Gareth Collins, Tech Support Manager for Dolphin, is no stranger to the BBQ microphones as we try to catch up with him at each of the major Blindness and Low Vision events. This time around Mr. Collins has much to bring J.J. up to speed on with Dolphin as the easy to use Guide software has seen a dramatic re-write from the ground up. Hear about the changes coming to Guide, more about GuideConnect and learn about how this combination is great for those out there who want to use computer services without having to know, or troubleshoot, the inner workings of a computer. The pair also discuss what is new with the soon to be released Supernova 18. And don't forget that Dolphin s free EasyReader app is available for Android and iOS. To catch up with all the goings on at the company, or to obtain free trials of the software mentioned in this interview, venture over to the Dolphin Computer Access website
ATIA 2019 coverage is Brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.
For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings, access technology book reviews, and mobile apps, and how they can enhance entertainment, education and employment, log on to AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free, monthly, online technology magazine. Visit www.afb.org/aw.
Transcript
We strive to provide an accurate transcription, though errors may occur.
Hide transcriptTranscribed by Grecia Ramirez
From beautiful Orlando, Florida, it’s blindbargains.com coverage of ATIA 2019, brought to you by AFB AccessWorld.
For the latest news and accessibility information on mainstream and access technology; Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon offerings; access technology; book reviews; and mobile apps and how they can enhance entertainment, education, and employment, log onto AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's free monthly online technology magazine. www.AFB.org/AW.
Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.
J.J. MEDDAUGH: We are here at ATIA 2019. We are here with Gareth Collins, he’s Tech Support Manager for Dolphin.
There is a new product here right in front of me, a thing called the GuideConnect. Did I get that right?
GARETH COLLINS: Yes. GuideConnect. Basically, it’s a kind of reboot of our existing Guide software that many of you may know about. It’s software that is easy computing for, mainly, seniors who may be not used a computer before, never used a screen reader before, so they want to, kind of, connect it with the grandkids, send them Emails, have a look at photographs, browse the web, find out what all the podcasts are about, stuff like that. And for them to actually, at their age, to learn how to use a screen reader and Windows and Outlook just to send an Email is probably a bit of a –
JM: Not everyone wants to do that. Yeah.
GC: Exactly. So what GuideConnect is -- is a piece of software that you can install on a desktop, a laptop, or a Surface Go tablet. Or if you don’t use a computer, never owned one, you can actually install it on a little Windows 10 set topbox about as big as two fists together. GuideConnect comes pre-installed on it. You just connect it to your TV by HDMI cord, switch it on, and you’re able to, on your TV, you’re able to download books, magazines, you know, from places like Bookshare, NFB-NEWSLINE, NLS BARD. You’re able to browse the web, you’re able to write and read Emails.
JM: Right.
GC: You’re able to listen to radio stations, all the iHeartRadio stations and podcasts. It’s got a dictionary, a calculator, an address book, all –
JM: So it’s all menu-driven?
GC: It’s all menu-driven and easy, kind of 1 through 9. Menu system, the web browser in it is Chrome, it’s being -- Guide is being completely rewritten. Not a single line of code from the old version is in it, using all new technology. For the TV version and the tablet version, you can also get a little remote control, a Bluetooth remote control that you can arrow up and down, left, right, and the okay button to go through the menu system and control it.
JM: Yeah. Kind of before the interview, makes it kind of like a Roku. If you kind of sit there with the TV with the remote, you can browse around and –
GC: Exactly. Get all your menus, get all your books, your newspapers, magazines and read them all allowed on your TV.
JM: So the tablet software is more for low-vision? This doesn’t have the iPhone style of VoiceOver capabilities; correct?
GC: Yeah. Yes. It’ll be a bit more challenging if you were totally blind to use that version without a remote control. So yes.
JM: So you would be best off, as a blind person, using it either on a computer with a regular –
GC: Keyboard.
JM: -- keyboard or getting the remote?
GC: Yes. And we do have, on a roadmap for the future, have in voice input for dictating letters, Emails, also to do a quick web search, like, say, you know, what’s the weather going to be like today? You know, that type of thing.
JM: Would you – I mean, I guess it’s running Windows 10. Maybe you could just tie into Cortana or something else under the hood.
