WEBVTT - Talking Tech 31st October 2023 0:00:08.148 --> 0:00:11.718 Hello everyone! Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from 0:00:11.718 --> 0:00:15.738 October 31st, 2023. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have you 0:00:15.738 --> 0:00:18.888 with us. Wherever you're listening may be through Virgin Australia Radio, 0:00:18.888 --> 0:00:23.478 Associated Stations of Australia or perhaps the Community Radio Network. 0:00:23.688 --> 0:00:26.418 There is also the podcast. The way to catch that 0:00:26.418 --> 0:00:29.358 is to search for the two words talking tech and 0:00:29.358 --> 0:00:32.148 down a canal come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just 0:00:32.148 --> 0:00:35.418 after it's been produced. Another option is to ask your 0:00:35.418 --> 0:00:39.318 Siri device or smart speaker to play Vision Australia radio 0:00:39.318 --> 0:00:45.318 talking tech podcast Vision Australia Radio Talking tech podcast with me, 0:00:45.318 --> 0:00:48.048 someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well. 0:00:48.048 --> 0:00:54.078 Vision Australia's national adviser on access technology, David Woodbridge David, 0:00:54.168 --> 0:00:58.068 let's start with the Apple event that took place this morning, 0:00:58.068 --> 0:01:02.718 Tuesday morning. And people can hear that if they'd like 0:01:02.718 --> 0:01:03.558 to at some stage. 0:01:03.738 --> 0:01:06.858 Indeed. And we'll talk about it more in depth next week. 0:01:06.858 --> 0:01:10.908 But if you want to catch up on all the 0:01:10.908 --> 0:01:16.038 scary information that was revealed today, then I would go 0:01:16.038 --> 0:01:20.658 to your trusted internet resource. So things like Applebee's, I'm 0:01:20.658 --> 0:01:24.138 showing the The Tech Doctor blog and podcast will do something. 0:01:24.138 --> 0:01:26.688 So if you want to get a full rundown, that 0:01:26.688 --> 0:01:28.488 would be the resources that I would go to. 0:01:28.728 --> 0:01:31.038 You better let people into the joke. Why it was 0:01:31.038 --> 0:01:32.358 scary information. 0:01:33.078 --> 0:01:37.008 Because it's actually Halloween, so that's why it's a scary event, 0:01:37.008 --> 0:01:39.708 I think. I think the title was actually fast scary event. 0:01:39.858 --> 0:01:41.868 And for those of us who've been trying all their 0:01:41.868 --> 0:01:45.318 lives to resist Halloween, well, tough. We'll just have to 0:01:45.318 --> 0:01:46.278 live with it this time. 0:01:46.398 --> 0:01:47.058 Indeed. 0:01:48.078 --> 0:01:53.208 iOS and other software products had updates come down last week. 0:01:53.388 --> 0:01:58.608 Yep. So 17.1 for iOS and of course iPad I 0:01:58.608 --> 0:02:02.868 OS was released. Lots and lots of bug fixes. So 0:02:02.868 --> 0:02:05.598 one of the major ones was of course the weather 0:02:05.598 --> 0:02:09.678 focus issue with locations jumping all over the place and 0:02:09.678 --> 0:02:12.428 you couldn't read the weather properly. There was a few 0:02:12.438 --> 0:02:15.768 to do things to do with messages and so on. Well, 0:02:15.768 --> 0:02:17.748 now they've been fixed. So if you go and check 0:02:17.748 --> 0:02:19.458 out the link that I've got for Apple in the 0:02:19.458 --> 0:02:22.278 show notes, they always got this warning at the top. 0:02:22.278 --> 0:02:25.248 When a major release is released, like 16 or 17, 0:02:26.028 --> 0:02:28.098 you're bound to have lots and lots of bugs. And 0:02:28.098 --> 0:02:30.708 normally by a point one release, they've got most of 0:02:30.708 --> 0:02:33.528 the bugs ironed out. So if you've been a bit 0:02:33.528 --> 0:02:36.648 nervous about should I update or now is a bit 0:02:36.648 --> 0:02:39.888 more of a safer time to update, everything's pretty much stable. 0:02:39.888 --> 0:02:43.188 There's a few bugs floating around, but not too horrendous 0:02:43.248 --> 0:02:46.368 and as far as watch is concerned. So Apple Watch 0:02:46.368 --> 0:02:52.008 10.1 the famous two finger pinch, or the double tap 0:02:52.008 --> 0:02:55.068 as they call it, is now raring to go. So 0:02:55.158 --> 0:02:58.788 that's where when you do a pinch with your fingers, 0:02:58.788 --> 0:03:03.798 it will activate a default button on the Apple Watch interface. 