:05:37.460 Some people may not have used FS companion, it's for freedom. 0:05:37.460 --> 0:05:40.779 Scientific product users. Tell us more about what it can 0:05:40.780 --> 0:05:41.820 provide you with. 0:05:42.340 --> 0:05:44.180 Well, as I said, it can be useful if you 0:05:44.220 --> 0:05:46.539 are doing things like if you want to know what 0:05:46.540 --> 0:05:50.180 the Jaws command or the fusion command is for something, 0:05:50.700 --> 0:05:55.300 it will also provide help on Microsoft products. So you 0:05:55.300 --> 0:05:58.260 might want to know how to do something in outlook, 0:05:58.260 --> 0:06:01.840 for example, or Excel or Word. Uh, you may want 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:03.520 to know things like, you know, how do I create 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:07.440 alt text? Anything really to do with, um, the, the 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:12.400 Vespero products, your Microsoft products, even windows? Very useful for 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:16.480 keyboard shortcuts and, uh, you know, just general information like 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.960 that that you may, you know, for commands that you 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.280 may not use every day and may not have memorized 0:06:21.280 --> 0:06:24.320 that kind of thing. Also, if you can't remember where 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.240 something is in a menu, is the settings center in 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:29.960 the utilities menu or the options menu, you can ask 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.160 where do I find the settings center in Jaws, for example. 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:40.720 PFS companion from Freedom Scientific. Now, when you were at CSUN, 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.680 you saw lots of devices and you've been telling us 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.320 about some of those. There's one that you haven't told 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.520 us about yet and that's called one court. 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.440 That's right. One court. The idea of this is it's 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.950 a way to experience what's happening with the sports game 0:06:59.310 --> 0:07:02.750 using haptics. So it's a touch device, probably about the 0:07:02.750 --> 0:07:06.550 size of an iPad, and it has different rubber overlays 0:07:06.550 --> 0:07:09.990 that go over the top of it to represent different, uh, 0:07:09.990 --> 0:07:13.030 types of sports courts. So whether it's a basketball court 0:07:13.030 --> 0:07:16.870 or a football one or a baseball pitch or whatever 0:07:16.870 --> 0:07:20.110 it might be, and so it has tactile markers that 0:07:20.110 --> 0:07:23.750 indicate where the, the relevant points are, like the goalposts 0:07:23.750 --> 0:07:26.030 or the, the hoop or whatever it might be on 0:07:26.030 --> 0:07:28.750 a basketball court. And the idea then is that you 0:07:28.750 --> 0:07:32.230 place both hands on the surface and you can feel 0:07:32.230 --> 0:07:36.030 what's happening and whereabouts on the court the play is happening. 0:07:36.550 --> 0:07:39.230 It is, I think, in prototype at this stage. We 0:07:39.270 --> 0:07:41.430 don't certainly don't have it here yet, but I think 0:07:41.430 --> 0:07:44.990 it would be a really interesting one for cricket or 0:07:45.110 --> 0:07:48.390 AFL or any of those things. The nice thing about this, 0:07:48.390 --> 0:07:51.630 because there was a trial or a device that was 0:07:51.630 --> 0:07:54.990 in prototype a little while ago that they were trialing 0:07:54.990 --> 0:07:57.380 with the AFL. But the nice thing about this one 0:07:57.380 --> 0:08:01.820 is that it is very much real time. So it'll respond, 0:08:02.140 --> 0:08:05.620 you know, within half a second of the the play 0:08:05.620 --> 0:08:08.220 actually happening. So you don't have the latency that you 0:08:08.220 --> 0:08:11.180 have with the, the other one whose name I can't remember. 