[access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.

  • From: "Amro Bilal" <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:44:11 -0000

I think NVDA is a great screen reader. It's stable, has impressive features
and supports a very wide range of different languages. I have Jaws but I
still use NVDA on a daily basis and who knows I may one day switch fully to
it. I've donated because I believe this application is of a huge benefit to
all VI people around the world including Europe regardless whether they can
afford a commercial screen reader or not.

Only my two pence worth.

Amro
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Kevin Cussick
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 6:53 PM
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.

I agree with everything that you say,  well put sir I pay a monthly donation
to nvda because it is my only screen reader and I think it's only fair that
contribute it's not much granted but it's all I can afford.

On 18/03/2012 11:14, Vince Thacker wrote:
> NVDA is a cracking good screen reader that costs nothing to the end 
> user. What's all the fuss about?
>
> They are asking for donations, which is fair enough, as the devs don't 
> get free lunches any more than the rest of us.
>
> It's not too much to ask someone like me who's used NVDA full-time for 
> several years to stump up a few quid. I hope all those libraries, 
> colleges and accessibility testers who use NVDA also get their 
> institutions and companies to send in some donations.
>
> I can't see SATogo is any substitute, as NVDA works right from the 
> Windows log-on screen, and doesn't rely on an internet connection.
>
> We'll all be the poorer if NVDA has to close.
>
> Vince.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eleanor Burke"
> <eleanorburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 8:22 AM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
>
>
>> Well William maybe the appeal should be heard again by Microsoft etc.
>> -----Original message-----
>> From: william lomas
>> Sent: 18/03/2012, 7:46 am
>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
>>
>>
>> if they need that much money we may as well end up paying 600 dollars 
>> for it then as we do jaws? if he wants that much money to be fair, by 
>> the time we've all contributed something we could have all brought 
>> jaws
>>
>> On 18 Mar 2012, at 06:38, austin pinto wrote:
>>
>>> hi all i got this artical from the nvda list please help to keep 
>>> this fantastic and only free screan reader for windows alive by 
>>> donating
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: Kevin Cussick <the.big.white.shepherd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:18:55 +0000
>>> Subject: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
>>> To: "nvda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <nvda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Not to sure how recent this is.
>>>
>>> just saw the date so ignore that last statement but I hope the mods 
>>> do not mind me posting this here please folks consider donating to 
>>> nvda it would be a huge loss to everyone if this fantastic screen 
>>> reader goes belly up because of the lack of funds. article below I 
>>> am forwarding this to some other people who do use nvda please read
this.
>>>
>>> Blind ambition: plea for funds to keep free software project alive 
>>> Sylvia Pennington, The Sydney Morning Herald March 16, 2012
>>>
>>> CAPTION: NVDA co-creator James The at the Young Australian of the 
>>> Year
>>> 2012 ceremony.
>>>
>>> Two Australian programmers may be forced to abandon their 
>>> not-for-profit work that allows blind people around the world to 
>>> join in social networks and the information age if funding is not 
>>> forthcoming.
>>> Twenty-seven year old James Teh and his co-developer Michael Curran 
>>> have spent the past four years building the open source screen 
>>> reader Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) for the Windows operating 
>>> system. The reader is free, available in 20 languages and has been 
>>> downloaded more than 45,000 times since November.
>>> The NVDA program can translate whatever the cursor touches into 
>>> synthetic speech, enabling blind users to hear what the rest of the 
>>> population is able to read on the screen.
>>> Advertisement: Story continues below Although similar readers are 
>>> available commercially, they can cost several hundred dollars to 
>>> install and upgrade; a sum which is beyond the reach of many vision 
>>> impaired users, Teh said.
>>> "We've had a lot of positive feedback that it's changed lives, 
>>> especially in the developing world,"
>>> Teh said. "Users have a sense of gratitude for the system - for 
>>> access to things not previously accessible."
