Welcome to a special episode of AppleVis Extra, where host Dave Nason is joined by Hans Wiberg, founder of Be My Eyes, and the new CEO of Be My Eyes, Mike Buckley, to discuss the recent announcement of Be My Eyes' new Virtual Volunteer feature powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 model.

Be My Eyes, a revolutionary app for the blind and low-vision community, has been connecting users with volunteers for assistance with everyday tasks since 2012. With the introduction of the Virtual Volunteer, powered by the advanced visual recognition capabilities of GPT-4, the app is set to take its power and value to new heights.

Hans and Mike share their excitement about the performance of GPT-4, stating that in the short time they've had access, it has shown unparalleled capabilities in image-to-text object recognition. The implications for global accessibility are profound, as this new feature has the potential to offer a greater degree of independence in the lives of blind and low-vision individuals.

The Virtual Volunteer stands out from other image recognition tools due to its ability to have conversations and offer comprehensive assistance with context and analysis. Users can send images of various tasks, such as identifying the contents of their fridge or reading a map, and the Virtual Volunteer not only identifies the objects but also provides additional information and suggestions, such as recipes that can be prepared with the ingredients.

The Virtual Volunteer tool is currently in beta and is anticipated to be available to users in Q3 2023 and will be free for all blind and low-vision community members using the Be My Eyes app. Don't forget to register in the Be My Eyes app to be placed on the waiting list for access to the Virtual Volunteer.

In this month's edition of AppleVis Unleashed, Thomas Domville and Mike Malarsie discuss recent Apple news and other topics of interest. Topics featured in this episode include:

• Here Comes the WWDC 2023 (00:04:20)
• The Musical Chairs Continues for the iPhone 15 Rumors (00:12:50)
• Apple Turns on HomePod's Smoke Alarm Recognition (00:18:40)
• Move Over! There is a New Bank in Town (00:23:18(
• Subscription Fatigue (00:33:18(
• Upcoming Apple Watch OS Getting a Big Interface Changes (00:41:09)
• More Leaks in What We Could See in the Upcoming iOS 17 (00:43:06)
• What's in this month AppleVis News (00:57:42) Closing (01:00:36)

Links:

• Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9
• Apple's AR/VR Headset Will Be Able To Run 'Hundreds of Thousands' of iPad Apps, Report Says
• iPhone 15 Pro Now Expected to Feature Two-Button Design for Volume, Mute Switch Still Replaced by Button
• iPhone 15 Pro 'Action' Button to Replace Role of Volume Buttons When Performing a Power Off/Force Restart
• Apple turns on HomePod's smoke alarm recognition
• Apple Card Savings Account Available Starting Today With 4.15% Interest Rate
• Apple Pay Later Launches
• Voice Dream Reader for iOS is now $59.99/year
• watchOS 10 Rumored to Feature New Home Screen Layout With Folders
• Apple will make big interface changes in watchOS 10
• A more sane iOS 17 compatibility list has been leaked
• iOS 17 Rumored to Improve Search, Dynamic Island, Control Center, and More
• Alleged iOS 17 leak offers a vague rundown of new features for iPhone users
• iOS 17 Rumored to Feature Wallet and Find My Improvements, macOS 14 to Be Minor Update
• Purple Friday
• Announcing Timecrest Rewrite coming April 25, 2023!

If you have feedback or questions for the Unleashed team, you can reach them by…

In this episode, Thomas Domville introduces us to Aiko, a free, high-quality on-device transcription app that can easily convert speech to text from meetings, lectures, and more. The app is powered by OpenAI's Whisper running locally on your device, which ensures that the audio never leaves your device. Whether you need to import an existing audio or video file or record directly within the app, Aiko offers flexibility and convenience. Aiko prioritizes accuracy over speed. Transcriptions can be exported the to various file formats and the app supports over 100 different languages.

In addition to the iOS app demonstrated by Thomas, Aiko will also work on a Mac where it is recommended that you have at least 16GB of RAM.

In this episode, Majid Almaadeed gives us a demonstration of Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac, a versatile network simulation and visualization tool designed for learning and practicing networking concepts. It provides a virtual environment where users can create, configure, and simulate network topologies and devices, enabling them to gain hands-on experience with networking technologies without the need for physical hardware.

Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac allows individuals to design and simulate complex network setups. It supports a wide range of Cisco devices, such as routers, switches, and wireless access points, enabling users to configure and interconnect them to create functional networks. You can explore various networking concepts, including routing, switching, wireless communications, and network security. It facilitates the simulation of network protocols and their behaviors, allowing users to understand how data flows through different network layers and devices.

In addition to its simulation capabilities, Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac offers a range of learning resources and activities, making it an ideal tool for educational institutions and self-paced learning. It allows users to test their network configurations, troubleshoot issues, and visualize the impact of changes before implementing them in real-world scenarios.

