WEBVTT - Talking Tech 17th September 2024 0:00:21.348 --> 0:00:25.128 Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:25.128 --> 0:00:29.778 September the 17th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have 0:00:29.778 --> 0:00:33.438 you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated 0:00:33.438 --> 0:00:37.788 stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network. 0:00:38.298 --> 0:00:40.998 There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you 0:00:40.998 --> 0:00:43.488 need to do is search for the two words talking 0:00:43.518 --> 0:00:45.888 tech and Dan. It can all come usually on a 0:00:45.888 --> 0:00:49.428 Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is 0:00:49.428 --> 0:00:52.278 to ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play. 0:00:52.308 --> 0:00:57.828 Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking 0:00:57.858 --> 0:01:03.168 tech podcast. Regular listeners to the program would be well 0:01:03.198 --> 0:01:06.708 used to David Woodbridge coming along now, but if you 0:01:06.708 --> 0:01:09.108 didn't hear the program last week, you may not be 0:01:09.108 --> 0:01:13.338 aware that that was David's last regular program with us. 0:01:13.368 --> 0:01:16.998 He's making a change in his career. We hopefully will 0:01:16.998 --> 0:01:20.398 hear from him from time to time. So now stepping 0:01:20.398 --> 0:01:26.548 into the chair Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damo McMorrow. Damo, 0:01:26.578 --> 0:01:28.168 welcome to Talking Tech. 0:01:28.258 --> 0:01:30.988 Thank you Stephen. It's good to be here on what 0:01:30.988 --> 0:01:33.718 I hope is the first of many shows to come. 0:01:33.748 --> 0:01:37.378 Yes, I'm looking forward to it. Let's start by finding 0:01:37.378 --> 0:01:39.658 out a bit about your role at Vision Australia. Then 0:01:39.658 --> 0:01:43.168 I'd like to learn a bit more about Damo McMorrow himself. 0:01:43.198 --> 0:01:45.478 And then you've got some news items we'd like to cover. 0:01:45.568 --> 0:01:50.008 Let's start with your role as national manager, Access Technology. 0:01:50.038 --> 0:01:51.088 What's that all about? 0:01:51.418 --> 0:01:54.418 It really has sort of overall responsibility for the different 0:01:54.418 --> 0:01:58.918 components of our access Technology service. So some listeners might 0:01:58.918 --> 0:02:02.218 be familiar with our At help desk, which provides phone 0:02:02.218 --> 0:02:08.218 and email support to Vision Australia clients who use Access technology. 0:02:08.218 --> 0:02:11.128 So if your jaws suddenly stops talking, or you're wanting 0:02:11.158 --> 0:02:15.598 to know which phones are the most accessible or that 0:02:15.598 --> 0:02:17.188 kind of thing, that's the sort of thing that the 0:02:17.188 --> 0:02:22.218 Help Desk can help with. I also provide support to 0:02:22.248 --> 0:02:26.088 our 43 or so Access technology specialists out in the field. 0:02:26.088 --> 0:02:28.698 So they're scattered through all of our different offices and 0:02:28.728 --> 0:02:32.268 sort of work directly with clients to help them navigate 0:02:32.268 --> 0:02:36.168 the range of technology options out there. So I provide 0:02:36.168 --> 0:02:39.018 field support to them, along with a couple of access 0:02:39.018 --> 0:02:43.758 technology service development leads. And then we also do some 0:02:43.758 --> 0:02:48.468 corporate consulting work. So when we have organizations that want 0:02:48.468 --> 0:02:52.758 to check whether their systems are going to work with Jaws, zoom, 0:02:52.788 --> 0:02:57.408 Text Fusion, various other products, we go in and sort 0:02:57.408 --> 0:03:00.288 of test workflows in detail and that kind of thing. 