Rnib Tech Talk

After a short Hiatus RNIB Connect Radio's flagship technology series 'Tech Talk' is making its return on Tuesday May 3rd. Allan caught up with one of the show's new presenters to find out what's planned for the return of 'Tech Talk'. You can listen to the show live in the UK every Tuesday at 1pm from the 3rd May on Freeview Channel 730, online at www.rnibconnectradio.org.uk , or on your smart speaker.  You can hear new episodes of the Tech Talk podcast every Friday. Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast to never miss an episode  We'd love to hear your thoughts on accessible technology, drop us an email at techtalk@rnib.org.uk or tweet us @RNIBRadio with the hashtag #RNIBTechTalk

Tech Talk returns to the airwaves, with a new team and loads of new information on accessible technology.  You can listen to the show live in the UK every Tuesday at 1pm from the 3rd May on Freeview Channel 730, online at www.rnibconnectradio.org.uk , or on your smart speaker.  You can hear new episodes of the Tech Talk podcast every Friday. Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast to never miss an episode  We'd love to hear your thoughts on accessible technology, drop us an email at techtalk@rnib.org.uk or tweet us @RNIBRadio with the hashtag #RNIBTechTalk

Well it had to happen at some point we guess! The last episode of Tech Talk hosted by Steven Scott and the team is finally here. But what happens next?? Make sure you listen all the way through to find out. On this week's episode, Steven is joined by Tim Schwartz, Robin Christopherson and Shaun Preece to talk about the past ten years of the show under their stewardship. We hear from you, our valued listeners, who share your thoughts on the show over the last decade, and we are joined by special guest Yvonne Milne, the RNIB Connect Radio station manager, to tell us about the future of Tech Talk and offer her own views on its history. We want to thank all of our listeners for your valuable contributions and time that you gave to your show. It's meant so much to us. We know we'll meet again soon so keep an eye and ear on us on Twitter. Steven Scott is @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson is @USA2Day, Tim Schwartz is @timschwartz5 and Shaun Preece is @theblurrednerd.

In our penultimate episode before Tech Talk takes a well-earned rest, Steven and the guys get together to talk about his new MacBook Pro and his initial thoughts. Also Robin and Tim quiz Steven on a new wireless microphone setup he has bought from Rode called the Rode Wireless Go 2. And discussion starts on the best way to learn a screen reader following a debate online. Is it best to learn a screen reader with the screen turned off or on? As always your emails are welcome but remember you only have one week left to get in touch with the team here via techtalk@rnib.org.uk. 

This week the team get round the table once more to talk about the fallout from last week's announcement with a special voicemail from long time listener Peter who really summed up the mood of the audience. However the team get back to the tech and talk about the new Hable One bluetooth braille keyboard for smartphones and other devices. RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell talks to the founder of Hable One and also to Clare Maxwell from the RNIB Shop to talk about its availability. There's also a lot of talk around the new features inside the new AirPods 3 which Steven and Robin have got their grubby paws on. And Mark Evans from the Tech for Life team at RNIB gets in touch to share his thoughts on his new iPhone 13 Pro. As always we delve into the mailbag too to answer some of your queries. Keep in touch with us in our final weeks on Twitter - Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @LABCast. Plus you can still keep in touch with Tech Talk directly by emailing techtalk@r

In this week's episode we get a special announcement from Steven about the show and Robin and Tim weigh in. There's also an interview with Vodafone's Emma Reynolds and Tommy McDade from Bernardo's about a new report into the importance of digital literacy. There's also a new feature from Dinos at the Tech for Life team at RNIB telling us about apps that can make using an Android phone that little bit easier if you are blind or low vision. As always get in touch with the show by emailing techtalk@rnib.org.uk or by following the team on Twitter. Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @timschwartz5 

It's all about your emails this week as we dive into the inbox to find out what you want us to talk about. We continue with Kelly's request for your Tech From The Past with some contributions starting to come in, plus there's lots of talk on specialist apps that make smartphones easier following our discussion with the founder of Voxmate a few weeks ago. There's also a new feature from the team at RNIB Technology for Life. Chris joins us to share his thoughts on an audio editing app for iPhone and iPad called Ferrite, plus lots more. As always send in your thoughts and comments to techtalk@rnib.org.uk and follow the team on Twitter. Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @timschwartz5

This week the team discuss the latest updates from Channel 4 following the outage that saw audio description, subtitling and signing become unavailable to a number of broadcasters due to a fire at the broadcast centre that handles all of the access services. There's also an update for fans of the Amazon shopping app following changes that left blind and partially sighted users unable to search and view results or product information. Plus Mark Evans from the Technology for Life team joins us to discuss keyboard modifier keys, what they are and why they are important. Plus there's more of your emails with questions on the best headsets for the office and what type of computer is best for someone looking to buy a PC with JAWS ready to go out of the box? As always send in your thoughts and comments to techtalk@rnib.org.uk and follow the team on Twitter. Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @timschwartz5