0:03:03.798 --> 0:03:05.718 So for example, the one that I keep mentioning is 0:03:05.718 --> 0:03:08.538 the fact that you can do a two finger pinch 0:03:08.748 --> 0:03:11.358 to to answer a call and to hang up a 0:03:11.358 --> 0:03:13.698 phone call. So it just means that you could really 0:03:13.698 --> 0:03:18.048 operate your upper watch hands free, including answering and hanging 0:03:18.048 --> 0:03:18.798 up a phone call. 0:03:19.278 --> 0:03:24.318 And a long promised airdrop enhancement is now active for iOS. 0:03:24.828 --> 0:03:27.738 This one's actually really cool. So normally when you do 0:03:27.738 --> 0:03:33.558 an AirDrop, it's practically via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and then if 0:03:33.708 --> 0:03:35.928 that's not finished because it's a large light, so it's 0:03:35.928 --> 0:03:39.078 a large photo or something like that, it will continue 0:03:39.078 --> 0:03:42.078 over the internet, which I find is actually really clever. 0:03:42.078 --> 0:03:44.298 So if you've been a bit wary about using AirDrop, 0:03:44.988 --> 0:03:47.538 particularly when you have to leave the house, don't be nervous. 0:03:47.538 --> 0:03:50.058 It will actually continue going on until it's complete. 0:03:50.478 --> 0:03:54.888 Very good. Now there's this movement around the world, really, 0:03:54.888 --> 0:03:58.668 to put mobile phones away from kids when they're at school. 0:03:58.668 --> 0:04:01.578 I remember when I was a kid, transistors were banned 0:04:01.578 --> 0:04:03.888 at school. I see it as just an extension of that. 0:04:04.638 --> 0:04:07.278 I think that's quite true. Yeah. I've put a US 0:04:07.278 --> 0:04:09.318 article in the show notes, and of course, when you 0:04:09.318 --> 0:04:12.048 go to high school these days, you put your mobile 0:04:12.048 --> 0:04:14.928 phone in a pouch and you're not allowed to access 0:04:14.928 --> 0:04:17.928 your mobile phone throughout the whole day, they completely banned. 0:04:18.108 --> 0:04:22.008 And of course, what the the positive people are saying 0:04:22.008 --> 0:04:24.978 about this is that people are actually engaging more so 0:04:24.978 --> 0:04:27.858 when they're in the lunchroom or the canteen or the playground. 0:04:27.858 --> 0:04:30.198 They're actually talking to each other and having a great time, 0:04:30.198 --> 0:04:33.738 rather than looking at their phone screens all the time. 0:04:33.738 --> 0:04:36.198 I'm in two minds about it because I think, you know, 0:04:36.198 --> 0:04:39.258 really people should learn how to control their, you know, 0:04:39.288 --> 0:04:41.838 their smartphone or tablet use. I mean, we don't ban 0:04:41.838 --> 0:04:45.288 phones in the workplace to a certain extent. And I 0:04:45.288 --> 0:04:49.728 always think that an education system should reflect the state 0:04:49.728 --> 0:04:52.308 of an employment system. But, you know, there's arguments for 0:04:52.308 --> 0:04:53.028 both ways. 0:04:53.598 --> 0:04:58.308 We should also mention about Apple releasing an update to iTunes. 0:04:59.058 --> 0:05:02.478 Yeah, we've forgot to mention this when iPhone 15 and 0:05:02.478 --> 0:05:04.758 that came out because of course, every time there's a 0:05:04.758 --> 0:05:09.048 new iPhone update iTunes for when. Does gets updated. We 0:05:09.048 --> 0:05:11.718 get so focused on the Mac that we forget about iTunes. 0:05:12.198 --> 0:05:14.778 And that brought up this update. Now, I must admit 0:05:14.778 --> 0:05:17.358 I'm a bit confused because it said the update is 0:05:17.358 --> 0:05:22.698 to allow people to play podcasts and audiobooks inside the 0:05:22.698 --> 0:05:25.518 iTunes application. Now, I thought you could only do that 0:05:25.518 --> 0:05:28.718 with I, so I'm not quite sure. But in the 0:05:28.788 --> 0:05:30.948 notes that I've got and in the link to the article, 0:05:30.948 --> 0:05:34.758 it says it allows people to play podcasts and audiobooks. 