0:03:00.288 --> 0:03:05.628 We also train software developers in how someone navigates a 0:03:05.628 --> 0:03:08.418 screen reader so that when they're doing in-house software development 0:03:08.418 --> 0:03:12.018 for organizations, they can test their own work and hopefully 0:03:12.018 --> 0:03:16.098 not break the accessibility in the process, and also get 0:03:16.098 --> 0:03:19.458 involved a little bit with new products and demonstrating those 0:03:19.458 --> 0:03:24.538 and supporting launch activities and Recording demos and those kinds 0:03:24.538 --> 0:03:28.798 of things. So yeah, it's a fairly, fairly broad role. 0:03:28.798 --> 0:03:33.058 Let's talk about the At specialists. What do they actually 0:03:33.058 --> 0:03:36.658 do for a person, a client of Vision Australia. 0:03:36.688 --> 0:03:40.648 They really are there to try and help navigate the 0:03:40.648 --> 0:03:43.498 various tech options. So the first thing is what's the 0:03:43.498 --> 0:03:46.888 person trying to do. Are they looking for technology for school. 0:03:46.918 --> 0:03:49.738 Are they looking for technology to use in the workplace? 0:03:49.768 --> 0:03:53.278 Are they looking for technology to use around home or 0:03:53.278 --> 0:03:56.908 just to access their phone, their iPad, their computer, whatever 0:03:56.908 --> 0:03:59.938 it may be? So our clients range in age and 0:03:59.938 --> 0:04:05.488 life stage from 2 to 102 virtually. And they also 0:04:05.518 --> 0:04:09.478 then will conduct some of the funding bodies, require you 0:04:09.478 --> 0:04:12.388 to have an assessment or to sort of seek expert 0:04:12.388 --> 0:04:15.238 advice and have a written report so that you can 0:04:15.268 --> 0:04:17.638 seek funding for whatever tech solution you need. So they 0:04:17.638 --> 0:04:20.728 help to sort of conduct that assessment and do that process. 0:04:20.728 --> 0:04:23.578 So is this all done over the phone or. No. 0:04:23.608 --> 0:04:28.058 Sometimes it's sometimes it's in person, particularly if it's, you know, 0:04:28.088 --> 0:04:30.938 for things like magnification devices and those sorts of things, 0:04:30.938 --> 0:04:33.608 you really need to try them. Have a hands on. 0:04:33.608 --> 0:04:36.968 Same with Braille devices. We can certainly support sessions over 0:04:36.968 --> 0:04:40.838 telehealth where that makes sense or where the person is 0:04:40.838 --> 0:04:44.408 in a somewhere fairly remote. But we also, you know, 0:04:44.438 --> 0:04:48.098 will will actually normally try to provide someone a hands 0:04:48.128 --> 0:04:50.678 on trial with the different devices so that they can 0:04:50.678 --> 0:04:53.198 see how they work and which one they like and 0:04:53.198 --> 0:04:55.388 which one works for them, that kind of thing. 0:04:55.418 --> 0:04:58.058 And what about the person who's not working? How do 0:04:58.058 --> 0:05:00.278 they get into the system and get support? 0:05:00.908 --> 0:05:05.228 Well, there's still funding schemes like the National Disability Insurance 0:05:05.228 --> 0:05:10.058 Scheme or NDIS. There's also some equipment and training and 0:05:10.058 --> 0:05:13.358 services available through things like my aged care and also 0:05:13.388 --> 0:05:16.208 Department of Veterans Affairs. So there's a number of different 0:05:16.208 --> 0:05:19.568 funding schemes depending on where people are at and what 0:05:19.568 --> 0:05:23.378 they need. And there's also it's not just the technology 0:05:23.378 --> 0:05:25.698 and the equipment, but it's also training after the fact 0:05:25.698 --> 0:05:27.978 as well, so that you actually, you know, get the 0:05:27.978 --> 0:05:31.968 best out of the equipment that you've got. So a 0:05:31.968 --> 0:05:34.038 big part of what we do is training on things 0:05:34.038 --> 0:05:38.448 like iPhones and computers and those kinds of things as well. 0:05:38.508 --> 0:05:40.578 Not to explore all that a lot more over the 0:05:40.578 --> 0:05:44.298 coming weeks. Sure. What about yourself? You're a technology user. 0:05:44.328 --> 0:05:48.168 I am, yes, definitely are and have been for for 0:05:48.168 --> 0:05:55.728 many years. I think my my technology journey probably started with, 0:05:55.818 --> 0:05:59.028 I suppose, a couple of things. The, the Braille to print. 