Double Tap

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the open letter sent by major players in the technology industry, including Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and others, demanding a six-month pause on any future development of artificial intelligence to allow companies and individuals to catch up. But is this for the benefit of humanity or the benefit of their businesses? Also, the guys are joined by AMI Technical Producer Jacob Shymanski to talk about his love of editing audio and to discuss his editor of choice: Reaper. But what's the big deal considering the other free options, like Audacity, out there? Keep your feedback coming - email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the big news that Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference will take place from the 5th to the 9th of June this year. Also, the guys are joined by Mike and Hans from Be My Eyes to talk about the latest innovations in artificial intelligence that has brought a huge new feature to the popular app for people who are blind. Keep your feedback coming by emailing us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-803-4567 and leaving us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the latest features inside the new iOS 16.4 update for iPhones. There's talk about the new mainstream features, but also a cool new way to interpret graphs using audio in the Weather app. But can Steven and Shaun figure out what the graph means? Also, there's more of your feedback, including Pennsylvannia Greg schooling Mr. Scott on the origins of AI and an important message for our UK audience from listener Peter, who tells us about a new warning system coming into place and being tested on the 23rd of April across the country. Keep your feedback coming - email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun read through more of your feedback, as well as uncover what is behind the hardware of the new Optima Braille laptop coming in 2024 from Orbit Research. There's also an in-depth conversation with Andrew Flatres from HumanWare, who talks about the new Designed for Surface certification that has been applied to three of their Braille devices. But what does it mean? And what's Andrew's take on the new Optima Braille laptop? Keep your feedback and comments coming - email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the news that TikTok is being banned on various government-issued smartphones around the world, with France taking the biggest stand and banning a range of other social media apps too. But as Steven asks, "Is the content on social media the problem or is it the data being collected?" Also, is it time to have a serious debate about the content itself on social media, and whether or not it is in fact a reflection of our society, rather than an anomaly? Plus there's more of your feedback, including questions about the accessibility of the new Fire TVs from Amazon, and a suggestion for a new OCR system available that Steven and Shaun had not heard about. Keep your feedback coming. Email feedback@doubletaponiar.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today, Steven talks about his favourite topic - keyboards - and Shaun seems to want to join in too! We discuss the various types of keyboards out there and why Steven is so obsessed. We also find out, from AMI contributor Michael Babcock, the best way to configure keyboards to our liking on the Mac with a short demo. And Shaun explains how he has managed to customize his new Logitech keyboard despite facing very inaccessible software. Keep your feedback coming. Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show Steven and Shaun discuss the power of artificial intelligence thanks to a demo sent in by listener Kyler. Also Steven chats with listener Jason Fayre who talks about his brand new HIMS SensePlayer device which lets him enjoy audiobooks, podcasts and internet radio on the move, as well as a host of other unique features. Keep your feedback coming. Email us feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun meet up with a friend of the show, Jenine Stanley. Known for her role at Aira Jenine joins the team today in a personal capacity to discuss her findings at the recent CSUN assistive technology conference in California. Jenine talks about getting hands-on with the Optima Braille laptop from Orbit Research and the new HIMS SensePlayer. Keep your feedback coming - email us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss the latest New York Times article featuring an interview with a former staff member at Apple who worked on Siri and explains why the personal assistant isn't really up to the job. Also, there's a new movie all about Canadian company Research In Motion, famously known for its Blackberry phones that became the business smartphone. But what happened to it? Was its demise all down to competitors Apple and Google? And there's more of your feedback. Keep it coming by emailing feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-803-4567 and leaving us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun talk about the new Mac app called CenteredHead that allows you to check if you are centred on screen during a video call. It's a lightweight app that only costs a dollar; Steven demonstrates how it works. Also, there's an update for one of our listeners Paul, who asks how to transfer his data from a second-generation Victor Reader Stream to the third generation. HumanWare responds to the query. And there are more of your comments and emails which are always welcome. Email us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun read through more of the emails and messages you have been sending this past week. Also, listener John Carpenter gets in touch to share with us his thoughts and demo of the Hable One Braille input keyboard for smartphones. And the guys discuss the best and worst places in Canada to survive a zombie apocalypse, in case the day ever arrives that you need to know! It's the show that has it all! Keep your feedback coming: email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun read and listen to more of your feedback on the big issues discussed on the show over the last week. Also, Steven finally gets around to doing the much-promised Twitter on the web demo using his PC and JAWS to demonstrate how to easily navigate the app which, due to the web app nature of the design, is applicable across Apple, Windows and even Chromebooks. Keep in touch with us and send us your feedback. Email us at feedback@doubletaponiar.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, there's more of your feedback, plus Shaun takes a look around the new Aira Explorer app that is now available on both iPhone and Android devices. The app replaces the existing Aira app on iPhones. Steven and Shaun are also joined by J.J. Meddaugh, from ATGuys in the U.S., who is on the ground at the CSUN assistive technology exhibition on its final day to talk us through what he has found so far. He will rejoin us in the next couple of weeks to give a broader view. Let us know your thoughts on the event and our coverage and topics. Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun geek out with two fellow Mac heads and share some really cool apps that can improve your productivity and functionality of the Apple operating system. The guys are joined by Michael Babcock and Damashe Thomas, two podcasters who host various shows and are featured across U.S. accessibility tech media such as ACB. They discuss three cool applications including LaunchBar, an alternative to the Mac Spotlight feature for fast searching, and RIM (Remote Incident Manager) which helps you control another PC or Mac easily even if the other person doesn't have or use a screenreader. There's also a chat about a guide to setting up Backblaze, an online backup solution for the Mac, and many other apps that can aid your productivity. Let us know what apps you are using on your device, no matter what it is. Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.)