0:05:34.758 --> 0:05:39.018 So I've got my trusty little Windows Surface Pro next 0:05:39.018 --> 0:05:40.218 to me, so I'm going to have a bit more 0:05:40.218 --> 0:05:43.578 investigation because to me that sounds like something that's already 0:05:43.578 --> 0:05:45.798 been available. So I just want to see what the 0:05:45.798 --> 0:05:49.908 slight difference is in what they're currently talking about. But anyway, 0:05:49.908 --> 0:05:53.628 if you want a new iTunes update in September for windows, 0:05:53.628 --> 0:05:54.288 go for it. 0:05:54.738 --> 0:05:57.408 Now, we might have heard about this in the media 0:05:57.408 --> 0:06:00.348 last week, but you could expand on under the little. 0:06:00.348 --> 0:06:04.848 And that's about Microsoft and the government and the cyber 0:06:04.848 --> 0:06:08.508 spies battle. What's going on there? 0:06:08.958 --> 0:06:11.988 This is actually a really intriguing story. I was listening 0:06:11.988 --> 0:06:15.558 to an interview on ABC radio last week, and what 0:06:15.558 --> 0:06:18.558 they were saying is that governments by themselves can no 0:06:18.558 --> 0:06:23.958 longer fight cybercrime because it's so big, it's so entrenched now. 0:06:23.958 --> 0:06:28.608 It's worldwide. It's not country based. Governments themselves don't have 0:06:28.608 --> 0:06:32.838 the skill based, hence why industry has to be involved 0:06:32.838 --> 0:06:37.158 in fighting cyber crime, detecting it, stopping it all, that 0:06:37.158 --> 0:06:40.008 sort of stuff. So what's happening as far as Microsoft 0:06:40.008 --> 0:06:46.968 is concerned, they're doing a $5 billion investment into stopping 0:06:47.058 --> 0:06:52.038 cyber crime in Australia. But what they're also doing up 0:06:52.038 --> 0:06:56.718 to 2030 is they're not only going to be doing 0:06:56.718 --> 0:06:59.748 and helping with cyber crime detection, they're also going to 0:06:59.748 --> 0:07:04.458 be doing things like creating about 300,000 jobs, not just 0:07:04.458 --> 0:07:08.188 in cyber detection, criminal type stuff, but also at the 0:07:08.208 --> 0:07:09.708 end of the article that I was reading was the 0:07:09.708 --> 0:07:15.318 fact that TAFE will be offering actual certificates to do 0:07:15.318 --> 0:07:20.088 with computer science via Microsoft. So it looks like Microsoft 0:07:20.088 --> 0:07:23.658 is taking a huge hand in not only cyber crime 0:07:23.658 --> 0:07:27.948 type stuff, but computer. And remember, also artificial intelligence. 0:07:28.668 --> 0:07:30.708 Is Google still the best search? 0:07:30.978 --> 0:07:33.618 This was an interesting article I think was is Google 0:07:33.618 --> 0:07:36.768 search better than being or DuckDuckGo, which is the private 0:07:36.768 --> 0:07:40.788 search one? And what it ended up saying was really 0:07:40.788 --> 0:07:43.578 if you're doing general searches, then all of them are 0:07:43.578 --> 0:07:48.198 pretty much the same. If you're doing very specific searches 0:07:48.198 --> 0:07:51.678 for very specific items in the article, the person used 0:07:51.678 --> 0:07:55.908 the example of searching for a particular item for a 0:07:55.908 --> 0:08:02.058 toy that doesn't exist anymore, and Google gave the correct information. 0:08:02.058 --> 0:08:06.198 Whereas being an DuckDuckGo sort of said you might want 0:08:06.198 --> 0:08:10.068 to try some of these web pages, but from Google 0:08:10.068 --> 0:08:13.278 it gave a lot more information, not just web results. 0:08:13.278 --> 0:08:17.268 So it looks like Google is still the main search 0:08:17.268 --> 0:08:20.328 engine of choice. And remember, this other reason why I 0:08:20.328 --> 0:08:23.028 put it in there too, is because Google is in 0:08:23.028 --> 0:08:25.938 trouble at the moment, because everybody thinks Google is got 0:08:25.938 --> 0:08:29.358 too much of a head start on the internet, and 0:08:29.358 --> 0:08:32.088 they really should let other people, you know, have more 0:08:32.088 --> 0:08:35.148 input into internet rather than just Google taking it over 0:08:35.148 --> 0:08:35.778 all the time. 0:08:36.228 --> 0:08:39.858 Being a person who follows games stuff a lot. Tell 0:08:39.858 --> 0:08:43.998 us about Marvel's Spider-Man and accessibility. 