On this week's special episode, Steven Scott, Tim Schwartz and Robin Christopherson are joined by Shaun Preece to discuss the Apple Event held on the 18th of October. This event was aimed purely at Mac enthusiasts and in particular those who are power users of the MacBook Pro lineup. The team discuss how these machines will benefit those customers and chat about the other products announced including new AirPods and three new colourful HomePod Minis. As always send in your thoughts and comments to techtalk@rnib.org.uk and follow the team on Twitter. Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @timschwartz5

This week the guys got together to discuss the latest accessibility news around Windows 11... except there was none! So... instead they talk about how nice they think it looks - from a blind perspective! Should be fun! Thankfully we have a wonderful guest with this week. Gleb Zevkov is the founder of Voxmate, an app that aims to provide a simpler experience using a touchscreen smartphone. Although while the app may be simple to operate it does offer a number of features with the entire experience built to be enjoyed by the blind and partially sighted community. In our extensive interview, Gleb talks about the app's inception as well as how it compares to other products on the market. Find out about the app at www.voxmate.com. We also get your thoughts on the topics discussed in your emails, with comments from Greg about technology elitism and Negative Julian (self-titled) comments on the Amazon Always Home Cam drone. As always send in your thoughts and comments to techtalk@rnib.org.uk and follow the team o

This week the team discuss the big announcements from Amazon's event including the Astro robot assistant, the new Echo Show 15 and Halo View, the new smart watch fitness band. But what about accessibility on all these new devices? Will they meet our expectations? There's also a review of the Miele smart washing machine courtesy of Madleen Bluhm from RNIB's Technology for Life team. Find out why Madleen is once again enjoying doing the washing as a blind person. For more information about the washing machines Madleen discusses visit this link: https://w1.miele.com/en-int/?_ga=2.136284468.464683654.1633377685-701815581.1633377685&_gac=1.184240724.1633378490.CjwKCAjwzOqKBhAWEiwArQGwaKXHWU7drB_hBiNE3TVFLJCUVkyIomJBP9RMrfYVFL9xuynMYZ2VvBoC4PQQAvD_BwE There's also more of your emails including a comment from Billy that we shouldn't shy away from talking up the benefits of smartphones to the blind, and Kelly suggests a new topic for us all to contribute to over the next few weeks. As always send in your thoug

In this week's episode Steven Scott is once again joined by Robin Christopherson from AbilityNet and Tim Schwartz from the Life After Blindness podcast to discuss all of the big announcements from Microsoft at their Surface event. The focus this week is on the accessibility of the new products and also to discuss the big accessibility news itself at the event with the launch of the new Surface Adaptive Kit that gives blind people Microsoft's own version of bump ons! Plus there's a look ahead to Amazon's event happening Tuesday 28th September and Steven talks about his lovely new iPad mini and iPhone 13 - but why not the 13 Pro? As always send in your thoughts and comments to techtalk@rnib.org.uk and follow the team on Twitter. Steven Scott @BlindGuyTech, Robin Christopherson @USA2Day and Tim Schwartz @timschwartz5

This week it's all about the Apple Event that was held in California on the 14th of September. Steven, Robin and Tim are joined by Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com to talk through the event and discuss what's new from the big fruit company. Also we get an update on the latest tech news from Sophie Ashford including news on roaming charges coming back for UK customers when in Europe and how motorbikes can be harmful to your iPhone! There's also news on Facebook launching a new smart glasses product in partnership with glasses maker Ray-Ban but will the addition of a camera in the glasses as well as speakers and a microphone cause some to be concerned about privacy, and what is the capability of such a device? And of course there's more of your emails. Lots of comments about the new robot voice Graham we've started using to read the emails out, plus a thought-provoking discussion starter from Greg on whether or not we are all technology elitists here at Tech Talk. As always send in your thoughts and

As the Apple Event draws near the Tech Talk team are in full rumour-mode with suggestions on what might be coming and what everyone is looking forward to. There's also a discussion around the news that McDonalds has teamed up with Vispero - the company behind the popular JAWS screenreader - to make it's touchscreen server screens in store more accessible. Plus there's a brief look at what's coming up in terms of accessibility within the new Windows 11 software from Microsoft which is due to roll out from October 5th. Davinder from RNIB's Technology for Life team also drops by to tell us all about the new Breville Hot Cup Water Dispener to help make a safer cup of tea - link here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-HotCup-Dispenser-Variable-Dispense/dp/B002NGNRHC/ref=asc_df_B002NGNRHC/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=231909287202&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3769138484814830017&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007363&hvtargid=pla-4

