See Things Differently with HumanWare
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2 hours ago

S1E20 - Building for Braille: A Bursary Winner's Journey and NVDA Turns 20

This month, hosts Rachel Ramos and David Woodbridge kick things off with a shout-out to loyal listener Svetlana, a longtime podcast fan (and two-time Braille reader of War and Peace!) before diving into a HumanWare bursary winner spotlight. Joining the show is Samuel White, a bursary recipient from Brisbane, Australia, currently studying for a Bachelor of Information Technology at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Samuel talks about his transition from screen magnification to speech and Braille, his hobby project Touch Term — a terminal application built from the ground up for Braille and audio users — and his thoughts on AI-assisted coding (or, as he puts it, "verification coding"). Later in the episode, David catches up from Australia with Quentin Christensen of NV Access for a chat about NVDA, the free and open-source screen reader celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Also in this episode: a Spotlight segment honoring advocacy organizations including the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Blind Citizens Australia, Vision Australia, and Guide Dogs Australia, plus details on HumanWare's special Monarch promotion for NFB members (available now through December 31, 2026) and a look ahead at upcoming events in Montana and North Carolina. As always, get in touch with the show any time — details below.

Guests:

  • Samuel White — HumanWare bursary recipient, QUT student, and creator of Touch Term
  • Quentin Christensen — NV Access (makers of NVDA)

Resources mentioned:

  • Touch Term — Samuel White's Braille- and audio-first terminal application
  • NV Access — home of the free, open-source NVDA screen reader
  • HumanWare Monarch NFB member promotion — contact HumanWare or the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) for details on the $12,900 USD promotional pricing (U.S. NFB members only, through December 31, 2026)
  • BrailleNote Evolve QWERTY waiting list — sign-up link to come; contact HumanWare for the latest availability
  • National Federation of the Blind (NFB), American Council of the Blind (ACB), Blind Citizens Australia, Vision Australia, and Guide Dogs Australia — advocacy organizations spotlighted this episode

Upcoming appearances:

  • September 11–13: Montana Association for the Blind convention, Great Falls, MT
  • September 17: Assistive Technology Project Expo, Raleigh, NC

We'd love to hear from you! EMail us comments, feedback, stories, or anything really, at [email protected]

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