Double Tap

Vibe coding with Claude has taken over Steven Scott's spare time, and he and Shaun Preece think more blind people should try it. They explain how the setup works, why your files stay on your own computer, and whether building our own accessible tools lets big tech developers off the hook.

Steven explains how he builds iPhone apps with Claude and Xcode, then shows Records, a small app he made that scans letters, summarises them and adds appointments to his calendar. They also cover the privacy side of uploading documents to the cloud. Shaun announces a public beta of Claudio, his accessible Windows app for Claude Code. They talk about apps people have built for Plaud note takers, and why unofficial WhatsApp clients could get your account banned.

Next comes a grumble about iOS and Windows. Steven and Shaun talk about noisy iMessage group chats, FaceTime calls that won't start, and the latest VoiceOver bugs. They also cover the Windows start menu bug that Microsoft is now fixing on its servers.

In the inbox, Leander picks up on the jobs we'd have done if we weren't blind. Lindy from Australia asks whether Tailscale can link an iPhone with a Windows laptop. Shaun explains what Tailscale does, and suggests iCloud for Windows and Phone Link as easier ways to get the job done.

To finish, ET asks whether vibe coding takes accessibility off developers' plates. Steven argues that blind people should stop waiting for permission and build things themselves. He points to Saqib Shaikh and Seeing AI as proof of what can happen.

Chapters

0:00 – Welcome to the therapy session
0:45 – Can't leave Claude alone: building your own tools
5:05 – Inaccessible PDFs, privacy and the Records app
12:12 – Claudio, an accessible Claude Code client
13:51 – Plaud tools and WhatsApp client risks
16:01 – iMessage, FaceTime and iOS and Windows bugs
22:50 – The inbox: the jingle and Leander on dream jobs
29:15 – Lindy asks about Tailscale, iPhone and Windows
39:55 – ET: is vibe coding letting developers off the hook?
54:38 – How to get in touch and the Double Tap newsletter

Relevant Links

Double Tap: https://doubletaponair.com/
Claude: https://claude.com/product/overview
Claudio beta from Slight Perception: https://slightperception.com/beta
Tailscale: https://tailscale.com
iCloud for Windows: https://support.apple.com/en-us/103232
Phone Link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/phonelink/phone-link-requirements-and-setup
Seeing AI: https://www.seeingai.com/

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can a blind player enjoy a mainstream video game as much as a sighted one? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece talk accessible gaming with Stefan Wilhelm, co-founder of Inclusive Gaming, a Leipzig studio building games blind and sighted people can play together.

Steven wants to play Grand Theft Auto and misses the CB radio banter of Euro Truck Simulator. Shaun isn't sure a game run by audio cues and assisted driving is any fun. Their debate sets up a bigger question: does accessible mean enjoyable?

Stefan, who is sighted, explains how a podcast with blind gamer Christian Ohrens, who plays Super Mario by ear, led him to start Inclusive Gaming. He talks about learning from the studio's community of blind players, why some prefer screen reader speech to recorded voices, and why playing with your eyes closed is no substitute for real users.

He also covers AVOS, an AI assistant in development that describes menus and scenes and uses fast object detection to help blind players with games that were never made accessible. Stefan builds in Unity with FMOD and Steam Audio, and he runs the Gaming Lab at SightCity in Frankfurt with support from Xbox.

Last up is Dinonid, a turn-based dinosaur puzzle game coming to Windows, iOS, Android and BlindShell, plus an update on the Double Tap website.

Chapters

0:00 – Intro and retro gaming memories
2:14 – Mainstream games, online communities and assisted mode
10:24 – Stefan Wilhelm and the founding of Inclusive Gaming
15:13 – Learning from blind players' feedback
18:41 – Designing games blind and sighted players can share
26:42 – AVOS: an AI assistant for inaccessible games
36:11 – Spatial audio with Unity, FMOD and Steam Audio
40:00 – Running the SightCity Gaming Lab
46:10 – Dinonid, BlindShell and where to find Inclusive Gaming
52:51 – The Double Tap website and your feedback

Relevant Links

Double Tap: https://doubletaponair.com
Inclusive Gaming: https://inclusive-gaming.de/en/
Dinonid demo: https://inclusivegaming.itch.io/dinonid-accessible
SightCity: https://sightcity.net/en/
Unity: https://unity.com
Steam Audio: https://valvesoftware.github.io/steam-audio/

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable iPhone, any use if you can't see the screen? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece are joined by David Nason of AppleVis to test it with VoiceOver and low vision. They cover the passport-sized design, how VoiceOver copes when the screen changes shape, and a Split View feature that might win over blind users.

David has RP and some peripheral vision. He describes the iPhone Duo as a squat, wide phone that opens into a small landscape tablet. The inner folding screen has a matte feel that takes some getting used to under your fingers, and Steven explains why he likes the crease: it gives you a tactile marker down the middle.

VoiceOver gestures like the four-finger tap to jump to the top or bottom still behave as before. Exploring by touch is harder, because the dock sits on the right, home screen pages shift sideways, and apps that haven't been updated for the Duo appear in a narrow strip with black bars either side. Steven found an odd quirk: you can touch home screen icons through those black bars.

