iSee - Using various technologies from a blind persons perspective.

A tip demo on how to portably demonstrate the Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Generation and the Google Home Mini

In this demo, just thought I would share a setup that I use when demoing these smart speakers at workshops etc without having to hunt for power points or connect to WiFi networks.

Hope you find it useful.

David.

Demo of the new Amazon Echo Show using Voice view screen reader

In this demo, I give you a physical description of the Amazon Echo Show with its 7 inch touch screen, how to turn on Voice view (screen reader), Voice view Tutorial, some basic and handy gestures, navigating around the Amazon Echo Show with the touch screen, turning on the Start and End action sounds, and playing music/movies.

Oh and of course, using Alexa smile...

Changes and sound of the new Amazon Echo Dot as of October 2018 verses the previous version

In this demo, I go through the main feature differences between the new and previous version of the Amazon Echo Dot plus play a bit of music and a audio book for you to hear the difference.

HomePod iOS 12 demo - Find My iPhone, making/answering a call, and multiple timers.

With the release of iOS 12, Find My iPhone, answering/making calls, and multiple timers became available for the HomePod which I demonstrate.

HomePod demo - moving music around between multiple speakers

In this demo, I show you how you can ask Siri to move music to particular speakers or move EVERYWhere to play music on all speakers.

HomePod demo - switching between multi room and stereo pair

In this demo, I show you how to change between multi room and stereo pair using the Home app of course using two HomePods (smile).

Google Home demo - paring Google Home to a Bluetooth speaker

In this demo, I show you how to pair the Google Home to a bluetooth speaker so if you choose you can use this BT speaker as a default play source for music.

I also show you how to unpair the speaker if you don't want it associated with the Google Home.

Note - this is different to Enabling Bluetooth on Google Home to use it as a Bluetooth speaker from another device such as your iPhone or Android phone etc.

HomePod demo - toggling automatic software update on or off and checking firmware software version of HomePod

In this demo I show you where to go to toggle automatic software update on or off within the Home app and also where you can check for the current firmware software version of HomePod .

HomePod demo- sending, receiving and reading Messages on HomePod

In this demo I show you how to send, receive and read Messages on HomePod.

HomePod demo - creating notes and reminders

In this demo, I show you how to create and add to notes, and how I use reminders in a number of ways on the HomePod.

HomePod demo - playing media to HomePod and other wireless speakers from the Mac

In this demo, I give you a demo of my wireless speaker setup at home and take you through the simple process of playing to the HomePod and other wireless speaker devices around my home.

HomePod demo - using Home Kit devices

In this demo, I take you through the Home Kit devices that I use in my home to control lights, radio, heater, and checking the temperature inside and outside all done via the HomePod.

HomePod demo - using the timer

In this demo, I take a quick look at the timer function offered by the HomePod.

HomePod demo - setting and managing alarms

In this demo, I show you how to set single and repeat alarms, toggle alarms on/off, label alarms, delete alarms, and check status of alarms using the HomePod. I also go through setting and managing alarms from the Home app.

HomePod demo - how to reset HomePod

In this demo I show you how to reset the HomePod.

Simply unplug and plug back in to power, hold finger on touch surface until announcement/3 tones, HomePod restarts, usual start sound, and begin usual setup process via Popup on iPhone and through the Home app.

HomePod demo - how to stop and start "Hey Siri" from listening

In this demo, I take you through the simple steps of asking Siri to stop listening for the "Hey Siri" command (Hey Siri Stop Listening", and how to activate "hey Siri" again via 1 finger double tap and hold (using VoiceOver on the homePod) touch surface to manually activate Siri, then say "Hey Siri Start Listening".

 

HomePod demo - playing around with Podcasts

In this demo, I show you how to play, navigate, and subscribe to podcasts on the HomePod.

HomePod demo - using the iOS Control Centre 3D Touch on Media to change media control between iPhone and HomePod

In this demo, I show you how to play media on your iPhone (such as an Audible book) and music playing on HomePod (via Hey Siri play xx), and then via Control Centre, change between iPhone and HomePod.

