That Real Blind Tech Show

Brian Fischler, Ed Plumacher, and Allison Meloy

A podcast Hosted by Brian Fischler, Ed Plumacher, and Allison Meloy discussing the good and bad of assistive technology for the low vision and totally blind. Key topics include Apple’s VoiceOver, Amazon’s VoiceView, Windows Narrator, Freedom Scientific Jaws, Described Video, and basically any product that talks to you. We are not NPR, as we are an entertainment technology show. read less
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Episodes

Episode 151 - Poprocks Up Your Nose
5d ago
Episode 151 - Poprocks Up Your Nose
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show minus one Ed as he is sick again, but the rest of the gang is here and well.   We kick things off discussing the eclipse because why wouldn’t we? We then discuss the death of O.J. Simpson, again because why wouldn’t we?   We then dive in to the tech news and start off discussing the conclusion to the VoiceDream Reader controversy and how the blindness community responded to it.   And our new favorite term, Subscription Creep has hit 2/3 of Americans.    Early reviews of the Smart A.I. Humane Pin have not been good or kind. Will the Rabbit R1 be everything we were hoping the Humane A.I. Pin was going to be?   Microsoft is annoying users with a full screen pop up to upgrade to Windows 11 even if your machine cannot update to Windows 11.   Well everyone on That Real Blind Tech show except Brian knew that their iPhone had a secret code scanner app. Who knew? Is the Apple Vision Pro the most underwhelming Apple Product ever and are we still excited about it? Even with Apple Vision Pro being a swing and a miss for us we are still hopeful for Apple Glasses eventually. Is your Apple Watch suffering from Ghost Touch? Why has Apple paid millions to Shutter Stock to help train its Generative A.I. Program? Apple is planning a big M4 Mac update for A.I., ugh. And because WWDC is only two months away we decided to discuss some of the hottest iOS 18 rumors.   And as usual we get sidetracked and start talking about the A.I. app Pi. Which then leads us in to a conversation of will A.I. be revolutionary for screen reader users and accessibility? Only problem with all of this is that under a newly proposed law A.I. companies will have to fess up on what they are using to train their A.I. models before releasing them.   We then discuss the upcoming conference for VizWiz that Brian will be speaking at and recall the history of Vizwiz. Which then leads us down memory lane of all the computer vision apps that have come and gone over the years.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 150 - CSUN 24 Recap Irish Car Bombs and A Flaming Fischler
Apr 4 2024
Episode 150 - CSUN 24 Recap Irish Car Bombs and A Flaming Fischler
It’s an all new extra extra big That Real Blind Tech show as it’s our 2024 CSUN recap episode. It is so big that we have the ladies Jeanine and Allison recording with friend of the podcast David Goldstein and because someone who edits the show got sick we then have Brian and Ed recapping CSUN as well. It all comes together in one giant Kumbaya podcast episode for your listening pleasure.   Jeanine starts out discussing the announcements made by Aira at this year’s CSUN. We’ll give you a clue it has something to do with A.I.   And because Brian and Ed were not here yet, Allison, David , and Jeanine then discuss the braille with a lower case b keyboards announced at this year’s CSUN.   We then cut to our main men on the ground at CSUN for their insights in to everything they experienced first hand at this year’s CSUN.   Brian and Ed start off discussing a recent article by a man who is losing his vision that appeared in the Atlantic, and they could not disagree with the article more. They then discuss the upcoming release of David Kingsbury third edition of the Windows Screen Reader Primer. And then discuss the upsetting news about VoiceDream Reader moving to a monthly subscription model even if you have bought a lifetime license.   Mike Buckley then pops by to discuss the latest announcements coming out of Be My A.I.   Brian and Ed discuss the multiple cocktail hours they hit at CSUN, OKO, the new Guidance Guidance System, Celeste Glasses, Enivision AI, Vispero, Deque, WeWalk Cane, Fa Fable,  Stevie Wonder, Irish Car Bombs, Google Suite, and much more that they experienced in person at CSUN.     It’s then back to the ladies and David for some more banter and more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.