0:08:44.808 --> 0:08:46.638 You remember a couple of weeks ago we talked about 0:08:46.638 --> 0:08:52.788 the Forza Horizon motor racing game? Well, this is not 0:08:52.788 --> 0:08:55.098 as amazing as that one. And what I mean by 0:08:55.098 --> 0:09:01.578 that is the accessibility options in Spider-Man two is I 0:09:01.578 --> 0:09:04.878 guess it's more general. It's more to do with physical 0:09:04.878 --> 0:09:09.138 motor control and people with low vision. But I did 0:09:09.288 --> 0:09:13.008 ask my son, who bought his new Spider-Man two last week, 0:09:13.218 --> 0:09:15.528 and I said, did he actually happen to notice the 0:09:15.528 --> 0:09:17.688 accessibility options? And he actually went through them with me, 0:09:18.588 --> 0:09:21.468 and it sounds quite good. So things like when the 0:09:21.468 --> 0:09:24.378 characters jump, you can control the fact that if they're 0:09:24.378 --> 0:09:27.768 going to fall, they don't really fall. And depending on 0:09:27.768 --> 0:09:29.778 how fast they move, you can control the speed of 0:09:29.778 --> 0:09:31.188 movement and all that sort of stuff. So you can 0:09:31.188 --> 0:09:34.968 make it a bit easier to actually use it with 0:09:34.968 --> 0:09:38.478 the game controller. But again, it's an example of many 0:09:38.478 --> 0:09:42.738 game developers really focusing on making their games accessible to 0:09:42.738 --> 0:09:43.848 a wider audience. 0:09:44.118 --> 0:09:47.988 In the windows screen reader world. Always a major event 0:09:47.988 --> 0:09:52.548 around the end of October, when the next version of 0:09:52.548 --> 0:09:56.328 jaws drops. Jaws 2024 came last week. 0:09:56.598 --> 0:09:59.958 And I always say this if you want the the 0:09:59.958 --> 0:10:02.328 best screen reader on the market. For me, it's always 0:10:02.328 --> 0:10:07.658 jaws for windows. They keep making enhancements to the screen whether. Things. 0:10:07.728 --> 0:10:10.188 Absolutely amazing. It's like, surely by now they've run out 0:10:10.188 --> 0:10:13.488 of run out of features. The main features that sort 0:10:13.488 --> 0:10:15.318 of yelled at it to me was the fact that 0:10:15.318 --> 0:10:19.488 the face detection. To make sure that your face is 0:10:19.488 --> 0:10:23.658 in the video, focus for when you're on a video call, 0:10:23.658 --> 0:10:27.408 like a zoom webinar and so on is accurate. And 0:10:27.408 --> 0:10:30.288 also the split view for brows. So you can have 0:10:30.288 --> 0:10:34.158 one focus in a window and a focus in another 0:10:34.158 --> 0:10:36.948 window with your brow display. And of course, there are 0:10:36.948 --> 0:10:40.608 lots of really, really interesting updates for Microsoft Teams and 0:10:40.608 --> 0:10:45.408 of course the Office Suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, outlook and PowerPoint. 0:10:45.618 --> 0:10:50.778 So if you're thinking is it worthwhile updating, particularly in 0:10:50.778 --> 0:10:53.838 the workplace and education, I always say to people, it's 0:10:53.838 --> 0:10:55.818 much better to keep it up to date and certainly 0:10:55.818 --> 0:10:57.708 get the latest update of jaws for windows. 0:10:58.008 --> 0:10:59.808 It's worth having a little bit of a play in 0:10:59.808 --> 0:11:02.478 jaws every now and again. There's lots of gems buried 0:11:02.478 --> 0:11:08.718 away in there. Recently, the message center was introduced Message Center. 0:11:08.718 --> 0:11:12.138 You can reach that by going to help if you've 0:11:12.138 --> 0:11:15.048 got your focus on Jaws. And then message center is 0:11:15.048 --> 0:11:17.048 one of the things in there. And that's where jaws 0:11:17.058 --> 0:11:22.188 leaves announcements about updates and all sorts of other things. 