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TAVIP Newsletter December 2024

Dear Members and Discussion Listers,

The TAVIP trustees and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2025.

It has been great to speak to so many of you during 2024 during Masterclass sessions, at the TechABreak Conference, during sector events or while answering individual queries.

During 2024 the membership has grown to over 470 people, we have supported more younger people through our Technology for Learning Programme, we have recruited new training partners to provide 1:1 support, we have increased the number of Masterclass sessions we have delivered, we have supported product developers with early stage testing, we have informed the development of the Tech Selector Tool, and we have increased our impact by working with other sight loss organisations both locally and nationally on a number of projects.

2025 promises to be another busy year for the charity. We would love to support you to share your knowledge and experience in a Masterclass session, contribute an article to our Newsletter, take part in product testing, help run a workshop at TechABreak, or continue to provide support and advice to fellow members through the Discussion List. Thanks to all of you that have helped out over the last 12 months and do get in touch if you would like to get more involved in 2025. As always our email address is info@tavip.org.uk.

It has also been a really interesting year for new tech, including the Ray-Ban Meta glasses with Be My Eyes, and prototypes of the WeWALK Smart Cane 2 and Glide products touring the UK in recent months. We look forward to seeing these and other products coming to market during 2025.

Below are details of events coming up, as well as other news and articles, and I look forward to seeing many of you either online or in person during 2025.

With Seasons Greetings,

Julian Garner, Chief Executive.

Masterclass on Ray-Ban Meta Glasses

There has been a lot of interest in the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses already this year, and they will probably feature on Christmas lists for quite a few of you.

We’ll be unboxing a pair, setting them up, discussing pros and cons, and listening to your own experiences at a Masterclass on Monday 20th January at 7.30pm.

The session will be hosted by Aj from AAT Solutions and by TAVIP Trustee David Quarmby and we will send out a link and a reminder nearer the time.

TechABreak 2025 – Save the Date

The provisional dates for TechABreak 2025 are Friday 12th to Sunday 14th September 2025. We will be going back to The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate which looked after us very well this year. We will be moving into a larger conference room to accommodate more guests and more presentations, and we look forward to another great weekend. We will share booking details in the New Year.

Sound Without Sight Update

TAVIP is delighted to be providing administrative and governance support for the Sound Without Sight project. The project is led by Jay Pocknell and supports visually impaired people working in the music industry. This year they have hosted two interns, Sarah and Zenny, and Jay kindly produced a video update which we shared at the TechABreak weekend. It is inspiring to hear the work they have been doing so do listen to the Sound Without Sight update on YouTube. If you are interested in music you can join their monthly meet-ups via the SWS website.

Recording of our Masterclass on Goldwave

Back in September David Reay led a Masterclass on playing, recording and editing sound in GoldWave, and a recording of that session is available on AudioBoom.

David covered the following areas:

1. Installation and Interface
Download, licensing and setup. Sound windows, the control properties and control windows.
2. Playing
Using the three cursors. Moving quickly through files using view menu options.
3. Recording
Recording sources, your computer and external sources. Setting up a recording.
4. Editing
selecting, copying, pasting, moving and deleting sections of audio. Fine editing using view menu options.

The session was introduced by Peter Bosher, a Trustee of TAVIP.

https://audioboom.com/posts/8601946-tavip-masterclass-on-using-goldwave

 

A new TAVIP Coding and Computing Group

TAVIP is going back to its roots! The charity was started in 1969 as a membership organisation by a group of visually impaired people working as computer programmers. Over the last 12 months we have received several requests for support with accessible programming environments, so we are setting up a Coding and Computing Group to provide information and support in this area, led by one of our trustees, Tony Stockman.

We will be kicking-off a programme of activities with a Masterclass in February 2025 looking at programming with the Linux operating system, which will be led by Ben Mustill-Rose and we will share details in due course. We will also be running a session on Python programming.

If you would like to suggest topics for the Coding and Computing Group, or if you are aware of helpful resources in this area which we can share, please send us an email to info@tavip.org.uk.

TAVIP Trips

In October we organised the first TAVIP trip for quite a while – to Google’s Accessibility and Discovery Centre in St Pancras, London. Fifteen of us took part in the visit. We had a really interesting tour and discussion with Chris Patnoe and had the opportunity to hear about some of the latest features on Chromebooks and Android or Pixel phones. The day started with lunch at a pub near Kings Cross, and ended with a stop at a coffee shop!

We would love to hear suggestions for other trips which we could help organise with you in the coming year. We are looking into the possibility of a trip to The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) at Bletchley near Milton Keynes which provides a fascinating overview of the development of computers, from the Turing-Welchman Bombe and Colossus of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, to the rise of personal computing and the rise of mobile computing and the internet.

Do send other suggestions to info@tavip.org.uk and if you would like to help organise a trip that would be great. They are an interesting way to find out more about technology past and present, as well as providing an opportunity for members to meet up socially.

