The Tech Docs

9: Haunted Phones and Laughing GasHalloween Special: Haunted Phones, Phantom Calls and Laughing GasWhat'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 TableJackie'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 InboxLucy 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 DocSive tells the scary tale of the stuck earring back, the laughing gas and the wasp nest.Scary TechA 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 TipSay goodbye to ChatGPT in voice mode and it hangs up on you. Mostly.Use It or Lose ItThe lockdown air fryer: a clean sweep for use it.Get in TouchGeneral: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected] particular Doc? Use their first name, e.g. [email protected] us a 90-second voice noteLinks• 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 AccessJade 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 touchGeneral: [email protected]: [email protected] a particular Doc? Use their first name, e.g. [email protected]: [email protected]: thetechdocpod.comLinksSpeaking Access: shout at your computer and it actually listensFancy carving your own mountain goat? Chainsaw Carving for Beginners

Bugs, Bots and Forty Litres of Milk: iOS 27, ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta GlassesWhat'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 TableStuart 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 InboxMoira'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 DementedVoiceOver 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 TipOn Android, hold the side button and ask Gemini to "read my screen." Siri can't do that yet.Use It or Lose ItMeta glasses: mostly use, one jury still out.Sight and Sound Technology ExhibitionTU Dublin Grangegorman, 12 and 13 October. Irish Guide Dogs Centre, Cork, 14 October. Charities, workshops and possibly free stuff.Get in TouchGeneral: [email protected]: [email protected] Docs: [email protected]• 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!

Captain Doc Under Examination – Blind Tennis World Championships InterviewWhat's up, Docs! Breaking news from the Tech Docs Clinic: Captain Doc has been called in for interrogation, and the power-hungry Doc is in charge. She once beat him at tennis, and she won't let him forget it. Stuart H explains how blind tennis works, rattly ball included, and shares his audio diary from representing Ireland at the World Blind and Visually Impaired Tennis Championships in Vilnius.Stuart H also sends a huge thank you to Sligo Tennis Club, Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership, ROM Sligo, Tennis Ireland, Vision Sports Ireland, Enjoy Tennis, his coach Jean Barr, volunteer Brian McGuire, his family, and everyone else who has supported him over the years.Get in TouchGeneral: [email protected]: [email protected] Docs: [email protected]• The Tech Docs website• Tennis Ireland• Enjoy Tennis• Vision Sports Ireland (blind tennis)• International Blind Tennis Association• Sligo Tennis Club• Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership• ROM Sligo• Roger Federer's prize money (what Captain Doc is owed)Enjoying the Docs? Follow the show wherever you listen. It really helps other people find us.The Tech Docs are not responsible for rattly tennis balls bouncing off desks, construction equipment left in Lithuanian graveyards, or any patient escaping through the clinic window.Until next time… What's up, Docs!

TechDoc Clinic: Meta Glasses SpecialA very special episode about accessibility, independence, privacy - and why a pair of glasses can be far more than just another shiny gadget.The Clinic Is OpenThe Docs are back sooner than expected, and this time the clinic has been opened for a very important reason. We are putting Meta smart glasses under the TechDoc microscope and looking at what this technology can really mean for people who are blind or vision impaired.Yes, they can play music, take photos and do plenty of the clever things that make tech enthusiasts reach for their wallets. But for a blind person, they can be something much more important: an extra pair of eyes.More Than a GadgetThe Docs explore how Meta glasses can provide hands-free access to visual information that sighted people often receive without thinking about it. That can mean identifying objects and products, getting information about surroundings, or reading text such as medication labels, menus and signs.And because the glasses are worn rather than held in the hand, accessing that information can feel far more natural. No juggling a phone, a cane, a guide-dog handle, shopping bags and whatever else life has decided to throw at you that day.Privacy Matters - But So Does AccessibilityOf course, no TechDoc Clinic would be complete without examining the awkward bits too. Privacy concerns around smart glasses are real and deserve serious discussion.The episode looks at the glasses' recording indicator light and the wider privacy conversation, while making an important distinction: for many blind and vision-impaired users, these glasses are not simply influencer gadgets or a novelty camera strapped to your face. They can be genuine accessibility tools that support independence, confidence and access to information.The message from the clinic is simple: privacy matters, but accessibility matters too. When decisions are being made about technology like this, the voices of disabled people who use it need to be part of the conversation.Price, Lenses and the Important StuffNaturally, the Docs also get into the practical questions: cost, different lens choices and whether smart glasses are becoming a realistic mainstream accessibility option. We discuss models available below the €500 mark and lens choices including transition-style options - because apparently even life-changing accessibility technology still requires us to debate what colour lenses we want.Somewhere in all of this, we even manage to talk seriously about technology without the clinic descending completely into chaos. Captain Doc will undoubtedly claim this as a personal achievement.Why This Episode MattersThis special is about more than one product. It is about what happens when mainstream technology becomes genuinely useful as assistive technology.Being able to independently access information about the world around you can change something from 'I need to ask someone' to 'I can do this myself.' Sometimes that difference is small. Sometimes it is enormous.So pull up a chair, report to the TechDoc Clinic and join Stuart, Jackie, Jade, Ken and Pat for a conversation about Meta glasses, privacy, independence, accessibility and - inevitably - a little technological mayhem.Watch the Deep-Dive WebinarWant to see the glasses explored in even more detail? Watch the full Meta Smart Glasses assistive technology webinar on YouTube.Useful Links• Meta AI Glasses / Meta Store• The Tech Docs Podcast• Meta Glasses Deep-Dive WebinarGet in TouchCollaborations, sponsorship and guest ideas: [email protected] enquiries and feedback: [email protected] assistive technology coaching through DigiCoach: [email protected] Tech talk. Accessibility. Pure craic. It's TECH DOC!