World Braille Day 2024

00:08S1

Hello everyone! Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from January the 9th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have you with us listening maybe through Virgin Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Australia or the Community Radio Network. There's also the podcast. To catch that, all you need to do is search for the two words talking tech. And Dan. It can all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play Virgin Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast, Virgin Australia Radio Talking Tech podcast with me, someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well. Vision Australia's national adviser on access technology, David Woodbridge David, we've passed looking back at last year and looking forward to this year and down into the nitty gritty of developments this year, and let's start with the World Braille Day last Thursday, January the 4th, which is the anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the man who started it all.

01:15S2

It certainly is. And it's always amazing that you think such an invention has made a huge difference in lots and lots of people's lives over the years, even though I guess I'm primarily a screen reader user. Uh, across all my stuff, I use manual braille in particular quite a lot. So I still have a Perkins Braille, a bra labeler. I've got a little brow device in front of me, and I thought it was really fantastic that Microsoft, Google, um, celebrated Braille was all the International Braille Day. I was a little bit disappointed that Apple didn't. So I thought, hmm, that's something to keep an eye on. Uh, and of course, Vision Australia celebrated in style by posting an email about Braille last week as well. It's one of those things that we just take for granted, and I really do think it's nice to celebrate these things. Like I just said, that we do take for granted, but still is really very relevant today, particularly for literacy, Braille.

02:14S1

And this particular World Braille Day was a bit special for me and my wife Vicky, because fresh in our memory is our visit to the Louis Braille Museum, where we happen to be for a very special couple of hours in May last year. Very nice. Now, Braille is as relevant today and changing as much today as ever. Muse. Score. Tell us about that app.

02:38S2

So music Score is a composing music score application. So it's open source. And they announced that in version 4.1 there will be a Braille view. And what the brow view will allow people to do is to not only visually see the brow representation of the print music score on the screen, but you'll also be able to read it in Braille as well, which means you've got direct access to quote music Braille in live while you're doing your music school. And then later on this year, I believe with version 4.2, they'll be introducing Braille keyboard input. So they'll be using your SDF, JKL keys as the Braille input keys. The other thing about this, too, is it allows teachers who are blind or sighted, or students who are blind or sighted to collaborate on producing music scores. And if you're learning Braille music, you can get the screen reader to say, you know, this is A44 time signature and so on. So this has lots of implications. And if you don't know who the developer of music score is, it's the same folks that produce audacity.

03:53S1

Great news for all their brother and sister musicians who use Braille. Tell us about the web Aim Screen Reader survey. It happens every year.

04:03S2

Indeed. And this is the 10th one. So this is a survey that not only covers screen readers across all platforms, such as, you know, windows, Apple, Linux and so on, but it also covers other things like what browsers do you use? Uh, whether you use more mobile than desktop systems and so on. So it's it's quite a wide ranging survey. It's open till the 31st of Jan 2024. So what I advise people to do is please actually add your comments to it, because this is a really great way of finding out what's really going on in the world and what people actually use.

04:42S1

So it's a worldwide survey, is it?

04:44S2

Yes it is. Yeah.

04:45S1

Closing at the end of January. Now, what's all this nonsense with the Apple Watch Series nine and the ultra two?

04:54S2

Right. So in a nutshell, a metal company has taken Apple to court about them using a bit of hardware technology that's in the Apple Watch Ultra two and the series nine watch. And what that. Company is saying basically because we want royalties for our hardware patent. Apple saying no, because if we make a software change, it'll be different. The other company is saying, no, it won't. So they did a suspension of those two Apple Watches on December 26th. Apple very quickly then appealed that and it got taken up. So the appeal got disappeared. Whatever the word is for that. Withdrawn. So the Apple Watch Ultra two and the Apple Watch Series nine is now on sale again. But it's pending the appeal. So at the end of the day, really all Apple has to do is to start paying a couple of cents per unit to the company that says they. I was brought his only old patent hardware, and they're pretty convinced that changing the software is not going to make any difference to the patent dispute.

05:58S1

One of many legal disputes that seem to go on in the tech world, isn't it?

06:02S2

Indeed, yeah.

06:04S1

The textbooks and expos and things already underway this week.

06:09S2

Indeed. So let us not forget the famous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This is where manufacturers of all sorts demonstrate either concept custom previews, whatever you want to call it, technology that they're working on for sale in retail this year. So some of this stuff may not even come to pass. And this year, of course, funnily enough, there's a lot of stuff about AI, artificial intelligence. So we can be looking at indoor car info slash information systems. We'll be looking at robots and then of course, all the other sort of general stuff about laptops, desktops, monitors, smartphones, smart devices, you name it, it'll be there. And there's been also some talk about some different accessibility stuff that will also be there. So what I thought we would do is wait till CES throws everything against the wall. We'll pick out some of the major things, and we'll cover more about it next week when we've got more of idea what's been covered.

07:16S1

Are people able to tune in to any sessions online?

07:19S2

You can. The link in the show notes takes you to one of the the Tech blog websites, and they'll be adding stuff so you can go and watch specific manufacturers. So, you know, Honda might have one. Um, Samsung will have one and someone so you can tune in when those ones are on. But there's not like a sort of a main stage that's continually broadcast each particular manufacturer or developer, uh, if they're doing a keynote or a presentation online, um, it just has different times of the day and most of the course being in Las Vegas, it's probably going to be somewhere in the morning at the time.

