Canadialog, the Canadian podcast related to assistive technologies for visually impaired persons

*/ ?>

Latest Episodes:

iOS tips: The accessibility shortcut, reactivate speech and dial an extension number during a call Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast published on March 4th, 2020, Alexandre presents three tips for iOS users.

As a first tip, you will learn more about the accessibility shortcut, how to use and configure it. This can be particularly useful to quickly activate or deactivate an accessibility feature or in case accessibility present a strange behavior. Note that this shortcut will not necessarily be active by default, so you will find out more information on how you can activate it when listening to this podcast.

Second, learn what to do if your device suddenly stops talking to you. Knowing that a device who doesn’t speak anymore can be quite annoying in case you only use VoiceOver, see how to solve this issue without causing more trouble.

Finally, you can familiarize yourself with a trick to make it easier to dial extension numbers. Suppose you need to call the hospital and may reach extension 1234 to make an appointment. You can call the hospital the same way you would call your best friend and, as soon as you hear the welcome message, dial the desired extension number while listening to VoiceOver's instructions through the voice prompt played by the hospital. However, some users have complained that it can be difficult to hear what VoiceOver announces during a call, especially if a message is heard in the background. The trick presented here will therefore allow you to dial the extension number before even placing the call and therefore making sure that your iPhone dials it for you at the appropriate moment once the call was established. Everything can be done on the spot, without even having to create or edit any contact.

In addition, as a reminder, the Canadialog team can offer private or group training on request on the use of assistive technologies. Do not hesitate to contact our team to learn more about training we can offer.

Visit our website regularly to be informed when new Podcast becomes available or subscribe to our YouTube channel. See how it is possible to listen to our podcasts by consulting the list of services where our podcasts are referenced and the instructions attached to them.

Enjoy!

Learn more about Thunderbird, a free an easy to use accessible email client Feb 17, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast published February 17th, 2020, Alexandre will be with you to show you the basic of Mozilla Thunderbird, a free accessible email client that can be used with NVDA or JAWS. You’ll see how it is easy to install, how to setup an email account (Gmail) into it, how you can personalize it for a better experience, and some useful shortcuts design to facilitate the navigation.

Even if this podcast is mostly based on NVDA and the Mozilla Apps Enhancements add-on, note that it can be usable with JAWS to perform some basic tasks.

Here are some useful links:

Enjoy!

Learn about NFC tags, a solution that can be used to label items and do much more! Jan 25, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast published on January 25th, 2020 Olivier and Alexandre discuss about NFC tags, which are stickers that you put on objects. These stickers allow you to write text labels on them and having these labels read back to you by your smartphone.

What is NFC? This is the acronym for near field communication. NFC tags are available for sale on different Web platforms like Amazon at a very low cost. Even if these tags are not considered as a specialized assistive product, this technology can help a lot of users who are living with a vision loss.

Alexandre and Olivier will show you different apps available on iOS to read and write NFC tags. In order to use these apps, you need an iPhone 7 or higher. A demonstration on Android will also be made. At the end of the podcast, we will demonstrate the voice label feature only available on some Samsung smartphone allowing to associate an audio label to a tag that will be played as soon we tap the tag.

You will also learn how it is possible to launch automations by simply taping your iPhone on an NFC tags with the Shortcuts app on iOS. However, please note that this feature requires an iPhone XS, XR, XS Max or later in order to work.

Here is a list of the apps demonstrated in this podcast:

Enjoy!

The Dot watch, a Braille watch that change the way to interact with your smartphone! Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast published January 9th, 2020, Alexandre and Olivier are with you to talk about the Dot Watch. What is the Dot Watch? This is a Braille watch that provides 4 Braille cells, 6 dots each, that can be paired to your existing smartphone (iPhone or Android). Using this watch, you’ll be able to read the time and date, use the stopwatch, the timer, read the notifications received on your smartphone, read memos, see whose calling and decide if you want to answer or decline the call, find your smartphone and much more, all by reading Braille!