The standout is Split View. Two apps run side by side, and VoiceOver handles each half on its own, so it feels like two iPhones joined together. The hosts also cover Touch ID on the power button, the missing Action button, setting the Camera Control to need a double click, weight and battery life, and the Deck-Man cassette Walkman app.

Chapters
0:00 – Introduction and David Nason joins
3:14 – Passport-sized design explained
6:55 – Folding screen feel, the crease and low vision views
13:25 – Home screen layout, buttons, Touch ID and speakers
23:21 – Hinge and build quality
25:35 – VoiceOver on the outer and inner screens
35:04 – Split View and two apps at once
41:41 – Weight, battery life and thickness
47:33 – Deck-Man and the first Duo apps
53:07 – Cameras and wrap-up

Relevant Links
Double Tap: https://doubletaponair.com
AppleVis Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/applevis-podcast/id478403062
Deck-Man: Cassette Player: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/deck-man-cassette-player/id6817070335

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

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• RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro and Amazon's new Alexa+ devices arrived in the same week. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece go through the Echo Dot, Echo Time, Alexa Photo Frame, Echo Studio with Home Camera and Echo Show 16, and ask who these expensive gadgets are really for, including blind and low vision users.

Tech keeps getting more expensive. RAM and hard drive costs are pushing a decent laptop toward $3,000, and Apple's new 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR touch display starts at $2,899 in the US. It comes with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips and a Dynamic Island, and the glowing Apple logo is back on the lid. After an old Steve Jobs clip arguing against vertical touchscreens, the hosts look for a real use case. They welcome a new accessibility setting that turns the touchscreen off. There's also an M6 MacBook Pro and an M6 iMac, which keeps its Ethernet port on the power adapter.

On the Amazon side, Shaun is still waiting for Alexa+ on his Echo Dot Max while a new $99.99 Echo Dot arrives with a built-in smart home hub and an eero Wi-Fi extender. Echo Time is a $199.99 smart alarm clock with sleep sensing and no camera. The Alexa Photo Frame syncs with Amazon Photos and lets you attach voice notes to pictures. It's a small accessibility touch, but a useful one.

The Echo Studio with Home Camera, at $249.99, brings visual intelligence: hold something up and ask Alexa what it is, which takes the hosts back to Show and Tell. The Echo Show 16 starts at $499.99, and the stands cost extra. Coming up next: David Nason joins the show to compare notes on the iPhone Duo.

Chapters

0:00 – Intro and the rising cost of laptops and hard drives
3:14 – Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro
19:13 – M6 MacBook Pro and the new iMac
24:41 – Amazon's new Echo Dot and the wait for Alexa+
31:13 – Echo Time smart alarm clock
35:35 – Alexa Photo Frame and voice notes on photos
44:17 – Echo Studio with Home Camera
50:31 – Echo Show 16
53:54 – Website updates and the iPhone Duo with David Nason

Are you buying any of this? Tell us at feedback@doubletaponair.com or on WhatsApp at +1 613-481-0144. Like, subscribe and share Double Tap with a friend who loves tech.

Relevant Links
Apple MacBook Pro: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/
Apple iMac: https://www.apple.com/imac/
Amazon's new Alexa devices: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-devices-2026
Double Tap: https://www.doubletaponair.com

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple's new iPad mini has an 8.5 inch OLED screen, the A20 Pro chip and a thinner 5.4mm body. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece talk about what it offers blind and low vision users. Then they open a busy mailbag covering Braille watches, an accessible soundbar and a pro mixing console that talks.

The new iPad mini starts at £699 or $699 for 128GB. Shaun loves the size and thinks the brighter OLED display will matter to low vision users. Steven wonders where the iPad fits now that the iPhone Duo exists and the Mac might get a touchscreen. Both want multi-user profiles on iPad. They compare it with Amazon's new tablet, which now runs Android with full TalkBack, and Steven explains how his iPad Pro and Final Cut's recording app let him run an accessible multi-camera shoot.

Anne-Marie from Worcestershire wants talking watches to stop saying "the time is". She's also looking at Braille watches and recommends the thriller The Prometheus Code by Dan Stone. That leads into a debate over whether blind culture exists, an AI-discovered PHP security flaw that took websites offline, early app problems on the iPhone Duo, and whether it's now safe to update to iOS 27.

Claire asks why the mailbag is now read by an AI voice, and Steven explains why Laura stepped back. Greg in Pennsylvania praises DiGiCo for putting a screen reader on its mixing consoles. Elliot in Bournemouth found the Samsung HW-Q990F soundbar accessible out of the box thanks to Voice Guide. John Wells reports that Accessible YouTube Downloader has stopped working, which leads the hosts to argue that blind users should be allowed to build their own interfaces.

