WEBVTT - Talking Tech 3rd December 2024 0:00:07.910 --> 0:00:12.020 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:12.020 --> 0:00:15.830 December the 3rd, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:15.829 --> 0:00:19.400 you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.970 stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.700 There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you 0:00:25.700 --> 0:00:28.280 need to do is search for the two words. Talking 0:00:28.310 --> 0:00:31.820 tech and Dan O'Connell. Come usually on a Tuesday afternoon 0:00:31.820 --> 0:00:35.060 just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask 0:00:35.089 --> 0:00:38.269 your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia 0:00:38.269 --> 0:00:43.909 radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast. 0:00:43.909 --> 0:00:50.239 With me. Vision Australia's national access technology manager. Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo. 0:00:50.419 --> 0:00:51.650 Hi, Stephen. 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:56.690 Damo, let's talk about buying a PC. There has to 0:00:56.690 --> 0:00:59.929 be done from time to time, particularly as some of 0:00:59.930 --> 0:01:04.039 us may still be using Windows 10 machines. And to 0:01:04.070 --> 0:01:08.250 get into Windows 11 you need a different machine. Explain 0:01:08.250 --> 0:01:10.170 what the state of the world is now for buying 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:11.730 a new windows PC. 0:01:11.759 --> 0:01:16.470 Sure, and I went through this process myself this week. 0:01:16.470 --> 0:01:19.380 I the machine that I was using developed a fault 0:01:19.380 --> 0:01:22.740 with the charging port, and I had to. I've got 0:01:22.740 --> 0:01:24.809 to send it away to Sydney, and I can't really 0:01:24.810 --> 0:01:27.240 be without a computer for 3 or 4 weeks while 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:30.359 all of that happens. So I sort of went through 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:35.100 the process myself and quite a bit has changed. So 0:01:35.250 --> 0:01:40.110 there's a couple of changes in terms of the processes. 0:01:40.110 --> 0:01:45.509 So um, we have the usual sort of Intel i5 0:01:45.509 --> 0:01:49.830 and i7, but then there's a newer generation, which they 0:01:49.830 --> 0:01:54.630 call an ultra core or U5 and U7 processor. And 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.440 these are sort of particularly prevalent in laptops. So they're 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.500 designed to be a lower power processor, but they also 0:02:01.500 --> 0:02:07.380 have a number of different processor cores for accomplishing different tasks. 0:02:07.380 --> 0:02:11.760 So it's supposed to make the machines more responsive overall, 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:16.530 but particularly with artificial intelligence or AI tasks. 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.470 People tend to buy laptops these days. Is there a 0:02:19.470 --> 0:02:21.300 reason to be getting a desktop? 0:02:21.330 --> 0:02:24.000 Well, personally, I don't think there is. I've been using 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:28.500 laptops as desktop replacements for quite a while now. Um, 0:02:28.650 --> 0:02:33.180 and yeah, I don't think there's really any need. I 0:02:33.210 --> 0:02:35.910 guess the only reason that you might consider a desktop 0:02:35.910 --> 0:02:38.160 is if you don't ever bother with a monitor, and 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:39.960 you just kind of want a box that can sit 0:02:39.990 --> 0:02:42.840 under the under the desk somewhere and you don't ever 0:02:42.870 --> 0:02:46.260 want to take it with you. But from my point 0:02:46.260 --> 0:02:48.840 of view, yes, I have my laptop here and it's 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.270 hooked up to my mixer. It's hooked up to my 0:02:51.270 --> 0:02:54.870 amateur radio gear. But equally, if I just want to 0:02:54.900 --> 0:02:57.419 sit on the couch and look something up while I'm 0:02:57.450 --> 0:03:00.090 sort of half watching television or whatever, it gives me 0:03:00.090 --> 0:03:03.420 the the luxury to be able to do that. Also, 0:03:03.420 --> 0:03:06.150 because Marion and I have a caravan. Sometimes I'll take 0:03:06.150 --> 0:03:08.250 the computer away with me and do a bit of tinkering. 