In this episode of our podcast, John Moore introduces us to LogRide - Theme Park Tracker, a must have iOS app for theme park and coaster enthusiasts.

With LogRide, you can track all your park experiences and explore a world of park history, attraction stats, and various other features. The app includes convenient functionalities like Park Check-In to add dates to your attraction logs, Haunts for logging annual haunt events and haunted houses, Midways to discover portable attractions at fairs and carnivals, and provides live wait times for over 50 theme parks. It covers a vast range of over 3500 parks, including popular destinations such as Disney, Universal, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, SeaWorld, and many more!

During this episode, John takes us on a detailed tour of the app's functionalities, layout, and settings. He explains and demonstrates how to log or update your ride records, ensuring that you make the most of this theme park tracking tool.

In this month's edition of AppleVis Unleashed, Thomas Domville and Mike Malarsie discuss recent Apple news and other topics of interest. Topics featured in this episode include:

• Introduction
• AppleVis Community Inducts GoodMaps Explore and lire Into Its iOS App Hall of Fame
• Apple Previews Upcoming Accessibility Features and Enhancements, Including Point and Speak and More Natural, Expressive Siri Voices for VoiceOver Users
• Mailbag
• Here’s how long Apple users are holding on to their iPhones
• Latest News and Rumors about the upcoming iPhone and Apple Watch
• What's in this month AppleVis News
• Closing

Links:

• AppleVis Community Inducts GoodMaps Explore and lire Into Its iOS App Hall of Fame
• Apple Previews Upcoming Accessibility Features and Enhancements, Including Point and Speak and More Natural, Expressive Siri Voices for VoiceOver Users
• Here’s how long Apple users are holding on to their iPhones
• Rumor: Apple’s Upcoming iPhone 15 to Support 15W Fast Charging With Non MagSafe Wireless Chargers
• Dynamic Island coming to all four iPhone 15 models, multiple reports suggest
• iPhone 16 Pro to have bigger display
• Apple Watch Series 9 could include the first speed boost in years
• ChatGPT
• Mona for Mastodon

If you have feedback or questions for the Unleashed team, you can reach them by email at unleashed@applevis.com or by leaving a voice message at 1-816-287-1482 (US number, call charges may apply).

In this edition of the AppleVis Extra, Thomas Domville, Dave Nason, and Tyler Stephen get together to discuss Apple's WWDC 2023 Keynote.

Resources:

Apple Press Releases

• Introducing Apple Vision Pro: Apple’s first spatial computer
• iOS 17 makes iPhone more personal and intuitive
• iPadOS 17 brings new levels of personalization and versatility to iPad
• macOS Sonoma brings all‑new capabilities for elevating productivity and creativity
• Introducing watchOS 10, a milestone update for Apple Watch
• tvOS 17 brings FaceTime and video conferencing to the biggest screen in the home
• Apple introduces the 15‑inch MacBook Air
• Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro
• Apple introduces M2 Ultra
• AirPods redefine the personal audio experience
• Apple announces powerful new privacy and security features
• Apple provides powerful insights into new areas of health

Apple Operating System Previews

• iOS 17 Preview
• iPadOS 17 Preview
• macOS Sonoma Preview
• watchOS 10 Preview

Media

• Watch WWDC23 keynote replay on Apple website
• Watch WWDC23 keynote replay on Youtube
• You can also watch the WWDC23 keynote in the Apple TV app on any supported device.

WWDC Sessions

• Create accessible spatial experiences: Learn how you can make spatial computing apps that work well for everyone. Like all Apple platforms, visionOS is designed for accessibility: We'll share how we've…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to assign your own keyboard shortcuts to menu bar commands that lack default shortcuts in macOS.

An example of where this may be useful is in System Settings, where many settings can be quickly accessed from the View menu, however none of these commands have default keyboard shortcuts mapped to them. To create your own shortcut for a command:

1. Open the app that contains the command, and note exactly how it's displayed in the menu bar; you'll need to enter this later.
2. Open System Settings > Keyboard, and click Keyboard shortcuts.
3. Select "Application shortcuts" in the table, and click Add.
4. Choose the app the shortcut will apply to from the "Application" popup menu. note that you cannot map a shortcut that's already in use by that app.
5. Type the exact name of the command in the "Menu title" field. To enter an ellipsis (…) sign as part of the command, press Option-Colon.
6. In the "Shortcut" field, type the shortcut you want to assign to that command, and click Done to dismiss the dialog.
7. If the app containing the command you assigned a shortcut to is open, quit and reopen it for the change to take effect.

In this episode, Tunmi13 walks us through how to activate iOS and iPadOS beta updates.