Chapters

0:00 – The new OLED iPad mini
8:49 – Amazon's tablet, multi-camera recording and user profiles
18:15 – Anne-Marie on talking watches, Braille watches and The Prometheus Code
29:30 – Is there such a thing as blind culture?
32:14 – PHP security flaw, iPhone Duo apps and updating to iOS 27
39:44 – Claire asks about the show's AI email voice
44:57 – Greg on DiGiCo consoles and vibe-coded accessibility
49:21 – Elliot on the accessible Samsung soundbar
53:10 – Accessible YouTube Downloader and building our own interfaces

Relevant Links

Apple iPad mini: https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/
Samsung HW-Q990F Soundbar: https://www.samsung.com/us/audio-devices/soundbar/q-series-11-1-4-ch-soundbar-rear-speakers-sku-hw-q990f-za/
Sonos: https://www.sonos.com/
DiGiCo: https://digico.biz/
Dan Stone, author of The Prometheus Code: https://www.danstoneauthor.com/
Accessible YouTube Downloader Pro: https://github.com/sulaiman-alqusaimi/accessible_youtube_downloader_pro

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sean Randall has built Retro Reader, an open source book reader that brings classic speech voices like Eloquence, DECtalk and DoubleTalk to a pocket device costing about 22 pounds. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece also look at emergency preparedness for blind people when the power and the internet go down.

After recent storms and power cuts in the UK, Steven and Shaun ask what being prepared looks like for blind people. They cover battery packs you can't easily check the charge on, LED displays that OCR struggles to read, offline apps, big portable power stations, and the loss of long wave radio. They also mention Code Orange, a new emergency preparedness podcast from AfterSight that is coming to Double Tap Live.

In the news, Apple's expected Mac event is ahead of full coverage on Thursday. Shaun shares the mixed reviews of Microsoft's new Surface, and the hosts question why Withings now charges new users 100 dollars a year to sync their data with Apple Health.

Sean Randall then explains how Retro Reader runs on the Freenove Media Kit, a small ESP32 board with a five-way navigation button, a headphone jack and a microphone for voice notes. You install a voice from your browser, add books over Wi-Fi or a microSD card, and listen offline. Sean is open about the trade-offs: there's a slight hiss on headphones, a reset button that's easy to knock, and a battery you buy separately. He's working on a 3D printed back plate with a belt clip.

Sean also explains why synthetic voices still suit fast readers. He listens at around 730 words per minute, and he looks ahead to new projects, from a baby monitor to rebuilding the Franklin Language Master.

Chapters

0:00 – Coming up: going retro
2:44 – Emergency preparedness for blind people
15:43 – Code Orange from AfterSight
17:04 – Apple's Mac event and Microsoft Surface reviews
19:43 – Withings charges for Apple Health sync
22:38 – Sean Randall introduces Retro Reader
38:05 – Why retro voices still work for fast reading
43:56 – Setting up the Retro Reader hardware
50:27 – Baby monitors and the Franklin Language Master
54:34 – Vibe coding and wrap-up

Relevant Links

Retro Reader: https://retroreader.uk
Code Orange podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/code-orange/id1838769695
AfterSight: https://www.aftersight.org
Double Tap: https://doubletaponair.com

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
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• RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

PresentAble is a new JAWS app that lets blind people create, check and fix PowerPoint presentations on their own. Lawyer and trainer Jonathan Simeone explains why he built it. Before that, Steven and Shaun cover a storm, an AppleVis health app debate and Alexa+.

A storm cut Shaun off from The Shed. Steven had to get home from the hospital across a busy road with no crossings, with the wind drowning out the traffic. Then an AppleVis thread about an app that uses the iPhone camera to check for blood in stool or urine starts a frank debate. Steven and Shaun weigh privacy and embarrassment, and ask whether health checks like this belong with AI or with trained people through a service like Aira.

Steven finally has Alexa+ after setting up Amazon's new tablet, and he reports on how it handles his heating and why its answers keep changing. Siri gets a rare win. They also look ahead to Wednesday's Apple event, the rumoured touchscreen MacBook and the iPhone Duo that Apple has loaned to Steven.

Jonathan Simeone is a blind lawyer who trains people for a living. He spent years struggling with PowerPoint and relying on sighted helpers who rarely told him what was wrong. He used vibe coding to build PresentAble with Hartgen Consultancy. It works with JAWS 2022 or later and can import Markdown, Word or existing PowerPoint files. It flags layout errors, and with an OpenAI API key it can review slides visually and create images.

The conversation goes further into employment, honest feedback and how much of the job blind people can do by themselves. PresentAble is available to pre-order now and launches on Thursday 29 October.

Chapters

0:00 – Storm knocks out The Shed
4:04 – AppleVis debate over a hygiene and health app
12:48 – Lights left off, lights left on and smart bulbs
15:11 – Alexa+ arrives with Amazon's new tablet
22:15 – Siri gets the clock change right
24:06 – Apple event, touchscreen MacBook and iPhone Duo
26:31 – Jonathan Simeone on building PresentAble
30:28 – Inaccessible tools and blind employment
39:05 – How PresentAble works with JAWS and PowerPoint
48:43 – Honest AI feedback, pricing and availability

Relevant Links

PresentAble from Hartgen Consultancy: https://www.hartgenconsultancy.com/presentable
Learning Blind Tech with Desiree Renae: https://desireerenae.com/
Aira: https://aira.io

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

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• RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why is learning braille as an adult still so hard, and why does a braille display cost more than a laptop? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece dig into braille access and pricing. Then they meet Cazerny Bussey, the musician and founder of Even Though I'm Blind.

John in London wrote in about trying to learn braille as an adult. He found a box of course books he never opened, and braille displays he couldn't afford. Steven argues that mass adoption and patient learning have to go together. He points to Hadley, the Braillists and the Perkins Braille Bloom as signs of progress, and suggests a low-cost braille display built as a teaching device.

