Canadialog, the Canadian podcast related to assistive technologies for visually impaired persons

In this podcast published on November 12th, 2020, Alexandre and Olivier discuss about important changes that will occur at Canadialog. These changes will impact the recording and delivery of podcasts. Indeed, the podcast will be suspended for an undetermined period. Olivier and Alexandre will explain you the reasons which motivated this change which will impact the future of the Canadialog’s podcast. Thank you for your support since the last three years, for the provided suggestions and for...

In this podcast published on September 23, 2020, Alexandre explains how to change the ringtone, sounds and vibrations on iOS when you receive calls or notifications. In addition to changing the default alert sounds and vibrations, you will learn how to assign a custom ringtone and how to change the sound heard when receiving an SMS for a specific contact. Note, however, that we will not discuss in this podcast the possibility to change notification sounds for some third-party apps. In...

In this podcast published on August 21, 2020, Alexandre provides you with some tips on managing emails with Outlook. See how to sort and organize your emails, change the layout to make it more user-friendly, how to make the CCI field appear, choose which folder Outlook starts in, quickly search in your emails and, finally, you will learn a very simple way to attach files and save attachments that will save you time and energy! If you have any tips to share with us on using Outlook or if...

In this podcast published on July 24, 2020, Alexandre teaches you, using JAWS, how to navigate through dialogs used to open or save a file. These dialogs are used very often in Windows; however, many users are having a hard time when trying to use them or to navigate across options in there. You will learn how to navigate in these dialog boxes, how to choose a specific location to save a file, how to easily locate a file you’d like to open and much more. In addition, as a reminder, the...

In this podcast publish on June 8, 2020, Alexandre shows you how it is possible to install or update most of your preferred apps at once. This can be achieved with the website ninite.com. Ninite is fully accessible and supports a lot of great apps like NVDA which is a free screen reader. Being able to install multiple applications at once can be useful after formatting a computer or if you got a new one and you’d like to quickly find back all your stuff in a minute. And, with Ninite, you...

In this podcast published on May 15th, 2020, you will learn more about the new virtual Braille keyboard that has recently become available to users of the TalkBack screen reader on Android. This new keyboard is comparable to the Braille screen input available since many years on iOS. You will see how to make the first setup of this keyboard, we will go through the tutorial, we will explain the different gestures to use and we will give you tips and tricks for optimal use. In addition, as a...

In this podcast recorded during the holydays 2019 and published on May 1st 2020, Alexandre and Olivier tell you funny stories about their devices. The goal of this podcast was to change a bit of what we’re used to do and to have some fun sharing our experiences with our listeners. You will learn how our devices survived or not to different type of damages. Before telling you about our devices, Alexandre will discuss about some wrong informations found in the podcast regarding free licenses...

In this podcast published April 17th, 2020, see how to retrieve free licenses of JAWS, ZoomText or Fusion software provided by Vispero for the Covid-19. These licenses will be valid until June 30th and you can use them if you’re working at home, for school or if you simply want to do some tests. See also how looks like the new Freedom Scientific’s portal available in the U.S. since more than a year. The license portal can be accessed at http://portal.freedomscientific.com. In addition, as a...

In this short podcast published on April 3, 2020, Alexandre is with you to explain how you can free up space on your hard drive using an easy-to-use utility: Windows Disk Cleanup. With this utility, see if unnecessary files can be trashed from your hard drive such as old files belonging to the system, files generated during the upgrade of your PC, temporary files, etc. In addition, as a reminder, the Canadialog team can offer private or group training on request on the use of assistive...

In this podcast published on March 23, 2020, learn more about the Chromecast, a small device from Google that allows you to stream the content of your choice to your TV from your phone, tablet or computer. Alexandre will be with you to give you some advice on accessibility, teach you the different steps to configure the device, what you can stream from your iPhone or Android device, how to broadcast the screen of your PC wirelessly or how to stream content using your voice and a smart...