These are the steps:

In the demo, start an Audible book on iPhone,

Start music playing on HomePod via Hey Siri,

Access Control Centre,

3D Touch on Media,

will be presented with Title track iPhone and title track NameOfHomePod,

Select iPhone or HomePod,

Media controls such as Rewind, Play.Pause, Fast Forward, volume etc will then allow that selected media source to be controlled.

This comes in really handy if you've started music playing in the kitchen on HomePod, your at the back of the house, and you want to change to the next track on the HomePod, Pause, turn the volume up etc.

How to use HomePod as a speaker phone.

In this demo, I show you how to transfer a call from your iPhone to the HomePod to then use the HomePod as a hands free speaker phone.

This works for both making and receiving a call.

When your on a call, choose the Hide button to hide the keypad, choose the Audio button, and then choose your HomePod.

The great thing about this for VoiceOver users is that the call is live on your HomePod, whilst VoiceOver and the keypad if you have to use it with automated system stays on the iPhone.  Consequently you have two different audio sources, making it much easier to either listen to the phone call or use your iPhone.

A Play around with HomePod using VoiceOver - setup, configuring via the Home app, and a play around with Siri.

My first demo of setting up and playing around with the HomePod.

Support page link for using VoiceOver on the HomePod which will activate if you are running VoiceOver on the iPhone or turn it on in Home app via Room tab, HomePod, Details, Accessibility, VoiceOver.

 

https://support.apple.com/en-au/ht208434

Demo of setting up the Amazon Echo dot with the iOS Amazon Alexa app now that the Echo is officially supported in Australia

In this demo, I take you through setting up my Amazon Echo Dot via the Amazon Alexa app now that the Echo is officially supported in Australia as of Feb 1 2018.

I must say though, I prefer using the alexa.amazon.com website rather than the iOS app as sometimes I find double tapping with VoiceOver doesn't work and I have better access to the webpages with VoiceOver on the Mac using Safari than I do using the Amazon Alexa app with VoiceOver.

I still don't understand why Audible is not accessible here in Australia, only Kindle books.

I hope Amazon improves the English Australia voice for reading Kindle books, it pauses far to much.

Demo of reading (listening) to an audio book on Google Home

In this demo I take you through the process of purchasing an audio book from the Google Play Store

https://play.google.com

 

and then show you how to as Google puts it, Read and navigate an audio book on Google Home.

FYI - audio books on the Google Play Store became available in the last week of Jan 2018.  If you are using PlayBooks on iOS, you can search and sample audio books plus play audio books you have already purchased.  Whilst on PlayBooks for Android and the website, you can search, sample, add to wish list, purchase, and of course play.

Demo of the new English Australia voice for the Amazon Echo

In this podcast, I give you a brief demo of the English Australia voice of the Amazon Echo which is about to be officially released in Australia as of Feb 1 2018.

In the meantime, if you do have an Amazon Echo in Australia and you would like to use the new English Australia voice, go to

http://alexa.amazon.com

Choose the Settings tab, choose your Echo, choose Language, and in the language pop-up select English Australia.

The Australian voice Unfortunately pauses between paragraphs when reading a Kindle book after I posted this podcast, and even worse, I have now learnt that Amazon will not be allowing audible.com books to be accessed in Australia, which doesn't make sense since the service is here anyway.

The Amazon Alexa app is in the Australian iOS App Store.

Demo of playing music to Google Homes or Chromecast Audio devices whilst listening to an Audible book on my iPhone

In this demo, I show you how I use Google Play Music to play to Google Homes or Chromecast Audio devices around my house whilst I enjoy listening to an Audible book on my iPhone. 

Google Home Mini update covering recent added gestures

In this demo, I show you the new updated gestures which became available for the Google Home Mini towards the end of 2017: Pause/Play music, and stop an alarm or timer.

Demo of changing the bass and treble on Google Home

In this demo, I show you how to change the bass or treble settings on the Google home.

I tend to change these settings depending on whether I am listening to music or spoken word.

Demo of Chromecasting from Google Play music to individual speakers and groups

In this demo I give you a brief demo of Chromecasting from Google Play Music on my iPhone to individual speakers in my house and speaker groups.