The talk then turns to pricing. Steven recalls Amos Miller of Glidance being told to charge several times more because governments would pay. He asks why there's still no real consumer price for blind people who are out of work or study.

Cazerny Bussey lost his sight at 15 and went on to graduate from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. His father was in Stetsasonic. His song Even Though I'm Blind grew into a nonprofit with a podcast, a 24/7 radio station playing around 45 blind artists, a yearly showcase and a directory of blind-led businesses.

Cazerny also talks about recording in Logic on the Mac, being open about using AI in music, a moment with Busta Rhymes, and plans for a documentary and charting records with BMG.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome and human-made music
2:06 – Inbox: learning braille as an adult
10:29 – Why braille and assistive tech cost so much
18:15 – Meet Cazerny Bussey
23:34 – Music roots and finding the blind community
29:44 – The Even Though I'm Blind foundation and radio station
35:29 – Making music on a Mac with Logic
43:31 – AI-generated music and being open about it
48:31 – The directory, a documentary and big plans
53:49 – Wrap-up and weekend plans

Relevant Links
Even Though I'm Blind: https://eventhoughimblind.com/
The Braillists Foundation: https://www.braillists.org/
Hadley: https://hadleyhelps.org/
Glidance: https://glidance.io/
AMI-audio: https://www.ami.ca/ami-audio

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
• Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
• RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sky Sports is adding audio description and live captions to Premier League football. Then a listener's frustration with Sky Go shows how far the broadcaster still has to go. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece go through your emails and messages on TV accessibility, AI agents, accessible gaming and the smart home.

Gordon from Livingston, Scotland, wrote in about Sky Go. You can't watch live programmes with audio description on your phone, and the TV guide no longer tags any programme as having AD. Steven explains how the new Sky Go app for Sky Glass and Sky Stream handles it. The hosts then ask who should be pushing broadcasters on accessibility, how small accessibility teams really are, and why blind people need to be in the room at every level.

Gregory asked about OpenAI's Dots. Steven explains what these always-on AI agents can do, and Shaun makes the case that the basic Amazon Echo is still the most dependable assistant. Shaun also tries Freight Fate, an audio-first trucking game, and is impressed by its spatial audio.

Apple's HomeView could make setting up smart home devices much easier, and the hosts discuss what that means alongside Matter. Steven also covers people using AI to strip the bloat out of slow Android TVs, which could make a sluggish TalkBack experience faster. Along the way there's Shaun's Fargo rewatch with Seeing AI, the future of live TV, and the Clicks Communicator.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome and Sky's Premier League audio description
4:28 – Rewatching Fargo without AD and the future of live TV
11:43 – Dumb phones, screen time and the Clicks Communicator
16:54 – Gordon on Sky Go and missing audio description labels
26:47 – Blindness organisations, accessibility teams and blind leadership
36:52 – Gregory's message and trying Freight Fate
40:26 – OpenAI Dots and why the Amazon Echo still wins
45:52 – Apple HomeView and easier smart home setup
51:57 – Debloating Android TVs with AI
55:02 – Wrap-up and how to get in touch

Relevant Links
Sky Audio Description: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/what-is-audio-description
RNIB: https://www.rnib.org.uk/
Seeing AI: https://www.seeingai.com/
Freight Fate: https://github.com/orinks-games/Freight-Fate
Clicks Communicator: https://www.clicks.tech/communicator
Apple HomeView: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/10/meet-apple-homeview-a-new-way-to-enjoy-entertainment-and-manage-the-home/

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Google's new Guided Vision feature in Gemini Live was trained with help from Aira and its blind Trusted Testers. Everette Bacon and Lynette Frison of Aira explain how the partnership with Google DeepMind works, what blind users taught the AI, and what it means for Aira's future.

Steven Scott and Shaun Preece open with vibe coding, including homemade Claude voice assistants that answer in about three seconds and people using AI to bring old Echo Show and Meta Portal hardware back to life. Brandon Bracey's BlindRSS reader is now on Android, and Steven unboxes a new 8-inch Amazon tablet.

Everette Bacon, Chief of Blindness Initiatives at Aira, explains how Explorers swapped free minutes for sharing their sessions to train DeepMind's Astra model. Lynette Frison describes running the Trusted Tester program, where a human visual interpreter watches every AI session and steps in when the answer is unsafe or wrong. Early versions hallucinated and once told a tester to find a sighted person. Today's Guided Vision is, in Everette's words, a little too safe.

The panel covers how blind users prompt differently, from turning a vitamin bottle to describing remote buttons by touch. They talk about medical and personal requests, why some people feel more at ease asking AI, and why finding dog poop is Aira's number one request.