0:05:59.028 --> 0:06:01.338 When that came out, I was about seven and that 0:06:01.338 --> 0:06:05.298 enabled me to sort of exit specialised schooling and attend 0:06:05.328 --> 0:06:08.298 mainstream schooling because the teacher could see what I was writing. 0:06:08.328 --> 0:06:14.028 And then, um, my dad got me a super voice cartridge, 0:06:14.028 --> 0:06:17.988 which fitted into the Tandy TRS 80 Color Computer that 0:06:17.988 --> 0:06:20.928 we had. And so that was sort of my introduction 0:06:20.928 --> 0:06:23.628 to talking computers. And then we sort of progressed on 0:06:23.658 --> 0:06:26.508 to things like the keynote and the Eureka, which I 0:06:26.528 --> 0:06:29.498 used right through high school and onto uni and that 0:06:29.498 --> 0:06:30.158 type of thing. 0:06:30.188 --> 0:06:31.718 So what are you use today? 0:06:32.378 --> 0:06:36.398 Um, I'm a Jaws user, so I have a couple 0:06:36.428 --> 0:06:41.558 of laptops with jaws. I've also got a a MacBook Pro, 0:06:41.558 --> 0:06:43.778 so I sort of have a foot in both camps 0:06:43.808 --> 0:06:49.088 in the laptop space. I am an iPhone user and 0:06:49.088 --> 0:06:54.338 I also have a Braillesense six. I'm a very strong 0:06:54.368 --> 0:06:57.908 advocate for Braille, and I don't think I could do 0:06:57.938 --> 0:07:00.188 a lot of the things that I do without that. 0:07:00.188 --> 0:07:03.428 So I use a Braillesense six mini and a brilliant, um, 0:07:03.458 --> 0:07:07.688 B40 x and I've got a a BT speak as well. 0:07:07.898 --> 0:07:12.398 So you're totally blind. Yes, I am Braille and synthetic 0:07:12.398 --> 0:07:14.408 speech user all your life. 0:07:14.438 --> 0:07:15.638 Yes I have yeah. How did. 0:07:15.638 --> 0:07:19.448 You go? Moving into the low vision space which you 0:07:19.478 --> 0:07:23.018 needed to do for your role as at person across 0:07:23.018 --> 0:07:24.068 Vision Australia? 0:07:24.428 --> 0:07:28.878 It was certainly a steep learning curve Initially, um, but 0:07:28.878 --> 0:07:31.908 I was lucky in that I had some people who 0:07:31.938 --> 0:07:34.698 were very good at describing things so they could explain 0:07:34.698 --> 0:07:39.168 to me visually what the various sort of magnification options did. 0:07:39.198 --> 0:07:41.538 You know, what does lines and blinds look like? What 0:07:41.538 --> 0:07:45.678 are the different contrast options? And I got used to 0:07:45.708 --> 0:07:48.558 sort of asking a lot of questions. So making a 0:07:48.558 --> 0:07:52.098 small incremental change and saying to the person, does that 0:07:52.098 --> 0:07:54.228 help at all? Is that better? Okay, what if we 0:07:54.228 --> 0:07:56.448 make it a little bit bigger again? Is that better 0:07:56.448 --> 0:07:59.148 or worse? And just sort of doing things incrementally and 0:07:59.148 --> 0:08:04.338 asking a lot of questions? Uh, I, I've always been, um, 0:08:04.338 --> 0:08:08.778 I think a reasonably good communicator. So asking the questions 0:08:08.778 --> 0:08:11.148 that I need to get me, the information that I 0:08:11.148 --> 0:08:14.268 need to sort of help the client came fairly easily 0:08:14.268 --> 0:08:16.128 to me. And so then it was really just a 0:08:16.128 --> 0:08:20.778 matter of memorizing the controls on the various, uh, video 0:08:20.778 --> 0:08:24.738 magnifiers and learning what all the options were in the 0:08:24.768 --> 0:08:29.088 sort of computer magnification screen magnification space, um, and how 0:08:29.088 --> 0:08:32.248 to apply them. But it was a learning curve, certainly. 0:08:32.308 --> 0:08:37.798 Today on talking Tech, we're meeting the new co-presenter, Damo McMorrow. Damo, 0:08:37.828 --> 0:08:38.998 you're based in Brisbane? 