S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: May 6th, 2025. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have you
S1: with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated stations
S1: of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network.
S1: There is also the podcast to catch that, all you
S1: need to do is search for the two words talking
S1: tech and it can all come. Another option is to
S1: ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision
S1: Australia radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech
S1: podcast with me. Vision Australia's national access technology manager Damo McMorrow. Hey, Damo.
S2: G'day, Stephen.
S1: Well, you are the Vision Australia national Access Technology manager,
S1: but not for much longer.
S2: That's right. After 11.5 years, I am moving on from
S2: Vision Australia and taking up a position as assistant director
S2: of accessibility and User centered design for the Administrative Review Tribunal.
S1: So just tell us quickly what the Administrative Review Tribunal is.
S2: So that's the body that you would go to if
S2: you wanted to appeal a federal government decision. So a
S2: lot of people think it's just, um, ndia but it's not.
S2: It covers a whole range of things, including things like
S2: immigration decisions, child support, Centrelink, um, taxation, you know, all
S2: of those sorts of, uh, federal government type matters. Um,
S2: and the idea is that it gives people an opportunity to, um,
S2: have the decision reviewed independently and to put their case
S2: and that sort of thing. So my role will be
S2: around making sure that the processes are fully accessible. Uh,
S2: it is a new organisation. It used to be called
S2: the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, but it was, uh, sort of
S2: disbanded and set up as a new organization and, um,
S2: you know, to make sure also that people's chance of
S2: a fair hearing is not impaired or impacted by, you know,
S2: accessibility barriers, whether that be because of disability, ethnicity or
S2: any number of other things.
S1: Quite a responsible role there. Congratulations.
S2: Thank you. It feels a little, little bit scary after
S2: I say 11.5 years with Vision Australia. But you can't
S2: stay static. You have to sort of keep developing your
S2: skills and those sorts of things. And this will give me, uh,
S2: some different challenges to the ones that I've had at
S2: Vision Australia, but it's still accessibility related, which is something
S2: that has been extremely close to my heart, you know,
S2: particularly over the last 11 years. I wanted to stay
S2: in that that space, if you like. So, um, yeah,
S2: new challenges, but, uh, hopefully exciting ones.
S1: Just briefly reflect on some of your special memories from
S1: being at Vision Australia are.
S2: There are so many. I mean, I guess probably the
S2: highlight has always been being able to help other people, uh,
S2: being able to sort of make a difference or show
S2: someone that's maybe, um, losing their vision that, you know, hey,
S2: there's all this great technology out there that means you
S2: can still lead a full and independent and fulfilling life
S2: if you want to. You know, I love working with kids.
S2: I've worked with children all over the country out in,
S2: you know, the Northern Territory, in communities like Yuendumu and
S2: Wugularr and so on, as well as in, in Darwin
S2: and Alice Springs, uh, work with children in Tasmania, all
S2: over Queensland. Um, and I've worked with people in their,
S2: in their 90s who, you know, want to, want to
S2: learn how to use technology to stay connected and that
S2: sort of thing. So, um, done a lot of work
S2: with job access, doing workplace assessments, and that's something that
S2: I've always found very satisfying. And also, I think just
S2: training other people, supporting our access technology specialists out in
S2: the field and teaching them about access technology so that
S2: they can make a difference to our community as well.
S2: You know, it really has been an extremely rewarding, uh,
S2: time and probably the, the happiest, uh, of my career.
S1: So Damo is leaving Vision Australia, and I'm sure many
S1: people listening are thinking, what about talking tech? Talking Tech's
S1: been running for 13 years, and we've decided for a
S1: range of reasons, that it's probably appropriate now to call
S1: time on talking tech. Uh, that doesn't mean there won't
S1: be technology covered in the future, and we might come
S1: back in some other form in the future. Damo.
S2: Yes, and it's something I've really enjoyed working with you
S2: over the last 7 or 8 months. Um, and uh,
S2: it was always sort of a bit of a highlight
S2: of the week, uh, sitting down and, uh, recording next
S2: week's show. So, um, I will definitely miss that. And
S2: I'll miss the, the interaction, the emails and so on
S2: from our listeners as well. So thank you everyone for
S2: your support and thanks for having me over the last
S2: few months.
