[gui-talk] October 7: Online Conference Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Braille 'n Speak

[David Goldfield]

The following announcement is taken from the mailing list of BITS, the special interest technology affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Anybody is welcome to participate in this conference. It is not necessary to be a member of BITS or the ACB in order to participate. Here is the announcement from Earlene Hughes, with some writing from yours truly.

Hello to all...
I am pleased to announce the Braille 'N Speak 30th Anniversary presentation to be hosted by David Goldfield and Tom Jones.
From David Goldfield:
"On October of 1987, a new product was introduced in the blindness assistive technology space. It was small in size, only had seven keys and had a rather odd-sounding name from a company which was just getting off the ground. The product was the Braille 'n Speak. In many ways, it started a revolution, performing tasks with an efficiency some of us could scarcely believe. While the Braille 'n Speak was released thirty years ago, the effects and influence of that little device can still be seen in some of today's more modern devices which we still sometimes refer to as notetakers, a term which probably originated with the Braille 'n Speak.
When I heard about the product in 1988, I was incredulous and couldn't believe that a product of this type actually existed. Once I got my hands on one I knew I had to have it. I had my wish and became a Braille 'n Speak owner in February of 1989. As the product became a daily part of my life, I wanted to go beyond owning it and realized that I wanted to work for the company which, in so many ways, revolutionized my life. In May of 1991, that dream became a reality as well and I had the honor and privilege of working for Blazie Engineering for nearly seven years, working with the Braille 'n Speak, as well as the many products which followed it.
On October 7 at 8:00 PM we invite you to celebrate the legacy of Deane Blazie's company, along with that company's products, with emphasis on the Braille 'n Speak as we celebrate its 30th anniversary. We'd love to hear your own memories of how the Bns, as well as other Blazie Engineering products, have touched or changed your life. We are reaching out to former Blazie Engineering employees to invite them to this presentation as well. As of this writing we don't know how many of them will be able to attend. We make no promises as to who might make an appearance but we may have a few surprises.
Please spread the word to anybody you know who has used the Braille 'n Speak to share their own memories and stories with us.
We'll see you on October 7. Have your "Braille 'n Speak ready."
Date and Time: October 7, 2017 8:00 PM Eastern, 7:00 PM Central, 5:00 Pacific.
To participate in the presentation, select one of the following meeting options:
1. If you have an iPhone or similar device, search in the App Store for Zoom.
Select, download and install the "Zoom Cloud Meetings" app.
Next, select "Join meeting", and enter the meeting ID, 356 588 666.
2. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://zoom.us/j/356588666
3. Or iPhone one-tap :
+14157629988,,356588666# or +16465687788,,356588666#
4. Or Telephone： Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location)：
+1 415 762 9988 (US Toll) or +1 646 568 7788 (US Toll)
When prompted, enter the Meeting ID,  356 588 666.
5. International numbers available:
https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=Pm-dAgFFVAB4dAWoMQTqksKGobUN7anm
If you have any questions, feel free to email me, call me, or better yet, zoom me! earlene at earlenehughes.com<mailto:earlene at earlenehughes.com>
Earlene Hughes, Chair
Presentations and Workshops Committee
Vice President,  Blind Information Technology Specialists, INC. (BITS)
earlene at earlenehughes.com<mailto:earlene at earlenehughes.com>

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David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>