WWDC 2021 Keynote

June 7th, 2021

The Tech Doctors are back with their unedited examination of Apple’s 2021 World Wide Developers Conference Keynote presentation. There is lots of good information in this one.

Enjoy.

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Portable Podcasting with PodTrak

May 18th, 2021

In this podcast, the Tech Doctors have the pleasure of speaking with Tim Cumings who is onboard to help us thoroughly examine the Zoom PodTrak P4. This is a small digital recorder, smartphone audio interface, and a USB interface for Mac or PC all in one portable device that weighs less than a pound.

Tim and the Tech Doctors are confident that the PodTrak is a great choice for anyone who wants to record a podcast any time any place.

The Tech Doctor known as David Woodbridge got so excited he bought a PodTrak during the recording of the podcast.

If after listening to us you are wanting to learn more, the Tech Doctors encourage you to listen to the excellent podcast that Tim Cumings recorded for Jonathan Mosen. This podcast can be found
Here.

Thanks for listening.

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An Apple Event Called Spring Loaded

April 20th, 2021

In this podcast, the Tech Doctors tell you all about the Apple event that took place on April 20, 2021. It is always exciting to see how Apple keeps moving forward by constantly improving the products.

The Tech Doctors do apologize for the unwanted guest called a leaf blower. Sorry for the background noise.

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Four Hybrid Braille Displays

April 18th, 2021

In this podcast, the tech doctors compare and contrast four forty cell Braille displays. All four are known as “hybrid” Braille displays. The term hybrid is used because these displays have some basic capabilities when not connected to another device but the built-in functions are not as robust as you might find in a standard Braille notetaker. For example, these devices have a basic text editor but if you need to do sophisticated word processing in Braille, you will need to connect the display to a computer, smartphone, or tablet to make use of that devices word processing capabilities.

The tech doctors are excited about this hybrid approach because computers and smartphones are much more capable of doing the heavy lifting than are traditional notetakers. They are also excited because the interface between Braille displays and other devices is improving.

Allison and David share their experiences and perceptions of the
Mantis
Which is available from
The
American Printing House.

The Mantis is the only one of the four displays that has a QWERTY keyboard rather than a Perkins style Braille keyboard.

Robert and David are experienced users of the
QBraille
from
Hims Inc.

The QBraille is unique in that it as a Braille keyboard for data entry along with QWERTY function and navigation keys. Therefore, the QBraille can act as both a Braille display and a QWERTY keyboard when connected to a computer.

Robert discusses the
Orbit Reader 40
from
Orbit Research.

Thanks to new and more affordable Braille Display technology that was developed by Orbit Research, the Orbit Reader 40 is an excellent hybrid display but at half the cost of the other three.

Robert expresses appreciation to Roger Behm of
Adaptive Information Systems Inc.
for loaning him a Brailliant BI 40X which is a major player in the current generation of hybrid Braille displays. The Brailliant BI 40X is manufactured by
HumanWare.
It can be purchased either from Adaptive Information Systems or directly from HumanWare. I have had excellent experiences purchasing from Roger at Adaptive Information Systems.

The tech doctors hope you enjoy this rather fast paced and lively comparison. These new displays have much to offer and they are all unique making it likely that at least one of them will meet your particular needs.

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Connecting the Dots

March 14th, 2021

In this Tech Doctor episode, the tech doctors have the pleasure of sitting down with Venkatesh Chari, the CEO of Orbit Research.

Venkatesh explains how he found the right career for himself by combining his engineering talents with his desire to develop products that really help people.

It was wonderful to learn about Orbit Research’s approach to developing affordable, high quality refreshable Braille displays.

To learn more about the complete line of products from Orbit Research, go
Here.

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A Little Touch of Braille

February 14th, 2021

This Tech Doctor podcast begins with Allison letting us know that she is enjoying working with the Microsoft Surface Pro. She also tells us how she is now carrying two iPhones to meet her entertainment and communications needs. She is enjoying both the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone SE 2020.

David tells us about how he has taken his product demonstrations to a new level by producing videos. Don’t worry, he is still providing excellent audio description in these videos.

To check out the new videos, go to
David’s Vision Australia Blog.

Robert tells us that there is now a way to use SuperDuper to backup Macs that are running Big Sur. You can read all about this on the
Shirt-Pocket Blog.
Robert also lets us know that setting up the M1 Macs to work with the
Rogue Amoeba products
is fully accessible with VoiceOver.

The remainder of the podcast is spent discussing electronic Braille. There is a lot happening with Braille these days.

The Tech Doctors discuss the trend away from Notetakers and toward hybrid Braille displays which have some minimal note taking capabilities but mostly rely on a connected computer or mobile device to do the heavy lifting of making word processing, email, web browsing, and so on available in Braille.

The Tech Doctors acknowledge that for this hybrid approach to work well, the interface between the Braille display and the computer or mobile device has to be consistent and reliable. The Tech Doctors feel that there is a bright future for this way of working with Braille but there are some growing pains to get through. The Tech Doctors are delighted, however, to see the cost of refreshable Braille coming down.

The Tech Doctors are excited about several new Braille displays. They discuss the
Mantis from APH,
The Orbit Reader from Orbit Research,
And the
new Brailliant displays from HumanWare.

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Apple’s Audio Magic

January 15th, 2021

In recent years, the iPhone has become known for the excellent photographs that it produces. This is not because Apple has defied physics and put a huge camera lens in a tiny iPhone. It is because Apple has learned how to use computational image processing to create stunning photos.

A few years ago, when they introduced the HomePod, Apple showed us that they can create fabulous audio using similar computational processing of sound. The three tech doctors, who are totally blind, can not appreciate the photos but we love how Apple is using its computational engineering magic to delight our ears with amazing audio.

Apple just introduced the new over the ear headphones called AirPods Max which take full advantage of computational processing to create a wonderful audio experience.

In this podcast, the tech doctors give the AirPods Max a thorough examination. This is, of course, what tech doctors do. Sit back, relax and enjoy. We will tell you everything you need to know about the AirPods Max.

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Thank You Apple

December 25th, 2020

The Tech Doctors are publishing this podcast on December 25, 2020. We are currently in the middle of a world wide pandemic that has disrupted all of our lives in one way or another. Far too many people are sick or dead and generalized anxiety is through the roof.

In this podcast, the Tech Doctors share their amazement and gratitude for what Apple has accomplished during this past fall. The new hardware includes: Apple Watch Series 6, four models of iPhone 12, HomePod Mini, M1 MacBooks and AirPods Max.

All of the hardware is running on updated operating systems which brings amazing collaboration between the products. This is something that only Apple can offer. We also saw significant enhancements to accessibility and even a glimpse into the future of indoor navigation for blind people.

The tech Doctors describe how these products bring pleasure and increase their quality of life. Thank you Apple for showing us a way forward.

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Apple November Event

November 10th, 2020

In this Tech Doctor podcast, David Woodbridge and Robert Carter share their excitement about the “One More Thing” November 2020 Apple event.

David and Robert love the Mac and this event introduced three new Macs running Apple’s silicon called the M1 chip. This is a huge breakthrough for the Mac.

Listen and enjoy.

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Apple October Event

October 13th, 2020

In this unedited and lively Tech Doctor episode, Allison Meloy, Robert Carter and David Woodbridge meet up to share their thoughts and feelings about the Apple October 13, 2020 event.

They will tell you all about the new HomePod Mini and the new iPhone 12.

They had lots of fun bringing you this event.

Enjoy.

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