To do this, first sign in with your Apple ID at either developer.apple.com, to access the developer beta, or beta.apple.com, to access the public beta. Then, once signed up for either program, go to Settings > General > Software update > Beta updates, and select the beta you signed up for. You can then go back one level in Settings, and the beta should appear like any other update that you can download and install.

Important: Beta versions of iOS and iPadOS may contain serious bugs, which is why it's generally advised, if possible, to install them on another device specifically designated for beta testing, or have a full and complete backup of your data in case a downgrade from the beta, which involves a full restore of your device, becomes necessary. For more information, check out this introduction to iOS and iPadOS beta testing.

In this episode, Thomas Domville gives us short looks at some of what's new and notable with Accessibility features in iOS 17.

Topics include:

• New Haptic sensation
• Open Per Voice Settings
• Text Detection
• Point and Speak
• Sound Curtain
• Fast long-press speed option
• Siri (Voices sound natural and expressive)
• Listen to Page
• React with your Hands in FaceTime
• Level Tool for Camera
• Audio Transcription in Messages

In this episode, Thomas Domville shows us how to change the speaking rate for Siri on iOS and iPadOS. This feature allows you to adjust the speed at which Siri speaks, which can be helpful if you find Siri's default speaking rate too fast or too slow.

To change the speaking rate for Siri, Go to Settings > Accessibility > Siri, and adjust the slider under the "Speaking rate" heading to your desired speed.

Once you have changed the speaking rate for Siri, you can test it out by asking a question or giving it a command. Siri will now speak at the speed that you have set.

In this episode, Thomas Domville demonstrates how to enable the Fast long-press speed option on iOS 17. This new feature allows for quicker access to context menus and other Haptic Touch actions, enhancing your workflow and making your iPhone feel more responsive.

Here’s how you can activate the Fast Long-Press Speed Option:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Navigate to Accessibility.
3. Select Touch.
4. Choose Haptic Touch.

5. Under Touch Duration, opt for Fast.

   You can gauge the new response time by long-pressing on the flower image displayed on the same screen. This simple adjustment can significantly boost your iPhone’s responsiveness.

In the sixth instalment of his tutorial series on learning Logic Pro X for Mac, Ming discusses the importance of EQ and how to use Logic's own EQ plugins. Ming demonstrate how to select presets, and what the impact is from tweaking each parameter.

See also:

Learning Logic Pro X: Using Reverb
Learning Logic Pro X: Virtual Instruments
Learning Logic Pro X: Automation
Learning Logic Pro X: Exploring Interfaces, Choosing a Microphone, and Basic Editing Techniques
Learning Logic Pro X: Episode 1 - Creating a New Project

Note: Logic Pro X is a professional grade digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer. It is suggested to have some familiarity with Digital Audio Workstations to get the most from this series.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to create and use Safari website shortcuts or "Web apps" on macOS.

This feature allows you to create shortcuts to websites on your dock that when opened, behave as if the website was its own app. This may be useful for VoiceOver users, as web apps are included when pressing Command-Tab to cycle through open apps, making them easy to switch to and from. In addition, these web apps can be mapped to commands in Keyboard Commander so they can be accessed with a single keystroke.

To create a web app, go to a website in Safari and choose File > Add to Dock. Change the name and icon of the web app if you wish, and click Add. It can then be accessed via the Dock, or in the Applications folder in your Home folder, accessed by choosing Go > Home in Finder, or pressing Command-Shift-H. To map the web app to a command in Keyboard Commander, open Voiceover Utility > Commanders > Keyboard, click Add, type the key that you want to open the app when pressed, choose "Custom commands > Open application" from the menu, and navigate to and select the web app in the Open dialog.

In this episode, Thomas Domville teaches you how to use Screen Recording on iOS and iPadOS.

Screen Recording is a feature that allows you to capture what's happening on your screen. This can be useful for creating tutorials, demos, or simply sharing something interesting with your friends and family.

To set up this feature, go to Settings > Control Center and double-tap the "Insert Screen Recording" button under the "more controls" heading. To create a recording, open Control Center by placing your finger on the top edge of the device until you hear a tone, and sliding it straight down until you hear the second tone (devices without a Home button) or placing your finger on the status bar and swiping up with three fingers (devices with a Home button). Double-tap the Screen Recording button; there will be a three-second countdown before recording starts.

To stop recording, either press the Side button to lock the device, double-tap the Screen Recording button in Control Center again, or double-tap the screen recording button in the status bar. By default, the recording will be saved to your Photos library, however this can be changed if you wish by focusing on the "Screen recording" button in Control Center and choosing the "open controls" rotor action.

Do you ever get the sense that you’re being monitored on the internet? In this episode, Thomas Domville will demonstrate Apple’s Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection, a fresh addition to the privacy tools in iOS 17.

