Welcome to Episode 16 of the Mac Quadcast
Episode 16 of Podcast
 
Show Notes (Stolen back from Allison)
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and how you got into the Apple/Mac world.
Currently a Blogger, Podcaster and trying to get into YouTube screencast and video reviews.
In 1987 I was paralysed from the neck down and ended up on a life support machine, this was caused by a virus which attacked the Spinal Cord.
Used a BBC Micro Computer with Head Stick for a couple of years. A local accessibility specialist saw headmaster adaption at a conference and gained funding from the local education authority (HeadMaster worked on the Macintosh Plus, so that was my first Mac).Despite my disabilities, I went to The London School of Economics and graduated in 1998 with a BSc in Government.
I’d love to learn more about the accessibility tools you use. How do you access your Mac and iOS devices for “normal” use?
All of my Mac access stems from the HeadMaster adaption. I now use a Tracker Pro which has a small receiver that sits on top of the screen and a small reflective dot which sticks to the centre of my glasses. The receiver picks up the position of the reflective dot and small movements of the head (therefore dot) moves the cursor on the screen. I use a sip/puff switch for left and right mouse clicks and an onscreen keyboard for text input. (this setup enables access to virtually every application on the Mac)
iOS is much more limited, I’m not over keen on being strapped up to adaptations for mobile devices so I just ask my carer to do what I need to do.
How do you record podcasts?
I ask somebody to position my mic in the correct place and put my headphones on my mac access system mentioned earlier enables me to control everything. My software for recording is the standard Audio Hijack, Skype/Discord, Loopback, and Farrago. I use Logic Pro to do any audio adjustments and then edit using Fission. I also use a service called Auphonic to set the correct podcasting sound levels.
How do you record and edit video?
I have to rely on somebody to record video for me (under direction), I received a gimbal for (ZHIYUN SMOOTH 4 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer) Christmas so am looking forward to playing with that. Screencasts are done by myself using the setup mentioned earlier, unlike most people I speak to I prefer Camtasia to ScreenFlow and editing is done by myself using iMovie (hope to upgrade to Final Cut when finances allow) and Camtasia.
Hardware
In the history of Apple, what is your top piece of hardware is there a particular reason (design, usability, innovation, just plain fun)?
I’d have to say the Macintosh Plus, the first computer that I had full access to and ignited my interest in the world of Apple, even on the tiny 9-inch monochrome screen I started designing, writing, playing games and everything else a geek does.
Favourite iPhone and why?
Everyone loves their first iPhone, mine was the iPhone 3GS but I think my favourite is my curr

The Mac Quadcast - Ep. 16 (Interview with Darren Carr)

Get Started

Download the App