Episode 149 - An Airing of Grievances and CSUN 24 Preview
Mar 10 2024
Episode 149 - An Airing of Grievances and CSUN 24 Preview
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show and the full gang is all back together. We kick the show off discussing the last episode, and Brian’s thoughts of it.   We then kick things off discussing letters of recommendation and how idiotic universities and the government can be when it comes to technology.   Since a lot of Labs listen to our podcast, we discuss the article about how scientists recently discovered a gene that leads to most Labs being obese.   Who would have thunk it, but the WiFi at Google’s new Mt. View office sucks big time according to employees.   Windows is ditching Android and Amazon apps.   Apple Podcast has introduced transcripts in iOS 17.4. If you blinked you might have missed the introduction of the new Apple sports app. We then discuss the rumored iOS 18 accessibility improvements. This leads to us discussing the horrific bug still in Google Chrome on the Mac which has yet to be fixed and makes chrome pretty much unusable to VoiceOver users.   Twitter has introduced phone and video calls for all users. Did anyone on the planet want this? Not only can Twitter’s new calling feature open you up to more scams, but it can also possibly expose your IP address. Here’s how to disable this call feature in Twitter. MuskButt plans to hide the Likes and ReTweets counts in future versions of Twitter.   Brian then dives in to recapping his latest travel adventures with the airlines and a guide dog, Lift and uBer, and other fun things that happened along his journey from San Francisco to L.A. to San Diego. Allison also discusses her recent trip to New Mexico. And we all discuss some of our favorite travel apps. And you can check out the full Saturday Night Live Alaska Airline clip here. We then discuss walking ones guide dog while using an umbrella in a massive storm.   We then discuss the upcoming CSUN Conference as Brian and Ed will be attending. We start off discussing some of the sessions that have caught our attention. We some how get off on a tangent about inclusive design versus accessibility. We then dive in to the exhibitor list and what booths we plan on popping by.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 148 - With Or Without You It's Less Gross
Mar 2 2024
Episode 148 - With Or Without You It's Less Gross
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show. Now that we are on a regular two week recording schedule, someone was missing from this episode, but of course we needed him to edit the show, hence the delay of the release. Hmm, who is not here?   The gang kicks the show off discussing using Chat GPT to find information in large PDF documents.   Without Brian here and after some character assassination the gang finally gets going and discusses the recent cellular outage that affected a lot of the nation. This then leads to discussing how dependent we blind people are on our technology.   Apple is rumored to be introducing generative A.I. to Siri in iOS 18.   Jeanine then discusses her recent experience with ChatGPT and using it to build a press release. T.J. then tells us about how he has been using A.I. at work. Jeanine then discusses more about how she has been using A.I. to create slides and spreadsheets. Ed discusses showing off the features of ChatGPT to the students he teaches, and Allison discusses how she has been using A.I. in her every day life.   And because it’s not all A.I. the gang then discusses YouTube TV, the Fire TV, Hulu and some other streaming services they have been using lately.   Allison then talks about her new pair of Sony headphones, but because Brian was not here she got away without mentioning what freaking model she got. Come on guys! Well jeanine attempted to get Allison to give us the model number. Jeanine then discusses her new pair of AfterShockz.   Jeanine then lets everyone know that Aira is currently looking for beta testers.   And it’s more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 147 - Fahrvergnugen A Plenty
Feb 11 2024
Episode 147 - Fahrvergnugen A Plenty
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show, as Allison, Brian and Jeanine get together as Ed fell under the weather.   We kick things off discussing the brilliant clip of Larry David on the season premier of Curb Your Enthusiasm and his experience with Siri. It is must watch, and can be fully viewed here.   We then dive in to a story because we care about Steven Scott and the latest fiasco regarding Apple Maps in Scotland.   A guy on Tinder used ChatGPT to speak to 5000 women and met his wife doing it.   Some how a 200 foot radio tower went missing in Alabama.   iTunes for Windows was broken in to three useless apps.   Did you know that certain hand gestures can cause fireworks and other behavior in FaceTime and other video call applications?   We then discuss the Apple Vision Pro and the fantastic article written by Brian Giles on AppleVis. Apple has put together a decent document on using Vision Pro with VoiceOver. And could Vision Pro’s shortcomings lead to its eventual success?   