0:03:08.250 --> 0:03:10.990 If we have a rainy afternoon where it's not good 0:03:10.990 --> 0:03:12.550 weather for going to the beach. 0:03:12.550 --> 0:03:15.490 And the laptops can run for hours on end like 0:03:15.490 --> 0:03:16.389 desktops do. 0:03:16.420 --> 0:03:19.390 Yeah they can. I mean, I've sometimes run mine for 0:03:19.390 --> 0:03:23.110 weeks at a time and not really had a problem. 0:03:23.110 --> 0:03:25.960 The cooling these days is a lot more efficient than 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.160 it used to be. So I think that it's no problem. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.190 The only thing probably to be aware of is to 0:03:33.220 --> 0:03:36.940 exercise the battery from time to time, rather than leaving 0:03:36.940 --> 0:03:39.130 it plugged in and charging just so that you don't 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.400 sort of shorten the life of the battery. The laptops 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.580 do tend to have pretty good battery management these days, 0:03:45.580 --> 0:03:47.290 but it's still not a bad idea. 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.330 Now you were talking about the processes. 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.790 Yes. So the other thing that you'll see, if you 0:03:51.820 --> 0:03:54.340 particularly if you're, you know, looking at a lot of 0:03:54.340 --> 0:03:58.150 the kind of Black Friday type sales that we're seeing 0:03:58.150 --> 0:04:00.010 around at the moment and those sorts of things. And 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.490 of course, then we'll have Boxing Day sales. You'll see, 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:09.430 particularly the Microsoft devices are advertised as Co-Pilot PCs. And 0:04:09.430 --> 0:04:13.760 when I say Microsoft devices. I'm talking Surface Pros, the laptops, 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.989 the studio laptop family of machines. Microsoft have made an 0:04:17.990 --> 0:04:23.750 interesting move in that they have moved away from Intel processors, 0:04:23.750 --> 0:04:29.120 which they've been using for many years, to the Snapdragon 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:34.280 family of processors, sometimes also called ARM or ARM processors. 0:04:34.310 --> 0:04:36.530 The main reason is to sort of try and compete 0:04:36.530 --> 0:04:39.560 with Apple and that sort of thing in terms of 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:43.490 battery life and cooling and some of those things, and 0:04:43.490 --> 0:04:47.810 also again, with the focus on AI. So with a 0:04:47.810 --> 0:04:50.570 co-pilot PC, the one, the couple of differences. One is 0:04:50.570 --> 0:04:53.720 obviously the processor. The other is that what used to 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.390 be the applications key on a lot of machines has 0:04:56.390 --> 0:05:00.470 been retasked as the co-pilot key. So it launches Copilot, 0:05:00.470 --> 0:05:03.680 which is Microsoft's AI based assistant. 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.080 So what about assistive tech? How does that go with 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:09.469 these processors or Snapdragon machines? 0:05:09.590 --> 0:05:12.120 There are a few things to be aware of. You 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.510 do need a particular version of Windows 11 to be 0:05:15.510 --> 0:05:20.820 compatible with these processors. Jaws works okay. Again, there's a 0:05:20.820 --> 0:05:25.920 separate sort of version of Jaws for that. Zoomtext unfortunately 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.790 doesn't though, so if you if you are using Zoomtext, 0:05:29.940 --> 0:05:32.790 you really probably do need to at this point in time, 0:05:32.790 --> 0:05:37.110 stick with the Intel family, the i5, i7 or U5 0:05:37.110 --> 0:05:38.970 and U7 type processors. 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:40.860 That's going to have to change though, isn't it? 0:05:40.950 --> 0:05:43.860 It is. And I think in time it definitely will. 0:05:43.890 --> 0:05:46.860 But I guess the thing to remember is that this 0:05:46.860 --> 0:05:49.950 is a fairly significant change on the part of Microsoft. 