Free software reads the web for blind
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One of the most interesting people I met at the e-democracy 07 conference was Roger Wilson-Hinds, who was demonstrating some amazing screen-reading software for blind and visually impaired people called Thunder. Amazing because Thunder works really well, and because it is free.
Roger explained to me that in the past such software has cost £700, but he and his wife Margaret are passionately devoted to providing it free to any blind person. They cover their costs by undertaking project work, which in their first year has brought in £150,000. Both Roger and Margaret are blind.
What they need now are public bodies and others to work with them on promoting the software, and also making their own sites more accessible.
You can download the software from Screenreader.net - currently only Windows - and read more from Roger at The Blind Blogger.
Roger explained to me that in the past such software has cost £700, but he and his wife Margaret are passionately devoted to providing it free to any blind person. They cover their costs by undertaking project work, which in their first year has brought in £150,000. Both Roger and Margaret are blind.
What they need now are public bodies and others to work with them on promoting the software, and also making their own sites more accessible.
You can download the software from Screenreader.net - currently only Windows - and read more from Roger at The Blind Blogger.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)
Hi David, this is really interesting as I aim to design accessible websites, and help others to find new ways to use the web to make it more inclusive for all. I will give it a test run on one of our windows machines here over the weekend.
Posted by: Laura Whitehead | November 17, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Great to see Roger on your blog David; Roger is an SSE Fellow from a few years back, and an utter inspiration to many of his peers and colleagues.
Posted by: NickTemple | November 19, 2007 at 01:25 PM