We then dive in to the A.I. portion of the show as we start off discussing an interesting article about how artificial gen intelligence could redefine accessibility.   Amazon is getting ready to launch an A.I. shopping assistant named Rufus.   Jeanine then walks us through some pretty cool things she has learned to do with ChatGPT. And people as usual Jeanine did not send me the links for the show notes, not to call her out or anything.   Apple has released an open source A.I. image editor.   And why are people saying that Google’s new A.I. Gemini is full of ghosts?   Brian then discusses a couple of upcoming podcasts he will be on. Coming to a podcast player near you. He also discusses the role he auditioned for and plays a clip of his acting.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.    It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show, as Allison, Brian and Jeanine get together as Ed fell under the weather.   We kick things off discussing the brilliant clip of Larry David on the season premier of Curb Your Enthusiasm and his experience with Siri. It is must watch, and can be fully viewed here.   We then dive in to a story because we care about Steven Scott and the latest fiasco regarding Apple Maps in Scotland.   A guy on Tinder used ChatGPT to speak to 5000 women and met his wife doing it.   Some how a 200 foot radio tower went missing in Alabama.   iTunes for Windows was broken in to three useless apps.   Did you know that certain hand gestures can cause fireworks and other behavior in FaceTime and other video call applications?   We then discuss the Apple Vision Pro and the fantastic article written by Brian Giles on AppleVis. Apple has put together a decent document on using Vision Pro with VoiceOver. And could Vision Pro’s shortcomings lead to its eventual success?   We then dive in to the A.I. portion of the show as we start off discussing an interesting article about how artificial gen intelligence could redefine accessibility.   Amazon is getting ready to launch an A.I. shopping assistant named Rufus.   Jeanine then walks us through some pretty cool things she has learned to do with ChatGPT. And people as usual Jeanine did not send me the links for the show notes, not to call her out or anything.   Apple has released an open source A.I. image editor.   And why are people saying that Google’s new A.I. Gemini is full of ghosts?   Brian then discusses a couple of upcoming podcasts he will be on. Coming to a podcast player near you. He also discusses the role he auditioned for and plays a clip of his acting.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 146 - A Conversation with Dr. Bryan wolynski About CES and ATIA Conferences
Jan 27 2024
Episode 146 - A Conversation with Dr. Bryan wolynski About CES and ATIA Conferences
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show as Brian sits down with Dr. Bryan Wolynski from the Lighthouse Guild in New York City fresh off of this year’s CES and ATIA conferences.   We start off discussing this year’s CES Conference and the most interesting things that caught Bryan’s attention. How odd we start with autonomous vehicles. We discuss the fun part of locating your vehicle when it arrives.   Next up was Robot Dogs. Blind brian’s Guide Dog Wesley was not a fan.   Bryan then dives in to the Eureka Park area at the Venetian Hotel where all the start ups are located and some real innovation is being done.   We discuss the newly released app OOrion that helps people discover items around them. We then discuss another app Bryan got introduced to called From Your Eyes. We then dive in to the obstacle avoidance apps that were on display at CES. We then discuss OneCourt for the blind sports fan out there. And the impressive work that AARP is conducting. We wrap up our coverage of this year’s CES discussing an award that the Lighthouse Guild NYC won.   We then jump in to this year’s ATIA Conference that just wrapped up. Surprisingly Apple was an attendee at this year’s conference. We then discuss a company called Audible Sight whose goal is to allow you to produce your own audio description for your videos. Next up is Orcam and E-Sight.   We then discuss CSUN which will be happening in mid-March.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 145 - Bloody Pig Mask
Jan 14 2024
Episode 145 - Bloody Pig Mask