0:05:49.950 --> 0:05:53.280 It's fairly recent. And so I think as time goes on, 0:05:53.280 --> 0:05:58.140 we'll probably start to see greater compatibility. There's also some 0:05:58.140 --> 0:06:02.070 issues around some games and some of the sort of 0:06:02.100 --> 0:06:06.570 slightly more unusual apps, um, where, you know, you'll occasionally 0:06:06.570 --> 0:06:09.630 run into things with the ARM processors that just don't work. 0:06:09.630 --> 0:06:12.089 So it is something to be aware of if you're 0:06:12.090 --> 0:06:14.580 a Jaws user and the battery life is a consideration, 0:06:14.580 --> 0:06:16.620 by all means, go for it. But if you're using 0:06:16.620 --> 0:06:20.880 zoom text. Uh. I you know, you really need to 0:06:20.910 --> 0:06:22.620 hold off, at least at this stage. 0:06:22.620 --> 0:06:25.500 So what's the best way to make this purchase online? 0:06:25.530 --> 0:06:26.850 Go to a store. 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:29.400 I still like to go to a store and have 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:33.030 a look at the keyboard and the sound. Um, but again, 0:06:33.060 --> 0:06:35.820 that's just me. Um, I still like to know that 0:06:35.820 --> 0:06:39.330 the keyboard layout is something that I'm comfortable with. You know, 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.700 the key travel is nice and those sorts of things, 0:06:41.700 --> 0:06:44.580 and that the thing has reasonable speakers. And if you've 0:06:44.580 --> 0:06:46.620 got some vision, obviously, to have a look at the 0:06:46.620 --> 0:06:48.960 quality of the screen, whether it's bright enough for you 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:52.050 or too bright and those kinds of things. So call 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.750 me a bit of a traditionalist or a dinosaur, but 0:06:54.750 --> 0:06:56.640 I still like to actually have a look at what 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:58.589 I'm buying and check that I'm going to be happy 0:06:58.590 --> 0:07:01.230 with it. But having said that, you know, you can 0:07:01.260 --> 0:07:03.510 buy plenty of things online. You know, if you do 0:07:03.540 --> 0:07:06.839 your research, um, you know, and you don't want to 0:07:06.840 --> 0:07:09.300 traipse around the shops and have a look, um, by 0:07:09.300 --> 0:07:11.340 all means, you know, there's plenty of places where you 0:07:11.340 --> 0:07:14.520 can buy on online, but I still like to have 0:07:14.550 --> 0:07:16.410 a bit of a hands on with what I'm buying 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:18.180 and make sure that I'm comfortable with it. 0:07:18.210 --> 0:07:22.110 So there's some things to think about when considering purchasing 0:07:22.110 --> 0:07:28.710 a new windows PC. Let's move to a Humanware development now. 0:07:28.710 --> 0:07:32.370 And the Mantis Braille Display product, which has been around 0:07:32.370 --> 0:07:34.440 for a while. A major upgrade. 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:39.150 Yes. So the mantis is the human Wes 40 cell 0:07:39.180 --> 0:07:41.970 braille display that comes equipped with a Qwerty keyboard, as 0:07:41.970 --> 0:07:45.960 opposed to the Perkins style keyboard that you have on 0:07:45.990 --> 0:07:52.350 their brilliant family of products. The. The latest development is 0:07:52.350 --> 0:07:56.940 that the December update will add text to speech to 0:07:56.970 --> 0:07:59.340 the mantis family of devices. We've had it on the 0:07:59.340 --> 0:08:03.120 brilliant for some time, but the mantis up to now 0:08:03.150 --> 0:08:06.510 has not included text to speech, so I think this 0:08:06.510 --> 0:08:10.440 will actually be quite a significant update. There is a 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:14.130 webinar which is happening on the 2nd of December, but 0:08:14.130 --> 0:08:16.870 you should be able to find a recording of that 0:08:16.900 --> 0:08:20.230 on Humanware website. If you want to sort of see 0:08:20.230 --> 0:08:23.920 that in action and and understand what that update means. 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:27.340 But I think for mantis users who perhaps want to 0:08:27.370 --> 0:08:30.070 use their machine in a little more of a standalone 0:08:30.070 --> 0:08:33.429 context as a sort of a note taker replacement, if 0:08:33.429 --> 0:08:36.190 you like, I think that this should be quite a 0:08:36.189 --> 0:08:37.329 significant update. 