0:08:11.700 --> 0:08:13.860 And also the idea is you'll be able to use 0:08:13.860 --> 0:08:15.700 this at home. You don't have to take it to 0:08:15.740 --> 0:08:18.620 the game. In fact, the demo that I saw, they 0:08:18.620 --> 0:08:21.940 were actually just had a couple of pre-recorded, you know, 0:08:21.980 --> 0:08:25.380 videoed sections of a of a baseball game, for example, 0:08:25.380 --> 0:08:28.780 and it was able to follow based on that. I 0:08:28.780 --> 0:08:31.260 think it's one that will be worth watching, Stephen, as 0:08:31.260 --> 0:08:33.420 as time goes on. And I do hope that at 0:08:33.420 --> 0:08:35.379 some point we get it here in Australia. 0:08:35.860 --> 0:08:37.900 Yes, it's good to see that there are a number 0:08:37.900 --> 0:08:42.059 of players having a go at this, providing people with 0:08:42.300 --> 0:08:45.300 coverage of events through a different lens, as it were, 0:08:45.300 --> 0:08:50.700 to supplement or complement the radio commentary. So we'll we'll 0:08:50.699 --> 0:08:52.979 keep an eye out on that one, particularly if it's 0:08:52.979 --> 0:08:55.209 a device that can be used from home. I reckon 0:08:55.209 --> 0:08:56.530 that'll make a real difference. 0:08:56.770 --> 0:08:58.969 Definitely. I think so too. And if we ever do 0:08:59.010 --> 0:09:03.610 get AFL or cricket covered here using it, I will 0:09:03.609 --> 0:09:04.809 definitely be buying one. 0:09:05.130 --> 0:09:08.209 So this particular one is called one quart. 0:09:08.569 --> 0:09:10.530 That's right. One quart. Yep. 0:09:11.449 --> 0:09:13.969 Now, Damo, to something I've been meaning to ask you 0:09:13.969 --> 0:09:18.050 about for over a month, but you've been very busy. 0:09:19.050 --> 0:09:23.449 Cyclone Alfred, uh, impacted on a lot of people up 0:09:23.449 --> 0:09:27.530 in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. And I 0:09:27.530 --> 0:09:31.009 was one of those thinking of my blind friends, uh, 0:09:31.010 --> 0:09:37.329 surviving through that incredible ordeal. Tell us how it was 0:09:37.609 --> 0:09:41.449 for you and your wife, Marion, and in particular, what 0:09:41.449 --> 0:09:43.449 you did in the technology space? 0:09:44.170 --> 0:09:48.130 Good question. We, I think, were fairly well prepared, and 0:09:48.130 --> 0:09:51.770 we're probably a little bit lucky in that we had 0:09:51.770 --> 0:09:54.829 some of the technology because of our interest in caravanning 0:09:54.829 --> 0:09:58.429 and camping. But we did lose power. But what we 0:09:58.429 --> 0:10:01.990 were able to do was we a couple of years ago, 0:10:01.990 --> 0:10:04.469 just as a preventative measure, because we do get sort 0:10:04.469 --> 0:10:06.830 of summer storms and things that will take our power 0:10:06.829 --> 0:10:10.709 out from time to time. I got a transfer switch 0:10:10.750 --> 0:10:13.709 fitted into our power box at home. So it's a 0:10:13.709 --> 0:10:17.670 three position switch. The top position is mains power, the 0:10:17.670 --> 0:10:21.269 middle position is off, and the bottom position allows me 0:10:21.270 --> 0:10:25.029 to connect a generator and run some of the circuits 0:10:25.150 --> 0:10:29.670 in our house. We've then got a portable generator, which 0:10:29.790 --> 0:10:33.670 for someone who hasn't seen them, the modern inverter generators 0:10:33.709 --> 0:10:37.349 are pretty safe for us to use. They look a 0:10:37.349 --> 0:10:41.189 little bit like a large plastic suitcase. Uh, the particular 0:10:41.189 --> 0:10:43.589 one we have has a handle and some wheels so 0:10:43.589 --> 0:10:46.989 you can pull it along. It has some power points 0:10:46.990 --> 0:10:49.589 at one end, a fuel cap on the top and 0:10:49.589 --> 0:10:54.020 a carry handle, a couple of Switches, and then your 0:10:54.059 --> 0:10:58.220 recoil start and your stop levers on one side and 0:10:58.219 --> 0:11:01.420 the exhaust at the other end. So there's really the 0:11:01.420 --> 0:11:04.300 only part that's dangerous to touch. And it's only maybe 0:11:04.300 --> 0:11:06.859 the diameter of a ten cent piece is the exhaust. 0:11:07.380 --> 0:11:09.619 The rest of it is all cool touch and you're 0:11:09.620 --> 0:11:12.859 not going to fry yourself. The idea is that we 0:11:13.459 --> 0:11:16.699 use an extension lead plug the generator into the into 0:11:16.699 --> 0:11:20.380 our power box. Flick the switch down. Start the generator 0:11:20.380 --> 0:11:25.420 up and then we can run our kettle, the microwave, 0:11:25.459 --> 0:11:31.699 the toaster, our talking induction hob, all of those sorts 0:11:31.699 --> 0:11:34.500 of things. But more importantly, we can keep things like 0:11:34.500 --> 0:11:39.460 the laptop running. We can keep our internet router going, uh, 0:11:39.660 --> 0:11:42.459 you know, and we can charge our phones and our 0:11:42.500 --> 0:11:45.179 battery operated radios and all of those things. So it 0:11:45.179 --> 0:11:48.819 means you can keep your communication alive. You've still got 0:11:48.859 --> 0:11:51.689 access to information. You know, we can sort of have 0:11:51.689 --> 0:11:56.050 a keep the ABC on or whatever, and also that 0:11:56.050 --> 0:11:59.170 we can keep our fridges and freezer running so that 0:11:59.170 --> 0:12:02.130 we don't lose food and we're not worried about food spoilage. 