It’s the first That Real Blind Tech show of the new year, and we got the entire gang here. It’s a blind tech podcast so we start off with what else, but a state of the podcast.   We then kick the year off with the story of the year. Yes, we are getting it out of the way early as eBay executives sent critics of eBay a bloody pig mask among some other things. And yes, if you criticize us you may want to check your mailbox for a bloody pig mask!   Microsoft is set to take one of your keyboard keys away for Co-Pilot, how will this affect screen readers workflows?   Over the holidays Be My A.I. announced a new feature to set up a group of friends and family.   Brian then goes in to a recent negative experience he had with an Amazon product, and is still trying to figure out what to do about it.   We then discuss the meal delivery service factor 75.   Google Assistant will be losing 17 features in the coming weeks, unfortunately most of them are voice related.   A.I. George Carlin releases a comedy special that George Carlin would have hated.   Apple Vision Pro is up for preorders on January 19th, delivering on February 2nd, here’s what will be in the box. Apple is only producing 80,000 Apple Vision Pro’s for launch day. Additionally, if you want a demo of Apple Vision Pro it looks like Apple will only be demoing the device on launch weekend.   We kick off the CES portion of our show discussing the clicks iPhone case. Who knew we already had a replacement for the Humane A.I. pin in the R1. All the Apple Gear announced at CES. We then discuss some of the weirdest and coolest gadgets we heard about at this year’s CES. And with a lot of us here at That Real Blind Tech show being insomniacs and bad sleepers, we were very interested to learn about the Brain Band.   We then dive in to our reviews of the Meta Ray Ban Glasses and our initial experiences with the Celeste Glasses.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 143 - White Men with Packed Drawers Can't Rap
Dec 6 2023
Episode 143 - White Men with Packed Drawers Can't Rap
It’s an all new That Real Real Blind Tech show as the entire gang of Allison, Brian, Ed, and Jeanine are back together again for the first time in awhile. The Fab Four is back baby, sorry David.   We kick off the show discussing new social networks which leads to us discussing old social networks.   We then dive in to our back and forth with the gang over at Double Tap and Mr. F, and a response you must hear to actually believe.   A boy in England has an issue with the Nerd Face emoji, and who knew there was a nerd face emoji?   We then revisit a topic from years ago, should you be force quitting your apps, and is juice jacking real?   No you don’t need to turn off the Name Drop feature on your iPhone, despite what the coppers are saying.   How out of control has tipping gotten?   Be My A.I. beta and Seeing A.I. finally have come to Android phones.   Ends up the Open A.I. Board wanted the Altman firing to be a secret until it happened, how did that work out for the board? And why has the entire A.I. world been talking about Q star? We then discuss what we use Chat GPT for. We then discuss adding Chat GPT to our action button, which leads Jeanine to discussing her new favorite app.   Brian then talks about his Audio Hijack issue which led to a trip to the Apple Store and then to a purchase.   And since Brian has a new purchase we figured we would discuss what steps we take when setting up a new computer. Which then led to a little winter cleaning.   And it’s more of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 142 - Dirty Pickle
Nov 24 2023
Episode 142 - Dirty Pickle
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show, and the episode that almost never happened. It’s a packed studio with Allison, Brian, Jeanine, and David Goldstein once again pinch hitting for a sick Ed.   After some fun technological difficulties, we kick things off discussing the NFB Pennsylvania state conference that both Brian and David were just at. And Brian doesn’t even live in the state of Pennsylvania. Jeanine then fills us in on the ACB Ohio conference she just attended and the special message that was waiting for her at the conference. Which then leads us to a new term, BBB, and you will have to listen to learn what it mean.   Is. Amazon working on a new operating system?   Microsoft is rebranding Remote Desktop as Windows app, but will it be for enterprise users only?   Apple has followed IBM, and Disney, Comcast, and Paramount have all paused advertising on Twitter because MuskButt it an idiot.   It has been a crazy past few days since Open A.I. fired C.E.O. Sam Altman. What will this mean for the future of Be My A.I.? And because we are not a daily podcast or a breaking news show, before we could get this episode released Sam Altman has returned to Open A.I. and is back as their C.E.O., and the board is out.   Be My A.I. has now expanded in to customer service with their partnership with Microsoft.   Is the Singularity closer than we think, and is it real?   The Humane A.I. pin sounded like a game changer for the blind at first, but then we checked out their website. And their demo got a few things wrong with their A.I.   With A.I. being the rage these days, no wonder Cambridge Dictionary chose Hallucinate as the word of the year.   We discuss Black Friday and if we will be shopping for anything, or has Black Friday jumped the shark. While none of us were that excited for Black Friday, we were all very interested to learn about the strangest gifts found on the internet.   Supposedly in Watch OS 10.2 you will once again be able to flick through your watch faces like you used to be able to.   And it is an absolutely epic What’s Pissing Off Brian that you will not want to miss and more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.