0:08:37.329 --> 0:08:41.319 That's the Mantis Braille display from Humanware and a major update. 0:08:42.189 --> 0:08:46.569 Now let's talk about Rim. Quite a package really it is. 0:08:46.569 --> 0:08:48.370 So we have talked a little about it before. It 0:08:48.370 --> 0:08:51.309 stands for Remote Incident Manager. And it's a product from 0:08:51.309 --> 0:08:58.329 Pneuma Solutions that's pneuma Solutions. And it's designed to allow 0:08:58.329 --> 0:09:02.800 you to provide or receive remote support. So for example, 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.559 if I if my mom is having a problem with 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:08.619 her computer, I can log into it even though she 0:09:08.620 --> 0:09:11.019 doesn't have a screen reader on the machine. And I 0:09:11.020 --> 0:09:13.599 can fix whatever problem she's having, or have a look 0:09:13.630 --> 0:09:15.550 at an email for her and determine if it's a 0:09:15.550 --> 0:09:18.350 scam or something like that. So I use it a 0:09:18.349 --> 0:09:24.469 lot for remotely accessing my own computer if I'm away 0:09:24.469 --> 0:09:29.000 from home, but also members of the family. It's also useful, 0:09:29.030 --> 0:09:31.459 you know, if you, um, if you need to receive 0:09:31.490 --> 0:09:34.009 tech support from time to time, it's a good way 0:09:34.010 --> 0:09:38.359 of doing it. And even services like IRA now use 0:09:38.359 --> 0:09:40.159 that as a way of connecting to your machine to 0:09:40.189 --> 0:09:43.130 help you with, you know, something like an inaccessible web 0:09:43.130 --> 0:09:47.809 shop or something like that. So Numa have announced an 0:09:47.809 --> 0:09:51.349 update this week. There is now some AI tools available 0:09:51.349 --> 0:09:56.209 from the Rim dashboard. So there's three AI tools that 0:09:56.209 --> 0:10:01.490 you can access. One is the Ask Microsoft Accessibility AI tool. 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:06.379 There's also the PFS companion tool from Vespero. And Rim 0:10:06.380 --> 0:10:11.719 have their own tool called Rimbert. And it's designed, I guess, 0:10:11.719 --> 0:10:14.179 to help someone. If you're trying to solve a technical problem, 0:10:14.179 --> 0:10:16.400 you can quickly look something up while you're in a 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:20.839 Rim session. So for example, I typed in to the 0:10:20.839 --> 0:10:23.839 rim bot how do I build a recovery drive for 0:10:23.839 --> 0:10:25.939 Windows 11? It's something I always do when I get 0:10:25.939 --> 0:10:29.540 a new PC, and within about 2 or 3 seconds 0:10:29.540 --> 0:10:32.150 it gave me a very nice step by step guide. 0:10:32.150 --> 0:10:35.420 So it's a would be a great sort of technical 0:10:35.420 --> 0:10:40.429 troubleshooting type resource if you were providing support using Rim. 0:10:40.459 --> 0:10:44.569 It works on windows machines. What about Apple MacBooks? 0:10:45.140 --> 0:10:48.410 Um, there is a mac version, but as far as 0:10:48.410 --> 0:10:51.079 I know, they still haven't addressed a couple of the 0:10:51.079 --> 0:10:56.660 issues that they were having with the Mac OS Sequoia. Um, 0:10:56.689 --> 0:10:59.539 there are a couple of compatibility problems with it, but 0:10:59.540 --> 0:11:03.710 certainly it runs absolutely fine on earlier Macs. And I 0:11:03.709 --> 0:11:07.070 think if you are using a mac as the controlling machine, 0:11:07.069 --> 0:11:10.189 so you're the person providing help, I believe it's okay. 0:11:10.219 --> 0:11:13.010 I think it's mostly, um, if you're trying to connect 0:11:13.010 --> 0:11:15.650 to someone who's who's using a mac and provide help 0:11:15.650 --> 0:11:18.469 for them. Um, that's my understanding. So that one is 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:20.309 has still not been resolved. 0:11:20.339 --> 0:11:24.120 It's fascinating how we've had this year the appearance of 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:28.469 these AI help products. It's been quite a thing this year, 0:11:28.469 --> 0:11:30.780 hasn't it? The development of these products. 