Steven Scott is joined by AbilityNet’s Robin Christopherson and co-host of The Echo Show and Double Tap Canada Shaun Preece. No Tim this week as he’s on holiday. We discuss the upcoming Microsoft and Apple Events, the latter was not announced at the time of recording this episode. There’s some interesting news for fans of desktop apps for Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram, and we get an inside scoop on some bug fixes coming soon for Sky Q Voice Guidance users. We also read out your tweets and emails you’ve been sending in including a question from Norma about what to do to keep your data safe when buying a new phone. Catherine asks why we don’t discuss Synapptic phones on the show and Greg suggests the RIVO keyboard is a great way to input text and navigate a smartphone rather than a bluetooth keyboard or even the touchscreen itself. And finally we bid farewell to Emails Andy who is off to pastures new. We meet his replacement who we think we’ll call Emails A I - the robots are taking over! Keep your com

Hello Tech Talkers! Last week we started the mammoth task of tackling the emails that you, lovely listener, have been sending us! Do Steven Scott, Tim Schwartz, Shaun Preece, and Emails Andy finally get through them all? Spoiler alert, yes, we do... with time to spare! Our topics on today's podcast include Smart TVs, new features on JAWS, more thoughts on the RNIB Radio, monitors which have on-board audio, as well as other talking points, such as Steven's new old iPhone (in red), Cookie Monster, moving to America (and back again in time for Coronation Street), Tim wanting theme music, Shaun having trouble spelling, and Queen. To email us, it's TechTalk@RNIB.org.uk More mail next week!

Hello Tech Talk fans! This week we have Steven Scott, Tim Schwartz, Shaun Preece, and Emails Andy guiding you through the show. Over the next two shows, we're focussing on our email inbox - yes, all the mail from yourselves on a variety of topics, and this week, we're getting a little philosophical with our talking points!  Our topics include gripes with the behemoth companies we buy our tech from, recommendations on smartphones with bluetooth keyboards, how to encourage the VI community into using tech more, especially if price is an issue, Windows 365 thoughts,  and requests for demos! To email us, it's TechTalk@RNIB.org.uk More mail next week!

Welcome back everyone, the Tech Talk team returns for another jam-packed show! No Robin this week, I'm afraid, he's away on holiday, but we have a returning Tim, and Shaun is also amongst us once again! They join Steven and Emails Andy to cover everything in the world of tech, accessible tech and more! We kick off with a discussion about screen time - according to a report from regulator Ofcom, UK adults spent nearly a third of their waking hours watching TV and online video content in 2020. This provokes a discussion about if this is a healthiest way to live life, and more importantly, for those of us who have children, how vital it is that we monitor and regulate this for them. Yes, the internet is full of wonderful learning resources and advice, but there's plenty of Minecraft videos they'd rather be watching into the early hours! The report also stresses that streaming is now far more popular than regular TV - Steven thinks he'll see the end of one major channel in his lifetime, so how long before o

Hello there boys and girls, welcome back to another Tech Talk - whoever you are and whatever you're doing, we're happy to have you along for the ride! On this week's show, Steven, Robin, Emails Andy and special guest Shaun Preece are here, with Tim being unwell. Coming up, the team tackle the top tech news story of the week, namely that Apple are making plans to scan iPhone images for sexual abuse content of minors; putting the subject matter to one side, is this a huge invasion of everyone's privacy, or does the 'slippery slope' argument not have any legs here? Robin and Shaun break down the tech behind scanning these 'hashes', Andy admits he's had his opinion on privacy swayed by it, and Steven has even more questions. Also this week, another look at the WeWalk Smart Cane - from a small social impact project to Amazons Best Start up of the Year award, WeWalk has come far in it's short history, RNIB Connect Radio's Ellie Marsh has been catching up with the makers to see how things are going. Hang on,

Welcome back to Tech Talk! This week we've got a bit of a special treat for you! Steven Scott is joined, as ever, by Robin Christopherson, as well as RNIB's Paul Porter, and Read On's Red Szell, to talk about a brand new skill available on Lady A! Yes, that's right - RNIB Talking Books are now available through Alexa-enabled devices, such as Amazon smart speakers using an Alexa skill. Talking Books service was first launched in 1935 and is now home to more than 30,000 audiobooks, which today are sent out to customers in CD or USB format or as digital downloads... and now on your Lady A device! Once you start accessing Talking Books through an Alexa skill, you'll be able to get reading straight away as your books will be with you instantly. As you'll be able to open any of the books on our Online Library through simple voice commands, you can make immediate changes to your reading lists when you want to, without having to wait. How do you get started with it then? Well, the library can now be accessed by