In attendance (12 Participants):
Ken Walsh; Derry Walsh; Elaine O'Neill; Gavin Allman; Chris Egan; Martha
Parkinson; Noreen Meagher; Pat McCarthy; Jackie McBrearty; Cearbhall
O'Meadhra; Declan Meenagh; Bert brown.
The meeting opened with a discussion of the use of the iPhone as a WIFI
Hotspot. Pat described how to set up the hotspot with a password and the steps
needed to permit other users to use the WIFI with that password. Cearbhall and
Ken reported that WIFI access was almost instant when no password is used. It
was noted that this meant the access was so insecure as to be safely availed of
only in a personal setting.
Martha raised the topic of transferring her old apps and data to a new iPhone.
Various methods were discussed including Airdrop, in which the two phones are
touched off one another. and all the data and apps are transferred immediately.
Apps needing to be signed into must have their codes and passwords re-entered
after transfer.
Ken reported that he found it quicker to join Zoom after selecting the option
in Zoom's meeting settings to "Auto-connect to audio, using Internet". Some
use the web link sent by Declan to enter the meeting. Others use the meeting
history to find the previous Cork meeting to pick up the meeting id. Both ways
are found to be effective.
Declan pointed out that our regular meeting Id is a 9-digit code whereas all
current meetings are using an 11 digit code which Pat reported to be 99 times
more secure than the 9 digit code.
Derry was interested to note the ease with which young students use Zoom. He
gave the example of 40 school students who spontaneously launched a full zoom
meeting to discuss the cancellation of the Leaving Cert immediately after the
Minister had spoken.
Derry paid tribute to the passing of Philip O'Boyle who was well known and
popular among many blind people.
Ken noted a change in the behaviour of the Dictate function since the recent
update of IOS. Jackie, Martha and Chris agreed but that, in fact, it had
improved in accuracy. Generally, It was agreed that SIRI remains somewhat
inaccurate when dictating text.
Declan reported great success accessing BookShare with Voice Dream Reader. He
also found an interesting array of magazines and newspapers.
A discussion of various ways in which Voice Dream can be obtained from The
current sale offer of the reader app bundled with a free copy of the Scanner
app to a full package of multiple voice Dream products. Members were advised to
look for "Voice dream in the App Store and see what they might like to choose.
Bert explained that Voice Dream is an app that can be loaded on IOS or Android
devices. The app reads audio mp3s (but not Audible Books as they are DRM
protected), also text and .pdf files.
The app ships with a built-in voice but other voices can be bought. Bert found
the "James" voice to be one of the best voices in his experience. He explained
that mp3 and text files can be stored in Drop Box and pulled into Voice Dream
from within the app using the "add" option. Voice Dream allows the user to
create folders which makes it easier to separate files of different types or
subjects. Although the Voice dream scanner is good, it cannot retain columns.
The only app that can scan and retain columns is KNFB reader. The Voice Dream
Writer is an editor but is difficult to use with voiceover and not recommended.
Declan will send a link to Voice Dream to the FB-Exchange list
Bert found the free Easy Reader, manufactured by Dolphin systems, to be very
accessible. It includes a library linking to BookShare and the RNIB library.
Ken recommended that members listen to the third and fourth episodes of the
NCBI Live presentations. Accessible from the NCBI web site under the "Live
Events" heading as being of interest to Cork members and users of Facebook.
Jackie described a recent disturbance outside her house that prompted her to
ask if there was a suitable device that could worn her of the presence of an
intruder. A lengthy discussion followed and Declan advised that Jackie look for
any IOT (Internet of Things) device on the internet and see if something
suitable can be found among the smart doorbells and outdoor motion sensors that
are available.
Noreen asked for advice on the Apple Watch. Jackie and Ken
both agreed that this is a very useful device. There are many wrist straps to
choose from and a choice of sizes in which the 44 mm watch was recommended. Ken
warned that version 5 of the watch was best as version four is almost redundant
and unlikely to run modern apps. Users found that they could ask SIRI to find
the Apple watch with the result that the phone dings the watch to warn of its
presence.
Martha prefers her talking watch by Cobalt and would have to be satisfied that
the Apple watch is better before changing.
The meeting concluded with an extensive discussion of preferred books and
their authors.
All the best,
Cearbhall
m +353 (0)833323487 Ph: _353 (0)1-2864623 e: cearbhall.omeadhra@xxxxxxx
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