0:08:39.028 --> 0:08:42.868 Yes I am, yes. I've been a Brisbane boy most 0:08:42.868 --> 0:08:45.628 of my life. I was born in Melbourne, but I 0:08:45.658 --> 0:08:48.478 kind of consider myself a Queenslander because I've lived here 0:08:48.478 --> 0:08:49.378 since I was two. 0:08:49.408 --> 0:08:54.118 Now let's talk about some recent developments. This week we've 0:08:54.118 --> 0:08:59.368 seen from Apple the dropping of new versions of the 0:08:59.368 --> 0:09:02.998 software big time in September. Tell us about those. 0:09:03.298 --> 0:09:07.918 Yes. So there's been quite a bit of buzz around 0:09:07.948 --> 0:09:11.578 obviously the new iPhones, but also the release of iOS 0:09:11.608 --> 0:09:16.528 18 for the iPhones and iPads. And there's some quite 0:09:16.528 --> 0:09:21.418 significant updates for those of you that use Braille screen input. 0:09:21.448 --> 0:09:25.228 It's had quite a significant makeover. You're not limited to 0:09:25.258 --> 0:09:29.038 just doing five finger characters, so you can type for 0:09:29.068 --> 0:09:31.968 those of you that you know your grade two Braille 0:09:32.388 --> 0:09:34.188 and there's a number of other things. So you can 0:09:34.188 --> 0:09:36.768 have Braille screen input come up automatically every time you 0:09:36.768 --> 0:09:38.718 get an edit field and things like that. So I 0:09:38.718 --> 0:09:42.288 think that's going to be quite an exciting change. Siri 0:09:42.318 --> 0:09:45.138 has also had a makeover. So we've now we will 0:09:45.138 --> 0:09:49.278 have the Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 15 Pro and 0:09:49.278 --> 0:09:53.148 the new iPhone 16 range. Um, which is good because 0:09:53.178 --> 0:09:55.458 I don't know about you, Stephen, but I've been finding 0:09:55.458 --> 0:09:58.848 Siri feels like it gets sillier and sillier by the 0:09:58.848 --> 0:10:01.788 day sometimes, so it'll be nice to for that to 0:10:01.818 --> 0:10:04.758 have a makeover. And there's a number of other improvements 0:10:04.758 --> 0:10:10.308 and changes there. We've also got the new watchOS 11, um, 0:10:10.308 --> 0:10:12.678 for the Apple Watch, and they've also announced a couple 0:10:12.708 --> 0:10:16.458 of new Apple Watch models as well. I haven't sort 0:10:16.488 --> 0:10:19.278 of delved into all of the changes yet coming in, um, 0:10:19.278 --> 0:10:21.978 watchOS 11, but we we might explore that in a 0:10:21.978 --> 0:10:24.048 bit more detail over the next couple of weeks. 0:10:24.078 --> 0:10:27.618 Yep, that'll be good. And with the Mac, Sequoia, Sequoia 0:10:27.648 --> 0:10:28.638 name this year. 0:10:28.638 --> 0:10:30.918 I haven't had an opportunity to play with the beta 0:10:30.918 --> 0:10:33.178 of that one yet, and I always find their naming 0:10:33.178 --> 0:10:37.468 convention slightly interesting. But I believe there are some good 0:10:37.468 --> 0:10:41.428 improvements coming in the, uh, the new Mac OS as well. 0:10:41.428 --> 0:10:45.538 So all that will be very interesting to explore. Mhm. 0:10:45.568 --> 0:10:46.318 Definitely. 0:10:46.348 --> 0:10:51.688 Let's talk about some specific blindness technology. Now. The sense 0:10:51.688 --> 0:10:54.628 player had a significant update a couple of weeks ago. 0:10:54.658 --> 0:10:58.708 That's right. Yes. And as part of that they've addressed 0:10:58.708 --> 0:11:01.738 a number of bugs and complaints that people have made 0:11:01.738 --> 0:11:05.578 around things like not resuming playback where it should and 0:11:05.578 --> 0:11:08.578 navigation in things like the podcast app and so on, 0:11:08.578 --> 0:11:13.498 and also some fine tuning of, uh, of the menu system. 