Everette is open about the business side: Google pays for the data, and Aira hasn't decided whether to charge for Aira AI. Everyone agrees that blocking image descriptions for adult content or swear words treats blind people like children. Aira's Build AI program has now expanded to the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Chapters
0:00 – Intro and vibe coding the TV
2:40 – Building a Claude voice assistant
6:29 – Reviving old tech, BlindRSS for Android and a new tablet
11:52 – Aira, Google DeepMind and Guided Vision
17:32 – Trusted Testers, hallucinations and human in the loop
25:52 – How blind users' prompts train the AI
28:36 – Comfort, privacy and sensitive requests
38:13 – The future of Aira AI and Guided Vision
44:25 – Image description limits and content filters
51:09 – Build AI expands and wrap-up

Relevant Links
Aira: https://aira.io/
Aira Build AI FAQ: https://aira.io/build-ai-faq/
Guided Vision in Gemini Live: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/guided-vision-gemini-live/
BlindRSS: https://github.com/serrebidev/BlindRSS
Claude: https://claude.com/

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amazon's new Alexa Tablets drop Fire OS for Android 16, TalkBack and the Google Play Store. Chris Cooke, host of At Your Fingertips, has been testing the Alexa Tablet 8 and tells Steven Scott and Shaun Preece how accessible it really is for blind users.

Chris covers setting the tablet up on her own with the TalkBack shortcut, the widget-heavy home screen, and a touch-tracking problem that means you aren't always where you think you are on the screen. She goes through the accessibility settings, including switch access, voice access, live captions and hearing aid support. She also tests Alexa+ for product summaries, opening apps and on-screen descriptions, and confirms that a Bluetooth keyboard and a USB-C braille display both work.

Before that, Steven and Shaun talk about rising computer prices, memory shortages and possible price gouging, then move on to AI data centers, energy and water use, and whether one person can change anything.

Apple's Pro and Tell event on October 28 is expected to bring an OLED MacBook Pro, and maybe a touchscreen, which neither host is keen on. There's also talk of a new iMac and iPad mini, and why leasing could make assistive technology more affordable.

To finish, Amazon's Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse arrive in the US. They listen through the day and turn your conversations into summaries and to-do lists.

Chapters
0:00 – Intro and the Alexa tablet naming problem
3:30 – Rising computer prices and memory shortages
7:03 – AI, data centers and who pays the price
15:41 – Apple's Pro and Tell event and the touchscreen MacBook Pro
27:13 – Leasing computers and assistive technology
29:03 – Chris Cooke tests the Amazon Alexa Tablet 8
51:34 – Amazon Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse
55:17 – Wrap up

Relevant Links
Amazon Alexa Tablets: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-amazon-alexa-tablets-alexa-plus
At Your Fingertips, Braille Then and Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/at-your-fingertips-braille-then-and-now/id1841245814
Bee: https://bee.computer/
Plaud: https://www.plaud.ai/

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Smart glasses for blind people made the national news this week. Anthony Corona of Sunday Edition joins Steven Scott and Shaun Preece to look at Meta Ray-Ban Display, Agiga EchoVision, Glide and the WeWALK Smart Cane 2, and to ask what blind users actually need from them.

Steven was on BBC News talking about smart glasses from a blind person's point of view, pushing back on the idea that they're "creepy." Anthony introduces Sunday Edition, now a family of 10 podcasts, and gives honest advice on starting a show and keeping it going.

On wearables, Anthony says Fovionics doesn't stand out from the crowd yet. He thinks Agiga's openness with its testers gives EchoVision a real chance, but that it needs third-party apps to compete with Meta, Samsung and Apple. He's sitting on the fence about wearing camera glasses in sensitive spaces like locker rooms.

Anthony's first guide dog is retiring, and he explains why he wouldn't trust Glide as a guide replacement yet, even though he thinks it could get there. He finds the WeWALK 2 obstacle detection impressive and the rest of it not worth the price. Steven disagrees, pointing out how useful it is to get information without taking out your phone in the rain or in an unsafe street.

The conversation finishes with Meta Ray-Ban Display. Anthony and Steven cover the screen reader, Neural Band gestures, maps with earbuds, and why handwriting doesn't work yet for screen reader users. They also remind each other that if a tool does the job for you, it's good enough.

Chapters
0:00 – Intro and Steven on BBC News talking smart glasses
5:02 – Anthony Corona and Sunday Edition
8:15 – Starting a podcast and the rise of blind creators
12:15 – Fovionics, Agiga EchoVision and mainstream smart glasses
21:15 – Guide dogs, trust and Glide
28:01 – WeWALK Smart Cane 2: useful or overloaded?
35:24 – Getting the basics right and the geek trap
47:08 – Meta Ray-Ban Display hands-on
53:53 – Where to find Anthony and wrap-up

Relevant Links
Anthony Corona and Sunday Edition: https://www.anthonycorona.com
Double Tap Live: https://doubletaponair.com/live
Fovionics: https://fovionics.com/
Agiga EchoVision: https://agiga.ai/
Glidance Glide: https://www.glidance.io/
WeWALK Smart Cane 2: https://wewalk.io/en/
Meta Ray-Ban Display: https://www.meta.com/ai-glasses/meta-ray-ban-display/
ScribeMe: https://scribeme-ai.com/
TripleTapTech: https://tripletaptech.org/

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two Austrian accessibility innovators from the Zero Project Technology Forum in Tokyo: Lingvano, the sign language learning app taught entirely by deaf teachers, and Turn-Motion, which uses AI and robotics to make custom carbon fibre leg braces.

Elena Coazzoli and Johanna Steiner of Lingvano explain how the app teaches American, British and Austrian Sign Language, with German Sign Language days away. They describe sign recognition built in-house, which watches you fingerspell and gives feedback on where and how you sign, and why every lesson uses deaf teachers rather than avatars. About a quarter of Lingvano's staff are deaf or hard of hearing.