Picture this: You click on a link, and all of a sudden, advertisements for that exact product begin to appear everywhere. It’s unsettling, isn’t it? This is the effect of cross-site tracking, powered by concealed IDs within links.

However, there’s no need to worry! Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection is designed to protect you. It accomplishes this by:

Removing tracking IDs from links: Those crafty “tags” that track your every click? They’re history! Preventing fingerprinting scripts: Advertisers employ cunning code to fingerprint your device and create a unique profile. This feature disrupts their scheme. The greatest aspect? It’s integrated and automatically turned on for private browsing. But if you wish to have more control, here’s how to enable it for all browsing:

Navigate to Settings > Safari. Select Advanced > Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection. Opt for “All Browsing”. Now, you can browse with assurance. Say goodbye to intrusive ads and the sensation of being scrutinized digitally. It’s just you, the web, and the liberty to discover.

Step into the world of the Super Sliding Puzzle Game! Join Thomas Domville as he explores the Super Sliding Puzzle Game for iOS. Get ready for a captivating journey filled with puzzles that will challenge your mind. This latest Slide Puzzle Game is designed to offer you a compelling and brain-bending experience that will keep you engaged for hours.

Choose your game type from numbers, letters, or images. The game grid sizes are designed to cater to all skill levels. You can test your abilities at your own speed with range of game grid sizes! Whether you’re a novice or a puzzle master, Slide Puzzle Game offers grids of varying complexities. You can start with a smaller grid and slowly increase the difficulty, or you can immediately tackle the most challenging grid. The choice is completely yours!

The game offers a broad selection of game types and grid sizes, ensuring infinite replayability.

The key features of the game are its simplicity and its suitability for passing time while waiting for someone to answer a phone call, waiting for a delayed bus, or waiting for a late delivery driver.

Moreover, the game is fully accessible with VoiceOver, guaranteeing that everyone can partake in the fun."

Super Sliding Puzzle Game on the AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/super-sliding-puzzle-game/id6473786698

In this episode, Thomas Domville shows you how to share passwords and passkeys with people you trust on iOS.

With password sharing in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, you can create a shared group and add your family and friends to it. Then you can choose which passwords and passkeys you want to share with them. The shared credentials will sync across all the devices in the group.

Step-by-step:

To create a shared group, go to Settings > Passwords and double-tap the Add button in the top-right corner. Double-tap "New Shared Group," name the group, and double-tap Add People. Type in the contact information of the people you want to add, then double-tap Add. Double-tap Create to continue.

You will then be prompted to select passwords you want to share with the group; double-tap the ones you want to share, then double-tap the Move button in the top-right corner. If you are not ready to share any passwords yet, double-tap "Not Now."

To edit a group, go to Settings > Passwords and double-tap the name of the group. Double-tap "Manage" to add or remove members, change the group name, or delete the group.

To accept or decline an invitation to a group, make sure your device has iOS 17 or later, iPadOS 17 or later, or macOS Sonoma or later. Go to Settings > Passwords > Group Invitations and double-tap the invitation. Double-tap Accept to join the group, or Decline to reject it.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to encrypt an external disk on macOS for improved security of the disk's contents.

To encrypt a disk formatted as Apple File System, (APFS) connect it to your Mac, focus on it on the Desktop or Finder sidebar, and choose "Encrypt [disk name]" from the context menu (accessed by pressing VO-Shift-M). You'll then be prompted to create a password for the disk, which will be required to access its contents. As this password is the only way to access the disk's contents, it should be reasonably difficult for others to guess, but easy enough for you to remember.

The next time you connect the disk to your Mac, you'll be prompted for this password, and given the option to remember it in your Mac's Login keychain. This way, you won't need to enter the password when connecting the disk to your Mac, but others will if connecting the disk to theirs. Saved passwords in your Mac's Login keychain can be viewed and edited in Keychain Access (located in the Utilities folder).

If the disk you want to encrypt uses a different file system, like Mac OS Extended or XFAT, you must erase and reformat it as APFS. Note that this process will erase all data on the disk, so be sure to move anything you want to keep to another location before doing so. To erase and reformat a disk:

1. Open Disk Utility (located in the Utilities folder) and choose View > Show all devices (or press Command-2).
2. Select the top level of the external disk in the table and choose Edit > Erase (or press Command-Shift-E). If you’re unsure of what disk is what, you may wish to disconnect other external disks to avoid inadvertently erasing the wrong one.
3. In the resulting dialog, give the disk a name and choose “APFS (Encrypted),” from the format popup menu.
4. Enter the password you want to encrypt the disk with, click Choose, and then click Erase to begin the process.

Note: APFS-formatted Disks are not natively compatible with non-Apple platforms like Windows or Linux. To use an APFS-formatted disk with a non-Apple platform, use something like APFS for Windows, or APFS for Linux.

