DAVID WOODBRIDGE

Just a point on Apple celebration of 50 years. They were not always inclusive, screen reader access cdid not come to the Mac platform until 2005 from Apple itself.

Thought I'd remind folks of the Odyssey Reading machine as we used to call it back in the day. I just leave mine in sleep on the kitchen bench (as it feels to me like a slim kettle), popup the camera from the side, pop mail etc under the camera, and press one button to read, then pop back in sleep. Quick to check mail etc, and for folks that don't want to use a smart phone and so on, very easy to use, and no, you don't have to use the AI feature if you don't want to. https://store.humanware.com/hau/odyssey-text-to-speech-reader.html

Just got to feel the new case for the Braille Note Evolve. Feels like it should be on my iPad, it feels that cool. Ports on the left/right are still accessible when case closed which is excellent for charging etc. When open, case flap lies nice and flat under unit. Very easy to take off if you ever want to. Magnets holds the cover flap underneath the front of the unit firmly close (puts unit to sleep when closed). Ring on either side at the front edge of the case on left/right for connecting the shoulder strap. Nice clearance slot in case underneath the unit for fan to operate. Two square feet at bottom back and two round feet at bottom front either side to prevent case sliding on smooth surface. "humanware" is in Braille at the top back middle of case when open: I.E. when case closed, is covered up by top flap over keyboard. Just a nice simple well designed case as far as I'm concerned smile.

The first BrailleNote evolve units are shipping from our Drummondville facility.
Behind every device, there is a team committed to quality, precision, and purpose. These moments capture more than a product leaving the line. They reflect the care, expertise, and pride of the people who build technology that truly matters.
The BrailleNote evolve has already generated strong anticipation across the industry. This groundbreaking, next-generation device is designed to adapt, evolve, and support people who are blind at every stage of their journey, representing a new step forward in braille notetaking.
From our team to the hands of users around the world, this is just the beginning.

See Things Differently with Humanware, a great discussion about Glide, wearables, and the Braille Note Evolve - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/see-things-differently-with-humanware/id1786384800

Okay so I gave in and listen to Apple by David Pogue. Excellent book, well narrated, and accessibility was covered which as a person with a disability I always appreciate.
Oddly it also made me realise that all the Apple products I own, they don't always have to be equally impactful in Society.
So here is still to the crazy ones.

Can't quite believe that I'm about to start investigating for my sixth Guide Dog. My current dog, Luisa, is not going anywhere, she can hang up her harness and enjoy life, perhaps going for the occasional stroll in harness if she wants to. Funny thing is, the instructor I'm talking to did my training with my first Guide Dog back in 1986.

Just an FYI again, the Braille Note Evolve is not a traditional Braille note taker, it is a full Windows computer with a Braille display with a Perkins style keyboard. Yes it looks and feels like a traditional Braille Note Taker, but it's not. For sighted folks, once they see the Windows desktop on a plug-in screen, it really does bring the point home to them.

Introducing aCapture — Multi-Source Audio Recording for macOS https://www.applevis.com/forum/macos-mac-apps/introducing-acapture-multi-source-audio-recording-macos

This is the time of the year where I start to think what things will be revealed by Apple with Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) coming up in May. This seems to be turning in to a bit of a tradition with Apple show casing their upcoming accessibility ehancements.

Join us for an upcoming online session with Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS).
On Tuesday, April 7 at 8:00 PM Eastern US, HumanWare specialists Joel Zimba and Rachel Ramos will present Inside the BrailleNote Evolve Experience: from KeySoft simplicity to full Windows power.
Discover how BrailleNote Evolve supports everyday productivity, from note-taking to full Microsoft Office use with Windows 11 Pro, JAWS, NVDA, and braille at the core. Live Q&A included.
Open to all. Registration required:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/yjYrc8N0SAmKawXebX5R3A

I was going to download ChimeKeeper from the Mac App Store, but it is my imagination, that the Mac App Store is a lot messier now with VoiceOver that than it used to be?
A few more Sections Containing, with what appears nothing in them to interact with, and trying to find the actual Buy/Get button seems almost impossible.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chimekeeper/id6759711377

Thinking today of software and hardware assistive technology that has been around for three decades or more and still going strong. So far I've come up with KeySoft/KeyNotes, Mount Batten Brailler, Perkins Brailler, JAWS DOS/Windows. I'm sure there must be others? Braille devices in particular have certainly stood the test of time in their functionality.

