Technically Working

Hosted by Damashe Thomas and Michael Babcock

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172

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

"Welcome to 'Technically Working', the go-to podcast for tech enthusiasts and productivity seekers alike. Hosts Michael Babcock and Damashe Thomas take you on a journey through the ever-evolving world of technology and productivity. As Mac OS and iPhone users, they share their personal experiences and tips on staying productive while using these tools. But they don't stop there - they also explore other platforms like Android and Windows to bring you a comprehensive view of the tech landscape. Tune in each episode to hear them keep each other accountable, discuss the latest tools and strategies, and share their journey to reaching their goals. Whether you're a small business owner, freelancer, or simply looking to boost your productivity, 'Technically Working' is the perfect podcast for anyone looking to level up their tech skills and get things done."

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60 recent

June 15, 2026Episode 1671 hr 16 min

#167 – We're Going to Atlanta

This week, Mike and Damashe dig into Earshot build 99, react to WWDC 26, and ask the big question: are AI agent devices actually ready to replace your phone? Spoiler: your ride might end up in the wrong city. What We Talked About Earshot Update - Build 99 The new alphabetical library picker is live, with a count of how many podcasts are under each letter Per-podcast playback speed is now working: set a default speed, override it for individual shows, and it remembers your preference automatically The database migration bug from builds 88-95 is fixed; if your app was spinning and crashing, update to build 99 The app now gives you a useful error message instead of just failing silently if something goes wrong with the database If you are on TestFlight and want to send feedback, email feedback@technicallyworking.show - do not use the TestFlight feedback form, because Mike cannot reply to you there To get on the beta, find Michael on Mastodon Apple Deals Worth Knowing AirPods Pro 3 spotted at $179 on Amazon, Best Buy, and possibly Walmart AirPods 4 at $99 Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) at $299 WWDC 26 Impressions Mike went in with low expectations and came out a little underwhelmed Damashe has not watched the keynote but has listened to everyone talk about it Apple showed features live and uncut, which seems intentional - they want to prove the demos are real Certain AI features require M3 Pro or better on Mac, M4 or better on iPad, and iPhone 17 Pro iOS 26 and 27 compatibility stays the same - if your device runs 26 it will run 27, you just may not get all the local AI capabilities Damashe called the OS unification direction, and he would like you to use the hashtag DamasheWasRight accordingly iOS 27 Safari Notify Apple Intelligence can now watch a Safari tab and notify you when something changes Steven Robles used it to get notified when the Unify travel router came back in stock Both Mike and Damashe immediately thought: Ubiquiti restocks Touchscreen MacBook Speculation Mark Gurman is pointing toward a high-end OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro at a significant price premium Damashe's alternate theory: what if Apple makes a detachable touchscreen MacBook Neo instead of going ultra-premium The Neo already runs macOS on an A18 Pro chip at $600; a touch-capable detachable version aimed at schools and everyday users could make more sense than a $3,200 pro machine Both agree: a MacBook with cellular would be an instant buy, no questions asked Are AI Agent Devices Ready to Replace Your Phone? OpenAI is rumored to be working on a new form factor device built around voice interaction Damashe's argument: not yet, for several reasons - apps, authentication, companies not wanting to be commoditized, and the lack of strong local compute Uber and Amazon are not going to sit still while an agent turns them into a background API The local vs. cloud routing problem is real: you need a local model to manage where requests go, and we are not there on mobile yet Both see 2029-2030 as a realistic window for local compute on personal devices being good enough for most tasks The Plaud Pin has been sitting on a nightstand for months as evidence Siri and Third-Party Mail Siri can now surface airline reservations when you call airlines Open question: does it work if your reservation is in Gmail or Outlook instead of Apple Mail Shortcuts Getting Smarter The new AI-assisted Shortcuts builder could be the most useful thing in iOS 27 if it actually works Federico Viticci's hope: get Sherlocked properly this time Links and Contact Send feedback: feedback@technicallyworking.show TestFlight beta for Earshot: find Michael on Mastodon at payown@dragonscave.space Damashe on Mastodon: damashe@technically.social Bot: tw@technically.social Support the show: technicallyworking.show, click Support Us Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/3240cfe1-07d0-4cdc-b340-9d4131f7c84e This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

June 7, 2026Episode 1661 hr 19 min

#166 – If You Used a Passkey, Why Are You Asking for a Code?