In this episode, Thomas Domville explores the ‘Listen to Page’ feature on iOS 17. This feature allows your device to read aloud the content of a webpage, making it an excellent tool for multitaskers who want to consume text content while on the move.

To use the feature, ensure that your device is updated to iOS 17 and launch Safari. Visit the desired webpage and locate the Page Settings icon at the bottom left of the webpage. Tap it and select ‘Listen to Page’ to start the narration. To pause, tap the Page Settings icon again and choose ‘Pause Listening’. When you’re ready to continue, tap the Page Settings icon and select ‘Resume Listening’.

Please note that ‘Listen to Page’ may not support webpages with interactive features or minimal text. However, if a webpage supports Reader mode, it’s likely to support ‘Listen to Page’ as well. The feature remembers where you left off, so you can resume listening from the same spot. You can also customize the voice of the spoken audio in your iOS settings at any time.

Join Thomas Domville in learning how to use Carrot Weather for iOS with VoiceOver.

Carrot Weather for iOS is a feature-rich weather application that offers a unique blend of humor and functionality. It provides accurate and detailed forecasts, including current, hourly, and daily predictions. The app is known for its distinctive personality, featuring hilarious dialogue and delightful animations.

Key features include:

Apple Watch App: An award-winning app that allows you to check the weather from your wrist.
Widgets: Offers a variety of customizable widgets for your Home and Lock Screen.
Customization: Allows you to build the weather app of your dreams by changing layouts, adding data points, and more.
Notifications: Provides rain, lightning strike, severe weather alert, and daily summary notifications.
Data Sources: Allows you to switch between sources like AccuWeather, Apple Weather, and Foreca for better forecast accuracy.
Weather Maps: Features super-advanced radar to track incoming storms.
Fun Stuff: Offers secret locations, achievements, augmented reality, and bonding with the Carrot AI.

The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. It is a paid download with in-app purchases to unlock premium features. The app was created by Brian Mueller, who codes, designs, illustrates, and writes the real-time gags himself. The app’s unique blend of humor and functionality has made it a popular choice among users.

CARROT Weather: Alerts and Radar on the app store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather-alerts-radar/id961390574

In this episode, Ida Grace introduces eSpeak-NG, a compact open-source software text-to-speech synthesizer available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Developed by Yury Popov, eSpeak-NG supports over 100 languages and accents. It is built upon the original eSpeak engine created by Jonathan Duddington. The app acts as a compatibility layer between the eSpeak NG library and Apple VoiceOver, enhancing accessibility for users with visual impairments.

eSpeak-NG on the App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/espeak-ng/id6444089174

transcription:
Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello AppleVis.

This is Ida again and I'm back with another demonstration.

This one is somewhat by request, so thank you for the person who requested this podcast.

They said that they really wanted a demonstration of this app, so I hope that this is satisfactory.

I am doing a demonstration today of the eSpeak NG app.

This app will add the eSpeak synthesizer to VoiceOver for anybody who wants it.

There are settings that you have to change within the app, or that you can change within the app if you want to, and then you can go into the actual VoiceOver settings to start using eSpeak.

Right now I'm using Daniel, which is not an eSpeak voice, but I will select an eSpeak voice throughout this demonstration.

So I am in the app right now, and the first thing you get...

It says eSpeak NG.

It's eSpeak NG, Daniel.

Learn how to pronounce words, please.

Anyway, so this is the name of the app.

So the first button you come to, if I swipe to the right here, that button allows you to set up what languages you want VoiceOver to have available to you in the eSpeak app.

So if I go in here...

First thing you see is back, of course.

You can search in that field for a specific voice and language.

Okay, I deselected that one because that is not my user-preferred language.

As you can tell by Daniel, he is English UK, not English US, so I deselected that.

But in order to do that, I had to keep going to the right.

Let me show you.

So under user-preferred, the only thing that seems to be there is English United States.

Whether it's selected or not, you can double-tap to select and deselect it.

Under this system heading, it gives you all the languages.

And the only one in here for English right now is English UK because I deselected the English United States.

So that means that when we go into the VoiceOver settings, the eSpeak United States English voices will not be available because I deselected that one.

Because I personally think that United States English eSpeak sounds very bad, which I will demonstrate in a moment.

But you have all of these languages that you can, of course, choose what language is your preferred language in this languages listed below may be poorly supported by VoiceOver and might be broken at all.

They are available in spoken content.

Okay, so that's a little disclaimer about the eSpeak app and the VoiceOver languages that it supports.

Okay, so then it's just going…

In this episode, Thomas Domville demonstrates a handy feature in the Mail app on your iPhone: Block Sender. Block Sender is a feature in the Mail app that allows you to prevent emails from specific senders from reaching your inbox. Once you block a sender, their emails will either be automatically deleted or sent to your Trash folder, depending on your settings.