0:11:30.809 --> 0:11:33.689 Yes. Yeah. And it's and you know, we're also going 0:11:33.719 --> 0:11:36.629 to be seeing that in iOS 18.2 with the Apple 0:11:36.630 --> 0:11:40.589 intelligence which is their sort of AI platform. Uh Google 0:11:40.589 --> 0:11:44.100 Gemini as well. Um, there's so many to choose from now. 0:11:44.099 --> 0:11:47.189 And it's really, I think, probably been one of the 0:11:47.189 --> 0:11:50.189 biggest developments in tech in the last sort of five 0:11:50.189 --> 0:11:51.120 years or so. 0:11:51.329 --> 0:11:54.179 Have you been using them much in your daily work? 0:11:54.390 --> 0:11:57.059 I do a little bit, yes. Um, I certainly use 0:11:57.059 --> 0:12:01.740 Microsoft Copilot sometimes just to summarize things for me. Um, 0:12:01.740 --> 0:12:04.050 we've been going through the process at the moment of 0:12:04.050 --> 0:12:07.319 selling a property and even just to have it summarize 0:12:07.349 --> 0:12:10.410 a contract or, you know, be able to ask questions 0:12:10.410 --> 0:12:13.410 about particular terms of a contract, that kind of thing, 0:12:13.410 --> 0:12:16.979 without having to trawl through 40 pages of legal speak, 0:12:17.010 --> 0:12:20.950 you know, stuff like that. Um, I find it really handy. 0:12:21.010 --> 0:12:24.459 Mhm. Yes. It's quite, quite an amazing thing how you 0:12:24.459 --> 0:12:28.120 don't have to search stuff out so much now. It'll 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.009 steer you in the right direction. And you might go 0:12:30.010 --> 0:12:33.490 to those places for more detailed research sometimes. But it 0:12:33.490 --> 0:12:35.109 gets you well on the way, doesn't it? 0:12:35.170 --> 0:12:38.079 It does. And even little things like using a piece 0:12:38.079 --> 0:12:40.660 of ham radio equipment. And I wanted to know how 0:12:40.660 --> 0:12:43.000 to how to enter a frequency. And it was an 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:46.390 old piece of equipment from the early 2000. I didn't 0:12:46.390 --> 0:12:48.699 have a manual for it because I'd got it second hand, 0:12:48.699 --> 0:12:52.179 but I was able to ask ChatGPT some questions and 0:12:52.179 --> 0:12:54.040 figure out how to do the things that I needed 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:54.610 to do. 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:56.859 Is it becoming a challenge for you to decide which 0:12:56.890 --> 0:12:59.559 of these AI tools to call on at any time? 0:12:59.589 --> 0:13:03.189 Sometimes I would say it is. I probably my go 0:13:03.189 --> 0:13:07.720 to would would be copilot or ChatGPT, depending on what 0:13:07.719 --> 0:13:10.359 context I'm using it. But you know, then we've got 0:13:10.359 --> 0:13:13.809 things like meta AI for the, the meta Ray-Ban glasses 0:13:13.809 --> 0:13:16.000 and those sorts of things as well. So sometimes for 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:18.550 me it just depends on the the context that I 0:13:18.579 --> 0:13:19.570 need to use it. 0:13:19.599 --> 0:13:23.380 Now, before we go, let's remind everyone of where there 0:13:23.380 --> 0:13:25.990 are details of what we've been talking about in this 0:13:25.990 --> 0:13:29.109 and previous editions of the program. You can go to 0:13:29.140 --> 0:13:35.559 VA radio.org/talking tech. VA radio, dot org slash talking tech. 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:37.089 And to right to the program. 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:42.550 You can email me Damo Damo McMorrow m c m 0:13:42.550 --> 0:13:46.540 o r o w at Vision Australia. Org and thank 0:13:46.569 --> 0:13:48.250 you to those who have written in over the last 0:13:48.250 --> 0:13:50.260 few weeks I've really appreciated your emails. 0:13:50.290 --> 0:13:56.260 Damo McMorrow at Vision australia.org. Yes, you've got some very 0:13:56.260 --> 0:13:59.170 good reaction to the chat we had with Ruby Lacy 0:13:59.199 --> 0:14:00.639 last week at the vision store. 0:14:00.670 --> 0:14:04.030 Yes, we have and and lots of great questions as well. 0:14:04.030 --> 0:14:05.589 So thank you very much everybody. 0:14:05.620 --> 0:14:10.719 Damo McMorrow at Vision australia.org. This has been talking tech 0:14:10.719 --> 0:14:14.470 with me has been Vision Australia's national access technology manager 0:14:14.500 --> 0:14:17.920 Damo McMorrow I'm Stephen Jolly. Stay safe. We'll talk more 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:19.270 tech next week. See you.