Key Takeaways

• The session was a Techstravaganza tutorial focused on the Humanware Mantis Q40 braille display, hosted by Siena with co-presenter Amanda.
• Amanda covered the standalone features and menu overview of the Mantis Q40.
• Siena demonstrated the physical layout, keyboard shortcuts, editor, braille editor, library, calculator, date/time, settings, speech features, and terminal mode.
• The Mantis Q40 was compared to the Brailliant BI40X, highlighting differences in physical layout and built-in speakers.
• The next session was announced to cover the Eye Catcher app for iPhone and iPad.

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Key Takeaways

• The session was a live demonstration of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses (Skylar model, Gen 1) for accessibility purposes, hosted by Siena and Ali as part of Techstravaganza Afternoons (September 9, 2026).
• Meta Glasses were demonstrated for reading gift cards, restaurant menus, product manuals, and identifying objects — with mixed results depending on lighting and print size.
• Participants shared practical tips on using Meta Glasses for navigation, fridge inspection, bathroom orientation, and describing people and surroundings.
• Comparisons were made between Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses, as well as other smart glasses (Echo Vision, Ally) and integrated accessibility apps (Aira, Be My Eyes, Scribe Me, Seeing AI, Google Gemini).
• The calling and texting feature via Meta Glasses could not be completed due to a Bluetooth/connectivity hiccup and will be covered in a Part 2 session (Extra).
• Techstravaganza is now an independent program (Techstravaganza.ca), no longer affiliated with CNIB, open to all participants free of charge.
• An upcoming Techstravaganza Evenings session was announced for the following day (September 10), covering WhatsApp on a computer, starting with Mac.

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Key Takeaways

• The session was a live workshop under the "Techstravaganza" series, focused on AI tools for productivity and creativity, hosted by Siena and Ali.
• Three AI assistants were compared: Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, across tasks including PDF text extraction, document summarization, file conversion to RTF, and song generation.
• ChatGPT performed best at verbatim text extraction and RTF conversion; Gemini required more specific prompting but ultimately delivered clean results; Perplexity struggled with text extraction and flagged AI-generated lyrics as copyrighted.
• Gemini (paid plan) successfully generated a full-length country song with audio from AI-generated lyrics.
• An open discussion covered accessibility issues with VoiceOver on macOS, iOS 26 Hey Siri setup problems, Windows laptop recommendations, Chrome not launching on Windows, and the Mac vs. Windows debate for screen reader users.
• Upcoming sessions include a Techstravaganza Extra on accessible games (Dice World and Quentin C's Game Room) and a future afternoon session on Meta glasses.

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Key Takeaways

• The session was a Textravaganza afternoon workshop held on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, focused on Android accessibility using TalkBack.
• Siena led a hands-on tutorial demonstrating TalkBack navigation, gestures, app management, and text-to-speech settings on a Motorola Moto G 5G running Android 15.
• Participants discussed and compared their experiences with Android (TalkBack) versus Apple (VoiceOver), sharing personal preferences and practical observations.
• Key limitations of Android/TalkBack were identified, including Gemini's inconsistent ability to toggle TalkBack, lack of customizable sounds, and variation in experience across Android manufacturers.
• A follow-up tutorial on setting up an Android device from scratch using TalkBack was announced.

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Key Takeaways

• The session was a tutorial on using the Native Mail app on Mac with VoiceOver, held on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
• Topics covered included adding/removing email accounts, reading and navigating messages, composing, replying, forwarding, and attaching files.
• A notable discussion arose around Hotmail/Outlook's aggressive spam filtering, which persists even after users set rules, add senders to contacts, or mark emails as "not junk."
• A practical tip was shared: copying a file in Finder and pasting it directly into an email body is a universal and easy method to attach files across all email clients and platforms.
• Gmail's 15 GB storage limit was discussed, with advice to open additional accounts or delete unused emails to manage space.

• ​To learn more about the workshops, please visit techstravaganza.ca. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletters so you never miss topic lists, updates and workshop uploads.