S1: I just want to reflect on the 13 years of
S1: the history of blindness and low vision access technology that
S1: we've been covering in this program. Uh, it's been quite
S1: a change from the early days of the iPhone and
S1: the iOS and the Apple world, and then the Android
S1: world and lots of other things. And there are people
S1: who have been key to the success of the program.
S1: I think of my partner in crime, David Woodbridge, who
S1: for over 12 years drove the content and explained it
S1: so well on this program. David has made and continues
S1: to make an enormous contribution to access technology across Australia
S1: and around the world. He's with Humanware these days, making
S1: a difference for very many people behind the scenes. We've
S1: had people like Mark Ridout for many years at Vision
S1: Australia Radio. Nick Thompson now looking after the show, terrific
S1: support from Vision Australia radio manager Conrad Brown. I'd also
S1: like to acknowledge the the great support and encouragement from
S1: various radio stations across the Vision Australia Radio Network, the
S1: Radio Reading Network and the Community Radio Network. Without you
S1: connecting us with our vast audience, uh, we just wouldn't
S1: have been able to get as far as we have got.
S1: And to all of you who have been tuning in
S1: through various modern radio devices, uh, downloading the program. Daimyo,
S1: it's been really important to us, hasn't it? The appreciation
S1: and encouragement from our audience.
S2: It absolutely has. Um, and I'm, you know, I'm so
S2: glad that, um, you know, people have found the content
S2: helpful and, uh, enjoyed it. Uh, hopefully it's made you
S2: think or helped you learn along the way. And, uh, yeah,
S2: we certainly have enjoyed bringing it to you each week.
S2: So thank you, everyone for your support. It really does
S2: mean a lot to both of us.
S1: Another form of technology program will come to air in
S1: the near future. Keep an eye out for news of
S1: that over the coming months. In the meantime, things are happening.
S1: And Daiso. You bought another toy the other day?
S2: I did, yeah, I can't help myself. Um, the. I've
S2: always had a bit of an interest in drones, but
S2: I'd always dismissed it as something that wasn't particularly useful
S2: or that I wouldn't be able to, uh, play around
S2: with until the other day. And I was chatting to
S2: my brother about the idea of using a drone, uh,
S2: as part of the filming for my YouTube channel. So
S2: to have something that can hover in front of me.
S2: Track me as I move around, just as an alternative
S2: to using my phone on a gimbal. And I know
S2: we've talked about that in a previous program. So I
S2: came across a device called the Hover Air X1. It's
S2: probably about the size of your hand. And the idea
S2: of it, it has a camera on the front that
S2: can swivel and move up and down and that sort
S2: of thing. The I suppose you would call them wings
S2: where the the rotors are unfold from the main body
S2: of the drone. So you can, you can fold it
S2: away for, for transporting. And uh, there's a couple of
S2: little buttons on the top of the device, and it
S2: has a number of different modes. So you can, for example,
S2: have it hover in front of you. And if you
S2: move to the left or right, it will turn and
S2: track you. You can have it follow behind you. So
S2: for example, if I was, uh, wanted to film something
S2: while riding my tandem or while out in my boat,
S2: I could have it follow me. It'll do up to
S2: 25km an hour.
S1: And it's very small. You said, isn't it?
S2: Yeah. It's about the size of your hand and you
S2: can have it also do things like a bird's eye
S2: view so it can go up about 5 or 10m
S2: and sort of look down at you while you're doing something.
S1: And very accessible.
S2: It is. This was the cool thing about it. The
S2: device has spoken prompts so you can cycle through the
S2: various modes and it will say, you know, hover mode,
S2: bird's eye mode or whatever. And then if you hold
S2: the mode button down, you can adjust the parameters for
S2: that mode. So if you want it to hover for
S2: 30s or hover for a minute or hover continuously, you
S2: can adjust those parameters for each mode. You then point
S2: the camera towards you. You press the take off button
S2: and it'll beep for a few seconds and the camera
S2: will focus on on you. Then it will just lift
S2: off your hand and do what you've you've set it
S2: to do. And then when you want it to come
S2: back to you, just put your hands out and the
S2: drone will land in your hands and switch off the propellers.