Episode 141 - Fahrvergnugen Humanity
Nov 6 2023
Episode 141 - Fahrvergnugen Humanity
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show. The entire gang is almost here, we’re missing Ed, but we got David Goldstein pinch hitting for Ed  as we recap the Apple Scary Fast event. But not to worry our show includes a lot more than the Apple event included.   We kick the show off discussing traitorous behavior, and how silly other blind podcasts can be. Yes, we are quite the critics.   We then play a clip of Brian on the news discussing this year’s Laugh For Sight Comedy Benefit which was at Gotham Comedy Club on Monday, October 30th, yes, the same time as the Apple Scary Fast event. We bet we were much more entertaining, as David and Brian discuss this year’s benefit.   We then discuss a very interesting spam email Brian got.   We then discuss the Beatles new song which made use of A.I. in its development. Is this a good thing?   YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers causing a mass exodus from them.   Introducing the world’s first ChatGPT indoor camera. Could this be something for the blind and useful if it is accessible? On a related note world powers got together as they claim they want to contain A.I. And it took President Biden watching the latest Mission Impossible movie to get concerned about the future of A.I.   We then finally tackle the latest Apple event Scary Fast. Apple announced new M3 Mac Book Pros and a new 24 inch iMac. Instead of discussing the newly announced Macs, we discuss which Macs we are currently running, and our current opinions and issues with the state of VoiceOver on the Mac. And we’re all trying to figure out why Mac accessories are still lightning charging.   And finally, finally Brian remembered to include some of the VoiceMails and Emails we have gotten in to the show. Thanks to everyone who called and wrote in.   And it’s more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 140 - We're Sorry But Farts Are Funny
Oct 13 2023
Episode 140 - We're Sorry But Farts Are Funny
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show with the entire gang here. We kick off the pre-roll with the first ever That Real Blind Tech Show talent competition where Jeanine dominates, and others just try.   After our intros and a brief discussion about the horrific event that transpired this past weekend, we get in to some nonsense to hopefully put a smile on your face.   Our first article we discuss may be of interest to those Ring Doorbell owners, and how you can get Amazon to give you 1 million dollars!   You will not believe this next one as a man was sentenced to 9 years in prison in England for his A.I. girlfriend talking him in to attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth. Disclaimer this took place while she was still alive, and we can not confirm or deny that this was Steven or Shaun from Double Tap!   Remember that call for a pause on the further development of A.I.? Well, it didn’t work.   The reviews are in, and so far A.I. is a money pit that isn’t paying off. Here is the must see YouTube video of a British Comic speaking before Oxford University about the environment that Brian mentions.   Can’t green and blue bubbles live together in perfect harmony? And on a side note who the hell knew there were different colored bubbles in your text messages?   87% of American teenagers own an iPhone.   This year’s Laugh For Sight NYC Comedy Benefit is coming up on Monday, October 30th at Gotham Comedy Club, you can purchase your tickets here.   Future iPads may be able to charge your other devices through its screen.   Is your iPhone shutting off in the middle of the night? You’re not alone.   We then discuss Allison’s new AirPod Pros with a USBc charging case, and how often we charge our AirPods.   We then get a little sidetracked in the first ever That Real Blind Tech show singing competition, but you will not want to miss it and make sure to submit your vote for a winner at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com.   The only thing worse then the state of things at Twitter is the stuff that is going on in house at Twitter. And in another poor decision by Musk, Twitter removes headlines from news articles causing accessibility to go down hill for screen reader users.   We then have a discussion of the top five apps we use on a daily basis, not necessarily accessibility focused, but we end up only doing three rounds, as we get a little sidetracked. If you listen to the full episode you will discover why we cut it short a little later in the show. You will not want to miss it!   It’s a special What’s Pissing Off Brian Now, with a bunch of quick hitters, and we get a What’s Pissing Off Jeanine and Allison, with a very special reaction by ed that you will not want to miss.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 139 - Kardashian Size Cases, It's Very Texy!
Sep 28 2023
Episode 139 - Kardashian Size Cases, It's Very Texy!