0:11:22.188 --> 0:11:24.348 And it was from there I found out about the 0:11:24.348 --> 0:11:28.938 Immersive Reader, which is a great little tool, and it's 0:11:28.938 --> 0:11:31.338 well worth having a look at if you want to 0:11:31.338 --> 0:11:34.578 explore that one. And lots of other stuff buried away, 0:11:34.578 --> 0:11:37.098 as I say in there. And the message center is 0:11:37.098 --> 0:11:39.558 a good way to find out what's going on with jaws. 0:11:39.978 --> 0:11:43.218 That's a great idea. The other thing to remember with 0:11:43.218 --> 0:11:46.278 Whisperer or Freedom Scientific is the fact that they've got 0:11:46.278 --> 0:11:50.148 lots of training material online as well. So it's one 0:11:50.148 --> 0:11:52.548 of the good things about jaws is that you can 0:11:52.548 --> 0:11:56.088 go into the website and find all this training material 0:11:56.088 --> 0:12:00.918 on basic stuff, advanced stuff, internet stuff, Microsoft Word stuff 0:12:01.008 --> 0:12:03.978 and so on. So if you're a beginner user or 0:12:03.978 --> 0:12:09.018 even intermediate to advanced user, absolutely take advantage of all 0:12:09.018 --> 0:12:12.768 the training material and also use the cast, which is 0:12:12.768 --> 0:12:16.608 their podcast, which gives you the latest updates of what's 0:12:16.608 --> 0:12:19.818 happening in the Jaws zoom text or Fusion worlds, which 0:12:19.818 --> 0:12:22.308 is the combination of Jaws and Zoom text. 0:12:22.608 --> 0:12:25.998 Now this next item is not quite tech, but we 0:12:25.998 --> 0:12:29.268 do talk about tech stuff a lot in the orientation 0:12:29.268 --> 0:12:32.298 and mobility world getting around, as it were. You've got 0:12:32.298 --> 0:12:33.858 yourself a new cane the other day. 0:12:34.068 --> 0:12:35.538 This is a bit of an interesting thing. It's called 0:12:35.538 --> 0:12:37.998 the all terrain cane. So what it sort of basically 0:12:38.088 --> 0:12:39.618 means is that you can use it on the beach, 0:12:39.618 --> 0:12:42.708 in the bush, in the city, all that sort of stuff. 0:12:43.068 --> 0:12:46.428 So basically what it is, it folds into three pieces. 0:12:46.558 --> 0:12:49.728 It's got a rollerball tip. So it just basically rotates around. 0:12:49.728 --> 0:12:52.938 You can just slide it over all services. The three 0:12:52.938 --> 0:12:55.758 segments are actually made of titanium. And then where it 0:12:55.758 --> 0:12:59.628 connects to each other, they're actually still connection points rather 0:12:59.628 --> 0:13:02.778 than having an elastic inside. It's actually a steel cable. 0:13:03.108 --> 0:13:05.988 The whole size of the cane can go from 130 0:13:05.988 --> 0:13:11.508 or so centimeters, up to 160cm. So it ends up 0:13:11.508 --> 0:13:15.198 being quite a big cane, and the handle is probably 0:13:15.198 --> 0:13:17.688 about the double size of a normal handle you'd have 0:13:17.688 --> 0:13:21.438 on your normal, your golf club style cane. Because what 0:13:21.438 --> 0:13:23.928 this cane is going to allow you to do is 0:13:23.928 --> 0:13:26.358 not only use it as a cane, but almost like 0:13:26.358 --> 0:13:28.818 a walking staff. So if you're trying to get more 0:13:28.818 --> 0:13:32.118 balance walking up a hill or it's a bit unsteady 0:13:32.118 --> 0:13:34.428 walking down the hill, you can put your hand up 0:13:34.428 --> 0:13:36.708 and down that handle. Plus the fact that you can 0:13:36.708 --> 0:13:39.168 also adjust it. I'm going to take it Bush bashing 0:13:39.168 --> 0:13:41.178 and on the beach over the next week or two, 0:13:41.178 --> 0:13:42.498 and I'll let you know how it goes. 0:13:42.888 --> 0:13:46.578 Very interesting. Before we go, a reminder of where everyone 0:13:46.578 --> 0:13:49.008 can find details of what we've been talking about in 0:13:49.008 --> 0:13:51.078 this and previous editions of the program. 0:13:51.198 --> 0:13:53.118 As always, you can check out my blog site, which 0:13:53.118 --> 0:13:57.198 is David would be a dot podbean pad com. 0:13:57.348 --> 0:14:02.928 David would be dot podbean podbean to write to the program. 0:14:03.288 --> 0:14:05.238 You can write to me at Business Trial Royal Book, 0:14:05.238 --> 0:14:08.238 which is David Dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. 0:14:08.508 --> 0:14:13.278 Org David dot Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org this has 0:14:13.278 --> 0:14:16.068 been talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's national 0:14:16.068 --> 0:14:21.018 advisor on access technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolley. Stay safe. 0:14:21.018 --> 0:14:22.578 We'll talk more tech next week. See you.