>>> Many blind people have not had access to free screen reader 
>>> technology in Australia outside educational settings and this has 
>>> impeded their ability to interact socially and look for jobs, he 
>>> said. The unemployment rate among blind and vision-impaired people 
>>> wanting to work is currently 63 per cent, according to research from 
>>> Vision Australia.
>>> Given the ways in which technology could transform the lives of the 
>>> blind, it was imperative that barriers to entry were made as low as 
>>> possible, Teh said.
>>> As well as providing access to vast reserves of information not 
>>> previously available in bulky Braille tomes or audio form, the 
>>> internet can open up a world of services which make tasks of daily 
>>> living such as shopping and banking easier. Being able to 
>>> participate in social networking also allows blind people to expand 
>>> their contact with friends, family and the wider world.
>>> "Technology for everyone has become part of daily life," Teh said. 
>>> "If it is critical for sighted people, it's much more critical for 
>>> blind people."
>>> Himself blind since infancy due to retinal cancer, Teh is no 
>>> stranger to the obstacles faced by the vision impaired when 
>>> attempting to lead a regular, independent life.
>>> A talented pianist and passionate programmer from a young age - 
>>> "it's mostly text so you don't need to see it" - he completed 
>>> mainstream schooling at Brisbane's Nudgee College before graduating 
>>> with a degree in IT from Queensland University of Technology in 
>>> 2005.
>>> A first job as a programmer with local internet security 
>>> entrepreneur Trent Davis at Netbox Blue followed, before he joined 
>>> forces with Curran in 2008.
>>> Ensuring the NVDA reader keeps pace with the upgrade cycle of major 
>>> software packages is a full time job for the pair. But despite 
>>> attracting a swag of accolades, including an ABC New Inventors award 
>>> in 2010 and a spot for Teh on the 2012 finalists list for Young 
>>> Australian of the Year, funding to continue the work has been hard 
>>> won and precariously retained.
>>> The pair received modest funding from Microsoft, Adobe and Yahoo in 
>>> the past and the Mozilla Foundation continues to provide ongoing 
>>> support but they are seeking a larger commitment to continue 
>>> developing and updating the software to keep up with the upgrade 
>>> cycle of major programs.
>>> Teh says they need $200,000 to cover overheads and provide 
>>> themselves with a modest living wage.
>>> Unless further backing was secured, Teh said it was likely he would 
>>> have to look for other work later this year to support his family.
>>> "I would love to continue what I do and am really driven to do it," 
>>> Teh said. "A free screen reader for Windows does need to exist. It's 
>>> disappointing that there's not much funding for the work at all in 
>>> Australia. It's very difficult to raise money when you don't have 
>>> experience in the not-for-profit sphere and no one dedicated to 
>>> doing it."
>>>
>>> SOURCE
>>> http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/blind-ambition-plea-for-fun
>>> ds-to-keep-free-software-project-alive-20120316-1v99i.html#ixzz1pMkj
>>> CzGh
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> All The Best
>>> Kevin Cussick
>>> Come talk with other NVDA users on irc.blufudge.net #NVDA Your 
>>> continued donations help keep NVDA development going strong.
>>> Donate at:
>>> http://www.nvaccess.org/wiki/Donate
>>> Or by purchasing voices from Ivona TTS:
>>> http://www.ivona.com/accessibility.php
>>> Use the following link with the code STOR-4NS3-DSCT to save 10% on 
>>> Voices from nextup.com:
>>> http://bit.ly/eJN97w
>>> To post messages to the list send email to nvda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To 
>>> modify your NVDA Email settings or view archives go to:
>>> //www.freelists.org/list/nvda
>>> NVDA homepage:
>>> http://www.nvda-project.org/
>>> NVDA on Facebook:
>>> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8601265515
>>> The NVDA controler DLL is at:
>>> http://www.nvda-project.org/nvdaControllerClient/
>>> NVDA Snapshot Downloader:
>>> http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1473937/NVDASD-v2.0.2.exe
>>> Get SkypeTalking for NVDA:
>>> http://skypetalking.googlecode.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> email austinpinto.xaviers@xxxxxxxxx
>>> alternat email austin.pinto@xxxxxxxxxxx facebook 
>>> www.facebook.com/austinpinto.xaviers
>>> orkut
>>> www.orkut.com/austinpinto.xaviers
>>> twitter
>>> www.twitter.com/austinmpinto
>>>
>>> join me on google +
>>> surch for +austin
>>>
>>> join my professional network on linktin
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--
All The Best
Kevin Cussick
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