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show. Joining Allison and Brian is T.J. Meloy, as we had to exclude Ed and Jeanine since they are not rocking all new iPhone 15’s. We decided to jump on and discuss our new iPhones along with a little other tech news.   We kick things off discussing the latest coming out of Be My Eyes. On a related note ChatGPT announced they are rolling out chat and visual capabilities. Amazon announced they invested 4 billion dollars in OpenAI competitor Anthropic.   The reviews have been less than stellar for Apple’s leather case style replacements. Brian has had an adventure finding just the right case for his new iPhone 15.   We then dive in to our initial thoughts of our iPhone 15 Pro’s and Allison’s iPhone 15 Pro Max. We discuss the Action Button and the disappointment of it not being an Actions Button.   We then dive in to some of the interesting issues we had setting up our new iPhones. Wow, wouldn’t it have been nice to know that you need to perform an update to your brand new iPhone before transferring your data!   Brian then discusses the issue he had pairing his old Apple Watch to his new phone.   We discuss speeding up the Siri voice and personal voice.   We then tell you whether or not we will be updating to Mac OS Sonoma which dropped earlier this week.   It’s a quick What’s Pissing Off Brian Now, as Amazon announced they will start putting more ads in its content unless you pay extra to get rid of them.   And it’s more of Watcha Streaming, watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 138 - A Different Kind of Apple Recap, Gender Neutral Dongles
Sep 18 2023
Episode 138 - A Different Kind of Apple Recap, Gender Neutral Dongles
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech show where the entire gang is back together to discuss the Apple Wanderlust event, the products we have already ordered, and much more.   We start off discussing why we recorded this episode later than usual. Hey, like we have said before, we got busy lives.   Apple kicked off its Wanderlust event with a video of how Apple products have saved lives. Well let’s just say this gentleman did not make the video as his butt dial triggered the S.O.S. alert.   No, Mexico did not discover alien life!     And in the in you can’t make this shit up corner, a woman mistakenly swallowed an AirPod thinking it was a vitamin.   One of us picked the wrong week to join BetMGM.   We then discuss some disturbing trends going on with the tremendous Be My Eyes Virtual Volunteer. Thank you very little ChatGPT. After we recorded, Be My Eyes released the following statement about what has been going on with ChatGPT and photos with people in them.   We then discuss the chaos of what was Apple new product launch day.   Then one of us does a total about face about an Apple product they said they had no interest in. Hmm, wonder who the flip flopper could be?   We then dive in to the Apple event. Not to worry as we assume you have most of the details elsewhere so we go through everything only as That Real Blind Tech show can. We start off discussing all the new iPhone 15’s that were announced. We discuss the new action button coming to the Pro lineup and what its capabilities will be. We discuss the switch from lighting to USBc and how the port will be standard USBc. Relax everyone, it has been confirmed that the Apple cloth will work with all iPhone 15 models! The iPhone 15’s USBc will be capable of reverse charging for your other Apple USBc devices, and possibly non-Apple USBc devices. Apple in iOS 17 has introduced 20 new ringtones.   We then get to iOS 17 and the bugs we have been having. Since iOS 17 launched today, you may have already updated, but if you did a backup, you can probably still roll back to iOS 16 until Apple stops signing it which could be the end of the week. Remember, not everyone will have the same bugs. We discuss being able to invoke Siri without the Hey and using back to back commands.   Apple announced the new Apple Watch 9 and Ultra 2. The sighted community went all gaga over the new hand gesture feature announced, but is it really a new feature? On device Siri processing also comes to the new Apple Watches.   Apple introduced new Air Pods with a USBc case. Bad news if you only want the new case.   Mac OS Sonoma will drop on September 26th. Chrome on the Mac will soon get access to iCloud keychain.   While none of us have this product yet, it sounded to cool not to mention. The Flic Twist Button for all your smart home products.   And it’s more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 137 - Bladies, Bloggles, and 50 Hour A Week Space Garbage Men
Sep 5 2023
Episode 137 - Bladies, Bloggles, and 50 Hour A Week Space Garbage Men
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show. It is just Brian and the newly named Bladies, Allison and Jeanine. We start off with a little pre-ramble discussing tech frustrations. Yes, it happens to us tech Gods.   We then kick things off discussing exploding microwaves, and microwaves catching fire. If you have a great microwave for the blind, do let us know.   Horrifying news, as scientists have proven that Beer Goggles are not real! Next up, who knew Astronauts were such Messy Marvins?   We then discuss the two new apps here to replace Microsoft Soundscape, Soundscape and Voice Vista. Jeanine tells us about her recent trip to Hawaii and her experiences using Voice Vista. Jeanine then tells us about a new app she recently discovered to help you read touch screens called Echo Batix.   An impossible Apple security vulnerability has appeared to riders of the NYC MTA.   England could soon ban Apple security updates.   