Update from our friends at British Wireless for the Blind Fund

It was great to meet some of the team from British Wireless for the Blind at TechABreak this year, and I asked if they would produce a summary of their current service offer:

People living with sight loss in the UK can get free audio devices, under a scheme run by the charity British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF). The charity’s range of sight loss friendly equipment includes free Alexa devices and other audio devices, including radios, USB players and more.

Alexa devices

For people living with sight loss, an Alexa device can be a fantastic way of accessing audio entertainment and finding information. You can ask Alexa anything and you don’t need to use buttons or on-screen controls. Our range of free Alexa devices includes the Echo Dot, Echo Pop and Echo Kids speakers, as well as the Echo Show, which includes a screen.

Other audio devices

BWBF’s other devices include tactile radios and radios operated using just one button. The charity also provides a simple-to-use, portable pocket-radio and a sight loss friendly USB player. They even offer a sleep sound soother for babies and young children.

You can see all the devices available on the BWBF website.

How to apply

BWBF’s devices are available to anyone living with sight loss in the UK, provided they’re in receipt of certain benefits. You can apply for a device for yourself, or on behalf of someone else.

If you have any questions, you can get in touch with BWBF on info@blind.org.uk or 01622 754757.

Other sector events in 2025

To help with your diary planning for next year, here are the dates for various technology events taking place in the UK and further afield:

The RNIB Northern Ireland Technology Fair 2025 will be on Wednesday 26th February 2025 From 11am to 4:30pm at The Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4RL.

 The biggest showcase of assistive technology products for blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland is back and bigger than ever. The free event will showcase the latest assistive technology for blind and partially sighted people both locally and internationally and will also host a series of Tech Talks delivered by technology experts from around the world. All of this all under one roof and for one day only. To find out more contact rnibni@rnib.org.uk. It is organised by Jackie Brown who is also a TAVIP Member.

Dates for Sight Village events in 2025 are as follows:

Wales: All Nations, Cardiff, Tuesday, 8th April 2025

Scotland: Science Centre, Glasgow, Wednesday, 21st May 2025

Central: Eastside Rooms, Birmingham, Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th July 2025

North-West: Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Tuesday, 16th September 2025

South-East, London; Venue TBC, Tuesday, 11th November 2025

The next C.SUN AT Conference will be from 10th to the 14th March 2025 and will be available online. Here is the YouTube playlist for the 2024 CSUN conference sessions.

Steven and Shaun try out Glide at Sight Village

If you are interested in the Glide product and didn’t manage to get to the demos earlier in the year, then you can listen to the experience of Steven Scott and Shaun Preece from Double Tap who tried out Glide at Sight Village.

Dave Steele, The Blind Poet talks to the Rainbow Group for World Sight Day

I know that some of you will be aware of Dave Steele, The Blind Poet, and he has just published a children’s picture book which is designed to be accessible for blind readers. It includes features to ensure proper orientation, a NaviLens code linking to an audio narration (by Dave, who reads both the text and picture descriptions), and compatibility with sound-enabled reading devices like PENfriend and PENpal, allowing page-by-page audio playback.

Dave talked about the new book at a webinar hosted by the Rainbow Group (a wellbeing forum run by local sight loss organisations) with an introduction by Tim Ward from Sight Advice South Lakes. In this Video with Dave Steele he talks about his experience of losing his sight and how poetry helped him find a new calling. Dave reads a selection of his poetry as well as an extract from his new Book, The Big Test, part of Austin’s Amazing Adventures Series.

A simple guide to help you understand AI

With all the talk about AI, you might find it interesting to read this introduction to AI on the BBC website:

A simple Guide to AI

How Ai Can Boost Disability Inclusion

You might also be interested in this episode of the NVIDIA AI podcast. In this episode Sara Minkara, U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, and Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, discuss AI’s potential to enhance education and disability inclusion. They emphasize the importance of including disability communities in AI development, as well as the cultural and social benefits of building an inclusive future.

How Ai can boost Disability Inclusion

A reminder of the support TAVIP offers to our members

We have had quite a few new members join us in the last few months, so here is a quick summary of some of the support TAVIP can provide:

  1. The monthly TechChat zoom call where we answer queries and host a discussion on tech
  2. Our Directory which provides information on a range of topics https://www.tavip.org.uk/directory/
  3. Our Technology for Work, and Technology for Learning programmes which provide up to 5 hours of one to one support from an expert trainer
  4. The email Discussion List which provides a forum to resolve issues and share the latest developments in v.i. tech
  5. Our Masterclass webinars which cover a range of topical issues
  6. The TechABreak technology conference which will be on 12th to 14th September 2025
  7. Our new Coding and Computing Group
  8. Sound Without Sight for support on audio and music

To find out more about any of these just email info@tavip.org.uk.

And remember to check out the Tech Selector Tool which TAVIP helped to develop, and which is a great source of information on the latest and best tech.

That’s a wrap

That’s all from the TAVIP Team for 2024. Best wishes for Christmas, New Year, and a great year in 2025.

Julian.