S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: April the 15th, 2025. I'm Stephen Jolly, great to have
S1: you with us listening through Vision Australia Radio, associated Stations
S1: of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network.
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S1: need to do is search for the two words talking tech.
S1: And it can all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon
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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 manager. Access technology. Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo.
S2: G'day, Stephen.
S1: Let's start by talking about another AI advance. This one
S1: with ChatGPT.
S2: You might remember a few episodes ago we talked a
S2: little bit about notebook LLM and the fact that it
S2: was an AI powered research assistant that allowed you to
S2: add sort of content related to a particular topic into notebooks. Well,
S2: ChatGPT have now sort of copied that functionality. They call
S2: them projects. The idea is that if you're doing research
S2: on a particular topic, you ask a number of questions.
S2: You can put those answers into a project, and then
S2: you can go back to that at a later date
S2: and open that project up and continue asking questions, uh,
S2: or doing doing further research. And what it does is
S2: it will remember the things that you've uploaded in relation
S2: to that project. So you might have uploaded pictures or
S2: manuals or any number of other things, and it'll also
S2: remember the information that it's already given you so that
S2: you can build on that. It allows you to sort
S2: of group the content, um, because, you know, people use
S2: these things a lot and for a number of different things,
S2: and sometimes you want to go back to it, you know,
S2: particularly if you're using it for coding or, you know,
S2: using it for information about a piece of radio equipment,
S2: which is one of my primary uses. You know, what's
S2: the the keyboard layout for this? How do you enter
S2: a frequency here? Those kinds of things. You know, I
S2: could I could set up a project for a particular
S2: piece of radio equipment and gradually build on it as
S2: I discover that I need to know more information. So
S2: quite a handy feature. And it is available in both
S2: the web version of ChatGPT and also the ChatGPT app
S2: that you can access from your smartphone.
S1: That sounds like a good way of keeping track of
S1: what you've asked before.
S2: Definitely. I think you'll find it handy, given that you've
S2: been using it quite a bit for Linux and that
S2: kind of thing. You can sort of go back to
S2: it and group all of your little, you know, interesting
S2: tidbits about Linux that you've picked up.
S1: So let's just recap again for everyone. That one.
S2: So it is uh, a feature called projects and it
S2: is part of ChatGPT. So you can add particular answers,
S2: questions and answers, or things that you've uploaded to a
S2: project and give it a name so that you can
S2: go back to it at a later date.
S1: A ChatGPT subscription would be required for this feature.
S2: Yes, I believe so. At this stage, yes, they may,
S2: as they often do, sort of move it down to
S2: the free tier at some point, but at this stage
S2: I believe it's a paid feature.
S1: Let's talk about another AI tool now, a sort of
S1: closer to home. It's from Freedom Scientific, EFF's companion.
S2: Yes, this is just a little tip for people. The
S2: EFF's companion feature is something that came out with Jaws
S2: and Fusion 2025, and it allows you to ask questions
S2: about those products. So, for example, if you wanted to
S2: know how do I name row and column titles in
S2: Excel enjoys, you could go jaws Keyspace followed by F1
S2: and it'll pop up the FFS companion webpage and you
S2: can type your question in, press enter and it will
S2: come back with a detailed instructions on how to do that.
S2: So it's a lot more comprehensive than the old command search.
S2: What this tip involves is the fact that you can
S2: also ask your question via voice. So you can go
S2: jaws keyspace followed by F1 and then go alt shift
S2: D to activate the dictate button. Speak your question alt
S2: shift D again to stop the dictation and then tab
S2: across and press enter to send the query. So where
S2: you might use this is if you're not exactly sure
S2: how to spell something. Putting it into the keyboard with
S2: the keyboard might mean that you end up with results
S2: you don't want, or it might be that you just
S2: have a really quick question and you just want an
S2: answer very fast. Sometimes doing it by voice can be helpful,
S2: particularly if you're not the world's fastest typist. Or it
S2: might just be that for what you're trying to do
S2: at the time, that's the easiest way to get it done.