Passkeys are supposed to make your life easier. So why is Amazon still asking for a six-digit code after you just proved who you are with one? This week, Michael and Damashe dig into what companies are getting right and wrong with passkey implementation, including PayPal's rocky start and how one hardware security key can save you from a bad day on macOS. They also talk about Damashe's new office space, what it actually takes to organize a vending machine operation when you're blind, and why Braille labels still beat pulling out your phone. Plus: the GL.iNet travel router with built-in Tailscale, using Aira to read a Wi-Fi password off the bottom of a router, WWDC predictions including a folding iPhone neither of them is sure they want, and what happens to your whole week when you stop using Todoist. A lot happened. Almost none of it went as planned.

June 1, 2026Episode 1651 hr 7 min

#165 – No Excuses Left for Inaccessible Apps

Michael kicks things off from a proper setup. Damashe kicks things off from a boom arm clamped to his nightstand — because he's mid-move and the show must go on. From there, the conversation covers a lot of ground: Michael is beta testing Quill, a new cross-platform Markdown writing app from BITS that runs on Mac and Windows, written entirely in Python. Damashe shares a LaunchBar trick he'd never tried before — copying and moving files entirely within LaunchBar — and it turns out it works exactly the way it should. Then things get into the meat of the episode. Michael has been building a podcast app using Claude as his primary coding tool. He's not an iOS programmer, but he can develop an iOS app — and that distinction matters. Accessibility has been part of the project from day one, including a rule in his CLAUDE.md file that every code change gets run through the accessibility agents from community-access.org before anything moves forward. No unlabeled buttons. No accessibility regressions. Just a rule that runs automatically. That leads to a bigger question: with AI tools making it easier than ever to build software, what excuse do developers actually have for shipping inaccessible apps? Michael makes the case that it's not a knowledge problem anymore. It's a willingness problem. Damashe pushes back on the "just vibe code it" framing. He has no problem with using AI to build things — he's doing it himself. What he takes issue with is the negligence: shipping code you haven't tested, don't understand, and haven't checked for security or accessibility, then asking someone else to deal with the fallout. Open source maintainers are already feeling this. Bug bounty programs are drowning in low-quality AI-generated reports. The tool isn't the problem. The behavior is. They also get into feedback — what it's like to receive bug reports when you're the one who built the thing — and Damashe shares the story of how he got Marco Arment to add rotor actions to Overcast, one conversation at a time. Links and things mentioned: Quill (BITS Markdown writing app for Mac and Windows) LaunchBar — https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/ community-access.org accessibility agents Overcast — https://overcast.fm Technically Working — Episode Notes Notes go here Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/6a089d48-76a4-43f5-b8af-6e63343769a8 This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

