nice article sir. i am a full user of NVDA from 2014 On 06/06/2023, avinash shahi <[email protected]> wrote: > Imagine what an airport terminal would be like for a blind person. > Unable to see the signs telling you where to go — a great cavernous > space full of rushing strangers. > > "There's just so much noise from all the travellers and suitcases > around you echoing off the floor and walls," says Mick Curran, who has > been completely blind since he was 15. "Airports can be pretty > overwhelming." > > But Mick has had to get used to airports. He and his childhood friend > Jamie Teh, who is also blind, are rock stars of the software world and > they get around. > > "I have learned to roll with it," Jamie tells Australian Story. "Take > it as it comes." > Mick and Jamie's disabilities have not been a barrier to success. > > The pair created screen-reading software called NVDA (Non-Visual > Desktop Access) when they were fresh out of university. Seventeen > years later, it's now used by 275,000 people in 175 countries and has > been translated into 50 languages. > > "It is the only screen reader in the world that's made by blind people > for blind people," says disability advocate Ben Clare, "and opened > doors for people with vision impairment". > Jamie Teh explains how NVDA screen reader software works to create > synthetic speech.(Australian Story ) > NVDA had the potential to make them very rich but from the outset, > they were determined that the software would be free and open source. > > Both Mick and Jamie knew from personal experience how expensive it can > be for visually impaired people to access the software to > independently use a computer. > > Commercial screen-reading software can cost upwards of $1,000. "Why > should a blind person have to pay an extra thousand dollars in order > to use a computer to the same extent as a sighted person?" Mick says. > > "Blind and vision-impaired people shouldn't have to be superheroes or > have super wealthy families to benefit from the same education and > opportunities as everyone else." > > Jamie in the foreground, Mick next to him, both sitting at a table smiling. > Jamie and Mick strongly believe everyone should be able to use a > computer.(Australian Story: Marc Smith) > 'I've got bad news': Mick loses his vision > A mid-1980s photograph of a five-year-old boy wearing glasses mid-way > down a slide, sliding. He wears a cardboard McDonald's hat > Mick's cornea transplant at age four was life-changing.(Supplied: Mick > Curran) > Mick Curran was born with only one eye and his oesophagus wasn't > joined in the middle. > > Before he was five, he had seven operations on his stomach and chest. > He had some sight, but it was blurry. > > When he was four, he became the youngest child in Victoria to have a > corneal transplant. It improved his sight dramatically, allowing him > to read very large print. But as he got older, his sight began to > deteriorate, and when he was 15, doctors suggested another corneal > transplant. > > A school headshot photograph of a teenage boy who is smiling and > wearing a polo shirt > Mick (pictured before his operation) became completely blind at age > 15.(Supplied: Mick Curran) > "They were honest and told me that there was probably a 70 per cent > chance of success," Mick says. "As a teenage boy, I heard 100 per > cent. I did not process that at all as a risk. I think in my mind I > was thinking perhaps I might even be almost fully sighted." > > But the operation didn't go to plan. > > "They came out quite quickly," Mick's mother Debbie recalls, "And just > said, 'I'm very, very sorry. We've got bad news, as soon as we > operated, his retina's haemorrhaged. There's just nothing we can do'. > > "The first thing Michael said to me was, 'Did they put a lens in?' And > I said, 'No, you've got no vision. That's it'. And he just was > silent." > > 'I was three months old when I had my first eye removed' > Unlike Mick, Jamie was completely blind by the time he was six months > old. Not long after birth, he was diagnosed with tumours in both eyes > and his parents had to make the agonising decision whether to have his > eyes removed or risk radiation treatment. "It had to be his eyes > because I wanted him alive no matter what," says his mother, Sharon. > > Split screen Jamie Teh as a child held by his mother and Jamie as > teenager in school uniform photo > Jamie became fascinated with computers and programming when he was > nine.