Steven asks what a sign language app can offer blind and deafblind people. Johanna explains that tactile signing cannot be taught through an app, and Elena says accessibility is one of Lingvano's core product rules. They also cover their 2024 Zero Project award and the myth of one universal sign language.

Georg Popp, an architect and 3D designer who has lived with polio paralysis since he was one, founded Turn-Motion out of frustration with handmade orthoses that can cost up to 80,000 euros. He walks through the process from a clinic's 3D scan to an AI-optimised carbon fibre shell printed along curves by its own robotic machine in about eight hours. He talks about halving costs, first sales planned in Austria in summer 2027, and his own trials of an exoskeleton.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome back to Zero Project Tokyo
1:10 – Lingvano and the first ten minutes of learning
2:46 – Gamification and the power of the streak
4:25 – Sign recognition and training data
8:19 – Deaf teachers, deaf staff and the app's platforms
10:52 – Sign language, blind and deafblind people
13:12 – The 2024 award and the myth of one sign language
16:55 – Georg Popp, polio and Turn-Motion's automated braces
22:58 – Robotic carbon fibre printing, speed and cost
28:48 – Prosthetics, exoskeletons and what comes next

Relevant Links
Lingvano: https://www.lingvano.com
Turn-Motion: https://turn-motion.com
Zero Project Technology Forum: https://zeroproject.org/initiatives/the-zero-project-technology-forum

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two Japanese accessibility innovators from the Zero Project Technology Forum in Tokyo: OryLab, whose OriHime robots let homebound disabled people go to work and school, and Miruoto, which turns the sound of sport into words on screen for deaf fans.

Maria Juul, a Dane who has lived in Japan for more than ten years, explains OryLab's mission to eliminate loneliness. Its OriHime robots are always driven by a real person, called a pilot, and she explains why being present in the room creates memories and relationships in a way a video call does not.

Steven asks Maria to describe the robots for a blind audience: a 23 centimetre tabletop unit with penguin-wing arms and a face shaped like a Japanese theatre mask, and a 120 centimetre robot that serves drinks in OryLab's Tokyo café. She covers how AI plays a supporting role only, a six month café trial in Denmark, pilots who now earn enough to come off disability support, and the price of around 6,500 euros outside Japan.

Reiko Katayama of the Tokyo design company Hogaku answers in Japanese, with an English translation. Miruoto was built over two and a half years for the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics, from ideas given by Hogaku's deaf and hard of hearing staff, and uses manga-style onomatopoeia to show the crack of a table tennis ball and the atmosphere of a match. She explains how it differs from Fujitsu's station sounds project, and her plans to take it into live music.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome to Zero Project Tokyo
1:15 – Maria Juul and OryLab's mission to end loneliness
4:12 – Why presence matters more than video calls
8:41 – What the OriHime robots look and sound like
11:26 – Loneliness, employment and the robot café
15:02 – Where AI fits, and working with pilots
17:29 – Denmark, new pilots and the cost of OriHime
21:52 – Reiko Katayama and Miruoto
25:41 – Onomatopoeia, manga and Deaflympics feedback
27:44 – Station sounds and what's next for Miruoto

Relevant Links
OryLab: https://orylab.com/en/
Miruoto: https://miruoto.jp
Zero Project Technology Forum: https://zeroproject.org/initiatives/the-zero-project-technology-forum

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Scott and Shaun Preece open the Double Tap mailbag to talk about Meta Ray-Ban battery life, password managers, blind employment and the best keyboard for one-handed typing, with straight answers from two blind tech users.

Ryan suggests the Carina C2 battery pack for Shaun's Meta Ray-Ban glasses, which leads to a plea for a simple USB-C port on the arm. Biggles raises privacy concerns about Apple Watch's new conversation recall feature, and the hosts ask whether a saved transcript counts as a recording.

Sventor in Norway explains how he uses Google Password Manager as the autofill provider on iPhone. James from Missouri explains how to unlock 1Password with Windows Hello or Touch ID. Steven admits Chrome might win him over, and the hosts look at why passkeys still feel fragmented.

Barry describes 20 years of rejection despite two computer science degrees, and Shaun reflects on giving up his own job search. Steven recalls being told by Access to Work that he would be "more value on benefits", and makes the case for self-employment and recognising the value of work beyond money.

David Ward explains how Mastodon servers such as The Dragon's Cave and TweeseCake shape who sees your posts, and offers a Patrick Stewart analogy on who gets to call themselves blind. Kimberly asks for a keyboard for one-handed use, and Shaun recommends the Keychron V6 Max and his own accessible customisation app, KeyAble.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome to the mailbag
0:41 – Carina C2 and Meta Ray-Ban battery life
3:37 – Apple Watch conversation recall and privacy
9:07 – A 3D printer dream and suspicious Facebook ads
12:14 – Chrome passwords, passkeys and 1Password
23:50 – Employment, rejection and Access to Work
38:15 – Mastodon servers and using the word blind
50:17 – One-handed keyboards, Keychron and KeyAble
55:09 – Coming up: Zero Project Technology Forum in Tokyo

Relevant Links
Carina C2 by PrismXR: https://www.prismxr.com/products/carina-c2-compatible-with-ray-ban-meta
1Password: https://1password.com
Keychron: https://www.keychron.com
KeyAble: https://www.slightperception.com/apps/keyable/
The Dragon's Cave: https://dragonscave.space
TweeseCake: https://tweesecake.social
Zero Project Technology Forum: https://zeroproject.org/initiatives/the-zero-project-technology-forum

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Scott has set up a Claude hotline on an accessible Cisco desk phone. It leads into a frank debate about blind users relying on AI. Also covered: a Meta glasses firmware fix for Aira calls, new Facebook and Double Tap Live updates, and listener views on whether smart glasses will last.