May 25, 2026Episode 1641 hr 5 min

#164 – Building the podcast app I actually want

Michael's been frustrated with his current podcast app for months, so he did what any reasonable person would do: opened Claude, wrote a PRD, and started building. Thirty-six versions later, there's a working iOS podcast app with a cross-platform plan, real testers giving feedback, and a list of features pulled straight from what blind podcast listeners actually want. We get into the build process, including why Michael went with a phased approach, the testers who caught things he never would have (player controls missing above the tab bar, search being completely broken, follow buttons not changing to unfollow), and the features people keep asking for like folders and OPML import/export for subsets of subscriptions. Damashe also makes the case for GitHub labels and milestones so feature creep doesn't eat the project alive. From there, things go sideways into Apple's developer experience, which is rough. App Store Connect in Safari with VoiceOver is a mess. Damashe has had to switch to Chrome just to accept terms and conditions. Michael couldn't add testers to a TestFlight group from Safari at all. We hope WWDC has something to say to the wave of vibe coders showing up to Apple's ecosystem this year. We pivot to AI usage in general and make a case for the people who aren't building apps or websites: use these tools to understand things you're not an expert in. Commercial leases, tax code, anything dense and unfamiliar. Feed it the document, ask questions, then verify the answers in a different tool to check for consistency. The AI didn't change Damashe's behavior, by the way. Search has been bad for years. AI just gave him a way around it. Plus: Lyft vs Uber pricing (Lyft was significantly cheaper for both of us this trip), scheduling airport pickups with flight tracking, why Michael won't schedule rides if he can help it, a shoutout to Vijesh at the Hyatt in San Francisco, Damashe needs a new rolling suitcase, and a reminder to Tip Jar subscribers to check your email this week. Topics The vibe-coded podcast app: thirty-six builds, real testers, what's working Why Michael built it: frustration with his current app, wanting cross-platform PRDs as a starting point for AI-assisted projects Tester feedback that mattered: player controls, search, follow buttons, folders, OPML subsets GitHub labels and milestones for managing feature creep App Store Connect accessibility, or the lack of it Practical AI usage for non-developers: leases, tax code, things you don't know Verifying AI answers across different tools Lyft vs Uber: pricing, scheduled pickups, flight tracking Airport tips: leave early, turn off your VPN before you try to use the rideshare app Hotel shoutout: Vijesh at the Hyatt in downtown San Francisco Auphonic as a way listeners can support podcasts Tip Jar subscribers: check your email Links Technically Working: https://technicallyworking.show Feedback: feedback@technicallyworking.show Tip Jar: https://technicallyworking.show Michael on Mastodon: @payown@dragonscave.space Damashe on Mastodon: @damashe@technically.social Show bot: @tw@technically.social Auphonic: https://auphonic.com Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/b40b48e7-5a95-4a1e-ab4d-c6f884ab7bff This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

May 17, 2026Episode 16358 min

#163 – Our Perspective Launches, Substack Experiments, and Hotel Room Recording

Michael and Damashe catch up from two different locations this week. Damashe is recording from a hotel room in Orlando with the Beta 87A he found at the bottom of his AT Guys backpack. Michael shares an exciting podcast launch and a new writing experiment on Substack. Topics covered in this episode: ACB National Convention 2026 in St. Louis: registration opens May 28 for members, June 4 for non-members. Convention runs July 24 through July 31 in person, with virtual programming starting July 13. Meetup plans: if you'll be in St. Louis between July 25 and 29, send an email and we'll set something up. Send restaurant recommendations too, especially the hole-in-the-wall spots. Marriott vs Hilton: Damashe is collecting Bonvoy points and would pick a Marriott most days. Our Perspective podcast launch: Michael's new show with a friend drops in early June. Two completely blind people talking about how they get through life. Trailer publishes Tuesday, Episode 1 follows shortly after. Search "Our Perspective" wherever you get podcasts. Using Claude to generate the show artwork and learning how to push back when an AI says it can't do something. Substack update: Michael started a Substack at payown.substack.com. AI helps draft posts based on what he's been working on each week. Search Payown on Substack to follow. GitHub featured Michael's video about Builder on LinkedIn to their 6.4 million followers. Pinecast tip: listener.email is a beta feature that gives your podcast a private email address so your personal inbox does not end up in the public podcast database. Use the discount code in the show notes for 40 percent off your first months of Pinecast. bag review update: the zipper finally gave out under heavy packing. Still a solid bag, but worth knowing the limits. Pirate Ship plug for shipping AT Guys demo gear and saving real money on labels. Wingstop talk, dry rub preferences, and the new Citrus Mojo flavor. A handheld 2 meter / 70 centimeter radio that was marketed as fully accessible but is not. At 49 dollars it is still a reasonable buy for what you actually get. Reach out if you want more details. San Francisco meetup: Michael will be in the city May 20 through 23. Reach out if you want to connect. Austin meetup: Damashe will be at NFB Convention July 3 through 8. Stop by the AT Guys booth or email to set up a meetup. Travel app idea: a Lyft vs Uber price comparison app that did not quite work. Still searching for a good one. Backup recording confession: Michael forgot to start Audio Hijack again. Get in touch: Email feedback@technicallyworking.show Mastodon: @payown@dragonscave.space, @damashe@technically.social, @tw@technically.social Hashtag: #TechnicallyWorking Support the show: tip jar link in the show notes. Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/6ac4263f-0786-437b-a083-5a93e61bb0d5 This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