There are many reasons why you might want to block senders such as:

Spam: This is the most common reason. Block those unwanted marketing emails and get your inbox back under control.
Unsubscribe Nightmare: Tried unsubscribing but the emails keep coming? Blocking is a more forceful solution.
Unwanted Contacts: Maybe you have an ex or someone you no longer want to hear from. Blocking cuts off email communication.

How to Block Senders in Mail (iOS):

Find the Mail app and locate an email from the sender you want to block.
Swipe down to the More option and double tap to bring up a menu.
Locate the Block Sender option and double tap it.

Bonus Tip!

You can also manage your blocked senders list in the Settings app:

Go to Settings > Mail.
Double tap on "Blocked".
Here you can see a list of all your blocked senders and even unblock them if you need to.

transcription:
Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse.

In this podcast, I'm going to introduce you to a feature called Block Sender that you can find within your mail app for iOS.

Now, I will admit in recent years, some of the mail services that I use have done a great job.

Definitely a huge improvement over many years ago when we used to get tons of spams and unwanted emails, right?

Things have gotten a lot better.

You don't get as nearly as much as you used to, but there's still a few that kind of slides in and you find those in within your spam folder and et cetera.

Sometimes they don't even make it to the spam folder.

Comes right into your inbox.

I'm going to show you how to block a sender.

Now, obviously there are many different scenarios why you would want a blocks of sender.

Perhaps it is a spam or an unwanted mail or perhaps it is unwanted mail, but from somebody that you know that just persistently send you an email and there's you just want those particular emails go directly to the trash can.

All right, let's just do that.

I'm going to go to my mail app here.

I have one particular mail that I would like to place on a block sender and I will show you how to do that and why I'm doing it for this particular mail.

Mail.

No one read emails.

Double tap to open.

So I'm going to do that.

One finger double tap to open up my mail app here.

Mail.

Search.

Search field.

Double tap to edit.

Now let's go to the particular mail that I was talking about in question that I like to block.

I'm going to go to the right here.

Dictate button.

Double tap to start dictation.

Double tap with two fingers when finished.

Sam's club.

See what'…

In this episode, Thomas Domville delves into the seamless sharing of content from your iPhone screen via iMessage, thanks to Siri’s enhanced capabilities. Apple has equipped Siri with on-device processing, offline support, and advanced contextual awareness, which facilitates a smooth “Share This” feature.

Here’s the process:

When you’re in any supported application, such as Safari, Apple Music, or Photos, you can initiate sharing by saying, “Hey Siri, share this with [contact name].” Siri will grasp the context and ask for confirmation to share the particular content. Afterward, you have the option to append a personalized message before sending it off.

Should the content be unsharable directly, like a weather forecast, Siri cleverly captures a screenshot to share instead.

transcription:
Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Thomas Domville also known as AnonyMouseSo I am in a situation where I do a lot of messaging throughout the day So you probably are in a similar boat So you probably have text message to your friends or family and co-workers and whatnot And if you are like myself, I send a lot of links to various things that could be photos web Weather things like that, right and but the problem I have with that is that it's pretty tedious And I'll show you what I mean in a moment But the point is I have a feature or a advice for those that do this often Something that might streamline your texting with a link more efficiently and faster So let me show you what I'm talking about.

So let's just say I let's go to my Safari app here, for example Safari double tap to open.

So I'm gonna do that.

So let's just say I have something in Safari that I want to share with someone Safari we'll go to the top here so I can show you what I'm sharing here Skip to content in page link critically endangered attacks born at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge So this is a great article.

I wanted to send it to a friend of mine And there's a Disney News, of course, and this talks about a new baby that was born at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Anyway, the point is say I want to share this article with my friends So typically what I have to do is I have to go to the bottom right to find my tabs first toolbar tabs button double tap and hold for more tab options Now I have to swipe to the left until I find the share button show bookmarks button share button Now I have to double tap on that critically endangered attacks critically endangered attacks born at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge WDW news today.

Now I have to swipe to the right until I get some messages WDWNT.com options button close button airdrop button messages button double tap that New message and now I'm gonna swipe to right until I find the to edit box cancel button to text field is editing word mode insertion point at start double tap that Insertion point at end and now I've got to put in the first couple initials that the person I want to send it to So I created this just for this podcast.

I'm going to send it to Mickey Mouse I'm gonna find the letter M and no M M now gonna go back to the top here new message And now can I swipe to the right until I…

In the latest AppleVis Extra, hosts Dave Nason and Thomas Domville convene to share their insights on the highlights from Apple’s WWDC 2024 Keynote.

transcription:
Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello there and welcome to AppleVis Extra number 98.

