2: Fooled by the Tech

April FOOLS!!! We have an episode for you.

Whats up docs,

Jade survives CSUN. The rest of the team rant about technology that has personally wronged them. Nobody is put in jail, but it’s a close call.

Jade’s CSUN Dispatches

Four interviews from the exhibition floor. Jade forgot the chocolate at the airport. Moving on.

New Haptics — Codex Braille Display (air bubble tech, multi-line, games included)

Eschenbach — Aftaro (low vision magnifier, clips onto your phone, good optics, minimal lag)

Dot Incorporated — Dot Pad (multi-line tactile display, shows images and graphics)

Selvas — Braille Sense 7 (detachable QWERTY case, touch capacitive cells, no mini this time)

Main Topic: The Tech That Wronged Us

Stuart — Google / YouTube Studio. Inaccessible, locked-down, took a week of suffering. Had to call in sighted people just to click a button.

Jade — The Opti Verso distance camera. Revolutionary in theory — she could see the whiteboard! In practice: a robotic arm she had to manually crank while being Elastigirl. She went back to her old CCTV within the year.

Pat — Siri. Types what he said, then changes it. Does not like the Cavan accent. Has gotten significantly worse since Apple’s AI push.

Ken — Lady A (Alexa). Last episode: raved about her. This episode: she’s actively conspiring against him. Won’t play Cork 96FM without trying to sell him Amazon Music.

Jackie — Apple HomePod (x2). Bought two at €99 each. They do nothing without her phone unlocked and nearby. Currently functioning as doorstops. Not recommended.

Listener Emails

Thanks to Cearbhall O'Meadhra and Paul Griffith for the well wishes and for tuning in. Paul, thanks especially for inspiring us with the podcast name.

Eamonn asked how text replacement works on iPhone. Stuart explained: type your shortcut plus space, iPhone expands it. Works great for email, addresses, those long Uber messages. Jackie uses it for Irish characters with fádas — though Apple thinks it knows better and will override you with trademark symbols instead.

Listener Challenges

What is Jackie’s mystery new toy? Email your guess.

How many smart devices does Jackie have in her house in Sligo? Closest guess gets a shout-out.

Send in your best text replacement shortcuts, we promise we will try not to steal them

Get in Touch Email: [email protected]

Extra links

New Haptics Codex Braille Display Eschenbach Aftaro magnifier Dot Incorporated Dot Pad Raised the Dots podcast Selvas Braille Sense 7

The Tech Docs are not responsible for Google-related trauma, any HomePod incidents, or spontaneous Alexa or Siri rage resulting from this episode. Happy Easter.