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We are happy to unveil yet another advancement for Brailliant BI X displays and Mantis Q40.

Experience more text-to-speech voices and expanded online libraries(Brailliant BI X only)

This update introduces exciting enhancements, offering additional text-to-speech (TTS) voices that enable personalization according to your preferred language.

Furthermore, the Victor Reader application now has access to an extended range of online Daisy libraries, providing you with a seamless opportunity to immerse yourself in your favourite literary works with ease and enjoyment.

Click here to view the snapshot Video Tutorial

Mantis Q40 Sticky Keys

We are also excited to present the inclusion of Sticky Keys for the Mantis Q40, which allows individuals who operate the device with a single hand to achieve seamless control and navigation.

Kindly note that the Mantis Q40 does not possess audio capabilities, thus excluding features like TTS and Daisy Online. Please refer to the release notes for a comprehensive list of available libraries.

Click here for the full release notes

The braille community is buzzing about the next generation of braille display: devices which can show anything from tables to tactile graphics at the press of a button are now a reality, and braille users around the world are putting the technology through its paces.

But how do they fit into a classroom setting? This event, brought to you by VIEW and the Braillists Foundation, will help us find out:

In the first half, we will hear from HumanWare, Orbit Research, Dot and Bristol Braille Technology, all of whom are developing multi-line braille and/or tactile graphics displays.

In the second half, an expert panel of QTVIs will discuss how current practice might evolve to take advantage of emerging braille technologies.

There will be time at the end for you to ask questions of your own, so come prepared!

Register for Multi-Line Braille in the Classroom here.

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 876 1345 5225
• Passcode: 123456

Join us in the discovery of a brand-new screen reader curriculum called “Diving into Braille Displays”. Topics include choosing the right braille display, connecting your display to your computer and editing using your new display! Plus, HumanWare will be giving everyone who attends a FREE license to the course.

Register now to secure your spot!

Join Peter Tucic and Andrew Flatres as they unveil the latest enhancements to the BrailleNote Touch Plus. With the recent launch of HumanWare’s KeySoft, this informative webinar will highlight the features and advancements released. Notably, we’ll delve into the introduction of the new onboard dictionary and we will also explore the braille-centric KeyCode coding application.

Register in advance for this webinar

You are warmly invited to join the Braillists Foundation at The Elephant & Castle, 40 Holland Street, London, W8 4LT for Braille and Beer.

We will be meeting as soon as Sight Village closes on Tuesday 7 November at 5:00 PM, and will stay until we are ready to leave or until the pub closes, whichever comes first!

The pub is 2 minutes walk from Kensington Town Hall. Simply turn left up Hornton Street and, at the first junction, take a right on to Holland Street. The Elephant & Castle is 100 m on the left on the far corner with Gordon Place.

Braille and Beer is your opportunity to meet fellow braille users in a convivial atmosphere and discuss the braille things you found at Sight Village. If you have brought braille things with you, whether or not they were on show at the exhibition, you are welcome to pass these round so that other people can have a look at them.

Many people will join us in a drink and several will stay for dinner. The event itself is free, but you are expected to purchase your own refreshments. If you require assistance with being served, it would be helpful if you bring the appropriate cash with you so that our sighted volunteers do not have to handle multiple cards.

Due to the popularity of pubs in centra London, we have needed to book a table. The booking is for 12 people and, although everyone is welcome, we would be grateful if you would let us know you are coming, preferably by coming to see us at our stand earlier in the day. If more people come than there are seats available at the table, we will try to find another table close by.

We look forward to seeing you!

The European Blind Union (EBU) invites you to a public online discussion about reading, writing, production and other aspects of using braille.

It will take place Tuesday, 7th November 4:00 to 6:00 pm Central European Time on Zoom.

In this meeting, the EBU Braille Working Group will present its work and inform about recent projects. Share with us your experiences and problems in the use of braille concerning reading books, using braille displays, reading digital textes in braille, writing braille, labeling objects with braille and any other subject concerning braille.

Register to the event by sending an e-mail to Peter Brass, [email protected]

Communication language of the meeting: english with captions, no translation provided.

The online platform on braille of the EBU: www.livingbraille.eu

The first UK Accessible Publishing Conference organized by RNIB and DAISY, generously hosted by Google is an in-person event in London and live streamed globally.

Visit the event pages
Register to attend remotely

Following our exploration of braille translators during National Braille Week, we are delighted to be joined by esteemed assistive technology pioneer Dean Martineau. Dean is a long term braille user and has spent many years developing his own personal braille shorthand system.

In this week’s Masterclass, Dean will introduce us to the Biblos braille translator and demonstrate how he uses it to translate text into his personalised shorthand system. He will also cover some more conventional uses of the program and compare it with other free translators on the market, including Send the Braille and Sao Mai Braille.

Register for the Masterclass here.

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 872 1971 6314
• Passcode: 123456

Matthew Horspool is the General Manager at the Braillists Foundation, which promotes braille and braille technology. He is also heavily involved in both the braille and assistive technology industries, and his day job is delivering screen reader and braille display/notetaker training.

Matthew will speak about choosing a Braille Display. Some of the factors that are important in choosing a Braille Display include: price, type of keyboard, built-in features etc. He will talk about the most common displays on the market and explain how they stack up against those factors.

The Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room Zoom meeting link follows. Be aware that all Accessible World Zoom meetings are set to automatically record and the Zoom Client on both your computer and your smart device has a message announcing the recording when you first enter a meeting using these clients. You must tab or swipe to the Got it button and execute it to acknowledge your awareness of the recording or you will be unable to unmute your device and speak in the meeting.

Join Choosing your Braille Display in the Pat Price Tek Talk Training Room

Special note: We are proud to announce that Tek Talk Programs can now be heard on ACB Media 1. Please visit the ACB Media Network Home page at https://www.acbmedia.org/ for upcoming events. Also we can now be listened to on your Echo Smart Device. Say “Echo, play T e k Talk podcast.”

Podcast feed: Those wishing to subscribe to past Tek Talk program archives can do so using their mobile device and podcast app of choice or using their computers and podcatcher program of choice. The link with which to subscribe follows: https://accessibleworld.org/feed/podcast/tektalk

The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly relevant information about new products, services, and training opportunities designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access barriers that adversely affect them.

There’s a palpable air of excitement around the Sight and Sound Technology offices in Northampton, Glasgow and Dublin as we eagerly await the 2024 software releases of JAWS, Zoomtext and Fusion.

There are lots of features to explore in this latest release, including Face in View and Split Braille, to mention but a few.

On November 1st we’ll be joined by Vispero’s Roxana Fisher, Jan Bloem and Mohammed Laachir who will take us through this major release and answer all your questions.

Register Here