GC: Yes. Yes. We – we. We’ve – that is one of the options we can be exploring. Yeah.
JM: Sure. So you can buy just the software? Can you buy the software and the hardware as well, or –
GC: Yes. You can – any of those combinations. So I think the software – I’m not sure if the – well, I work in Tech Support, but I think it’s probably going to be about the same price as the old software, which was seven nine five. I believe I heard – I asked somebody how much the box was going to cost. I think the box might be like two fifty --
JM: Okay.
GC: -- for the little Windows 10 box. So yes. So if you already own some hardware, just install it onto it.
JM: Buy the software.
GC: Buy the software. You can get it, you know, as I said, bundled on the box. You can get it bundled on the tablet as well.
JM: And you can just buy the remote as an add-on as well?
GC: Yes. Yes. Exactly.
JM: How much is the remote about?
GC: Oh. I – I’m not sure. It might – I think it actually comes as part of the price with the box.
JM: That makes sense.
GC: I’m not sure about the tablet though.
JM: Okay.
GC: But yeah. It wouldn’t be very much, I don’t think.
JM: Sure. You’ve also mentioned to me you’ve been, of course, been updating SuperNova over the years?
GC: Yes. Yes.
JM: And there’s some new features in the latest version. What do you got going on?
GC: So the main new features in SuperNova 18, which will be released next month, is on the magnification end, side, you can have separate magnification and color settings per monitor. So if you’re using multiple monitors, you got two monitors, different sizes, you might want a bit more magnification on the smaller monitor. And you might have, say, Word on one monitor and Excel on the other monitor, you might want different color combinations on each monitor. We’ve also made our integration with our Connect and View feature a bit slicker. So what Connect and View allows you to do is if you attach a webcam to a computer running SuperNova, you – like a HoverCam or, you know, one of those document cams --
JM: Yeah.
GC: -- like the IPEVO – what that allows you to do is use it as a CCTV. So you can magnify what’s on a piece of paper, business card, a medicine bottle.
JM: Sure.
GC: Magnify it, you can take – change the colors of it, you can take a picture of it, and you can OCR the text of it and have it read aloud. And Connect and View, as well as being able to connect to a webcam, it can also connect to a white board in a school room situation.
JM: Okay.
GC: So – and for that, we use the screen-sharing protocol, VNC. So a bit like, if people are familiar with, like, GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, all that kind of stuff.
JM: Yeah.
GC: So the teacher basically turns on screen-sharing on the PC or device that’s connected to the white board, and then the student connects wirelessly by Wi-Fi or whatever internet connection to the teacher’s machine that’s running the white board. And then they can have it magnified and they can change the colors and they can OCR and they can take screen shots of everything on the white board.
JM: I believe I saw – I’m not sure how long you’ve been doing it – that you could also get SuperNova now as like, a monthly service?
GC: Yes. Yes. Yeah. You can have it as a subscription service. You can even have it on a USB Thumb Drive, and it will run without needing to be installed.
JM: And you can just buy that, or is that annual?
GC: Well, yeah. I think for the USB Thumb Drive, that will probably be like an annual or –
JM: That makes sense.
GC: -- or an – but for the actual software downloaded version, yeah. You can get, like, maybe a month or a quarterly subscription.
JM: Okay. Great. If people want to get more information about what’s going on with Dolphin, this –
GC: Yeah. You can either go to our website, which is www.yourdolphin.com, or you can go to the website of our U.S. master disputer, irie-at.com.
JM: And we should mention too, if you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can get the EasyReader app –
GC: Oh, yes. So –
JM: -- for free. And –
GC: Yes. Free. So if you go to the Google Play store or the Apple store –
JM: ITunes.
GC: ITunes, yeah. You can download for your Android or IOS device, a free Daisy book reader called EasyReader that connects directly to library services such as Bookshare, CAMI for educational materials, NFB-NEWSLINE for books and magazines, periodicals. And you can search all of those libraries from inside the one app, download all the content inside one app, and read it. You know, and that’s a free app.
JM: Great. Thank you so much, Gareth.
GC: Okay. Thank you for the opportunity.
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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.