Steven explains how Claude set up a VoIP line on a talking Cisco desk phone. Claude then built a bridge on his Mac, so one button on the phone lets him talk to Claude directly. From there, Steven and Shaun Preece look at Claude connectors like Booking.com for trip planning. Then comes the harder question: are we losing screen reader skills by handing so much to AI, or is it a smart way to save energy?

Shaun releases KeyAble, an accessible tool for customising Keychron keyboards. The hosts also discuss vibe-coded copies of big apps. Brian Hartgen's free Accessible Auphonic shows the better approach: an accessible front end for a service that already works well.

Meta glasses firmware 129.1 fixes Aira calls, and the Facebook iOS app no longer adds extra swipes between posts. Steven announces that Double Tap Weekend and Double Tap Mainstream are going on pause. Double Tap Live now plays on Amazon Echo devices.

In the emails, Ellen praises Meta AI's more detailed descriptions. Ken in Sacramento predicts Meta's smart glasses will go the way of Google Glass, which leads to a debate about trust, Meta and Apple.

Chapters
0:00 – Welcome and Steven's week
2:18 – A Claude hotline on an accessible Cisco desk phone
9:07 – Claude connectors and trip planning with Booking.com
12:11 – Are we relying on AI too much?
22:04 – KeyAble for Keychron keyboards and building your own tools
26:41 – Accessible Auphonic from Brian Hartgen
30:44 – Meta glasses Aira fix and Facebook iOS update
33:55 – Double Tap schedule changes and Double Tap Live on Echo
41:24 – Ellen on Meta AI descriptions
47:19 – Ken on smart glasses, trust and AI

Relevant Links
KeyAble: https://keyable.slightperception.com
Accessible Auphonic: https://hartgenconsultancy.com/accessibleauphonic
Auphonic: https://auphonic.com
Aira: https://aira.io
Zero Project: https://zeroproject.org

----

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Apple's HomeView, a new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 lead the news, then Vispero's Matt Ater and Ryan Jones explain how Vispero Companion in JAWS will change your settings and help you finish tasks when you get stuck.

Steven Scott and Shaun Preece go through Apple's Welcome Home event. The new Apple TV 4K gets the A19 chip and built-in microphones, and the price goes up. HomePod mini 2 is sold on Siri AI, which will not arrive until a later update. The new Siri Remote has Find My built in. HomeView uses Face ID to recognise each person in the household, and the hosts ask what it offers blind users who already have a phone.

Matt Ater and Ryan Jones of Vispero talk about the company's new CEO, Sid Gaitonde, Glen Gordon's return, and the push to bring more blind people into leadership and engineering roles.

The main news is the new Vispero Companion in JAWS and Fusion. It brings PictureSmart, Page Explorer and other AI tools together in one place. You can describe a setting in plain language and Companion will change it for you. It can also pick a date or explain why a form won't submit. The tools run in the cloud and need an account. Businesses will be able to point Companion at their own AI models.

ZoomText is getting performance modes and object detection in photos. Ryan stresses that AI is no excuse for companies to skip accessibility.

Chapters
0:00 – Intro
1:22 – Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2 and the new Siri Remote
6:25 – Apple HomeView smart home hub
9:50 – Matt Ater and Ryan Jones on the Vispero name
13:04 – New CEO and blind leadership at Vispero
17:16 – Vispero Companion: AI settings and task help in JAWS
41:51 – AI in the workplace and enterprise models
46:55 – ZoomText updates
50:42 – Why AI is no excuse for inaccessibility
53:53 – Wrap-up

If you enjoyed this conversation, like, subscribe and share it with someone who uses JAWS or ZoomText. Tell us in the comments what you think of Vispero Companion and HomeView.

Relevant Links
Apple HomeView: https://www.apple.com/homeview/
Apple TV 4K: https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-4k/
HomePod mini: https://www.apple.com/homepod-mini/
JAWS: https://vispero.com/jaws-screen-reader-software/
ZoomText: https://vispero.com/zoomtext-screen-magnifier-software/
Vispero Companion: https://companion.vispero.com/

----

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About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Richard Harlow lost most of his sight to LHON while studying at Emily Carr University. Today he is a blind artist and accessibility advocate, and he's standing for Nanaimo City Council on Vancouver Island. He tells Steven Scott how he rebuilt his art, his career and his confidence, and why disabled people belong in local government.

Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy took Richard's central vision over six months when he was 20. A doctor told him he would never finish art school. He went on to finish a degree at Vancouver Island University, and he now paints large, high-contrast, tactile canvases that have been shown across Canada.