S1: Sounds like an obedient budgie. Remember as a kid you
S1: have a budgie land on your hand?
S2: Yes. Yeah. Uh, the other the other nifty thing, though,
S2: is that you can record audio because the AI that's
S2: built into the iPhone app, which is also very accessible,
S2: actually cancels out the whine of the propellers. So the
S2: thing with drones is that people often use it for
S2: sort of B-roll footage or visual footage. But with this,
S2: because of that feature, you can also record the audio
S2: using your phone's microphone. Um, so yeah, it was really
S2: impressed with how accessible it was. It comes with a
S2: couple of batteries. Um, and as I said, lots of
S2: spoken prompts. The app is nice and accessible, and you
S2: can then download the footage from the drone, uh, to
S2: your phone so you can then edit it or post
S2: it or do whatever you want to do.
S1: You're very good at finding Mainstream devices that are fully accessible.
S1: How much does this one cost?
S2: So the price ranges from 4.99 to 6.49, depending on
S2: where you get it from. Uh, so you can get
S2: it off Amazon. But it's also available from places like
S2: JB Hi-Fi as well. Um, so uh, and you can
S2: get it in a couple of different colors. You can
S2: get black or white, and I think you can get
S2: it as a combo with, um, two batteries and a
S2: little carry bag, which is what I got. And it
S2: has the, the sort of a drop in charger for
S2: the battery. So you can charge both batteries at once.
S1: And what's it called.
S2: It's called a hover air X1. There is also an
S2: X1 Pro and an X1 Pro Max. Um, the main
S2: difference is just being the quality of the footage, uh,
S2: like the resolution that it can shoot and also the
S2: speed that it can travel. So for example, the X1
S2: will do 25km an hour, whereas the X1 Pro Max,
S2: I think can do about 42 and it can cope
S2: with higher winds and things, whereas mine you probably wouldn't
S2: want to use it on a really windy day outside. Um,
S2: but you know, for what I want to do with it, um,
S2: it was really just a bit of an experiment. I
S2: kind of wanted a drone, but I also wanted a
S2: flying camera. Um, you know, it's perfectly fine for the
S2: stuff that I'm using it for.
S1: The hover air x1. Now, tell us about meta. I
S1: it's hard to keep up with this meta app.
S2: It is, isn't it? So people who already have the glasses, um,
S2: will know that the app that you currently use to
S2: control them is called Meta View. It's now been rebranded
S2: as meta AI, and, um, it sort of serves as
S2: the means for controlling your meta glasses, but you can
S2: also use it as sort of a an alternative to
S2: things like ChatGPT and so on. So you can, um,
S2: you know, fire I. Request at it from your phone
S2: as well. And I think it sort of gives them
S2: a new platform from which they can launch things like the, um,
S2: meta live AI feature when that's released and some of
S2: the other things. There is now a translation language translation option, um,
S2: and a couple of other things. The look and feel,
S2: you know, if you can, if you know your way
S2: around meta view, you won't have any problem with meta AI.
S2: And when you do your app updates, it will just
S2: automatically replace your meta view app with the meta AI app.
S2: So you don't need to do anything. All your settings
S2: and everything come across. Um, but it does have a
S2: new name.
S1: So that brings us to the end of talking tech
S1: for this week. And it brings us to the end
S1: of a 13 year run of talking tech. For details
S1: of what we've been talking about in this and previous
S1: editions of the program, you can go to Varadero. Slash
S1: talking tech VA radio.com. Now to right to the program demo.
S2: People can still email me demo. At Vision Australia. And
S2: that address will stay current until about the 16th of May.
S2: After that, people are welcome to contact me on Facebook
S2: or LinkedIn if they would like to stay in touch,
S2: and if they'd like to hear about sort of what
S2: I'm up to and what we might come back with
S2: in the future.
S1: Damo McMorrow at Vision Australia. And you could chase me
S1: down on Facebook too, if you'd like to do that.
S1: Thank you Damo, it's terrific working with you. This has
S1: been talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's national
S1: access technology manager, Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. Take care.
S1: We'll talk more tech sometime. See you.