9: Haunted Phones and Laughing Gas

Halloween Special: Haunted Phones, Phantom Calls and Laughing Gas

What's up, Docs! Pat takes the hot seat for our Halloween special and somehow we all make it out alive. Phones go rogue, an Alexa throws a midnight light show, and Meta glasses start a conversation nobody asked for.

Round the Table

Jackie's on book 265 of the year (this one has a talking cat). Ken is slowly getting into The House in the Woods. Stuart H flew home from Glasgow that day with a silver medal in blind tennis. Jade thanks everyone who said hello at the Sight and Sound exhibitions, and Pat is researching links between sight loss and ADHD while eating a lot of ice cream.

The Inbox

Lucy wants NaviLens codes on the outside of trains so she can find her own carriage and seat. Jessica asks about headphones for Zoom, and Stuart L explains why Windows users should skip Bluetooth for a headset with a dongle, like his Logitech G PRO X Wireless.

Mini Doc

Sive tells the scary tale of the stuck earring back, the laughing gas and the wasp nest.

Scary Tech

A phone that sends Zoom links by itself, two-factor authentication versus Frankenstein, phantom calls to Jade's nan, and Alexa drop-ins that should never have happened.

Tech Doc Tip

Say goodbye to ChatGPT in voice mode and it hangs up on you. Mostly.

Use It or Lose It

The lockdown air fryer: a clean sweep for use it.

Get in Touch

General: hello@thetechdocpod.com

Collaborations: teamup@thetechdocpod.com

Producer: producer@thetechdocpod.com

A particular Doc? Use their first name, e.g. jackie@thetechdocpod.com

Send us a 90-second voice note

Links

• The Tech Docs website
• NaviLens
• Logitech G PRO X Wireless headset
• Adopt a bat (it's Halloween)
Enjoying the Docs? Follow the show wherever you listen. It really helps other people find us.

The Tech Docs are not responsible for phones booking meetings in the night, Alexas joining a coven, or anyone sitting beside a wasp nest.

Until next time… What's up, Docs!

Chainsaw Carving? Speaking Access
Jade and Jackie sit down with Christopher Mutch, owner and inventor of Speaking Access, voice control software for Windows and NVDA. Find out how somebody goes from chainsaw carving to writing computer software.

Get in touch
General: hello@thetechdocpod.com
Business: teamup@thetechdocpod.com
Want a particular Doc? Use their first name, e.g. jade@thetechdocpod.com
Producer: producer@thetechdocpod.com

Website: thetechdocpod.com

Links
Speaking Access: shout at your computer and it actually listens
Fancy carving your own mountain goat? Chainsaw Carving for Beginners

Bugs, Bots and Forty Litres of Milk: iOS 27, ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta Glasses

What's up, Docs! In episode eight, Jackie interviews ChatGPT about what it can do for blind and vision-impaired users, and the Docs share first impressions of iOS 27 and VoiceOver, the worst accessibility bugs they've lived through (JAWS included), and a Gemini screen-reading tip for Android. Plus Meta glasses go on trial in Use It or Lose It, and a goat called Sean is still not allowed in the house.

Round the Table

Stuart H regrets installing iOS 27 but loves the new rotor image descriptions, and quietly came 14th at the World Blind Tennis Championships. Ken caught the English Open snooker in Essex. Jade is prepping for Mini Doc's seventh birthday, and Pat finds Siri chattier but still clueless.

The Inbox

Moira's guide dog won't move until the episode ends. Emmet asks if AI image descriptions can be trusted (verdict: trust but verify). Rachel's mam has opinions about an American-sounding Doc.

The Bug That Drove Us Demented

VoiceOver reading every punctuation mark, calls jumping to loudspeaker on the bus, a TV update that disabled the remote, a silent iPhone 4S, Stuart H sounding like a woodpecker, and JAWS 3.2 breaking when the clocks went forward.

Tech Doc Tip

On Android, hold the side button and ask Gemini to "read my screen." Siri can't do that yet.

Use It or Lose It

Meta glasses: mostly use, one jury still out.

Sight and Sound Technology Exhibition

TU Dublin Grangegorman, 12 and 13 October. Irish Guide Dogs Centre, Cork, 14 October. Charities, workshops and possibly free stuff.

Get in Touch

General: hello@thetechdocpod.com
Collaborations: teamup@thetechdocpod.com
Individual Docs: firstname@thetechdocpod.com

Links

• The Tech Docs website
• Sight and Sound Technology
• Register for the Sight and Sound exhibition
• ChatGPT
• Google Gemini
• Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
• Buy a goat (Sean needs a friend)

Enjoying the Docs? Follow the show wherever you listen. It really helps other people find us.

The Tech Docs are not responsible for guide dogs refusing to leave the house, VoiceOver announcing every comma you've ever typed, or anyone setting their clocks back an hour just to be safe. Happy birthday, Mini Doc.

Until next time… What's up, Docs!