07:54S1

Samsung they have an event coming up on the 18th of January.

07:58S2

Yep. So of course that's our time. Uh, and it's the unpacked event for 2024. The first one what we're looking at is most likely a new Galaxy phone. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a new Galaxy Watch. And it probably most likely a new Galaxy set of buds as well. Earbuds. Uh, and who knows, they might even also talk about putting AI more into the Samsung operating system for phones. So poor old Bixby might be living very dangerously on the end of its lifespan.

08:31S1

Now, copilot, which is the AI tool from Microsoft going to more platforms.

08:38S2

I got very excited when I saw this because now the copilot itself, the app is not only available on the iPhone, but it's also available on Android. And of course, this is the, you know, the open source back end or front end when they want to call it, of the AI system from Microsoft. So as with any other large language model, you can ask it questions. The weird thing is, on my iPhone, I can say open Copilot on Android where I can normally say open and then I have an application to start Copilot. I've got to say launch. So if anybody's listening out there in Android Land, if you can tell me why some applications need the word launch versus the word open, I'd be really interested to hear about it.

09:24S1

You might be able to clear up a bit of confusion that may arise for some people. People who use iOS may be familiar with Bing. Now there's copilot. They're both from Microsoft.

09:37S2

That's right. So basically Bing's morphed into or changed into copilot. Because when you think about what an original large language model is, it's just a large language model. It doesn't really interact with the internet. So what Microsoft's done is they've married both the Bing, the search side of things with the AI, large language model side of things, and both of them give you the result of using copilot.

10:00S1

There's going to be a new key on windows keyboards.

10:04S2

And of course people are saying this is the first. Major thing that Microsoft has done with the windows keyboard for the last three decades. Um, so besides your application key on upcoming Microsoft keyboards and laptops and so on, there'll be a dedicated co-pilot key. Now, I'm assuming on keyboards that don't have a dedicated co-pilot key like your applications key. They'll definitely be a keyboard workaround. So hopefully it uh, so yes, this week we'll find out more about that. Um, believing Acer's releasing a laptop that's got the copilot key already on the keyboard. So that's going to be really nice. Like the home button originally on your iPhone or your iPad. You can sit now back and, uh, press your co-pilot button on your windows keyboard and chit chat away.

10:52S1

Tell us about Tom Tom teaming up with Microsoft.

10:56S2

This is another area where Microsoft is really getting into artificial intelligence. So not only in computer side of things. So laptops and desktops, but also in car infotainment systems. So normally when you use Tomtom, which is the navigation system, you can look up and find the nearest petrol station. Well, now, because it's going to be using AI and search, you'll be able to say to the AI system in your car, naturally speaking, for example, I'm just leaving Gosford here. I'm travelling to Sydney. Can you tell me what the next petrol station on the left hand side of the road will be? That's got the cheapest petrol available and it will come back and let you know. So rather than just saying all or putting in petrol stations on your route, you'll be able to interrogate the system much better. And of course you'll also be able to control your cars, so you'll be able to say, close open windows, uh, change your air conditioning, all that sort of stuff. So to me, Stephen, this reminds me of the Knight Rider 2000. So, Kit, I want Tomtom to actually use the guy that did the kit voice. I want that now in the Tomtom system, and it's going to be available in various manufacturer cars, uh, this year.

12:10S1

Hopefully it's come a long way from that magical device a few years ago that would give you your GPS info, hasn't it?

12:17S2

I know, yeah. I mean, you sort of look back and you think, oh my goodness, how do we use that type of device? It was so primitive. Now it's on my sky's the limit. So I'm really looking forward to this year and see how it goes. Because I think it's just going to be absolutely amazing where AI and search takes us in particular.

12:35S1

Tell us about grok. Grok.

12:38S2

This may have been available overseas in X or as I still like to call it, Twitter. So this is the Twitter app on your iPhone. I'm pretty sure it's on Android, but I haven't double checked that. So it's one of the tabs down the bottom. So we've got home and notifications. And the grub tab allows you to use the AI large language model of the system, which is called grok grok. And this is part of the premium subscription. So you'll need to pay for it. So you get all the wonderful things that a premium subscription gives you a i.e. things like being able to delete or redo a tweet properly and so on. So part of that deal is also to use the AI system. I think it ended up being about 31 or $32 a month. So I thought, well, I don't use systems that much at the moment and I don't need the premium features of the grok system and the other stuff. So I thought, yeah, you know what, I'll just mention it. It's there. And if you want to pay for the premium version of X, go for it.

13:39S1

Just before we go, a reminder of where there are details. If what you've been talking about in this and previous editions of the.

13:46S2

Program, you can check out my blog site, which is David would be r dot podbean Podbean com.

13:52S1

David would be dot podbean Podbean. Com to write to the program.

13:59S2

You can write to me at Vision Australia where I work, which is David Woodbridge how it sounds at Vision Australia -dot-org.

14:04S1

David Woodbridge at vision Australia dot org. This has been Talking Tech - with me has been Vision Australia's national advisor on access technology David Woodbridge. I'm Stephen Jolley, take care. We'll talk more tech next week. See you.