Richard also racked up a string of firsts. He became the first blind cashier at Gap in Canada, working on an iPad till with VoiceOver, and the first blind technical support worker at Shopify. In six years on Nanaimo's accessibility committee he pushed for accessible city documents, talking crosswalks, accessible beaches and an easier LEAP recreation pass, which went from about 200 users to 3,300.

His platform covers safer streets, a mental health crisis response team, valuing wetlands and tree canopy as infrastructure, and bus service for the Snuneymuxw First Nation. He talks about campaigning blind with help from the AI agent Muse, dealing with abuse from strangers, and mentoring families whose blind children have been pulled out of PE.

Chapters
0:00 – Introducing Richard Harlow
1:36 – LHON, art school and a new way to paint
7:18 – Firsts at Gap and Shopify
10:40 – Bus stop announcements and why kindness isn't a system
13:26 – Accessible documents and the right to run for office
17:44 – Helping others up: campus access and the social model
24:01 – The LEAP pass and accessibility as a lens for housing, parks and streets
35:28 – Richard's platform for Nanaimo
40:19 – Campaigning blind, AI tools and handling the haters
47:12 – Election day, charity runs and mentoring others

Relevant Links
Richard Harlow for Nanaimo City Council: https://richardharlow.ca/
CNIB Foundation: https://www.cnib.ca/
Meta Muse: https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2015, after twelve surgeries, Brett Halle lost his sight completely. The engineer who spent twenty years building the Mac had to learn to use it with VoiceOver. He explains Radar, why your bug report matters more than you think, and how he treated VoiceOver like a video game.

This is part two of our tribute to Brett Halle, the former Apple engineer and friend of this show, who died on 1 October 2026. It was recorded with Steven Scott and Shaun Preece in July 2024.

Yesterday Brett took us inside Apple. Today the story turns. His retinas began detaching, surgery followed surgery, and by 2015 he was totally blind. He was running engineering at Livescribe at the time and says he was simply too busy doing his job to deal with it. Retirement in 2017 was when he set about learning, as he puts it, how to be blind properly. Blindness became another problem to work around.

He is thoughtful about accessibility inside Apple: where responsibility sits, why spreading it across every team can thin it out, and how far ahead the company plans. Then he opens up Radar, the bug system Apple engineers live out of. If it is not in Radar, it does not exist. His plea is direct: report the bug anyway. Never assume somebody else has already sent it, because the particular way you hit it might be the thing that unlocks the fix.

On learning VoiceOver he is honest. For two weeks he wanted to throw his iPhone out of the nearest window. What changed was treating the software as a puzzle, giving himself time to play and explore, the way you would approach a video game. His method is the one a blind person uses in a new hotel room: walk the perimeter, find the edges, build the map.

He had warm words for this community, calling us creative and smart and worth building for. The last word is his.

Chapters
0:00 - Remembering Brett Halle, part two
0:57 - Losing his sight in 2015
2:05 - Too busy to be blind
3:58 - Accessibility at Apple and where responsibility sits
5:42 - Why Apple switched on to accessibility
10:20 - Radar, the heart of Apple engineering
13:18 - Why your bug report matters
16:23 - Learning VoiceOver
19:47 - Walking the perimeter
22:31 - A creative community and building the best product

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• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brett Halle sold the Apple II as a student, joined Apple in 1991, and was the first engineer through the door after Apple bought NeXT. He led the Core OS team behind Mac OS X, ran Final Cut, and quietly moved the Mac from PowerPC to Intel. This is part one of a two part tribute, in his own words.

Brett died on 1 October 2026. He was a friend of this show and a daily listener, and the best way we know to remember him is to let you hear him tell his own story. This conversation with Steven Scott and Shaun Preece was first broadcast in July 2024.

He starts at the beginning: a hardware engineer at the Byte Shop of Long Beach, selling the Apple II when it was brand new. By 1991 he was inside Apple, writing memos asking why the company kept reinventing the wheel. When Apple went looking for a new operating system he sat on the team that weighed NeXT against BeOS, Microsoft, IBM and Sun, and he explains clearly why NeXT won.

Then comes the meeting where Steve Jobs stood up, said he was willing to bet the company, looked at the engineers and told them not to mess it up. Brett was in the room. He describes Apple weeks from bankruptcy, the layoffs, the arrival of the iMac, and a secret building down the road where his team moved the entire Mac platform to Intel while almost nobody at Apple knew.

He is candid about Steve. Intense, demanding, frequently right, and the surest way to get fired was to tell him what you thought he wanted to hear. A year at Apple, Brett says, was worth seven anywhere else, and he would not have traded it. He closes on Final Cut Pro, built to push the hardware and to put a half million dollar edit suite within reach of anyone.

Part two follows tomorrow.

Chapters
0:00 - Remembering Brett Halle
1:04 - Long Beach, the Byte Shop and the Apple II
4:02 - Joining Apple and choosing NeXT
6:46 - Bringing up the microkernel on PowerPC
9:53 - Steve Jobs bets the company
11:29 - Bankruptcy, the layoffs and the iMac
13:59 - The secret building and the move to Intel
16:37 - Working for Steve Jobs
22:22 - Final Cut, FireWire and high definition

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Subscribe to the Podcast:

• Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/apple
• Spotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotify
• RSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcast
• iHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart

About Double Tap

Hosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited.

"Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.