S2: It's always nice to have options. There are situations when
S2: you might want to type it in, because that ensures
S2: that it is spelt correctly and you don't have to
S2: think about, will that understand what I'm saying here? That
S2: kind of thing. But it's it's nice to have the
S2: option to be able to do it by voice if
S2: you need to or you want to. So again, alt
S2: shift D to bring up the dictate button. Speak your
S2: question alt shift D again to stop dictation and then
S2: tab across to the the send button.
S1: Some people may not have used FS companion, it's for freedom.
S1: Scientific product users. Tell us more about what it can
S1: provide you with.
S2: Well, as I said, it can be useful if you
S2: are doing things like if you want to know what
S2: the Jaws command or the fusion command is for something,
S2: it will also provide help on Microsoft products. So you
S2: might want to know how to do something in outlook,
S2: for example, or Excel or Word. Uh, you may want
S2: to know things like, you know, how do I create
S2: alt text? Anything really to do with, um, the, the
S2: Vespero products, your Microsoft products, even windows? Very useful for
S2: keyboard shortcuts and, uh, you know, just general information like
S2: that that you may, you know, for commands that you
S2: may not use every day and may not have memorized
S2: that kind of thing. Also, if you can't remember where
S2: something is in a menu, is the settings center in
S2: the utilities menu or the options menu, you can ask
S2: where do I find the settings center in Jaws, for example.
S1: PFS companion from Freedom Scientific. Now, when you were at CSUN,
S1: you saw lots of devices and you've been telling us
S1: about some of those. There's one that you haven't told
S1: us about yet and that's called one court.
S2: That's right. One court. The idea of this is it's
S2: a way to experience what's happening with the sports game
S2: using haptics. So it's a touch device, probably about the
S2: size of an iPad, and it has different rubber overlays
S2: that go over the top of it to represent different, uh,
S2: types of sports courts. So whether it's a basketball court
S2: or a football one or a baseball pitch or whatever
S2: it might be, and so it has tactile markers that
S2: indicate where the, the relevant points are, like the goalposts
S2: or the, the hoop or whatever it might be on
S2: a basketball court. And the idea then is that you
S2: place both hands on the surface and you can feel
S2: what's happening and whereabouts on the court the play is happening.
S2: It is, I think, in prototype at this stage. We
S2: don't certainly don't have it here yet, but I think
S2: it would be a really interesting one for cricket or
S2: AFL or any of those things. The nice thing about this,
S2: because there was a trial or a device that was
S2: in prototype a little while ago that they were trialing
S2: with the AFL. But the nice thing about this one
S2: is that it is very much real time. So it'll respond,
S2: you know, within half a second of the the play
S2: actually happening. So you don't have the latency that you
S2: have with the, the other one whose name I can't remember.
S2: And also the idea is you'll be able to use
S2: this at home. You don't have to take it to
S2: the game. In fact, the demo that I saw, they
S2: were actually just had a couple of pre-recorded, you know,
S2: videoed sections of a of a baseball game, for example,
S2: and it was able to follow based on that. I
S2: think it's one that will be worth watching, Stephen, as
S2: as time goes on. And I do hope that at
S2: some point we get it here in Australia.
S1: Yes, it's good to see that there are a number
S1: of players having a go at this, providing people with
S1: coverage of events through a different lens, as it were,
S1: to supplement or complement the radio commentary. So we'll we'll
S1: keep an eye out on that one, particularly if it's
S1: a device that can be used from home. I reckon
S1: that'll make a real difference.
S2: Definitely. I think so too. And if we ever do
S2: get AFL or cricket covered here using it, I will
S2: definitely be buying one.
S1: So this particular one is called one quart.
S2: That's right. One quart. Yep.
S1: Now, Damo, to something I've been meaning to ask you
S1: about for over a month, but you've been very busy.
S1: Cyclone Alfred, uh, impacted on a lot of people up
S1: in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. And I
S1: was one of those thinking of my blind friends, uh,
S1: surviving through that incredible ordeal. Tell us how it was
S1: for you and your wife, Marion, and in particular, what
S1: you did in the technology space?