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun discuss some of the big news stories coming out of CSUN's big assistive technology conference taking place in California. There's lots of excitement around the announcement from Orbit Research, who have partnered with AccesMind, to produce a new type of computer for blind people with a QWERTY keyboard and 40-cell Braille display built in. It's called the Optima and is completely configurable before and after purchase. It's likely to be Steven's next computer but will it be his last? Also, there's even more excitement around ChatGPT than usual following Open AI's announcement of the upgrade to version 4, which lets users scan images and get results from them. For example, being able to take a picture of the contents of your fridge and then have Open AI offer you a recipe of what you could make with those contents. The blind community is equally excited as Open AI has partnered with the popular app Be My Eyes to create a new Virtual Assistant in the app, allowing you to check the colour and design of a piece of clothing, up to searching a menu for specific things. And they're not alone. Envision AI is also showing off at CSUN this year their new feature upgrade coming soon that will embed ChaptGPT capabilities into their smart glasses. All this news and more plus your feedback on today's busy show. Email us with your feedback - email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnair.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun face the wrath of the listeners who disagree strongly with Steven's decision to remain on Twitter, and his reluctance to take Mastodon seriously as an alternative. There's also a fiery reaction from one of our listeners following the discussion around echolocation and a debate opens up on when it is OK to suggest we should or could do better as blind people. We are normally all about tech but it's fair to say that the social impact of technology creates a lot of interesting debate, and we welcome all of it, whatever your view. We thank you all for your continued contributions and ask you to keep them coming. Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnair.s

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun are joined by Aaron Linson, a regular listener to Double Tap and an AT instructor by day, to tell us his thoughts on the new third-generation Victor Reader Stream that has been launched in the U.S., and coming to other countries in the next few months. We are also joined by David Ward, host of the popular Echo Tips podcast, and also an AT instructor, to give him the chance to question Aaron from his point of view and also from his students' perspectives on how useful this device could be for them. It's a wide-ranging discussion and we'd love to get your thoughts on it. Email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

In this special extra episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun turn to an email that came in this week that was very interesting, but sadly too long to fit into the regular show. Listener Wayne got in touch to share his thoughts on our ongoing conversation on such subjects as coming to terms with sight loss, rehabilitation and how well it performs for blind people and employment challenges. Today's episode allows us to hear the email in full (thanks to Laura) and await your comments. Keep those comments coming - email feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.

Today, on the weekend edition of the show, Steven and Shaun discuss how they've been using some hidden features of their devices, such as the best way to utilize a stereo pair of Amazon Echo speakers and cool shortcut keys and their functions on newer keyboards. Also, there's more of your feedback including comments on being born blind, employment and more. Keep your feedback coming by emailing feedback@doubletaponair.com or calling 1-877-803-4567.

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun are joined by regular contributor to AMI, Michael Babcock, to discuss how easy it is to use WhatsApp on the Mac and PC. Michael demonstrates the new beta version of WhatsApp on the Mac and Steven walks us through the way to use it on the PC. Also, the guys talk a lot about Siri, following a query from listener David about how its functionality has decreased over the years. As always, keep us up to date with your thoughts. Email us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or call 1-877-803-4567 and leave us a voicemail. You can also find us across social media @DoubleTapOnAir.