Double Tap

Double Tap

By Steven Scott, Shaun Preece, Steven Scott, Shaun PreeceTechnology
Download on the App Store

Double Tap episodes

  • Alexa Tablets Go Android, Apple's Pro and Tell Event, and Amazon Bee

    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 min
  • Anthony Corona on Blind Creators, Smart Glasses and Mobility Tech

    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 min
  • Zero Project Tokyo Part 2: Lingvano's Sign Language App and Turn-Motion's Robotic Leg Braces

    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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    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    36 min
  • Zero Project Tokyo Part 1: OryLab's OriHime Robots and Miruoto's Visible Sports Sound

    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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    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    31 min
  • Passwords, Passkeys and Blind Employment: A Double Tap Listener Mailbag

    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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    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 min
  • Are We Relying on AI Too Much? Claude, KeyAble and Accessible Auphonic

    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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    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 min
  • Apple HomeView and What's Next for JAWS and ZoomText

    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 min
  • Blind Artist Richard Harlow on Tactile Painting, Accessible Cities and Running for Nanaimo Council

    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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    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    57 min
  • Too Busy to Be Blind: An Apple Engineer's Second Act

    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

    ----

    Follow on:

    • YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
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    • Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
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    • Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
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    • LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin

    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    28 min
  • Remembering Brett Halle: The Apple Engineer Who Helped Build Mac OS X

    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

    ----

    Follow on:

    • YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtube
    • X (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/x
    • Instagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagram
    • TikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktok
    • Threads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threads
    • Facebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebook
    • LinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin

    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 pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    28 min

About Double Tap

From the publisher's feed

Double Tap is the show where blind people talk tech! If you’re blind or partially sighted and have an interest in technology, this is the show for you. Everyone is welcome no matter how old you are…

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