Like Airplay, VoiceOver speech stays local on your device whilst the music goes out to individual or group speakers.

Demo of using Google Home Speakers and Chromecast Audio groups

In this demo I show you how I have organised my Google Home Speakers and Chromecast Audio devices (attached to various speakers throughout my house), and then take you through setting up and using groups to pla audio.

I also demo my favorite couple of features that of being able to tell what is playing on a speaker, adjusting volume, and then being able to adjust individual speaker volumes within a speaker group.

For me, this is just a cost effective way of setting up speakers through out my house without having to spend to much money by using the existing speakers.

Using the Google Home Speaker as a Bluetooth speaker

In late August 2017 I discovered within the Google Home App on my iPhone (Device, DeviceName, Settings, Bluetooth) that I could now use my Google Home Smart Speaker as a Bluetooth speaker.

In this demo I take you through the steps of setting up the Google Home smart Speaker as a BT speaker using my iPhone and of course the Google Home app.

I just wish when these firmware updates became active that the user got notified such as "Hey, did you know your Google Home Speaker can now do Bluetooth".

The great thing is that when your using the sGH as a BT speaker, the Google Assistant is stil active as well as the physical gestures for the GH speaker itself.

A bit sluggish with VoiceOver gestures, but not to bad for short navigation sessions.

Setting up and using Chromecast Audio for use with Google Home

In this demo, I give you a physical description of the Chromecast Audio device, go through the setup via the Google Home app, and show you how to use it via the Google Home speaker.

Note - Chromecast Audio is purely to play music etc to speakers that can take a 3.5mm audio jack.  For watching Youtube, Netflix etc You will need a Chromecast device.

Since I purchased my AQ Smart Speakers several years ago which not only support Airplay but take a 3.5mm audio jack, I've been able to turn all of my Airplay speakers in to Chromecast Audio speakers.  This means that I can setup speakers in a group and control their volume etc independently of each other.

Looking forward to purchasing more Chromecast Audio devices.

A comparison of Google Home in Australia and the Amazon echo

In this demo, I take you through a number of common tasks between Google Home which is officially supported in Australia and the Amazon Echo which is not.

 

A comparison of the Beats Pill+ verses the previous Beats Pill speaker.

A quick comparison demo between the new Beats Pill+ and the older Beats Pill using VoiceOver, playing music, and lisening to an audio book.

Playing music on the Apple watch and changing source from watch to iPhone

In this demo, I show you how to play sync'd music from your iPhone on the  Apple watch, and changing source play between the watch and the phone.  Remember when playing music on the Apple watch, you'll need to use Bluetooth speakers or head phones: although you can access your Airplay speakers in the house via your iPhone as I show in the demo.  As with the iPhone, when your playing music on the Apple watch, you'll get VoiceOver coming over the BT device as well.

Pairing a Bluetooth device to your Apple watch using VoiceOver

In this demo, I show you how to pair a Bluetooth device to your Apple watch.  For this demo, I use my Jambox portable bluetooth speaker However, I have paired my Beats head phones, Aftershokz, and BEM speaker band.  To find Settings on the Apple watch: from the clock face press digital crown to go to Home app screen, flick left or right to find settings, 1 finger double tap to activate settings, flick right to locate Bluetooth, and your ready to go ahead and pair.  Keep in mind that voiceOver will be speaking through the BT device as well, and if you play music, both speech and music will be using the BT device unlike Airplay.

Orientation and demo of the AfterShokz Blues 2 wireless bone conduction ear phones

Orientation and demo of the Aftershokz Blues 2 bone conduction ear phones.

a demo of the Beats Studio wireless head phones

a demo of the Beats Studio wireless head phones

a demo of the Beats Studio wireless head phones

Quick demo using the BEM Bluetooth Speaker BAnd to activate Siri and launch BlindSquare GPS app using the automated menu..

Quick demo using the BEM Bluetooth Speaker BAnd to activate Siri and  launch BlindSquare GPS app using the automated menu..

Demo of the BEm Bluetooth Speaker Band with the iPhone using VoiceOver

Demo of the BEm Bluetooth Speaker Band with the iPhone using VoiceOver