From Braille Notetakers to Book Players. An Assistive Technology Journey Spanning Through the Decades. Meet Gilles Pepin, Founder and Chairman of the Board at HumanwareInc

Podcast Summary While attending the 2023 NFB Convention Banquet in Houston Texas, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant had the opportunity to connect with Gilles Pepin, Chairman of the Board at Humanware. During the Banquet, Mr. Pepin received the prestigious Kenneth Jernigan award. Mr. Pepin joined Simon in the virtual studio to discuss his incredible tenure as Former CEO of Humanware for 35 years.  From the Humanware...

Timecrest – A Game with Personality and accessibility. Meet Justin Ng, Co-founder of Sneaky Crab – A Developer Building in Accessibility from the Ground Up!

Podcast Summary: Justin Ng is part of a two-person team that made Timecrest, an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch game that has won AppleVis accessibility awards for Best Game and Developer of the Year, inducted into the AppleVis Hall of Fame, featured on Apple's App Store Best Of list, and was recommended by the New York Times.  Timecrest was designed to be accessible from the ground up. the Sneaky Crab Team are sighted, but learned...

Accessible and Inclusive Learning for all! Meet Cindy Camp, Director of Communications and Marketing at Described and Captioned Media

Podcast Summary: Are you a student or educator looking for free accessible academic content? Join me in the virtual studio, as I interview Cindy Camp, Communications and Marketing director of Described and Captioned Media.  Described and Captioned Media offers a wide variety of diverse academic video content for parents, students, and teachers throughout the United States. With a catalog of over 13,000 videos, there’s sure to be...

C & C Insights: Two Perspectives on Home Schooling and Public Schooling from a Blindness Perspective and What About Accommodation’s for Parents?

Podcast Summary: Carrie, from the YouTube Channel, "Carrie On Accessibility" and Cindy from the YouTube Channel, "Seeing Blind" are back in the studio for their 3rd podcast episode, ""C and C Insights". In this episode, they let us in on  how Home Schooling and Public Schooling both have similar and unique challenges for parents who are Blind or Visually Impaired. Carrie brings another perspective as her child is BVI as well. Learn...

Beyond Vision Art: Meet Molly Brockman, Art Curator at Beyond Vision Art – Providing Art that Engages the 5 Senses, Taste, Touch, Smell, Hearing, and Vision

Podcast Summary: Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant opened the door to the virtual studio, and picked up the microphone to chat with Molly Brockman, art curator at Beyond Vision Art.  Beyond Vision Art is an organization dedicated to providing art that engages the 5 senses, taste, touch, smell, hearing, and vision.  Molly tells her inspiring story of how her frustration with the inadequacies of her local art museum empowered...

Introducing the Enigma Reader: An Accessible, Affordable Braille Display for All – Welcome back Garrett Carder and Caroline Karbowski from A Cubed Design 

Podcast Summary: From the 2023 NFB Convention in Houston Texas, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant welcomes back Garrett Carder, CEO & Chief Engineer, and Caroline Karbowski, Chief Community Officer of A Cubed Design, a technology company with the goal of making braille displays more accessible and affordable for all! Garret and Caroline give details about their developing product called the Enigma Reader.  From the A Cubed...

A One-Stop Shop for Your Assistive Technology Needs! Meet Jeff Gardner: Founder and Team Leader of Irie-AT

Podcast Summary: While attending the 2023 NFB Convention in Houston Texas, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant sat down with Jeff Gardener, team leader at Irie-at. Founded in 2011, Irie-at offers a wide range of products such as braille displays, braille embossers with tactile graphics, and low-vision aids such as portable magnification systems.  Jeff gives listeners an overview of their braille display offerings, sold in...

Connecting the Dots! Meet Dave Williams, Chair of the Braillists Foundation, and member of the Inclusive Design Team at RNIB – Learn how you can get involved today!

Podcast Summary: While attending the 2023 NFB Convention in Houston Texas, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant sat down with Dave Williams. Dave works on the Inclusive Design Team at RNIB, Royal National Institute for Blind People. Dave also serves as chair of the Braillists Foundation, a United Kingdom based charity with the mission of promoting the advancement of Braille.  Dave speaks with Simon about his journey of his denial...

From Talkback to Bard to Lookout and more! A Chat with Nimer Jaber About What’s New with Google

Podcast Summary: At the 2023 NFB Convention in Houston, Texas, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant sat down with Nimer Jaber, Accessibility Analyst at Google, Inc. Nimer discusses his love for, and advocacy of, the Android operating system. He recounts his own path of blindness and his views about technology. We hear Nimer’s journey from resisting a smartphone, to becoming a tech trainer, to his current work helping the blind...

The World at Your Fingertips with Tactonom Reader – Meet Klaus-Peter Hars, Founder and CEO of Inventivio

Podcast Summary: Away from the bustling crowds of the exhibit hall at the 2023 NFB Convention, Blind Abilities podcast host Simon Bonenfant met with Klaus-Peter Hars, Founder and CEO of Inventivio. Inventivio’s newest products is the Tactonom Reader, a new device designed to help blind and visually impaired people have greater access to tactile graphics.    From the Inventivio Website: “The Tactonom Reader is a new...