Braillecast

California State University of Northridge held their 33rd International Conference on Technology and Disability in San Diego this March. BrailleCast made a whistle stop tour of the exhibit hall to discover what new braille and tactile reading products could be making waves in 2018. We'll hear about the tactile graphics Display that enabled blind students to touch a total solar eclipse, we learn about a metric braille caliper, we hear about the latest low cost braille tech from India, and we get hands on with a paperless braille slate from South Korea. We'll also learn about Spanish product Braibook, hear about improvements to the Mountbatten Brailler, discover a new 20 cell braille notetaker from HIMS, play Braille music with HandyTech and, following mixed response to the Dot Watch, what's next for the Dot Corporation? In Other Braille News from CSUN: VFO has refreshed their Focus line of refreshible braille displays. Brailliant BI14 from Humanware is now released.

In this episode we hear from Scott Davert from the US. Scott is a braille advocate and deafblind specialist and sits on the Disability Advisory Committee of the Federal Communications Commission. As well as this, he actively promotes braille in the Applevis community, and has recently written a series of braille display reviews which have been published by Accessworld from the American Foundation for the Blind. In the UK, his expertise are shared through the RNIB Connect website. The conversation covers a wide range of braille issues including the state of braille, quality control issues faced by blind students, and a round-up of some recent braille products. Links of Interest Reach out and Touch the new Braille Features in iOS 11 Podcast on AppleVis New iOS 11 accessibility features for people with sight loss on RNIB Connect Feel This: Current State of Braille in Narratorfrom Access World magazine VarioUltra User Group on Free Lists Subscribe to the Orbit Reader 20 email list by sending a blank em

Paul Sullivan of the Bristol Braillists speaks with Alan Thorpe from EYECAN about manual braille writing equipment. Alan shares tips on caring for your Perkins Brailler and how the design has endured for over half a century. We also discover other historic Braille Writing machines including Pike Glouser, a British machine from the first half of the 20th century. EyeCan http://www.eyecan.org.uk/ History of the Perkins Brailler http://www.perkins.org/assets/downloads/research/history-of-brailler-11-17-09.pdf Braillists Foundation http://www.Braillists.org

In this episode, we have a detailed chat about the Orbit Reader 20, the long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated low-cost Braille electronic reading device. In Braille News: a variety of discounts and pricing information due to site village: Sight and Sound Technology have announced discounted pricing for VFO products for the duration of the exhibition season. Humanware have set the UK price for the Brailliant BI14 at £845.00 The price of the Duxbury Braille Translator is to increase as of August 1st, for the first time in over 20 years. Sporting Lisbon (the Portuguese football team) have unveiled a shirt with the club motto in Braille The European Parliament approved a new Copyright motion on July 7, eliminating the need for permission from publishers to be sought before making accessible copies of their written works. Paul Sullivan of the Braillists Foundation is hosting a small exhibition of historical Braille devices alongside a chance to get your Perkins Brailler cleaned and serviced. Perk

Dave williams and guests catch up with all the latest news from last month's UKAAF AGM, explore issues facing blind students needing Braille in higher education, and we debate the value of the survey from the International Council on English Braille. In Braille News CNIB has begun shipping the Orbit Reader. APH and the RNIB are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks. Another afordable Braille display is in the works - InnoVision have released the Braille Me refreshable Braille display. The Braille Institute in Los Angeles recently hosted the Braille Challenge Finals. Apple have released the first public beta of iOS 11 with some welcome enhancements for Braille users. CoolBlindTech have been finding out what's new. iOS 11 is expected to be officially released in the autumn. A Harvord graduate has invented a new device to help teach Braille to children. The Read Read by Alex Tavares uses tactile and speech feedback with movable Braille "tiles". July is the height of exhibition season in North

This is Episode2 of Braillecast. Thank you for listening! Our host Dave Williams discusses the BrailleNote Touch, interviewing several teaching assistants at schools in the UK where the Touch is used. He talks to Greg Stilson from Humanware about the product. In Braille News As of the Windows 10 Creators Update, Braille support is now built directly into Microsoft Windows. See using Narrator with Braille in the user guide The UEB Code maintenance committee (part of the International Council on English Braille/ICEB) are seeking input from as many people as possible on changes to single quotation marks and apostrophe marks in Braille. Humanware have announced the Brailliant BI14, scheduled for release at the end of June. The UK Association for accessible Formats/UKAAF will be holding its conference and AGM on Wednesday, 15th June. This year, The entire day is open to anyone with an interest in accessible formats. Lisa Salinger of Mystic access has produced an audio tutorial for the Baum VarioUltra s

This is Episode 1 of Braillecast, a Podcast produced by and for Braillists everywhere. Our host Dave Williams interviews Megan Paul. Megan's essay, "The Bumpy Road", won the Junior category of the 2016 Onkyo Braille essay competition. In this chat over a cup of tea, Dave talks to her about the essay and her views on Braille more widely. In Braille news: The world premiere of a musical entitled "The Braille Legacy" is being staged at the Charing Cross Theatre London until Saturday 24 June. Directed by Tom Southerland and starring West End star Jérôme Pradon, it depicts the life of Louis Braille. There will be two audio described performances on the afternoon of 27th May& the evening of Monday 29th May. To find out more, follow @braillelegacy on Twitter or contact the theatre box office on 02079258040 or by email at boxoffice@charingcrosstheatre.co.uk. The RNIB in the UK and other blindness organisations around the world are accepting entries for the annual Onkyo Braille essay competition. This year's