0:12:02.130 --> 0:12:05.290 So that made a massive difference to us, all of 0:12:05.290 --> 0:12:08.010 those options. There are other ways you can do it. 0:12:08.010 --> 0:12:11.769 There are some very sort of high capacity, uh, they 0:12:11.770 --> 0:12:15.129 call them portable power stations that can do the same thing. 0:12:15.250 --> 0:12:18.050 You can plug two 40 volt appliances and things in, 0:12:18.050 --> 0:12:21.210 and they have a solar panel to charge. I guess 0:12:21.209 --> 0:12:23.450 the beauty of the generator is if it's still raining, 0:12:23.449 --> 0:12:27.020 you've still got power. And we can get about 8 0:12:27.020 --> 0:12:30.130 or 9 hours to a four litre tank of fuel 0:12:30.170 --> 0:12:32.089 on the generator. And then it's just a question of 0:12:32.089 --> 0:12:36.410 refilling it from a jerry can with a spout or 0:12:36.449 --> 0:12:40.369 using a siphon pump. So that made a massive difference 0:12:40.370 --> 0:12:43.970 to us. Getting the transfer switch wasn't expensive. I think 0:12:43.969 --> 0:12:46.809 it cost us about 6 or $700, and it just 0:12:46.809 --> 0:12:49.009 meant that we could still cook, we could make sure 0:12:49.010 --> 0:12:53.080 our food stayed fresh and we still had full communication 0:12:53.079 --> 0:12:56.000 and and could keep all our devices charged. We were 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.599 without power for about two two and a half days, 0:12:58.599 --> 0:13:01.839 and that would have been long enough for us to 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.439 potentially lose everything in the freezer. And it would have 0:13:04.439 --> 0:13:07.079 been a long time to not be able to get 0:13:07.079 --> 0:13:09.520 internet access to check on, you know, when our power 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.839 was coming back and what the weather was doing and 0:13:12.839 --> 0:13:16.080 all of those sorts of things. So it definitely made 0:13:16.079 --> 0:13:19.119 a big difference to us during that, that storm and 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:24.000 just the the peace of mind of, uh, feeling prepared 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.760 and knowing that, okay, if the power goes out, that's okay. We, 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.040 we we don't have to live on cold baked beans 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:30.199 for 2 or 3 days. 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.400 If your mains power had been out for, say, a week, 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.199 would that still have been okay? Or could you only 0:13:36.199 --> 0:13:37.999 go for 2 or 3 days this way? 0:13:38.359 --> 0:13:40.839 No. As long as I had enough fuel, um, I 0:13:40.839 --> 0:13:44.280 can I could survive for as long as we needed. Really? Uh, 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.520 I had, I think about 30l of fuel, so I 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.940 had a few days worth of fuel, but my plan B, 0:13:50.979 --> 0:13:52.980 if the power was out for longer, would have just 0:13:52.979 --> 0:13:56.740 been to hop in a cab, find a service station 0:13:56.740 --> 0:14:00.619 that had power, and and top up the jerry cans. 0:14:00.699 --> 0:14:05.179 Well, good on you, Daymo surviving cyclone Alfred. Before we go. 0:14:05.219 --> 0:14:07.579 A reminder to people that you can find details of 0:14:07.579 --> 0:14:10.579 what we've been talking about in this and previous editions 0:14:10.579 --> 0:14:18.820 of the program by going to VA radio. VA. To 0:14:18.859 --> 0:14:19.900 write to the program. 0:14:20.180 --> 0:14:28.540 You can email me. At Vision Australia. 0:14:31.180 --> 0:14:35.259 At Vision Australia. This has been talking tech with me 0:14:35.300 --> 0:14:39.940 has been Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damien McMorrow. 0:14:40.100 --> 0:14:43.140 I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk more tech next week. 0:14:43.180 --> 0:14:43.660 See you.