S2: Good question. We, I think, were fairly well prepared, and
S2: we're probably a little bit lucky in that we had
S2: some of the technology because of our interest in caravanning
S2: and camping. But we did lose power. But what we
S2: were able to do was we a couple of years ago,
S2: just as a preventative measure, because we do get sort
S2: of summer storms and things that will take our power
S2: out from time to time. I got a transfer switch
S2: fitted into our power box at home. So it's a
S2: three position switch. The top position is mains power, the
S2: middle position is off, and the bottom position allows me
S2: to connect a generator and run some of the circuits
S2: in our house. We've then got a portable generator, which
S2: for someone who hasn't seen them, the modern inverter generators
S2: are pretty safe for us to use. They look a
S2: little bit like a large plastic suitcase. Uh, the particular
S2: one we have has a handle and some wheels so
S2: you can pull it along. It has some power points
S2: at one end, a fuel cap on the top and
S2: a carry handle, a couple of Switches, and then your
S2: recoil start and your stop levers on one side and
S2: the exhaust at the other end. So there's really the
S2: only part that's dangerous to touch. And it's only maybe
S2: the diameter of a ten cent piece is the exhaust.
S2: The rest of it is all cool touch and you're
S2: not going to fry yourself. The idea is that we
S2: use an extension lead plug the generator into the into
S2: our power box. Flick the switch down. Start the generator
S2: up and then we can run our kettle, the microwave,
S2: the toaster, our talking induction hob, all of those sorts
S2: of things. But more importantly, we can keep things like
S2: the laptop running. We can keep our internet router going, uh,
S2: you know, and we can charge our phones and our
S2: battery operated radios and all of those things. So it
S2: means you can keep your communication alive. You've still got
S2: access to information. You know, we can sort of have
S2: a keep the ABC on or whatever, and also that
S2: we can keep our fridges and freezer running so that
S2: we don't lose food and we're not worried about food spoilage.
S2: So that made a massive difference to us, all of
S2: those options. There are other ways you can do it.
S2: There are some very sort of high capacity, uh, they
S2: call them portable power stations that can do the same thing.
S2: You can plug two 40 volt appliances and things in,
S2: and they have a solar panel to charge. I guess
S2: the beauty of the generator is if it's still raining,
S2: you've still got power. And we can get about 8
S2: or 9 hours to a four litre tank of fuel
S2: on the generator. And then it's just a question of
S2: refilling it from a jerry can with a spout or
S2: using a siphon pump. So that made a massive difference
S2: to us. Getting the transfer switch wasn't expensive. I think
S2: it cost us about 6 or $700, and it just
S2: meant that we could still cook, we could make sure
S2: our food stayed fresh and we still had full communication
S2: and and could keep all our devices charged. We were
S2: without power for about two two and a half days,
S2: and that would have been long enough for us to
S2: potentially lose everything in the freezer. And it would have
S2: been a long time to not be able to get
S2: internet access to check on, you know, when our power
S2: was coming back and what the weather was doing and
S2: all of those sorts of things. So it definitely made
S2: a big difference to us during that, that storm and
S2: just the the peace of mind of, uh, feeling prepared
S2: and knowing that, okay, if the power goes out, that's okay. We,
S2: we we don't have to live on cold baked beans
S2: for 2 or 3 days.
S1: If your mains power had been out for, say, a week,
S1: would that still have been okay? Or could you only
S1: go for 2 or 3 days this way?
S2: No. As long as I had enough fuel, um, I
S2: can I could survive for as long as we needed. Really? Uh,
S2: I had, I think about 30l of fuel, so I
S2: had a few days worth of fuel, but my plan B,
S2: if the power was out for longer, would have just
S2: been to hop in a cab, find a service station
S2: that had power, and and top up the jerry cans.
S1: Well, good on you, Daymo surviving cyclone Alfred. Before we go.
S1: A reminder to people that you can find details of
S1: what we've been talking about in this and previous editions
S1: of the program by going to VA radio. VA. To
S1: write to the program.
S2: You can email me. At Vision Australia.
S1: At Vision Australia. This has been talking tech with me
S1: has been Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damien McMorrow.
S1: I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk more tech next week.
S1: See you.