(Supplied: Jamie Teh) > "I was only three months old when I had my first eye removed, and then > my second eye was removed at six months," Jamie explains. "I have two > artificial eyes. So, both my eyes are removable." > > Jamie showed an interest in computers from an early age. When he was > in year four at primary school, his father bought a second-hand > computer and Jamie said he wanted to learn basic programming. > > "I bought an old book for programming," Jamie's father Terry says, > "And over a period of a week or so I read to him the whole book. So > there were 100 questions in the book. Jaime got three wrong out of the > hundred. I thought, 'God this guy is really, really so smart'." > > Music, mates and a big dream > When Mick lost his sight after the unsuccessful operation, he became > despondent. "I was very, very moody," he says. "I guess I felt just > completely numb and disconnected." > > A little boy wearing glasses and over-ear headphones sits at a small > wooden stool playing the keyboard. > Mick (pictured) and Jamie met at a music camp when they were > kids.(Supplied: Mick Curran) > But he had always been interested in technology and music and he found > solace in those interests. "I think what brought me out of my > depression was identifying and throwing myself into skills that I > already had and enjoyed doing." > > The following year he went to a braille music camp that he had > attended when he was 10. Back then he met Jamie, who was a year > younger, and they hit it off immediately. Once again, Jamie was at the > camp and the pair immediately picked up their friendship. "It was like > we'd never, never left each other," Mick says. "I think I was drawn to > Jamie because he was very much like me in a lot of ways, he was very > intellectual." > > It was around this time that they began discussing how good it would > be if there was a free screen reader that all blind people could use. > "We both had a really big interest and passion for this emerging open > source and free software movement, we talked about that quite a lot at > music camp." > > Mick, Amy and their two daughters sitting together smiling, book shelf > behind. > Mick and Amy meet through their involvement in the Victorian blindness > advocacy community. (Supplied: Mick Curran) > Duo 'grinds away' at a life-changing idea > After school, both Mick and Jamie went on to study computing at > university. They both married — Jamie to Jennifer and Mick to Amy — > and when Mick moved from Victoria to Queensland, the couples ended up > living five minutes away from each other. > > Their idea of creating free screen-reading software for the visually > impaired kept ticking over. Mick knew that 60 per cent of blind people > were unemployed, "and that's partly to do with lack of technology". > Eventually, he dropped out of university to try to turn the idea into > a reality. > > "I could see the potential for people around the world who were far > less fortunate [to] not just access … technology but to change their > lives, to get an education, to get jobs, to be able to socialise, to > be independent and reach their potential." > > Two men sit at a wooden kitchen table. One is looking to distance > while the other has his hands on an open laptop > Mick and Jamie in the early days of NVDA.(Supplied: Jamie Teh) > By this time, Jamie had a computer programming job and would work on > the NVDA project during lunch breaks. Before long, Mick asked him to > work on the project full-time, because "it would actually get it there > a lot faster." > > Risk-averse, Jamie had doubts, until his wife told him that if he > didn't take the opportunity, "you're going to regret it for the rest > of your life". > For a long time, Jamie says, "it was just the two of us, just grinding > away. We knew it was possible and it was going to take a long time". > > They got early funding from the Mozilla Foundation, but it was only > when they started receiving emails from people overseas wanting to > translate the software and use it in their own countries that they > realised how important it was going to be. More funding began to come > in and the pair found themselves increasingly feted. > > Jame Teh wearing a black t-shirt, smiling. > While Jamie once worked full-time with NVDA, he now contributes where > he can between his regular job as a programmer.(Australian Story: Kate > Wilson) > 'They are an inspiration for us who are blind' > In January, Mick and Jamie visited Samoa to see how their software > was being used to run the braille unit at the Samoa Blind Persons' > Association. > > "Everybody at the Samoa Blind Persons' Association knows the story of > Jamie and Mick," says Ari Hazelman, who has been blind since birth. > "The fact that they themselves were blind is an inspiration for us who > are blind so we can strive more to improve our communities." > > A view through a window of harry sitting with Ari at a table, both > with hands on table, another man sitting in the background.. > Ari Hazelman from the Samoa Blind Persons' Association delivers > braille school materials to teenager Harry Harim.