0:11:13.498 --> 0:11:15.478 So you may find that some things have moved around 0:11:15.478 --> 0:11:19.408 a little. I'm, I'm an avid sense player user as well, 0:11:19.408 --> 0:11:22.318 so I'm looking forward to putting that update through its paces, 0:11:22.318 --> 0:11:24.898 because there were a few annoying little things that really 0:11:24.898 --> 0:11:27.148 did need attention, and I believe most of those have 0:11:27.148 --> 0:11:28.198 been addressed for the. 0:11:28.198 --> 0:11:31.978 Casual listener or the regular listener who hasn't quite tuned 0:11:31.978 --> 0:11:35.318 in to sense player, You'd better quickly explain what it is. 0:11:35.348 --> 0:11:40.688 Yes, sure. So the sense player is the audio player from, uh, 0:11:40.688 --> 0:11:45.188 hims or Selva's that it, uh, is able to play 0:11:45.218 --> 0:11:51.818 Daisy books, podcasts, regular audio books. Um, music. It has 0:11:51.848 --> 0:11:56.888 a an internet radio as well as an FM radio. Um, 0:11:56.918 --> 0:11:59.828 there is an OCR version as well, which has a 0:11:59.858 --> 0:12:05.318 built in camera for capturing and reading text. You can 0:12:05.318 --> 0:12:08.258 also use it as a voice recorder. It looks a 0:12:08.258 --> 0:12:12.488 lot like the old Candybar style mobile phones from the 0:12:12.488 --> 0:12:18.188 mid 90s or early 2000. So it has a numeric keypad, um, 0:12:18.188 --> 0:12:24.068 and a sort of removable battery behind the back cover, um, USB-C, uh, 0:12:24.188 --> 0:12:28.688 headphone socket and also support for Bluetooth headphones. So things 0:12:28.688 --> 0:12:32.918 like your Apple AirPods and so on. Um, work extremely well. 0:12:32.918 --> 0:12:35.508 So it's a it's a really versatile little pocket sized 0:12:35.508 --> 0:12:36.438 media player. 0:12:36.468 --> 0:12:39.318 Yeah, my 21st century transistor radio. It's fantastic. 0:12:39.348 --> 0:12:41.478 Absolutely. Yes. Yeah, definitely. 0:12:41.508 --> 0:12:45.288 You've got a message for people who use jaws, which 0:12:45.288 --> 0:12:48.318 is the windows screen reader that a lot of people 0:12:48.318 --> 0:12:49.548 around the world use. 0:12:49.578 --> 0:12:56.298 Yes. So Vespero traditionally released their major version updates towards 0:12:56.298 --> 0:13:00.948 the end of October, so we'll be expecting jaws 2025 0:13:00.948 --> 0:13:04.398 to be released then. So the reminder is, if you're 0:13:04.428 --> 0:13:07.848 a current Jaws 2024 user and you've got a software 0:13:07.848 --> 0:13:11.778 maintenance agreement or SMA, you might like to check whether 0:13:11.778 --> 0:13:15.318 you have any upgrade counts left. If you wait until 0:13:15.318 --> 0:13:18.468 2025 comes out, you'll have to purchase an upgrade and 0:13:18.468 --> 0:13:21.588 then the software maintenance agreement. Whereas if you renew your 0:13:21.588 --> 0:13:26.028 software maintenance agreement in the next few weeks, you'll be 0:13:26.058 --> 0:13:29.148 able to just download 2025 when it's released. And then, 0:13:29.148 --> 0:13:31.008 of course, 2026 next year. 0:13:31.098 --> 0:13:33.798 Now, as we finish up, let's let people know where 0:13:33.798 --> 0:13:37.298 they can go to find details of what we've been 0:13:37.298 --> 0:13:40.178 talking about in this, and it will be past programs 0:13:40.178 --> 0:13:48.458 as well. And that's the address. VA radio.org/talking tech. VA 0:13:48.458 --> 0:13:55.418 radio.org/talking tech. And to right to the program. People can 0:13:55.418 --> 0:13:57.638 get into your inbox can't they Damien. 0:13:57.668 --> 0:14:02.438 They certainly can. They can email Damo. Damo dot McMorrow. 0:14:02.468 --> 0:14:08.168 That's m c m o r o w at Vision Australia. Org. 0:14:08.198 --> 0:14:10.418 And as far as if you if you can't remember 0:14:10.418 --> 0:14:12.698 how to spell the surname, it's the same as tomorrow 0:14:12.698 --> 0:14:13.568 except it's Mick. 0:14:13.718 --> 0:14:17.948 Damo dot McMorrow at Vision australia.org. 0:14:17.978 --> 0:14:21.038 That's right. Welcome. Any comments, feedback or questions? I'll do 0:14:21.068 --> 0:14:22.568 my best to answer them for you. 0:14:22.808 --> 0:14:25.298 This has been talking tech with me has been Vision 0:14:25.328 --> 0:14:30.428 Australia's national access technology manager Damien McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. 0:14:30.458 --> 0:14:32.948 Stay safe. We'll talk more tech next week. See you.