May 10, 2026Episode 16255 min

#162 – Already Outgrown: Moving Two Doors Down

Mike's back from a workation and Damashe is recording from a cardboard box in his old office because the new office already isn't big enough. We get into audio app updates, the travel boom arm setup, a new podcast project called Our Perspective, and answer a listener question about starting an email list without breaking the bank. Damashe shares the news that he's already moved to a bigger space, two doors down from the original office, and walks through his automation plans: Home Assistant, Ubiquiti Access for door entry, sensors everywhere, and cameras inside and out. We talk Lucid radios as a possible replacement for giving employees phones, the Perkins Bloom add-on (and why $300 feels steep), Tailscale wins while traveling, and a quick PSA on the recent Linux vulnerabilities. In this episode: Audio Hijack, Loopback, and SoundSource updates Travel boom arm review and mobile recording setup Our Perspective podcast launching early June Listener question: free options for starting an email list (MailChimp, Groups.io, Kit) Teams, SharePoint, and syncing files locally Lucid radio follow-up and deploying them in a business Office move update: twice the space, front-to-back access Home Assistant vs Homey Pro, Ubiquiti Access, and sensor plans Perkins Bloom: $300 to turn your Brailler into a Bluetooth keyboard Throwback to Braille 'n Speak, Braille Lite, and Mountbatten Linux vulnerability PSA: update your machines Tailscale for remote access while traveling Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/bb830347-99fa-41f1-aaeb-177fa457b8af This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

May 3, 2026Episode 1611 hr 8 min

#161 – If I Can't Hear Me, They Can't Hear Me

Technically Working Episode 161: If I Can't Hear Me, They Can't Hear Me Episode 161 comes to you from a hotel room. Michael is on the road with Mallory, recording over hotel Wi-Fi with the DJI wireless mics, and Damashe is at his desk for one last show before move day. What started as a check-in turned into a full walkthrough of portable audio setups, why monitoring yourself matters, and the boom arm that finally solved Damashe's travel mic problem. Damashe is using the new Rode Wireless Micro and walks through his first impressions. The case is barely bigger than an Open Fit case, the receiver is just a USB-C plug with no buttons, the app is accessible (with one quirk around radio buttons that read as dim even when selected), and the noise cancellation is configurable. The one downside is you can't put the windscreen on and close the case. He's leaning toward this over the DJI for portability, though he admits the DJI Mic 2 that Michael uses sounds slightly better. From there, the conversation opens up into a deeper guide on portable recording. They talk through the ATR2500x and Samson Q2U as solid USB/XLR starter mics that work with any operating system, why the Beta 87A is still Damashe's hill to die on for an XLR setup, and the long-running portable audio struggle with mic stands that are technically portable but practically uncomfortable. That problem finally got solved thanks to a tip from Rob Dunwood on the Daily Tech News Show. The Toti mic arm for lightweight mics folds into three sections, clamps onto sloped desk edges, and was on sale for $24. Damashe is impressed. There's a side trip into using your phone as a webcam. Damashe makes the case for Camo over Continuity Camera, mostly because Continuity Camera shows up uninvited and disappears at the worst times. Michael's setup recommendation is an old iPhone with a MagSafe pop socket clipped to the back of your laptop. The episode also covers the cable rule. If you travel with a bag, that bag has its own set of cables and adapters, and you do not borrow from it. Even if a cable in your house dies and you need one right now, do not touch the bag cables until the replacement is already on its way. Damashe learned this in Houston. Plus updates on the move (happening tomorrow), gas prices ($3.29 for Damashe, $5.50 average for Michael, $6.69 in northern California), the bot taking spring break until the new office is set up, and a listener question for the audience: what should the bot be named? Box is on the table but Damashe is not on board. Send your bot name suggestions to feedback@technicallyworking.show or hit them up on Mastodon. Episode Chapter Markers 0:00 - Hotel Wi-Fi, capture portals, and recording on the road 0:25 - MagSafe rumors and why they're not going anywhere 2:09 - Shout out to listeners and a request for App Store reviews 3:41 - Damashe's new Rode Wireless Micro first impressions 5:00 - The case, the receiver, and the accessible app 7:18 - Why monitoring yourself matters 8:19 - Both mics compared side by side 10:01 - Move day prep and storage strategy 11:04 - LaunchBar VoiceOver update and a Mac mute keyboard shortcut problem 12:32 - Gas prices, vending stops, and stay out of California 13:37 - Portable audio setup deep dive begins 16:14 - ATR2500x and Samson Q2U as starter mics 18:21 - The portable mic stand problem 19:57 - The Toti boom arm find 22:21 - The price reveal ($24) 23:13 - Audio interfaces, Zoom recorders, and the H1 XLR 26:12 - The cable bag rule 28:24 - Phones as cameras, Continuity Camera vs Camo 31:46 - Continuity Camera popping up at the worst times 33:00 - Damashe's eBay plans 33:34 - Wrap up and the bot's spring break 35:07 - Name the bot Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/4402df81-52c8-4b3b-9346-d4bac0297f84 This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