We then discuss Facebook’s new Threads app, which leads us down the social media rabbit hole to Mastodon. Facebook now has a new privacy setting where you can beg Facebook pretty pretty please don’t use my data to train your A.I. Europeans may soon have the option to pay for an ad free Facebook.   No surprise, since Twitter rebranded to X, App Store downloads have dropped significantly. Are you waiting for the day when you can make a phone or video call through Twitter?   We then dive in to the rumors about the upcoming Apple Event on September 12th, Wanderlust. We discuss the iPhone models that could be in our future, battery issues some of us have been having with our current models, and the dynamic island and its usefulness. We then discuss the rumored new action button which will replace the mute button. And of course we need to mention the rumored switch to USBC. We then discuss the new AppleWatch rumors. AirPods are rumored to also be making the switch to USBC charging. We then wonder if we will hear more about the Apple Vision Pro? And finally one of us is hopeful that the rumor of a new iPad mini is true.   We then discuss some helpful information if you are running an M  Series Mac and having issues with VoiceOver volume when booting up.   Apple will soon be ending all Social Media customer service support.   And it’s more of Watcha Watching, Watcha Streaming.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 136 - A Conversation with Casey Liss, the Developer of CallSheet
Aug 23 2023
Episode 136 - A Conversation with Casey Liss, the Developer of CallSheet
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show, Brian is joined by Developer, Writer, and Fellow Podcaster Casey Liss from The Accidental Tech Podcast. Casey is the developer behind the new fantastic CallSheet iOS app. The app works fantastically well with VoiceOver, and we highly recommend subscribing to the app if you are a TV and Movie fan.   We kick the interview off actually talking about Brian and a little behind the scenes about his Top Gear appearance.   Casey then tells us how he came up with the idea for CallSheet, and then walks us through how the app ended up being fully accessible for VoiceOver users. Casey explains how Swift UI Kit  makes it easier to design apps with accessibility in mind.   Casey tells us about meeting one on one with an Accessibility expert at Apple during WWDC, and how beneficial it was to him.   We talk about Casey’s fellow podcasters John Siracusaa and Marco Arment from the Accidental Tech Podcast, and discuss how Marco was helpful in the development of CallSheet.   We discuss the Yahoo All Blind Fantasy Football League Mini Documentary and how it was all born out of accessibility and communication.   We then discuss the subscription plans in CallSheet and what they include. Casey then tells us what developers think about short and long term when setting subscription costs.   We then talk about the moved.org where CallSheet’s information is sourced from and whether or not you can update information on it.   We then discuss possible CallSheet integration with Plex and Channels. Which leads Brian to mentioning Audio Description and how fantastic it would be to have a service that mentions whether or not a title has Audio Description.   Casey tells us a little about his podcast The Accidental Tech Podcast and you can subscribe to it here.   You can keep up with all things Casey on his website. You can also find Casey on Mastodon and Instagram.        We finish up discussing Mastodon and the blind communities exodus from Twitter, or whatever they are calling it these days.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 135 - You Will Not Use Chat Bots To Read the That Real Blind Tech Show Outline
Aug 16 2023
Episode 135 - You Will Not Use Chat Bots To Read the That Real Blind Tech Show Outline
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show, as most of the gang is back together for the first time in a month. Allison, Brian and Ed discuss some tech, interesting articles, and share some laughter along the way.   We kick the show off discussing the Inaugural Laugh For Sight Long Island which took place on August 7th. We then get a little self involved as we realize our third anniversary since our rebrand came and went without a party or anything.   We then discuss the recently released Voice Vista. The app that replaces the now defunct Microsoft Soundscape. Ed gives us an example of how he uses beacons to map out places in Central Park, which then leads us to discussing indoor navigation in unfamiliar layouts.   We then discuss the possible dumbest rebranding of all time, Twitter to X. We then turn our attention to the latest updates on the bout of the Century, Musk V Zuckhead.   Google Chrome is getting ready to start using Generative A.I. to summarize articles. Is this a good or bad thing?   We then discuss a must read article, The Origins of Your Favorite Swear Words.   We then discuss two new exciting apps. First up is an app called Beeper which is currently on a wait list, then we discuss a fantastic fully accessible replacement for iMDB, CallSheet.   With the cost of streaming services going up everywhere, are you cutting back?   Scammers are now coming your phone number. Is this fear mongering or real?   You will soon be able to get food delivered to you at your airport gate, but will any of it be accessible?   And it’s the return of What’s Pissing Off Brian Now, an extended version, and more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 134 - NFB 2023 Resolution Recap: Everyone Can Do It Privately and Accessibly
Jul 26 2023