(Australian Story: > Marc Smith) > Disability has only recently been included in the census in this > Pacific Island nation, so there aren't accurate figures on how many in > Samoa are vision-impaired. > > "Some people feel very vulnerable or very reluctant to call themselves > a person with disabilities," says Faatino Utumapu, Ari Hazelman's > colleague. > > "They are often considered as a burden for the family, considering > that the responsibility to care for family members rests with the > families themselves with minimum support by the government." > > A photo of Ari Hazelman from his shoulders up, smiling, window behind. > Ari Hazelman calls Mick and Jamie an "inspiration" to their > community.(Australian Story: Marc Smith) > Mick and Jamie say they know the impact of their work, but rarely get > to see it in action. > > The Samoa Blind Persons' Association uses NVDA to edit and translate > student materials, restaurant menus, as well as government and United > Nations documents into braille. > > The association provides backup and support for young people with > vision impairments to remain in education, such as teenager Harry > Harim, who dropped out of school last year for personal reasons. > > Harry sitting at the table, both hands on braille. > Harry has now returned to school, where braille materials are key to > his learning.(Australian Story: Marc Smith) > "When I lost my vision as a 15-year-old, I really locked myself away > from the world. So any help that people can provide teenagers like > Harry in regard to making school that little bit easier is a great > thing," Mick tells Australian Story. > > Harry has recently returned to the classroom. > > Close up of braille, a teenage boy's hands touch > The Samoa Blind Persons' Association uses NVDA to translate documents > and print them into braille.(Australian Story: Marc Smith) > Pair will 'never ever' take money for software > Over the years, many people — including friends and family — have > pointed out the obvious opportunity that exists for Mick and Jamie to > make money from the NVDA. But they remain adamant that it should be > free. > > "The reason we started NVDA and the reason we continue with NVDA is > purely for the fact that there needs to be a free, open-source screen > reader for blind people around the world," Mick says. "And we are > never, ever going to sacrifice that no matter how much people ask or > how much people offer us." > > Jamie has now stepped back from NVDA but remains on the board and > still contributes code along with the open-source community. Mick > continues to work full-time on the software. > > Jamie and Mick sit with James Boreham and Ki Kwan Sung at a meeting table. > Jamie and Mick are sought after for their expertise in screen reader > software.(Australian Story: Kate Wilson) > A close up of a black rectangle device with a screen on it, hands > touching the screen. > Mick and Jamie test out a prototype braille graphic display device by > Korean company Dot Inc.(Australian Story: Kate Wilson) > Ultimately, they see NVDA as an investment in the future. > > "Everyone in the world has a right and responsibility to contribute > what they can to make the world a better place. But if they aren't > given the tools that help empower them then, we don't benefit from the > great things they could contribute," Mick says. > > "There are countless examples throughout history of people with > disabilities that have done amazing things. And if they hadn't been > enabled to do those things, we would have missed out as a society." > https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-05/mick-curran-jamie-teh-changing-lives-of-the-blind-with-nvda/101768788?fbclid=IwAR0wZ2b7D4Y3NCmhYtv-bQ00wzNOGrjkRtIBFn3ozzPcSK8vzepFNvenSVs > -- > सादर/ Regards > > अविनाश शाही/ Avinash Shahi > सहायक/ Assistant > मानव संसाधन प्रबंध विभाग/ Human Resource Management Department > भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक/ Reserve Bank of India > लखनऊ क्षेत्रीय कार्यालय/Lucknow RO > विस्तार/ Extension: 2232 > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CADeSQ2jK1miB5tCzyXdeqrQVHRkj-tk9EJndYDy%3D-%2BO0a7r4ig%40mail.gmail.com. >
-- -- -- nothing is difficult unless you make it appear so. r. aravind, manager Department of sales bank of baroda specialised mortgage store, Chennai. mobile no: +91 9940369593, email id : [email protected], [email protected]. [email protected]. -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAFZpANDa8TZcCUtqR2DZJhhrrnTx56Shd0O3rTDc7SetAx7i6w%40mail.gmail.com.
