[access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
- From: "Steve Hyde-Dryden" <csdryden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:12:20 -0000
The problem is that libraries computer systems are maintained and supervised
by the local authorities ICT Departments. In the main, they will not look
at a product which does not provide instant 9 to 5 technical support or
accountability.
Sadly, NVDA is an excellent product but because it is free, the support
infrastructure which big ICT Departments want is simply not there.
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Vince Thacker
Sent: 18 March 2012 15:01
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
Jackie, yes, I know what you mean. But, for example, all the libraries in
New Zealand are using NVDA, so I understand. It wouldn't hurt them to chip
in.
Must admit that if I went into a library here and found Supernova running,
I'd probably be completely lost. Still, at the moment, I can take in NVDA
portable on a memory stick.
Vince.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 12:24 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
> Trouble is Vince that libraries, colleges et al are brainwashed by
> Supernova
> and JAWS. I've seen the work and persuasion to buy these programs that
> goes
> in which ensures NVDA doesn't get a look in.
>
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Jackie Cairns
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of
> Vince Thacker
> Sent: 18 March 2012 11:14
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Fwd: [nvda] Please help to keep nvda alive.
>
> 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-funds-to-ke
> ep-free-software-project-alive-20120316-1v99i.html#ixzz1pMkjCzGh
>>>
>>> --
>>> 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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