My name is Dave Nason.

Because it is June we are talking, of course, about WWDC and because it is AppleViz I am talking, of course, to Thomas Domville.

How are you today, Tom?

Hey, I'm pretty good.

Boy, was that a show or what?

It was.

Nearly two hours that went on and, yeah, it was probably the most anticipated WWDC I can remember in a long time.

Like everybody was waiting for this one, waiting for the announcement.

So before we get into the nitty-gritty, did it meet those expectations for you?

Definitely.

I had a check box of all the things I wanted to hear and it definitely checked all the tick box that I wanted to see and hear.

So I was very happy with the results.

And I know there were some disappointments out there as well, but that's what we'll be talking about.

Yeah, for sure.

And it's funny, we've had a few of these announcements in recent months from all the companies, you know, Google had IO, Microsoft had events, OpenAI had an event, and they've all, you know, Google especially and so on.

They've shorn the words AI or the letters AI into every sentence of the entire thing it seemed, whereas Apple, it was kind of, it must have been nearly an hour before they set the term, though I thought that was interesting.

So we might take the same approach to them and we will kick off with the regular updates, you might call them, to iOS and Vision OS and Mac OS and so on.

And then we can have a chat through the so-called AI.

That sounds great.

I think that'd be perfect.

So they did kick off with Vision OS and I don't think we need to.

Why not, man?

You know, it is kind of odd that, you know, it's only been four months since they released it and they actually have a Vision OS 2 that comes out.

I'm thinking, wow, this is kind of, not only that, but it really didn't feel like it was a 2.

I mean, it was like one big thing and that was it.

I was kind of really disappointed.

I mean, yeah, granted that 3D photos sounds cool now, but definitely not for anything for us.

No, no.

And laserhertz, you know, Marcus Brownlee, you know, he said, it's more, felt like more of a 1.2 than a 2.

Exactly.

It was like a 1.2.

It was like a 1.5 update.

That was it.

But I guess what they're doing there is they're getting it onto their summer cycle.

That's all that really is.

So next year, it'll be 3 and, you know, go from there, I guess.

So it makes sense.

But what it included was, yeah, you can turn any photo into a 3D experience or whatever the correct terminology is and some new gestures.

But from an accessibility point of view, we're not aware of anything really.

You know, it's still a product that is very limited in terms of availability and, you know, what it can…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates some of VoiceOver's command customization capabilities on macOS.

If you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, or discover a function in the Commands menu that doesn’t have a default command, you can assign your own custom command to it. In addition, you can configure commands to open apps and run scripts, so you don’t have to locate them manually.

Commands can be configured by going to VoiceOver Utility > Commands, selecting the “Command set: user” radio button, and clicking “Custom commands edit.” For ease of navigation, you can choose the type of commands you want to view or change, such as numpad, trackpad, keyboard, etc from the "Filter commands" popup menu, or use the search field to locate a particular command.

In this dialog, commands can be presented in either column view, which organizes commands into categories like general, information, and navigation, or table view, which displays a list of all VoiceOver commands, including user-configured ones, which you can navigate with the up and down arrow keys. To add a command, in column view, locate the command, interact with the table of assignments, and specify your new one using the "Add input" popup menu. To add a command when in table view, click the Add button, interact with the table, and specify the input assignment from the popup menu labeled "None: edited." Then, press VO-Right-Arrow passed an empty cell to another popup menu, and choose the command you want your new input assignment to perform.

transcript:

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.: Hey, Apple Vissers.

Tyler here.

With a demonstration and walkthrough of VoiceOver command customization on macOS.

Prior to macOS Sequoia, VoiceOver included several user configurable sets of commands, known as commanders, for the numpad, trackpad, keyboard, and quick nav.

With macOS Sequoia, these commanders have been consolidated into VoiceOver's broader command set, meaning in addition to the existing modifiers that you could use, like the option key for keyboard commander, you can also create your own command assignments using the VoiceOver modifier, which may be useful if you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, if you find a command in the commands menu, for example, that lacks a default assignment, or if you want to create a custom command to open an application.

So to demonstrate this, I'm going to open VoiceOver utility on my mac with VoF8.

Opening VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

Window.

Utility categories.

C for commanders.

Commands.

Commands.

VRA.

VoiceOver modifier.

Control option or caps lock.

VoiceOver modifier.

VoiceOver modifier.

This is the setting that was located in the general category in prior versions of macOS, but options are the same.

Control option, caps lock, or control option, or caps lock, which is the default.

VRA.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Numpad.

Uncheck.

Checkbox.

Numpad, which was formerly known as Numpad Commander.

If you want to use, if you have a…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to customize the lock screen on iOS, specifically how to remove the flashlight and camera buttons and replace them with other controls.