You can interact with the Dot Watch using the 4 cells Braille display, by feeling vibrations provided by the watch, use the two touch sensors, the two buttons or even the crown that can be turned. At this time, the Dot Watch cannot be used to interact with your smartphone like sending text messages, reply to emails, Etc. Expect to be able to read out your notifications with this watch but not to reply to them.

Here are useful links:

Enjoy!

Speech and sounds schemes, a JAWS tool allowing to be informed about text formatting while reading Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast published on December 23, 2019, Alexandre will be with you to talk about a JAWS tool that many of you ignore the existence: speech and sounds schemes. This tool makes it easier to check certain visual aspects of a text document, change the way how commands and controls are announced by JAWS and even replace certain long or recurring sentences by shortest ones or simply by sounds.

When checking formatting of a text using speech and sounds schemes, this feature allows, among other things, to announce font type changes, to be noticed about font size in use and even to identify, when reading a document, parts of text using a determined color. All can be done by playing sounds, by reading the blocks of text concerned with a different voice or by simply announcing the change. Note that the text analyzer can do a part of this work by detecting certain inconsistencies, however this will not provide the precision that can be provided by speech and sounds schemes.

Enjoy!

Stream what you hear, an app allowing to broadcast the sound of your PC via a network connection! Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast published December 6, 2019, Alexandre talk about the application Stream what you hear (SWYH). Although this podcast is for more advanced users of technology, this application is very easy to use. This application allows you to stream the sound of your Windows computer over your network, allowing you to listen to your PC's sound on a smartphone, a new generation Victor Stream, a Victor Trek, on Sonos speakers, or any other devices that can handle audio streaming as well as accept a custom URL.

Although this application offers interesting possibilities, expect a delay between the moment your PC plays the sound versus when it will be played by the device used to listen to the streaming.

Here are some useful links:

Enjoy!

Learn VoiceOver how to correctly pronounce a mispronounced word in few easy steps! Nov 29, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast published November 29, 2019, Alexandre will be with you to show you how easy it is to change a mispronounced word on iOS by using the pronunciation dictionary integrated in VoiceOver. You’ll see how to change the pronunciation by using a different spelling for the word that cause problem or by recording the right pronunciation. You’ll also learn how to affect this modification to a specific language or voice as well as on other options available there.

Enjoy!

Clew, an application that can guide you indoor! Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast published November 21, 2019, Alexandre talks about the application Clew. This mobile application available on iOS, can guide you when walking indoor. Indications are based on a route that must be first registered in the system. The application uses Apple ARKit (Augmented Reality) technology to explore what’s around you and provide you accurate instructions to find the desired anchor point.

By listening to this podcast, you’ll learn how to use the application: how to orient your iPhone the right way when traveling, how to create routes, how to navigate along a previously saved route and how to adjust the settings for optimal use.

You can also visit the Clew App website to learn more.

Enjoy!

The Apple Watch, an accessible Watch that can do much more than just telling the time! Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

Have you thought about what you can do with a smart watch? A smart watch is a great complement to your smart phone, but it can also provides data on your health and do more. In this podcast published November 6th, 2019, Alexandre and Olivier will be with you to introduce you to the Apple Watch. You’ll learn more about what it can do and how accessible it is. With the Apple Watch, you can read your notifications, place phone calls, get some important data about your health, send messages, read the time based on a haptic feedback system and much more!

Enjoy!

Stay safe with Windows Defender antivirus Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast published October 29, 2019, Olivier will be with you to give you tips and tricks on how to use Windows Defender antivirus integrated into Windows. Using Windows Narrator on Windows 10, you’ll learn how to navigate in the Windows Defender interface, how to scan your computer against threat, different types of scan available and how to verify your settings to stay safe.

Remember that you can turn on or off the Windows 10 Narrator by pressing CTRL + Windows + Enter.

Enjoy!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Canadialog, the Canadian podcast related to assistive technologies for visually impaired persons

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected