Talking Technology with V I Labs
This podcast is focused on technology that supports people who are blind and visually impaired. Our panel of IT Trainers & guest panelists discuss all the latest in mainstream and inclusive technology innovations in a fun and informative manner. V I Labs is the technology function within Vision Ireland. Vision Ireland is the national sight loss agency in Ireland. V I Labs provide technology assessments and training for all our service users. We are a not for profit charity, which offers support and services to people of all ages who are experiencing difficulties with their eyesight. Visit www.vi.ie to discover more about our technology services and other range of services Vision Ireland provide
Talking Technology with V I Labs
Talking Technology with V I Labs episode 89 - Would David make a good getaway driver? Zero Limits 2025
On this episode of Talking Technology, we attend the Zero Limits Track Day in Mondello Park.
We speak to those attending to get their views on the future possibility of self-driving cars and ask if this technology would be embraced by those with sight loss.
David tries driving for the first time, and it turns out there’s hope for him yet as a getaway driver. What could possibly go wrong?
Vision Sports CEO Aaron Mullaniff gives a very energetic speech, and after his first driving experience, David takes a literal spin in a drift car. He was not behind the wheel, thankfully.
Tech news, smart home shutdowns, and is ChromeVox dead? All that and more on this episode of Talking Technology.
Send us a voice note with your thoughts now. The number you need is 086 199 0011.
This Vision Ireland podcast contains chapter markers. If you want to skip the intro or a topic you don't like, you can use chapter markers to do so. Chapter markers are only supported in some podcast apps. Enjoy the show. Welcome to Talking Technology with VI Labs at VI Labs. We believe technology is the single greatest enabler for people with sight loss and all disabilities. If you're looking for the latest news and conversation on tech from a more accessible perspective, you've come to the right place. Yes, indeed you have. Hello, hello, good morning and welcome to Dublin. Yes, they've let me out of the Vision Ireland Cork office today because I am here in Dublin for Vision Ireland's Zero Limits event. I'm just outside the entrance of Houston Station currently and we're being picked up from here around half nine. It's currently Wednesday as I record this Zero Limits is taking place for the next two days in Mondello Park where tons of visually impaired and blind people will be taking trips in rally cars, which sounds really fun. And I believe I am also taking part tomorrow, which is going to be interesting. I've never been one who's had that ambition to drive and I think it could be somewhat chaotic, but we'll give it a go and see how we get on anyway. We're going to be doing a whole lot over the next hour or so. We're going to be giving you some info, a feel of what's happening at Zero Limits. So do stick around for that and we'll also be exploring the future, looking ahead to the possibility of self-driving cars. Will visually impaired or blind people actually ever be able to drive for real? Well, we will be looking at that over the next hour or so. And we do hope you do stick with us. So now, though, before we move on, a reminder that this isn't just our show, this is your show and we want to hear from you. So I'm going to, through the magical power of audio editing, hand you back to past tense David to give you all the all important contact details. Yes, wow, David does sound really great when you listen to him in past tense there. Brilliant stuff, David. Hey, if you do want to get in touch with us, you can send us a message on WhatsApp, either a voice note or a message. You can send that in to us 086-199-0011. That's the number that you need 086-199-0011. Or if you like, you can send us an email to content at vi.ie, that's content at vi.ie. Whether you'd like to share your thoughts on driving, did you ever drive before? Would you like to drive again? Where do you see self-driving tech in the future? Please do send us anything at all on the tech you've tried, literally anything at all 086-199-0011. Or you can send us a voice note on WhatsApp there with that same number, or you can send us an email to content at vi.ie. Now, lucky for some, Mr. Joe Lonegan, he's got a week off this week. He is busy recovering from zero limits. He's had the time of his life, but he's off this week. So I am joined instead by a man from Leish, of all places, Mr. Daniel Dunne. Daniel, how are you? Thanks for the introduction there, David, yeah. How are things in Leish? Have you still got the remainder of the heat wave or have things firmly gone south? Firmly gone south. So, yeah, Monday was much cooler. We had 31 degrees on Saturday and 30 degrees on Sunday. And yesterday we just got down to 19 and this morning then the rains came. And we had a few claps of thunder yesterday, but not much rain. But this morning the rain definitely back with a vengeance. So I can hear the collective joys of the farmers all around the country and the gardeners. There you go. Now, Daniel, interestingly, we've had a hot weather in Cork. But is it true that you hold a weather-related record? Yeah, I guess so. Back in the fine summer of 2022, we got a very high August temperature of 32.1 degrees. So that was a side note on the record books. And you measured that with your own weather station. You're into the weather, I think, really, aren't you? Yeah. So that was actually a mid-air and mid-air piece of equipment. So, yeah, we've note the temperatures for mid-air every day. And they just keep an eye on what's happening in this part of the world. So they use that for all the climatological statistics. Very good. Very good. Well, there you go. At least we now know that the heat seems to be on the way out. And as you said, a bit of relief from the farmers. But hey, Daniel, zero limits last week. We got to go, had a great time and I got to catch up with loads of people there as well. So what we'll do now, I suppose, is we'll jump back in time to when I was at zero limits last week at Mondello Park having an absolute blast. And here we are. We are at Mondello Park. We have arrived. In fact, there are still more due to arrive. It is currently early on the Wednesday morning, so the first morning of the event. And yes, we have a good crowd here. There's around 48 expected here today and people are already being called for groups and so on. There's museum tours happening here in Mondello. We also have a tech clinic happening at 12 o'clock. So there is loads going on. And hey, I'm going to go around and chat to some people, I think. So, Dibna, your first time at zero limits, are you looking forward to it? I certainly am. It's nearly nine years ago since I drove, so I'm looking forward to it. Very good. Have you always wanted to kind of drive again? Is that something you always kind of wanted to do? Not necessarily zero limits, but it would be my greatest wish to be able to drive again. OK. And do you ever see, like we're starting to see developments now in the States and stuff around like, you know, self-driving cars and stuff like that. Do you ever think you could trust that if it was to be a big enabler for you? I think I'd like to think that we would, OK. I think the technology is there. Now, whether I would trust it is another thing. Yeah, I'm not sure about that. But look, if I thought I could drive again, I would certainly say, sign me up. Really? Yeah. Oh God, yeah. Absolutely. I do often say I think I miss the driving more than I do my sight. Really? Yeah. Yeah. And why do you think that is? Is it the independence of it? It was just it was suddenly taken from me as well as my sight. You know, it wasn't just your sight that's gone, it was your whole livelihood, your whole way of living, your whole... way of interacting with your family and friends and being able to move around and do the things you used to do. Yes. No longer exists, really, you know. Absolutely. And do you think, you know, I know it's not exactly the same thing today, but will you be one for going fast, Dibna, today? I text my daughter this morning or I sent her a message last night. I said, if they open them gates, you'll find me in Kerry. Or on a ferry going further. Very good. Well, I've heard that apparently things go up to 150 kilometres an hour this afternoon. So I hope you're prepared. Well, I would have always considered myself a safe driver, I think, or a careful driver or a cautious driver. But you never know what's going to happen today, given this chance in a lifetime. Indeed. Put that out the window today. Go hell for leather. See how you go. Well, Dibna, enjoy it. Thanks so much for talking to us on Talk Technology. Thank you so much. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me too. So, Eileen, we are here at Zero Limits. There are cars whizzing all around us. You've been out now. How did you find it? Amazing. Absolutely out of this world. It's just something I never dreamt I could do. You were saying earlier on that you, I think, mounted one of the corners. I did, yes. It was just as he was asking me what kind of vision I have, I said, I kind of see. And then we kind of mounted the corners. I said, I don't see corners. Well, there you go. He found that out pretty quickly. He did. It was his car, like, you know. Indeed. Absolutely. And was it, you know, with your level of it, have you always kind of wanted to drive? Oh, yeah. Always, always wanted to, like, you know, kind of, you know, even kind of as a kid. Like, and I used to watch on television, I don't know if you would have remembered it, it was Kit, Knight Rider and Kit. And Kit was this magic car that could do, self-drive, could do everything. And I wanted Kit. You wanted Kit. Yeah. Yeah. And do you think we're going to get, like, we've seen in the States now kind of the start of, like, self-driving technology and stuff like that. Would you be quick to jump on something like that? Oh, yeah, definitely. Absolutely, definitely, yes. Would you have a fear of it? Probably, but, you know, fear is fear, like, you know, you get over it. Yeah, absolutely. I'd totally love to get a go of it. Yeah. Super stuff. I'd love to. Excellent. And are you kind of, do you find yourself excited for that future? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Definitely. Especially when you see what technology is doing now. Brilliant stuff. Yeah. Well, listen, Eileen, thanks so much. Glad you're enjoying Zero Limits. You've still got to go out to go a little faster this afternoon. I know. Looking forward to it. Absolutely. I have the need for speed. There you go. Well, we'll see how we go. Eileen, thank you so much. Thanks, Dave. So, Jessica, welcome to Talking Technology. I suppose to start out, you're here at Zero Limits. Not your first time. You've done this before. No, this is my fourth time actually coming and every year it just gets better and better. It's so much fun to be able to go out and drive on the track. As people that are blind and visually impaired, we don't get to do that very often. So to have the freedom and an open track to just go as fast as we want is just amazing. Now, you are, I suppose, a fan of going fast. You do tandem cycling as well. So tell me, how do they compare? How do they compare? Well, they're completely different in some senses, but also kind of similar. You know, you want to go as fast as you can, take the corners on the racing lines, quick as you can. It's fun. And with your level of vision, like did you, like growing up, was something like, you know, driving, was that something you wanted to do? Did it frustrate you that you couldn't do that? Absolutely. Absolutely. When I was in TY 16, you know, everyone's doing their theory test. That's all anyone was talking about. And I kind of hadn't really accepted that I wasn't going to be able to drive. So that was something that I really did have to deal with. And it's hard being 16. You want to fit in with the crowd and everything and just not being able to. It is hard. Yeah. And we're starting to see now, like in the States, the kind of future of kind of the start of self-driving cars and so on. Like, is that something that excites you? Do you think you'd be comfortable, like being an early adopter of that, getting behind not the wheel of a car, but the kind of the wheel of an automated self-driving car? Yeah, I think it's really interesting. Like, as you said, in the States, we've seen them being kind of prototyped around certain cities and stuff. It's really interesting. It's a little bit scary, you know, as all kind of new technology is when it first come out. I think it's a massive thing for the blind and visually impaired community that this is kind of going forward and it's advancing all the time. Because if this was to kind of go, quote unquote, mainstream and we have access to it, we could go anywhere we wanted at any time. We would have a lot of independence that we don't have right now. So I think as a visually impaired person, it's really exciting. And I think I would chance going in the car and just see the experience, you know? Well, there you go. And I suppose that the other side of it is we're so used to putting our trust in other people to get to different places. So we have to trust something. So at a certain point, it's either trust humans or trust the tech. And the tech is going to get better, hopefully. So it's exciting times ahead. Absolutely. So before we wrap up, you've been out for your first lap of the track here. You're ready for your second round. You're ready to go faster? Oh, absolutely. I'm ready to go sideways. I'm ready to spin around and do all the stuff. So excited. Brilliant stuff. I can hear them whizzing around behind us and around us here. So enjoy the rest of the afternoon and thanks for joining us on Talking Technology. Absolutely. Thanks, David. So Vinnie, thank you for coming to Zero Limits. Not your first time at Zero Limits. Why do you keep coming back? Do you enjoy it? Oh, yes, I do enjoy the thrill of the speed. Now, I used to drive when I had a bit of vision. And obviously at the time, it was just like drive to work or drive from A to B. But now, you know, just the chance of even to get to drive a car, it's nice. It's also safe as well because you've got a person in the passenger seat telling you where to go, turn left, turn right, brake. And of course, they have a brake as well, so it's totally safe. But the bit I probably look more forward to is the rally driving. Sorry, I won't be driving to the rally driving. Obviously, I'll be in the passenger seat. You'll be in the passenger side. Yes, that's fair enough. I enjoyed that a lot and hopefully the likes of, say, Mark, Rodney, Nicky Hayes did one year, Nessa, Mark, Kevin. I know most of the drivers at this stage, so they're all very good. They ask the right questions at start, like, you know, what would you like to do? I want them to do the donuts. Yeah, I want them to drift around the corner. They're the cars I feel most excited in. So I just find the whole day from start to finish very enjoyable. Brilliant stuff. And, you know, if we look to the future around self-driving, like you mentioned, kind of being able to drive when you had more sight, is self-driving something that excites you? We're starting to see it develop in the States now. Is it something that excites you? Well, I suppose you hear some horror stories, but I suppose at the moment, maybe not. They probably need to be developed better. I'm probably thinking too much about safety. It's almost like science fiction, really, when you think about it. No, I am wrong. Obviously, the concept is out there. It's not science fiction. But in my head, it seems like it. It seems like something you read in a book where you just step into the back of the car. You tell the car, oh, I want to go from A to B or I want to go home. The concept of it sounds fantastic, obviously, but at the moment... You're conscious of reality. Exactly. Yeah. Like, obviously, you don't want to be like, say if the car hits someone. Yeah, you're the one to blame because you're the only human being in the car. I mean, sorry to put a dampener on it, but it's just at the moment, maybe it's in testing trials. So the way it is at the moment, maybe I'm not so... Not so keen right now. If it came to Ireland, would you try it? Probably would. No, obviously, it'd have to be improved. Like, if it's the same safety levels as a normal car, yes, I would try it. So for you, it's safety? Yeah, of course. Well, you want to be safe. You don't want to... OK, I know it sounds like a silly expression, but you don't want to wake up dead, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's... Yeah, but it's the safety thing I'm just most worried about. When it's improved, obviously, I'll give it a go. Yeah, of course. Super stuff. Well, Vinnie, thanks so much. Thanks for coming to Zero Limits. Thanks for being a champion of it. Enjoy the rest of the day and thanks for joining me on Talking Technology. No problem. Thanks, David. So, Gerard, you're here at Zero Limits, your first time. You're looking forward to it? Oh, yes, I'm all excited, all excited. Brilliant. You've never driven before, really. Are you looking forward to the rally driving or the driving it yourself more? Why are you looking forward to it? A bit of both, a bit of both. Excellent. And tell me, you know, you've... We've been talking just before we started recording about the kind of future of self-driving cars. Like, we've started to see trials in the States now. Is it something that you'd be open to? Do you think? Yeah, I would be open to it. It has advantages as well as disadvantages. For getting around and stuff as well, for some people, I wouldn't be very confident in driving. But it could be a good thing. What would you see as the disadvantages? The disadvantage, I would think, is sudden cars coming out in front of you and obstacles getting in your way and that the car wouldn't react quick enough and you might get into a little bit of a jam or something like that. But hopefully, in time, it is something that you'd be open to? I would, yeah. Definitely, definitely. Would you get in one now if they came to Ireland? I would, yeah. Very good. I'd give it a whirl. Excellent stuff. Well, listen, enjoy the rest of Zero Limits and have fun with it. Will do, will do. I'm looking forward to it, can't wait. Mixed views there on the self-driving. Really interesting stuff. Do you know, I've always been someone... If, like, I think it was Vinnie said there, that if the actual safety record was proven to be as safe or safer than a human driver, I mean, let me jump in the car. I'm so ready for it. I love the idea of self-driving cars. What are your thoughts, Daniel? Would you be one? If it came to Ireland now, would you be giving it a test drive? Oh, absolutely. I love the concept of it. I think, like, it's going to be revolutionary, and particularly as, you know, a person from Nice is quite a rural county. I think the bonuses for rural dwellers is going to be immense. You know, if you want to go socialise with friends and, you know, public transport isn't viable in your area, a self-driving car, I think, is going to be brilliant. It's going to open back up, you know, social ability across rural Ireland. So I think from that point of view, it's going to be extremely beneficial. There's often many people who just have never learned how to drive and this will open up personal transport options for them as well. So, yeah, I think there's great, great benefits to come from self-driving vehicles. You mentioned rural Ireland there. I'm in Cork and I was coming out, so we live in one of the Cork suburbs. And I was coming out, I was after dating Daniel, and it came home late, as one can sometimes do. Now, not ridiculously late either, like it's just gone midnight, which I suppose is ridiculously late to some. But there was no buses out of the city at that hour, which is crazy. This is midweek, you know, so it's not just rural Ireland. I mean, it is absolutely an issue. I don't know if Dublin has the issue to the same degree. But even in Cork, I mean, our second biggest county, and that's what you're dealing with. But there you go. But hey, all hope is not lost because maybe, maybe one day in the future, I shall be able to drive. And at zero limits, I actually got a taster of driving. This was a fascinating experience, not something I'd ever done before. But I got behind the wheel of a car. Here's what happened when I jumped in the driver's seat. Very strange experience indeed. Now, first time driving a car, is it? It absolutely is. Now, I have, I must put a seatbelt on first. Yeah, safety does come first. It sure does. Now, I have never, I was saying to the lads yesterday, like I've never driven a car at all. I don't know the difference between a clutch and a gear. I've like not a clue. I don't know where I put my legs, my hands. I'll go through all that footage now. This is an electric car, so it only has an accelerator and a brake in it, okay? Okay. So feel your pedals down there. You can get a feel for them. Oh, they're up. Yeah, so that's your brake pedal there, which your left foot is, and the one on the right is your accelerator. So do you have to put your feet like up there? Yeah, well, you want to put your hands down between your legs, and there's a little lever. Just keep going a little lower. Just go a bit lower. So now go, put your hand between your legs. Oh, between my two legs. Yeah, go down and feel that little lever. Now go lower your seat. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and feel that little lever. Pull it up. Now, how is that better? Oh, that feels better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that just reversed the thing. Exactly. So now just get a feel for your pedals. Normally you would use your accelerator with your right foot for the brake as well. Okay. But in this case, you can use two feet if you want to, okay? Okay, so would a normal person just have their feet kind of like... Yeah, so put your left foot more left, and leave it there, and then use your right foot for each pedal. So press your accelerator. Like that? Yeah, and then press your brake. Like that? No, no, with your right foot. Like that, yeah, lift off more. Do you have to move side? Like that, like that, yeah, and like that's what you would do normally. Okay. If you feel more comfortable using your left foot. I think, yeah, left foot, I think is going to be more, yeah. Okay. Electric car now is more sensitive to drive, okay? So you're going to be more gentle while, you know, pressing your brake and then pressing accelerator, okay? Right. So you don't want to go too fast. Yes. We'll say that for next time you come back. Okay, grand, yeah. Do you feel comfortable though? I think so. Yeah, you know, you don't know. Like this is very different to what I've ever, like even I noticed I'm kind of like pushing like accidental pressure on the accelerator so slightly, but yeah, that's really interesting. That's cool, but so to turn this car now, I want you to put your foot on the brake, so your left pedal, press it in and I'm going to press this button in just to start the car for us. Cool, let's keep your foot on the brake. Perfect, and now the car is lovely and on. Okay. And you can just leave it here and wait to get everyone else to get going. Okay. We're now going to have, how would you like the guidance when we turn the wheel so flat? Do you want to just go like more right or do you want to go by like a clock or angle? Whatever works, I have no idea like how to like, you know, I don't know if I turn it like really far or like. No, I'm going to tell you, turn the wheel right for me. Show me how you would like to go all the way to turn right, turn more, more, more. Yeah, like that's what's perfect. And turn left and turn more, more, more, more like that. So that's going to help you, I'll tell you that. Okay, you've got to kind of, yeah, you really have to turn it. Exactly. Yeah, that's cool, isn't it? Yeah, this is very. Do you ever think you were going to do this before? No, no, like I've been visually impaired since birth. So, yeah, fairly low vision. So this is like never been an option for me. Yeah, and then pressure braking again. So what does that do when I put the foot on the brake? I'm going to put it into drive because it's in park only. Okay. That's it, and now we'll take your foot off the brake. Okay, yeah. Gently press your accelerator, let's keep the wheel a little straight. Straight. Press your accelerator now. Okay. There we go, and now we're moving. Good job. Okay, so. That's it, and keep going straight, keep the wheel straight like this. Okay, it's very sensitive. It is very sensitive. So as I said, I'm in the electric car, so same with the brakes, it's very sensitive too. Okay. That's it, and let's keep going. Now your angular wheel is slightly to your left. So perfect like that, and then back straight. Just like that? Yeah, and after you accelerate a little bit now, we're coming to our first corner. So does the, do you have to, you don't have to keep the foot on the accelerator? You just kind of press it down once? So right now you're going to take your foot off the accelerator, and you're going to start turning to your right like that. Okay. Turn a little more for me. Perfect. A little more, and now accelerate gently. Perfect, because we're leaving the corner. A little bit of accelerate, so only a little bit. Oh, yeah. That's it, hold it like that, hold it a little bit like that. Oh, sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah. And now off the accelerator. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect. And then turn slightly to your left. There we go. That's a good job. That's going to help you turn a little bit. There we go. Perfect, and now we're going to a little straight now, so keep the wheel straight like this. Okay, yeah, yeah. Keep your foot on the accelerator like that. Perfect. A little more, press the accelerator again. There you go. Oh, that, yeah, you feel that. Exactly. So does it kind of, you have to kind of almost reset it, kind of like? Sort of, yeah. So just take your foot off the accelerator again now. Yeah. But don't press it, don't press it at all. And then start turning a little bit to your right, because it'll come through a sharp corner in a second. So what I'm going to have to do is take your foot fully off the accelerator and gently press your brake. Oh, yeah. Just like that, perfect, off the brake now. And just don't press anything. Just going to turn it and let it cross around the corner. Like that, keep your wheel like that, and accelerate gently. Only a tiny bit of accelerate, that's it. Like that, nice and gently. Keep going, perfect. That's really good stuff. There's such technique, like I can see now why they get people to do a driving test, because there's such technique to this. Of course, yeah. It's like riding a bicycle, you're out of line, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Except it's a bit faster than riding a bicycle. Like, yeah, absolutely. Like, there's so much to think about. Perfect, yeah, of course. Obviously now electric cars do make it a little bit easier for us, being only obviously automatic. But this is good, now turn a little right again. Perfect. Because you're flying around. So what controls the speed? It's directly what's on the accelerator. Exactly, yeah, so there's a limiter in them that obviously stops it going past 60 kilometres. Okay. That's it, so after you accelerate, that's it. Oh, sorry. Stop braking gently again, because there's another sharp corner. And then after braking, turn again. Turn a bit more if you can. Yeah. Stick it in there, and then take a fourth brake, though, because you're still on it. Now press your accelerator, there we go. Oh, yeah. Perfect. And now we come back. I think that's what they call stalling. Yeah. And just keep going, and then just keep going out on the main street. Okay. We're going to be going by anybody in a second. So you want to give a few beeps to the horn going by. So the horn's just in the middle there, yeah, press it in. There you go. Perfect. Love that. That's awesome. That's one lap done already. Wow, yeah, yeah, yeah. You never thought you'd be doing this. Now, when you're turning, it feels like it's going faster, or is that just a sensation? That's just obviously the feeling. It's like you're on a roller coaster sort of way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously it moved a little bit, of course. Wait till you get into the afternoon, you'll be going there. A bit faster, yeah. Just don't have a big lunch. Okay, good to know, good to know. Is it normal for people to keep their foot on the accelerator in the way I'm doing? Like I'm kind of likely keeping my foot on the accelerator. That is okay, but of course, just take your foot to brake, though, and accelerate again. Like I don't even notice I'm doing it, which is weird. But try not to keep your foot on the brake and accelerate at the same time, though. Okay. Because, yeah, you don't want to do that, because you can sort of wear the brakes out a little bit more. Uh-huh. That's it. And then off the accelerator, and then brake a little bit now. Brake, brake, brake. Yeah, and then just the first corner, another sharp corner. So you're going to, no, don't turn. Oh, sorry. No, turn, no. I said, oh, no, turn, no, turn. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. That was sketchy. I'll take it a turn more. Don't, sorry. That's it. And now accelerate. Okay. Yeah, you just accelerate a little too early there. That's it, perfect. There we go. So what happened there? Oh, no, you just went, it turned a little too early. Turned a little bit too early? Yeah, so I did. I had to press the brake there for once. Okay, fair enough. That's good, though. That's the first time you use the brake, which usually is a lot more. Okay, that's good, that's good. You're doing good, though. Yeah, just press the accelerator a little too early there, and obviously it made it harder. So when you're turning and you press the accelerator too early, it just makes it harder to turn the car around. Okay. So that's why, remember, so I'm getting you not to press the accelerator while turning. Just to make it easier for you. So same with here. And would a normal driver have their foot on an accelerator? No, not really. So take your foot to accelerate and turn. Yeah. And then now you're leaving the corner, so now you can accelerate, and now you can straighten the wheel. Just to make it, yeah, just because it helps to turn even. So you shouldn't really accelerate while turning at the same time. Yeah. Do everything you sort of want to make it easier for yourself. So brake in a straight line, after the brake, turn the car, and then accelerate once you're in a straight line again. Yes. So same with here, just come after the accelerator. Turn. Turn, and that's going to wait a second till we get to a straight line. Obviously there's a slower car just ahead of us. Oh, okay. It's okay, yeah. And now you can accelerate a little bit now. Okay. So yeah, we're catching a few people now. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So after the accelerator a little bit, because there's a slower car ahead of us, so we're going to go a bit slower now. Okay, yeah. You're not going to use too much of the accelerator. That's it, and accelerate a little bit now. Yeah. So not too much, yeah, go. And then come to the last corner again, so after the accelerator. Yeah. I do not want to rear end someone. No. You don't want to get in a road rage instance. No, not today. You'd be drawn to them to speed them up. That would be cruel, but we won't. That's it, yeah, you know. That's it, turn. Oh, turn. Don't accelerate just yet. Turn a little more. Perfect job. And now you can start accelerating. Straight knock. Yeah, and now accelerate. Okay. Well, there we go. There we go, that's much better. Yeah, little things, you learn, start learning little things, now you get more. That, yeah, definitely they're going kind of one thing by once at a... Once at a time, yeah. Once at a time. Just helps you. Obviously, now next year we'll start pushing a bit quicker next time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And after the accelerator again. If we get close to this car now, they're going a bit slower. Yeah, let's keep going. Yeah, and then... So I hear actually the indicators there now. So... Do I turn again? Yeah, we'll just turn it. How are indicators controlled? Is that automatic? No, so look, there's a little... So just one second. Before we get to the straight, I'll show you now. That's obviously how you overtake somebody. I'll show you now in a second. See your left hand, push it out forward a little bit. Yeah. Now put your left hand out forward. Oh. Feel that little lever. Yes. Push that up. Now you're indicating to your right, push it down. And now you're indicating to your left. Okay. And then the middle is just off like that. Okay. So that's to let people know which way you're going sort of way, okay? Yes. So accelerate again, that's it. So you can put your indicator up to your right now. I'm going to overtake this guy, so push your indicator up. Oh. Yeah, there you go. Because we're overtaking the car right now. Then you push it back down. Done. Like that, see? Okay. That's as the left car is knowing actually what you're doing, you know? Yes. Because obviously we, as instructors, we... So turn more, turn more. Oh. That's okay, yeah? Perfect. Yeah, just let us know which way you're going sort of way. So accelerate again. Oh, on the acceleration. Yeah, press the accelerator down, because you're leaving the corner. Perfect. Yeah, so you kind of have to lift and then put it back down. Exactly, yeah. Okay. And there's a lever to your right for hand as well. That's for the wipers, in case it's not raining. Oh, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Very good. Luckily the weather today, 24 degrees. Yeah, scorcher. 24 degrees, I don't think it's going to rain. No, I don't believe so. So we don't have to use them yet. That's it, are you excited right now? Perfect. There you go, wow. There you go, wow. Yeah, you're learning a lot now, isn't it? It's a good day for us. Yeah, like this is an experience that you'd never normally have, like, so this is really and truly... That's it, but after you accelerate again. Crazy, too. Turn a little bit, turn more. Yeah, turning, turning. That's it. Oh, sorry. My glasses. That's all right. That's it, and accelerate now again. Ah, yeah. Perfect. There you go, there you go. And then go on the straight again. I'm going to be going by a few people. And then turn again. Yeah, and a little bit of accelerate again. A little bit of accelerate. Yeah, and turn again. Turn, don't, don't, don't, sorry. Oh, sorry. Not too much. Yeah, and now accelerate. Yeah, accelerate again. There we go, and after accelerate again. It's those turns are the difficult ones. Of course, yeah, they can be a bit tricky. So keep going, and accelerate again. Oh. Should we missplay a lot of Mario Kart, do you? Do you know what? Years ago, I used to play Mario Kart with my level of vision, but I dropped a little bit, so I haven't played since, but... I think you must still have a few tips and tricks on how to sit and accelerate again. So what would you... There we go. So out of ten, what are you rating me so far? So, you know, ten being ready for road. One being never let this guy in the car again. Where are we at? Well, it depends which way we're talking. As a getaway driver, you're definitely a ten. Okay, fair enough. Because you're flying around, please. Of course. Yeah, obviously there's a few things of course, but that's going to... Come with knowledge, you know. I'll take confidence in knowing that I'd be a getaway driver. That's good. You might get a few penalty points, that's it. That's okay. Let's accelerate again, yeah. Perfect. You've got a few excuses, though, if you do get caught for speeding. Well, true, true, absolutely. You didn't see... I'm sorry, Garda, I didn't see the speed. Exactly. And off to accelerate again, that's it. Perfect. So we're going to come to a stop up here now, so take your foot, accelerate. Super. And I'm going to have you come to a stop. That's it. Wow, there you go. Let's keep before the brake and then I'm going to turn the car off for you. Wow, that's incredible. Pleasure. Thank you so much. That is amazing. Still 10 out of 10 getaway driver? Well, I think 11 out of 10 there. 11 out of 10, do you know what? I'll take that, I'll take that. Thank you so much. No worries, mate, that's really good stuff. What was your name again? Donald, Donald. Thank you so much, Donald. Really, really appreciate it. I must say, Daniel, getting behind the wheel of that car was a very strange and kind of surreal experience. And I was reflecting on it after. I don't know, like, if it's like I didn't feel super relaxed with the idea. I was kind of I still was kind of like, where do I put my feet? Where do I put my hands? It's kind of it's still a very weird experience. And I think it's almost ingrained in me so much now that I'm not able to drive that it just felt unnatural, which was really, really weird. But still an amazing experience to have. But yes, certainly a weird one, you know? Yeah, yeah, no, I appreciate that. As well as I remember at a young age, very young, sitting in a field in a car, you know, as well as just learning for the first time, you know, getting into a car, what the pedals are about, steering wheel. Yeah, yeah. It feels very overwhelming, I guess. And particularly when you just start to take off and you go, oh, my God, you really feel disconnected from what's happening. But, you know, as time wears on, you get familiar, you know, a couple of years into driving the whole car, just it seems all that seems to flip in the head and it just becomes another extension of your body. So, yeah, I can appreciate how unnatural it feels for the first time getting behind the wheel of a car. Absolutely. I will take some solace, though. He did say I might get a few penalty points, which is fair enough, but I'd be an 11 out of 10 getaway driver, which is what we're up to now, which is great. I feel like, I don't feel like her because I believe she got 18 years in prison, but that lady on, that did the clip around on YouTube, the whole, I cannot see, I'm legally blind, I couldn't drive a getaway car. You know, I feel like, yeah, I certainly don't feel like her, but I do feel like her in some other ways. I did not drive no getaway car, I'm legally blind. Okay, I can appreciate that. Yeah, for sure. But hey, one of these things, absolutely loved the experience and a great experience to have. So, speaking of Zero Limits, though, it was lunchtime in Zero Limits when we had a kind of a launch of the event. We had speeches from a few of the participants and a few of the organisers, of course, Zero Limits, organised by our friends over at Vision Sports Ireland, a sister organisation of Vision Ireland. And to give you a rundown of that launch event, I'm going to hand you over now to a man who is very energetic, very sporty and full of life, I think it is fair to say. It is Mr. Aaron Mullaneff, the CEO of Vision Sports Ireland. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the very, very sunny home of motorsport in Mondello Park. Guys, I said it's very sunny! We're delighted to have you here today. We, being Vision Sports Ireland, in partnership with Motorsport Ireland and, indeed, Sport Ireland, and with a little bit of support from the Westgrove Hotel over in Clane, County Kildare. This is our fifth instalment of the legendary Zero Limits 2025! My name is Aaron Mullaneff. I'm a little sun-stroked, I'm a little delirious, but I expect you guys to work with me. We had a very good crowd here yesterday, right? Very good crowd, but I will be testing you. I will be testing you, I'll be checking if you're listening, and I'm hoping every now and again you might just give me a hallelujah! Hallelujah! Yes! Now, let me tell you one thing. Yesterday, on three occasions, three different participants told me it was like Christmas Day. No, it's better! It's better, Barks! That's right! And I said, yes, Jesus, no, reindeer, just a lot of helmets. But look, this morning on two occasions I was told it's been the best morning of my life. OK, and there were some tears. And we're not talking about Lorna, who works with us. So I'm just wondering, how do we go full throttle and go full sweep and make sure that everybody has the best afternoon of their life? Give me a hallelujah! Hallelujah! Woohoo! OK, guys, so what's it all about? OK, we talk about, I said yesterday something, it's a big beautiful, and then someone shouted, Bill. And I was like, no, that's a different thing altogether. I said it's about the big beautiful spirit of inclusion, opportunity, partnership, and what's the last P? Petrol! Petrol! Give that, who was that? Give him a prize. Mr Whippy! 99 for you, with extra sprinkles on the top. At Vision Sports, guys, we know this is really important. OK, we know, I didn't say believe, I said believe yesterday, but that was all wrong. We know that being blind or vision impaired should never, ever, ever be a barrier to participating in any physical activity, ever. So we want you guys to be able to do all the things that everyone else gets to do in life. By five o'clock today, we should have had 120 of our members from Vision Sports safely around the track. Some of you, I have to say this because I was advised to say this, some of you are going to go very straight. Some of you are probably going to go a little sideways. And some of you might be out there just having the chats, and I'm OK with that, and all the drivers are OK with that, as long as you're having fun. But most importantly, it's not about being perfect, but it is about challenging yourself, but also challenging perceptions, and also in the process showcasing what's truly possible. I want to recognise, OK, that the day would not happen without a number of groups that are here. First of all, the participants. Please recognise yourselves, participants. Round of applause. I know the press will be up when you speak to the volunteers, but again, the drivers, Podrick mentioned it all morning. Please note, these drivers are given their cars, they're given their time, they're given their petrol, they're given their tires. It's phenomenal. They are spending money, but they are loving every bit of it, and they want to share what they have in common with you, as opposed to what sets you apart. And it's really, really amazing. So a big shout out for the drivers. OK, so to anybody else that's here, whether you're a supporter, you're a family member, or you're the driving force behind the person that you're here with today, OK, you are also part of the epic experience of getting 120 people safely around the track. You cannot be lost in this. Please do recognise yourself as well. Guys, today would not be possible without Motorsport Ireland believing in us. So when we come up with this crazy idea of getting a lot of people who can't see very well to them to go around the racetrack, they thought we were all bananas. But there was one guy who believed in us, and he sits in the engine room in Motorsport Ireland, and he is also the manager of Motorsport Ireland. And he's going to come up and say a quick hello to everybody here. Art McCormack. Thanks, Aaron. Today's, I suppose, a thought about experiences. It's about people this morning maybe experiencing something that they were told they'd never be able to do or something that they did once upon a time and then was taken away from them. So I hope you all had a fantastic experience this morning. I can guarantee you you're going to have brilliant experience this afternoon. And, you know, Sarah, who works for Vision Sports Ireland, she was our first visually impaired navigator. Within the constraints of what we do as a government body in serious motorsport and all the rest of it, there's absolutely ways that we can facilitate people to compete and experience. That is something that an awful lot of people love and enjoy. So I hope you all have an absolutely brilliant day today. And if you have any questions as the day goes on, I'll be down in the pits and all of that stuff. I'll be benching people in, making sure you're all safe and secure. And have an absolutely brilliant day, all right? Brilliant. Give me an hallelujah for Art! Hallelujah! Up next, we want to hear from someone whose leadership has been not just inspirational, he's been instrumental in making Zero Limits a reality and he's helped us take it from a very, very bold idea to full throttle reality. He is a lifelong ambassador for Vision Sports Ireland. He's a passionate advocate for sport at all levels. And we are fortunate to have him as our chairperson here today. Mr Barry Ellis! Folks, I was wondering there who is Erin talking about? There's not going to be any halleluias. You'll be glad to know. I just want to welcome everybody here. Erin has thanked everybody, I think. There's one group that I'd like to thank, and that is Erin and his team at Vision Sports Ireland. It's an honour to work with them and it's an honour to be involved with this organisation. It's just so amazing. Anybody that's new to it this year that's come along, they're just blown away by it. And last thing I just want to say, have a great afternoon. It's amazing. It's just unbelievable. So enjoy yourselves. Thank you. Do I need to ask? Hallelujah! Oh, that was a bit tame now. Come on, come on. You might get another opportunity with the next man. He's going to keep it very quick. It's in the spirit of speed. What do I say about this man? I said something yesterday. It was very, very bold. I said he was the unofficial minister for dad jokes. He leads with heart. He shows up with purpose. And he always brings the really good vibes, particularly on days like today. His name is Mr, oh sorry, President Joe Geraghty. So don't fall here. Don't fall. I fell for vision sports 40 odd years ago and I don't mind falling. Guys, I didn't bring you the sun, but I'd love to claim I did. It's a lovely day. I want to pay particular tribute to one group here today. They are, in a blind and vision impaired sports world, they take two to tango. I'm vision impaired. A lot of people around here are vision impaired. We can't do it without you, our parkers, our friends and all of the volunteers who are here today. So last year I published a book called Out of Sight and it starts with Irish blind and vision impaired people. And what I wanted to do was raffle a few copies of the book, especially for the volunteers here. So to the volunteers, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank you very much and welcome back to Mr. Hallelujah himself. Thanks Joe. Okay, we're nearly there. Thank you product. We have cars, good ladies, we are ready to kick off. We have cars, good ladies, we are ready to kick off. Now I have been told. I have been told. Guys, round of applause for everybody here. I've run out of time, but I'm not going to maybe run off real quick. Okay, what I might do, right, is just the recognition for the drivers is phenomenal, guys. It's all been done gradually, it's all done free. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll shout them out, okay, and we might just give them a round of applause at the end. We've got Declan with Mark, we've got John Murphy, we've got John Hickey, John of Flaherty. We've got Zoe, amazing. We've got Daryl, who's a serious drifter. We've got Gary, we've got Jason, we've got Anthony. We have Ciarán, we've Geroad, Brendan, Dale, Ben, another Gary. We've got Keith and we have Sean Oak. Give me a hallelujah! So guys, that's really it for me. Padraig might want to say a few words, but before we fire up the engines, quick reminder. Safety, safety, safety, safety first. Listen to the officials, listen to your drivers, listen to your instructors. Stay buckled in. What about that for timing? Hallelujah, indeed. Mr. Aaron Molanov, they're a very energetic boy, I must be said. Aaron is truly one of a kind. There is few people as energetic as Mr. Molanov there, but there you go. So those were the launch speeches from Zero Limits on the Thursday. That was there in Mandela Park. Awesome stuff. Now, in the afternoon of Zero Limits, Daniel, we got to go into these different types of rally cars and stuff like that. And I ended up in a drift car, which is something I never in a million years considered that I were doing. But it was, I believe it was called an Opel Mantis, I think. I don't know if that rings a bell to you, but it was a really cool car. And you will hear in a bit what that sounded like. We do need to point out that because it turns out that rally cars, they're very loud. So it is slightly hard to hear some of the audio in this clip. We've done what we can with it. It's just a bit harder with some of those microphones when there's so much noise around. But it was really, really fun. And here is what happened when I got into the passenger side of a drift car. You're in a beautiful orange and black car. An orange and black car, super. Quite low down, this is the roof. And there's a bar, so throw your leg over the bar and you're going. That's the back of the seat, so if you put your leg about a foot forward, he's actually going to go. It's very low, OK? Wow, wow, wow, right. Oh, OK, how are we? How are you? What's your name, sorry? Mark, good to meet you. How are you, David? David, nice to meet you. How are things? Awesome stuff. I'm just going to get you to tuck your arm in under. I'm going to actually loosen this on a tiny bit for you because you're tall. The last person was not. OK, that is absolutely fine. I'm just going to lean over the other side if you don't mind me. Yes, work away. Do your thing. I'm trapping you inside so you can come to work tomorrow. No problem. That's always good. Look at that. There you go. Super. That's perfect. He's going to drift. Thank you. OK, thank you so much. Thank you very much. Wow, so this is a different experience. Yeah, this is a drift car, not a rally car. OK. All right, I think so. Yeah, let's see how we go. Yeah, if you don't like it, you can put out your hand and we'll just cut it immediately. Super. Just hold up your wrist there. Yeah. How are you there? Hello, how are you? Good. What's your name? David. David, I hope you have a great time. Thank you so much. Enjoy. You're a star. Thank you very much. Take care of yourself. Thank you. OK. Up to the top a bit there and then we go. Super stuff. First corner, how far can you see? Yeah, so what a normal drifter will see about 60 metres away, I'll see about one metre away. All right. And I've no vision on my left side. So do I call out kind of we're coming to a left or a right? You can, absolutely whatever. We'll see how we go. OK. You tell me when. So the first corner coming will be a right-hander. OK. And the car will steer into it. Yeah. Back of the car, I'll try and pass out the front of the car. OK. But we won't let that happen. OK. That's what the drift car is set up to do. Right. When I come up to the corner, nice and gentle, just try power sliding out of the corner. Yeah, that's exactly what it feels like. That feels very intense. That's impressive. The first initial thing can be scary. Yeah. Once I break your virginity into it, you're away with it then. OK. Super. So right-hander again, just gently into it. Now there's a left-hander and immediately a right-hander. OK. So this time the car will go left, and then slide into a right-hander. OK. Here we go. All right, Jim? Wow. Yeah. That's crazy. Wow. Good experience. Yeah, yeah. That's amazing. This time we slow down using the arm brake. OK. That's the tire has come off. That's what? Unfortunately, that's that tire gone. The piece of the tire has come off. Does that mean anything then? It just means I have to crawl back into the pit lane again. OK. But it's just I have four tires there, mate. Ah, so they just quickly swap them in and out? Swap them over, yeah. Wow. OK. I've hurt 30 tires, haven't I? OK. I wouldn't mind if they were nice to slide. They were nice and easy. They weren't grippy. And how often does that happen? Every two laps. Wow. Yeah. Pretty aggressive, but it is so hot, though, it's killing the tires, you know? OK. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. It is fairly hot today. Everything is getting so warm. We're just going to limp our way in the back door now. So how have you felt this morning, when you were driving this morning? I was. Yeah. It was weird for me because I'm not used to the power of a car. Yes. And even where do I put my feet? Where do I... I've never sat really in the driver's side of the car since I was very small, and it's really like... It's a different experience, you know, but very, very... Tire, come off. Very, very interesting one. This is amazing. The driver was just there, taking a ball. He was probably waiting for us. Oh, sorry. Let's see the smokey-smoke. So the few years... I'm at this like four years as well. Yeah. I'm at drifting since 15 years ago. Yeah. But it's nothing to this experience bringing the likes of yourself out. Thank you for doing it. It is amazing, you know? It's great fun to share your... Your passion. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So is drifting done competitively, or how does that work? It is, but not in my case, because this is such an old car. It's 46 years old. It's an old Opel Manta. Wow. Okay. You'd see it on YouTube. Retro stock is the day we do in Mondello here. The left one's de-laminated. Yeah. And... Yeah. So how long does it take to swap out a tyre now like that here? He's doing it there now. Yeah. I can hear that kind of sound there. That's the nut going on. Kind of like the Formula One, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They just swap it in, swap it out. Then you know. So a good friend, Michael, came with me, and he said, I'll change our wheels as we're going, so... Nice one. That's the plan there with that. So it says they were replacing the right as well, are we? Left and right. Left and right. Two go hand-in-hand, because you don't know how well the other one's going to wear off. Okay. If the other one's already gone, you know. So it's as well just change two, just to kind of not have to come back in. Even it out. Change and not even it out, exactly. Yes. Yeah. Okay. If I put two of the wrong size on as well, the car has what they call a welded differential. Okay. The welded differential, both wheels have to be the same radius. Okay. So if I put a different size tire on, the car will immediately let me know by, the steering kind of goes off to one side. Okay. As we're going up pit lane. I immediately know the car is off balance. Okay, yeah. Because the driver's tire is trying to make up more revolution from the left tire. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So immediately the car doesn't want to do that, you know. Okay, yes. This is the kind of feeling you get. So we have to pair them off the same sizes all the time. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, it's a fascinating game, isn't it? Wow. Yeah. Awesome stuff. So here we go again. Just get one lap to show your wristband there again. Yeah. We just changed tires. Same man. Ah, the same man. Hello again. Hello again. Remind us of your name again. David, sorry. David. You're going out again. Yes, yeah. You loved it that much. Indeed, indeed. Perfect. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Just hold up your wrist. The wind's reading it. Kind of point to... That's it? Yeah. Perfect. All right. This man just has to see that the things are all good. You can feel the power there. That's basically what drifting is. Yeah. The power of the car tries to pass out in front of the car. Yeah. And your job is to control the car. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know if you can feel the power off the track, otherwise John Ross would be happy. Indeed. Now we're going up to the left side where I'm shooting it. Yeah. Right after that. How was that? That's unbelievable. Wow. Yeah. Thank you so much. That's amazing. Back in the middle. Yeah. Just that you feel like the force of it, like it is... Yeah. It's all the sideways inertia. It's so different getting in with somebody and they have a load of power and a load of brakes and your neck is going back and then it's going forward. Yeah. This is kind of trying to glide the car as gracefully as possible. Yes. That's why I'm trying to give you the experience that it's not so jerky and it's not so rough or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it feels just like fun. You know? Like it's a wonderful kind of... Yeah. No, it's an... That is really amazing. I must say that was an absolutely incredible experience. You know, I mentioned, I think earlier on that I was a bit apprehensive, a bit overwhelmed by the, you know, driving myself, but that rally experience was absolutely incredible. It must be said, Daniel. Have you ever been in a rally car? No. Fair play to you, David. You're a lot more braver than I am. Rally car. I be a bit... No thanks. You're not sure of it? Fair enough. Fair enough. Well, there you go. Lots of people did do it though. So if you were indeed at zero limits, I know we spoke to some people at the event, but if you do want to share your thoughts with us, you can send us a WhatsApp voice note, the number you need there, 086-199-0011, or you can send us an email to content at vi.e. We'd love to hear how you got on, what you thought of it. Would you like to drive? What you think is self-driving cars? All of that, do send us a voice note on WhatsApp or an email to content at vi.ie. But now in stuff that is unrelated to cars, it's time to cross over to Daniel for Talking Technology News. This is Talking Technology News. So with your latest Talking Technology News, I'm Daniel Dunn. It looks like smart home brand WeMo is killing off loads of devices based on an email sent to customers. In what can only be described as a brutal email, the company said, after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to end technical support for older WeMo products effective the 31st of January, 2026. After this date, several WeMo products will no longer be controllable through the WeMo app. Any features that rely on cloud connectivity, including remote access and voice assistant integrations, will no longer work. 95Google reports that some HomeKit devices that use Thread will continue to work through the HomeKit platform, but the list of these items is limited compared with those that are being shut down. While some of the devices that are being shut down have been sold for a bit, there are others such as the WeMo Mini Smart Plug and WeMo Outdoor Plug were on sale as recently as 2023. Those mini plugs were still being sold in November 2023, so it's likely that many people who got them for Christmas only 18 months ago now face their being shut down. Other devices that are being discontinued include devices that could conceivably have been permanently installed into someone's house, such as light switches. Also on the chopping block are air purifiers, baby monitors, heaters and coffee machines. It's unclear what can be done to stop the company doing this, but as of now, it's the customers that suffer. Do you have any WeMo products? Please let us know with a WhatsApp Vice Note. Social media company Meta is spending big on AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying on X that the company intends to spend hundreds of billions on data centers to support the technology. Meta plans to use the money from their social media advertising business to fund the development, with the hope that AI will make big money for the company in the future. At the moment, Meta sells smart glasses in partnership with RayBan and Oakley, but they haven't been able to reach the scale of other AI companies such as OpenAI just yet. Hopefully, the companies spending so much money on artificial intelligence, they'll also start to build accessibility features into the design of their product. The AI race continues to be fierce, and we can only hope that blind and visually impaired people will benefit from that. Do you use any Meta AI products? Be sure to share your thoughts. And finally for now, Android looks set to merge Google's other operating system Chrome OS. The Verge is reporting that Google's head of Android, Samir Samad, said we are going to be combining Chrome OS and Android into a single platform. Traditionally, Google's Android platform ran on devices like phones and smartwatches, TVs, and car entertainment systems, while their other platform, Chrome OS, ran on the Chromebook range of computers. Now, Google plans to merge the two, making Android the default across all devices including computers. Android recently got better support for third-party displays, and Chrome OS can already run many Android apps, so the move seems logical. At the moment, both Android and Chrome OS have their own screen readers. We talk back on Android and ChromeVox on the Chromebook. It will be interesting to see if these screen readers and other accessibility features also start to converge as part of the move. Have you ever used a Chromebook? They are used a lot in schools and in corporate environments these days, so hopefully a better operating system on these devices will be a good step forward for both general use and accessibility. And that's it for now. A reminder that if you want to learn more about assistive technology, you can always try a VI Labs training course. All courses can be found on the upcoming events section of the Vision Ireland website. But for now though, it's back to you, David. Thanks Daniel. There we go. One slight correction from that news, and it's my error. Mark Zuckerberg didn't post on X, he doesn't own that one. He posted it on threads. He owns basically all of the social media platforms. He's no need to go to anyone else's ones, but there you go. That one's owned by a different billionaire. But Daniel, I do want to ask you, because you've spoken on this before, that whole story about WeMo just killing off some of their products, some of these are on sale just a little over 18 months ago. Not good at all really. Oh no, that's very, very bad form. Like, you know, when you're buying these products and some of them are not, you know, they're not cheap. You expect to get a, you know, a reasonably good life out of them. You know, if you bought a piece, a device and it stopped working because it was made of poor quality or whatever, you'd be rightly annoyed and, you know, you'd be looking for a repair or replacement. But in this instance, you know, there's probably nothing wrong with the kit you have. It's just you're pulling the plug on the software service. It's bizarre. It's frustrating. And, you know, I'd like to see what our consumer watchdog has to say about that. And, you know, is there a case there for forcing the company's hand into not shutting off the service for these device, these devices that have sold, you know, so I think, you know, it's a bit underhanded. You've made lots of money selling the devices and now you're not standing over the software service needed to run them. Yes. Very bad form. Very, very bad form. So there you go. Time will tell if, you know, I wouldn't imagine that the market in Ireland is huge, that we'll see a reaction from the CCPC or anything like that. But it would be good to see and kind of set a precedent. Even at the EU level, you know, maybe a European wide, or some consumer authority that has wider scope across more of the EU, the EU are well able to kind of force Apple's hands into going to USB-C chargers. We've seen those kind of things come about. So, you know, maybe this falls in a kind of a similar scope to that where, you know, they did bring all the big tech producers to move to USB-C. Apple reluctantly had to follow suit. So, like this was all done on, you know, stopped so many different chargers and, you know, tech ended up being just dumped into landfill because, you know, because it was outdated and you couldn't use your previous charger with the new phone. And rightfully so, that was stopped. So what's going to happen on these Wemo devices? Are they just going to be thrown in the skip or thrown in the recycling bin? Same thing at the end of the day, isn't it? Yeah, it's the same thing at the end of the day. So I would hope that the EU can kind of step in here and do some good. Absolutely. Time will tell. But there you go. 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