Particularly now that I am using the Oorion app with the Ray Bans, being able to pop the glasses back in the charging case for about 25 minutes to give me a 50% extra charge boost is really really handy.

Humanware Regional Account manager position for QLD/NSW open - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4387193000/

Am I wright in thinking these days that the default Kindle app for Windows is now fully accessible? last time I check a long time ago I had to download/use the Accessible Amazon Kindle app for PC.

People are sometimes very funny.
When I booked a hotel over the weekend for Sydney, when I said the company name, Humanware, the person who was taking my booking chucklel very evilly exclamation mark smile. When I explain that we dealt with software and hardware products for blind and low Vision folks, she said sure you do! Smile think I'll stop trying to explain the company name smile..

If you are finding smaller Daisy players with small buttons too hard to navigate, remember that Humanware has both the Victor Reader Stratus 12M (12 main navigation keys), and the Victor Reader Stratus 4M (4 main navigation keys) desktop Daisy players
Works with Daisy online services, and best of all, great battery life and works extremely well in the garden with very very loud volume.
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Given all the very nice sounding speech synthesises coming out, give me Eloquence with JAWS any day. Really does make the Braille Note Evolve very snappy.

Whilst I appreciate the extra emoji's in the latest beta of iOS 26, actually I don't smile, it would be really nice if Apple spent some extra accessibility resources on finalising multiline braille Access with Braille Access.

Another one of the comments I appreciated in the screen reader webinar from NFB, was the way to think about the major difference between the Monarch and the Dotpad.
The Monarch is a content creation device, and the Dotpad is a content consumption device.
I did get to use the Dopad for a couple of years, and now have spent a couple of years with the Monarch, and I can absolutely acknowledge the benefits in both devices
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I wonder if it's too cheeky to say for screen reading with speech and Braille chrome OS and Android for education no, Windows yes
Sometimes I think organisations just hang onto these operating systems because that's what they've always used or that's what they've been trained upon.
Just my ten cents worth as a person that has been around this i'm going debate for a very long time.

Looking forward to reuniting with lots of my previous JAWS customers has the Braille Note Evolve comes closer to being officially available in Australia.
As the Blindness Product Specialist for Australia and New Zealand for Humanware, it will be my job to Support JAWS as well as NVDA.
Going to be like old times, and you will be speaking to the person that actually uses the product, not just demonstrating it

Does anyone know if you are using the Orbit Writer with the Dotpad, if this gives you access to the Braille Access UI in iOS 26 with VoiceOver? I'm sort of expecting not, as the Hable One doesn't do this either. Asking for a friend of mine as I can't test this myself.

Bloody Australia and the land of Sunshine, where is the sunshine when I wanna get my battery charged. Last three days only managed it to 60%., which gives me 40% to use overnight, which honestly isn't too bad as that gives me about eight hours of the grid from when the sun goes down.

Just a reminder, as most blindness related organisations within Australia do not have braille displays on display, easier if you come straight to the source, in this case Humanware. This is a non-blame post, it's just the way it is in Australia at the moment.

In all the years that Leasey has been available, I've not tried with a Braille computer for input and output, so popping off to give it a go on the Braille Note Evolve.

Going to have to wait for a sighted type person to check how this looks, but just installed Zoomtext on the Braille Note Evolve, feels odd smile running a screen magnification program on a Braille computer. Hopefully when family gets on with the day, I'll get them to check with the HDMI monitor sitting on my work in the main part of the house.

Besides Be-My-Eyes, is Aira also available for Windows? thought I'd play around with these apps on the Evolve, and yes, I plugged in a WebCam in to the Evolve just in case you were wondering.