371: IKEA's audio catalogue, LIDAR, and Hungry Hippos

Good day to you all! Welcome to another Tech Talk, brought to you by RNIB Connect Radio. This week marks the one year anniversary of self-isolating, working from home, and social distancing from our friends, extended family and co-workers - time flies, eh? Let Tech Talk cheer you up as spring is just around the corner! This week's episode, featuring Steven, Robin, Tim and Emails Andy, covers the news and talking points from the week - did you know there's an audio version of the IKEA catalogue now online? Well, it's less of a full catalogue, more of a "tour for the ears", as IKEA themselves describe it. Think of it like an audiobook, with all the items in the story having price tags; could this kind of innovation catch on? We play an audio sample, and share our thoughts. There's a new audio game on the iOS and Android market called Blind Drive, and as we're all fans of playing games and not doing actual work, we all promise to try it out, and see if the praise is justified! What else? Well, Steven's reviewing the Sonic 2, which is a portable USB memory stick player and Bluetooth speaker. Will Steven listen to more audiobooks on it? Tim and Robin are sceptical! The tech also gets put through Steven's "how many toes would this break if I dropped it on my feet" test. Very scientific, I believe NASA operates similar methods. More? You want more? Okay! We hear from Madleen Bluhm from the Technology For Life team about LIDAR, We chat about Apple apparently discontinuing the full-sized HomePod to focus on the HomePod Mini, in emails we get asked about the Apple Watch being suitable for running, and also about hidden dialog boxes on the Mac being a pain in the derriere! All that, plus Andy possibly being replaced by 'Mia', lost llamas and hungry Hippos, hefty thunks, "open calculator!", narrators putting you off certain audiobooks, and Noah's Ark. As ever, if you want to join in the chat, you can! Email: [email protected]  Tweet: @RNIBRadio using the #AskTechTalk. Chat soon!