April 26, 2026Episode 1601 hr 14 min

#160 – Push to Talk, Pull to Cloud

Technically Working Episode 160: Push to Talk, Pull to Cloud Episode 160 opens with the numbers. Total downloads across the lifetime of the show have hit 33,505, with episode 159 pulling 137 listens and episode 158 sitting at 157 after 14 days. The average is holding around 150 per episode and has been gradually climbing even without any real marketing. Word of mouth and the occasional Mastodon post have done all the work so far. If you want to help, leave a rating in Apple Podcasts or Pocket Casts. From there we get into Apple news. Tim Cook announced he'll be stepping down as CEO, with John Ternus taking over. Michael bought one share of Apple stock and is hoping for the best. Damashe has thoughts on Tim's legacy as an operations-focused leader, where Apple got comfortable, and what services growth has cost the company from a user experience standpoint. Neither of us are financial advisors. Please do not take investment advice from this podcast. Michael also turned a year older this week. Happy belated birthday from the show. Then: AirPods Pro 3. Michael got a pair as an early birthday gift and called Damashe immediately. The volume adjustment from the stem alone was worth the upgrade coming from first-gen. The adaptive listening feature is useful but aggressive, and Comply foam tips are probably going to be necessary for a secure fit. Damashe is sticking with his Pro 2s for now but is more likely to buy than he was before this conversation. Community Builder Tools is going to the cloud. Michael walks through the current setup: developing on Windows, pushing to a Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu, deploying from GitHub, with automated database backups running on a cron job and syncing to Dropbox via rsync. He's now using a web-based version of Builder to manage convention events, which work similarly to the ACB Community schedule across multiple Zoom accounts. A training is happening the next day. More details coming soon. Waymo. Michael is flying into San Francisco on May 20th for the GitHub hackathon and plans to take a Waymo just for the experience. Damashe is less enthusiastic than he was ten years ago, not because the tech isn't impressive, but because he's seen enough things break to have questions. The power outage in San Francisco that left Waymos sitting in the road is a real example. The conversation goes wide from there: onboard compute versus network dependency, insurance liability, the limits of LLMs, rural connectivity, and whether the companies working on this are solving the right problems in a meaningful way. Damashe would still take one in Austin this summer. He just has more conditions attached. The POC radio. Michael ordered the Lucid Budget Radio, a push-to-talk over cellular device that costs $99 with cellular plans starting at $20 for a year. It does not make the Nextel chirp sound, which is a disappointment. It does work across AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon via a smart SIM. It's accessible — the manufacturer responded to a blind user's feedback within three weeks with a working solution — and Michael is already thinking about using it for convention communications. Damashe also covers a dual-SIM router he picked up for his work van, how he's using a physical eSIM card to load up to eight profiles, and a new office space he's moving into next weekend. He's looking for suggestions on door access solutions, a security system, and sound panels. Send ideas to feedback@technicallyworking.show. Todoist check-in: Michael is at 7,425 completed tasks and sitting at Grand Master status with 15,000 points to go until Enlightened. His current streak is seven days after breaking it. Damashe broke his for the same reason: things got done, the app didn't get opened. Links and Resources Technically Working: technicallyworking.show Send feedback: feedback@technicallyworking.show Lucid Budget Radio: simpleptt.com/product-page/the-2026-lucid-budget-radio Comply foam tips for AirPods Pro 3 (get the version made for the 3, the connector is different from the 2) Tip jar and supporter info: technicallyworking.show Michael on Mastodon: @payown@dragonscave.space Damashe on Mastodon: @damashe@technically.social Bot: @tw@technically.social Hashtag: #TechnicallyWorking (capitalize the T and W so NVDA reads it right) Ready for social posts when you are. Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/c4281865-99ac-49ce-b773-398c47afece8 This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