In this podcast published on March 4th, 2020, Alexandre presents three tips for iOS users. As a first tip, you will learn more about the accessibility shortcut, how to use and configure it. This can be particularly useful to quickly activate or deactivate an accessibility feature or in case accessibility present a strange behavior. Note that this shortcut will not necessarily be active by default, so you will find out more information on how you can activate it when listening to this...

In this podcast published February 17th, 2020, Alexandre will be with you to show you the basic of Mozilla Thunderbird, a free accessible email client that can be used with NVDA or JAWS. You’ll see how it is easy to install, how to setup an email account (Gmail) into it, how you can personalize it for a better experience, and some useful shortcuts design to facilitate the navigation. Even if this podcast is mostly based on NVDA and the Mozilla Apps Enhancements add-on, note that it can be...

In this podcast published on January 25th, 2020 Olivier and Alexandre discuss about NFC tags, which are stickers that you put on objects. These stickers allow you to write text labels on them and having these labels read back to you by your smartphone. What is NFC? This is the acronym for near field communication. NFC tags are available for sale on different Web platforms like Amazon at a very low cost. Even if these tags are not considered as a specialized assistive product, this...

In this podcast published January 9th, 2020, Alexandre and Olivier are with you to talk about the Dot Watch. What is the Dot Watch? This is a Braille watch that provides 4 Braille cells, 6 dots each, that can be paired to your existing smartphone (iPhone or Android). Using this watch, you’ll be able to read the time and date, use the stopwatch, the timer, read the notifications received on your smartphone, read memos, see whose calling and decide if you want to answer or decline the call,...

In this podcast published on December 23, 2019, Alexandre will be with you to talk about a JAWS tool that many of you ignore the existence: speech and sounds schemes. This tool makes it easier to check certain visual aspects of a text document, change the way how commands and controls are announced by JAWS and even replace certain long or recurring sentences by shortest ones or simply by sounds. When checking formatting of a text using speech and sounds schemes, this feature allows, among...

In this podcast published December 6, 2019, Alexandre talk about the application Stream what you hear (SWYH). Although this podcast is for more advanced users of technology, this application is very easy to use. This application allows you to stream the sound of your Windows computer over your network, allowing you to listen to your PC's sound on a smartphone, a new generation Victor Stream, a Victor Trek, on Sonos speakers, or any other devices that can handle audio streaming as well as...

In this podcast published November 29, 2019, Alexandre will be with you to show you how easy it is to change a mispronounced word on iOS by using the pronunciation dictionary integrated in VoiceOver. You’ll see how to change the pronunciation by using a different spelling for the word that cause problem or by recording the right pronunciation. You’ll also learn how to affect this modification to a specific language or voice as well as on other options available there. In addition, as a...

In this podcast published November 21, 2019, Alexandre talks about the application Clew. This mobile application available on iOS, can guide you when walking indoor. Indications are based on a route that must be first registered in the system. The application uses Apple ARKit (Augmented Reality) technology to explore what’s around you and provide you accurate instructions to find the desired anchor point. By listening to this podcast, you’ll learn how to use the application: how to orient...

Have you thought about what you can do with a smart watch? A smart watch is a great complement to your smart phone, but it can also provides data on your health and do more. In this podcast published November 6th, 2019, Alexandre and Olivier will be with you to introduce you to the Apple Watch. You’ll learn more about what it can do and how accessible it is. With the Apple Watch, you can read your notifications, place phone calls, get some important data about your health, send messages,...

In this podcast published October 29, 2019, Olivier will be with you to give you tips and tricks on how to use Windows Defender antivirus integrated into Windows. Using Windows Narrator on Windows 10, you’ll learn how to navigate in the Windows Defender interface, how to scan your computer against threat, different types of scan available and how to verify your settings to stay safe. Remember that you can turn on or off the Windows 10 Narrator by pressing CTRL + Windows + Enter. In...