Episode 134 - NFB 2023 Resolution Recap: Everyone Can Do It Privately and Accessibly
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show. The entire gang of Allison, Brian, Ed, and Jeanine are all here with are great audio back to normal now that we are off the road.   We start things off discussing Ed and my Flight for Sight travel adventures, and some fun recording issues we ran in to while on the road. Allison then lets us all know what Brian is like as a houseguest. To learn more about Flight for Sight check out their website.   We then dive in to the 2023 NFB Resolutions discussion, and you can read all of the resolutions that were passed here.   While we don’t cover all the resolutions that passed, we do start off discussing resolution 1 which has to do with web accessibility and the Department of Justice.   Resolution 2 deals with state VR and their usage or lack of usage of funds.   Resolution 3 has to do with the accessibility of Twitter.   Resolution 4 was about accessible absentee voting. Resolution 5 has to do with real time audio delays at live sporting events for the four major sports. Resolution 6 is about the enforcement of 508, and thank goodness Jeanine was here to explain 508 to all of us. Resolution 8 has to do with the Department of Transportation. Resolution Now we get in to the silly resolutions, as Resolution 13 has to do with the way chat bots and A.I. define blind peeps.   And we came up with the best solution to Resolution 15 the inaccessibility of CSPAN votes. We then get an update from Jeanine about her time at this year’s ACB Conference. Then we hit up an email and recent phone call from our buddy over the pond.   And if you are in the Long Island area, make sure to come out to the Inaugural Laugh For Sight Long Island on Monday August 7, 2023. For tickets.   And it’s more of Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 133 - NFB In Person Recap: Not Today, Not Tomorrow, Not Ever!
Jul 22 2023
Episode 133 - NFB In Person Recap: Not Today, Not Tomorrow, Not Ever!
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show and ICantCU Combo Podcast, as our friend David Goldstein joins Brian and Ed at the NFB Conference 2023 to recap our three day experience at this year’s conference. We recorded this podcast at two in the morning, so we may sound a little tired, and since we were all in the same room, we apologize for the issues with Ed’s mic. Of course with technology, it wouldn’t be That Real Blind Tech Show if there wasn’t a tech issue!   We start off talking about the fun people we met in Houston. Only Brian, David, and Ed could go to a conference with 2800 blind peeps and end up meeting a bunch of sighted people.   We then head back to our arrival in Houston, and the fun we had finding our hotel. David talks about the phenomenal customer service we received during our entire stay at the Embassy Suites Downtown Houston.   We then discuss the iBug  Today party that we were invited to, and hit up a little late. David talks about the luck he had at the party. Ed then discusses the difference between beep ball and the Italian Blind Baseball he was discussing with people at the conference.   We then discuss some of the booths we hit up at the NFB conference. And David discusses the blind enterprise program and the struggles he has had with it.   David then tells us about the closing night banquet dinner and it sounds way to confusing  and not fun, good thing Brian and Ed will already be out of Houston. We then backtrack and talk about our dinner at Papa Deux that night, and we circle back to meeting our new friends Clay and Bryan.   We then discuss going to the Astros game on July 4th. We discuss our experience with guest services and the real time radio broadcast feed.   We then go in to what caused us to delay podcasting to two in the morning, and it was worth it.   We then all give our opinions of this year’s NFB Conference.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.
Episode 132 - A Conversation with Mike May on Traveling Blind
Jul 19 2023
Episode 132 - A Conversation with Mike May on Traveling Blind
It’s an all new That Real Blind Tech Show as Brian and Ed sit down with Mike May at the National Federation of the Blind 2023 Conference in Houston, Texas. Our apologies for our tech issue as even though we tested it, Ed’s mic was not hot, so his mic quality is not what you are used to on That Real Blind Tech Show.     Mike discusses using the Good Maps app to get around the Conference and find places of interest in Houston. Mike tells us a little about his career involvement with accessible navigation. Mike then tells us about some of the exciting changes coming to Good Maps Outdoors.   Mike then lets us know what he likes about coming to conferences like the NFB and Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We discuss what products at this year’s NFB have excited Mike.   We discuss the current 15 to 30 second delay from real time that is occurring on AM/FM radios at Major League Baseball games. At the 2023 NFB Conference a resolution was passed targeting this delay. You can read about the resolution and all the NFB resolutions passed at this year’s conference here.   We then find out why Mike is now consulting with Flight for Sight.   Mike then explains the concept of the power of getting un-lost.   Mike fills us in on his upcoming travels  which are fairly extensive.   If you would like to read Brian’s recap about Ed and Brian’s entire time in Houston, a recap of the NFB Conference, the Astros game, and more, you can read it here.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005, and make sure to visit our website where you can listen to any of our past episodes.