April 17, 2026Episode 1591 hr 22 min

#159 – Zoom Bloat, NVDA Wins, and the Great BlindShell Retreat

TW 159: Zoom Bloat, NVDA Wins, and the Great BlindShell Retreat Mike and Damashe catch up on a Wednesday (weird, we know). Damashe wraps up his BlindShell experiment after about three weeks, shares news about a new commercial office space, and both hosts get into why Zoom keeps bolting on features nobody asked for. Mike talks about his growing comfort with NVDA, useful add-ons he's found, and what it took to make the switch feel natural. Plus vibe-coded tools, Stream Deck planning, a great file upload tip, and the state of LaunchBar in 2026. In this episode: • Damashe's BlindShell experiment wraps up (and why) • Missing SD cards and the Raspberry Pi graveyard • Damashe has office space news • Zoom Pro, Google Meet, and the "why am I paying for this" question • Apple, Spotify, and platform owners competing with their own marketplace • Android vs iOS, and the lies people have been telling for 15 years • Why Gmail on Android is still painful • Mike's move to NVDA: what helped, what tripped him up • The Eloquence voice that made everything click • Caps Lock as a VoiceOver modifier and the shortcuts it breaks • Stream Deck planning, vibe-coded utilities, and Farrago timing • Rogue Amoeba, AppleScript, and why it matters • New LaunchBar 6.23 with VoiceOver improvements • VOCR 3.0 beta 2 is broken on current macOS (heads up) • A killer file upload tip: paste from Finder directly into upload dialogs • Mac/iOS developers: explain why your app needs Bluetooth and network access Mentioned in this episode: • NVDA add-ons: Speech History, Virtual Window, shortcut utility • AT Guys Eloquence SAPI 5 voices • LaunchBar 6.23 • VOCR 3.0 beta 2 • Farrago (Rogue Amoeba) • BlindShell • Parallels for macOS • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Guess the mic: Damashe is using a different setup this week. Can you identify the microphone? Bonus points for the interface. Send your guesses to feedback@technicallyworking.show. Support the show: Tip jar subscriptions and one-time tips keep the lights on. Thanks to subscriber number one, still going strong. Connect: • Email: feedback@technicallyworking.show • Damashe: @ damashe@technically.social • Mike: @ payown@dragonscave.space • Bot: @ tw@technically.social • Hashtag: #TechnicallyWorking Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/19f4814d-749f-4948-8879-a7e93c6cabec This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.

April 12, 2026Episode 1581 hr 17 min

#158 – Push to Talk

Michael's audio is doubled and nobody knows why. What starts as a deep dive into Audio Hijack routing, virtual devices, and a suspicious SoundSource redirect turns into a full troubleshooting session that anyone running a complex audio setup will relate to. Damashe shows up with a new Earthworks Ethos microphone and the two get into mic comparisons, boom arm weight limits, and whether the RE-20 is worth the investment. From there, the conversation shifts to coding workflows. Michael shares progress on a Flask project built with Claude, and Damashe walks through Git branching, atomic deployments, and what happens when your LLM decides to push to production without permission. Both talk about using Claude, Gemini, and GPT for different tasks, and Damashe shares early impressions of the Claude desktop app. Then Michael highlights an affordable tri-band ham radio with braille on the keypad and built-in voice output, and gives a quick rundown of how ham radio works, why it matters for emergency communication, and how linked repeaters let him talk to someone near Seattle from a handheld in Coos Bay. The two wrap up discussing Artemis 2's laser communications, the case for alternative communication networks, and yes, Outlook failing in space. feedback@technicallyworking.show | Mastodon: @tw@technically.social | #TechnicallyWorking Support Technically Working by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/technically-working Find out more at https://technically-working.pinecast.co Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/technically-working/0246b25b-4842-4bcd-9520-3c5916f59e27 This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-431b7d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Technically Working.