In addition to viewing the time, date, and notifications, the Lock Screen can be customized to remove or replace the camera and flashlight buttons with other controls, or show certain types of information at a glance, such as upcoming calendar events or current weather conditions. To customize the Lock Screen, perform a one-finger triple-tap on either the time or date, double-tap Customize, and then double-tap “Customize Lock Screen wallpaper.” From here, you can double-tap the Remove buttons for default controls, the “add quick action” button to select alternative controls, or the “Add widget” button to select a widget.

transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hey, Apple Vissers, Tyler here with a quick tip for how to customize the lock screen on iOS.

By default, the iOS lock screen includes the time, date, any notifications received since the device was last used, and at least on devices without a home button, shortcuts to the flashlight and camera functions.

Over the years, the iOS lock screen has gradually become more customizable, with the ability to add widgets introduced with iOS 16 in 2022, and the ability to remove the camera and flashlight functions or replace them with other controls the user might find more useful introduced with iOS 18 in 2024.

If, like me, you don't find the camera or flashlight functions particularly useful, or at least not useful enough to where you would want them to be among the first things you see when you wake your iPhone, you can replace them with other things you might find more useful.

So for me, I replace them with a shortcut to the alarm and also a single action shortcut that I created to set a 20-minute timer.

So when I'm about to work out, I just take out my phone, wake it, unlock it, and double tap the workout timer button on the lock screen.

And when I want to set an alarm, I don't have to go into Control Center or open the clock app or use Siri anymore.

I just double tap the alarm button on the lock screen and I'm taken right there.

So to demonstrate this, I'm going to wake my iPhone now and I'm just going to explain so I don't have to explain while voiceover is talking and compete with that sound.

Once I unlock it, I'm going to triple tap either the time or the date.

Either one works.

You can triple tap or you can double tap and hold either one.

So I'm going to wake my iPhone now.

Do not disturb Friday 1 a.m. Okay, triple tap.

Astronomy wallpaper weather sunrise and sunset widget and clock next alarm widget button and illustration of red, blue and yellow rectangle.

Okay, so if I swipe left astronomy, that's the first element on the screen.

It's the current wallpaper I have.

You can have multiple.

So if you want to have different lock screens, like, for example, if you're working, you might want access to different types of information than if you're just on your own time.

If you want to link focuses, you can do that.

So if you have a work focus, you can have it…

In this podcast, Thomas Domville showcases the Audio Ducking feature on iOS. Audio Ducking automatically reduces the volume of background audio when a foreground sound, such as a notification or VoiceOver, is played. This feature is particularly beneficial for accessibility, ensuring that important sounds or speech are clearly audible without being overshadowed by other audio.

To adjust the Audio Ducking settings on iOS, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Access Accessibility Options: Scroll down and double tap on "Accessibility."
3. VoiceOver Settings: Scroll down and double tap on "VoiceOver."
4. Audio Settings: Within the VoiceOver settings, double tap on "Audio."
5. Audio Ducking Settings: Within the Audio settings, double tap on "Audio Ducking."
6. Choose Your Preference: In the Audio Ducking settings, you can select from Off, When Speaking, or Always based on your personal preference. Make sure to adjust the VoiceOver Speech Volume to your liking.

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by Aiko, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Thomas Domville, also known as AnonyMouse.

I'm gonna be talking to you today about audio ducking.

Now some of you out there are familiar with audio ducking and some that are not.

So let's talk about what audio ducking for those that are not familiar with this feature.

So really what this audio ducking does, it's very useful when you need it, when you want to lower the media sound.

So for example, are you on a phone call and you're talking to an operator or a customer service or whatever it might be, and they want you to check your email and make sure you got something, read it off something, or they sent you a text for verification, whatever not.

Sometimes it's really, really hard to hear that voiceover voice, right?

So having it at the same time, the voiceover can be difficult to hear.

Sometimes it's lower than what their sound is.

Or in my case, I do a lot of music.

So I love listening to the music in the background.

However, if I'm trying to do something with voiceover on the same time, it's difficult to hear voiceover.

So let me give you an example of what it sounds like when you do not have audio ducking on.

So if I turn on music here, I'm just gonna swipe back and forth so you can hear the various sound of voiceover and you'll see what I mean.

It's about the same or if not a little bit less, it just depends on the situation.

So here's the music.

Make sure that what I tell you makes sense.

Mail, no unread emails.

Messages, one unread message.

So it's hard to hear, right?

So you don't have that ability to be able to hear it very well.

Well, audio ducking, by turning this on, it allows you to duck those media or situation that you're in so you can bring up that voiceover on top and make it clear and concise.

Now, for those that are familiar with audio ducking, well, the old fashioned audio ducking allows us to be able to duck, right?

But it was a hard set, meaning that we have no…

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