Key Takeaways

• The session was a Techstravaganza workshop held on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026, focused on demonstrating the Humanware Brailliant BI40X braille display.
• Ali Moosa demonstrated how to switch between connected devices, navigate the device menu, and explore settings including speech and voice options on the Brailliant BI40X.
• A key recommendation was made to keep the speech feature enabled on the braille display for extra confirmation, particularly when entering complex usernames and passwords.
• Challenges were identified with entering numbers and special characters in Braille when logging into online services such as CELA Direct to Player.
• Palmer's issue with setting up an Outlook.com account in the native Mac Mail app was explored; the Outlook app was identified as the recommended workaround.
• Braille table and language profile configuration was discussed for both the Brailliant BI40X and the Mantis Q40, with guidance provided on selecting the correct Braille grade and translation tables.
• NVDA was noted as providing cleaner Braille output compared to JAWS, though navigation limitations with the Brailliant's thumb keys under NVDA were identified.
• Upcoming sessions were announced: a Techstravaganza Evenings session on August 13thcovering iPhone setup from scratch, and a session on August 19th covering the native Mac Mail app.

To learn more about the workshops, please visit, techstravaganza.ca. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletters so you never miss topic lists, updates and workshop uploads. If you have any questions or topic suggestions, feel free to reach out to the team at [email protected]

• The session was a "Techstravaganza" workshop focused on iPhone troubleshooting and factory reset procedures, hosted by Siena and Ali.
• A bug in iOS 27 Beta was identified where VoiceOver activities revert to the default "Samantha Compact" voice instead of the user-set "Alex" voice.
• The recovery mode button sequence changed in iOS 27: it is now Volume Up → Volume Down → Hold Side Button (previously Volume Down → Volume Up → Hold Side Button).
• A factory reset was successfully demonstrated directly from the iPhone via Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings.
• The session was declared Part 1 of a two-part series; Part 2 (setting up an iPhone from scratch) will be covered at the next Techstravaganza Evenings on Thursday, August 13.
• Siena announced a vacation from approximately August 26 to October 7; during that period, sessions will be hosted by Ali, Macara, Ashlyn, and Lily, and will be conducted on Google Meet instead of Zoom.
• A Techstravaganza Extra on Friday will demonstrate the Google Meet platform.
• iCloud backup best practices were discussed: automatic daily backup is recommended, and backing up over cellular data is generally discouraged.

To learn more, please visit techstravaganza.ca. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletters so you never miss topic lists, schedule updates and the uploads of the workshops. If you have any questions or topic suggestions, feel free to reach out to the team at [email protected]

The session was a live tutorial held on July 29, 2026, focused on using the Mac Finder and Dock with VoiceOver accessibility.

Siena demonstrated how to navigate the Dock, add and remove applications, use keyboard shortcuts, and manage files and folders within the Finder.

Participants asked questions throughout, contributing tips and clarifications, including a helpful ergonomic keyboard shortcut suggestion from Roueida.

The originally planned tutorial on the HumanWare Mantis Q40 Braille display was postponed; the next session (August 5) will cover setting up an iPhone from scratch using VoiceOver.

An announcement was made that Techstravaganza will remain on Zoom, though a Google Meet tutorial is planned to keep participants informed of that platform's improvements.

To learn more about the workshops, please visit techstravaganza.ca. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletter so you never miss topic updates, schedules and workshop uploads.

The session was a Techstravaganza workshop held on July 22, 2026, focused on using the iOS Mail app to add email addresses and phone numbers to contacts.

Siena demonstrated step-by-step how to add a sender's email address to a new or existing contact directly from the Mail app on iPhone.

Ali noted a shortcut: simply activating (single double-tap) the From field achieves the same result as a double-tap-and-hold.

The process of copying an email address to the clipboard and manually pasting it into a new contact was also demonstrated.

Siena demonstrated how to copy a phone number from an email (using double-tap-and-hold on the linked number) and paste it into a contact, noting that iOS automatically formats North American numbers with hyphens.

Participants discussed limitations of the Gmail app for adding contacts compared to the native Mail app.

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* The session was a Techstravaganza tutorial held on July 15, 2026, focused on navigating the iPhone home screen using VoiceOver accessibility features.

* Topics covered included opening and closing apps, navigating the App Switcher, using the Control Center and Notification Center, moving apps between pages and folders, and deleting apps.

* Participants were encouraged to ask questions during designated Q&A segments.

* A practical workaround was shared for the VoiceOver edit mode timeout issue when dragging apps across multiple pages.

* The session concluded with a reminder that support is available at [email protected].

To learn more about the workshops, please visit, techstravaganza.ca. While you're there, subscribe to the newsletters so you never miss workshop updates and schedules.