Access For Sight Impaired Consumers

Adaptive Technology: Hardware & Software

Adaptive Hardware

Since 1989, Adapted Computer Technologies (ACT) has specialized in consulting, products, systems integration and the instruction in the use of computer assisted devices.

The Accessible Devices event came into existence in June of 2002. While the founders of the Accessible Devices event realized that while the sighted community had easy access to virtually any product, not all of these products were accessible to people with vision loss. When individual members of the Blind community found a product that was accessible, there was limited means of sharing that information with others. The Accessible Devices event is an attempt to fill that need. You can log-on to the Accessible Devices event through the Accessible Devices web site and also read volumes of information regarding accessible computer hardware, software and other adaptive technologies.

American Printing House for the Blind - The world's largest source for adapted educational and daily living products - since 1858.

Based in Vancouver, the Aroga Group provides assistive and adaptive technology, including blindness products, low vision products, communication aids, learning disability software and devices, and computer access components.

Assistive Technology, Inc. are dedicated to providing assistive technology and product solutions to individuals who experience learning, communication (conversational and written), and access difficulties.

CNIB is Canada’s largest supplier of innovative consumer products for people living with vision loss. For more information visit CNIB or call toll-free 1-866-659-1843.

Enabling Technologies Company are manufacturers of braille embossers.

Enhanced Vision has been a leading developer of assistive technology for the visually impaired since 1996. They have brought many of the industry's most innovative assistive technologies to market, including one of the first headworn magnifiers, which is now called JORDY.

Frontier Computing is a Sales and support company for people who are blind, have low vision or a learning disability. Over the past twenty years, they have become the leading distributor of access technology in Canada.

Since 1990, GW Micro has listened to screen-reader users and incorporated many of their suggestions into one powerful product: Window-Eyes. The result? A wide variety of speech features and the flexibility needed for running many of today's most advanced Windows applications.

HumanWare, Inc. specializes in products for people who are blind or visually impaired, including DAISY talking book players.

IBM Special Needs Solutions offers assistive devices and software tools that make the computer more accessible and friendly to people who have vision, hearing, speech, mobility, and attention/memory disabilities.

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. develops and provides leading edge educational software and computer systems for reading.

Magnifying Choices offers a variety of magnifiers, adaptive technology solutions and numerous living aids products.

Microcomputer Science Centre Inc. are devoted to creating computer solutions for people with special needs since 1980.

New Designs Unlimited is a manufacturer of assistive technology for the blind and sight-impaired. Our mission is to make technology more accessible by increasing affordability while reducing complexity.

Optelec International are the world's largest specialists in electronic equipment for the blind and partially sighted.

Perkins School for the Blind sells a wide variety of products, such as Braillers and accessories, screen reading and magnification software, blindness and low vision products, learning enhancement and daily living products. They provide on-campus, community and international programs to provide educational opportunities for people who are blind all over the world. They also offer a Braille and audio Book library.

Telesensory Corporation has thirty years of experience helping visually impaired and blind people achieve greater independence through innovative, technology-based products.

Since 1992, Vision Technology has been a leader in designing and creating vision aids for individuals with macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Adaptive Software

Ai Squared are makers of ZoomText screen magnification software.

The Accessible Devices event came into existence in June of 2002. When the founders of the Accessible Devices event realized that while the sighted community had easy access to virtually any product, not all of these products were accessible to people with vision loss. When individual members of the Blind community found a product that was accessible, there was limited means of sharing that information with others. The Accessible Devices event is an attempt to fill that need. You can log-on to the Accessible Devices event through the Accessible Devices web site and also read volumes of information regarding accessible computer hardware, software and other adaptive technologies.

American Printing House for the Blind - The world's largest source for adapted educational and daily living products - since 1858.

This Apple Accessibility Resources web site provides links to accessibility software for Mac computer users (employing OSX) who are blind, sight-impaired and/or hard of hearing.

Based in Vancouver, the Aroga Group provides assistive and adaptive technology, including blindness products, low vision products, communication aids, learning disability software and devices, and computer access components.

Assistive Technology, Inc. are dedicated to providing assistive technology and product solutions to individuals who experience learning, communication (conversational and written), and access difficulties.

Beyond Sight, Inc. adaptive provide products for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Cantoni.mobi is a list of mobile websites suitable for mobile devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Treo, or other smartphones. Cantoni.mobi sites are chosen based on broad usability and interest and their list is constantly kept up to date. Suggestions from readers are welcomed and used and page design is simple and lightweight. Cantoni.mobi is suitable for setting as your mobile browser homepage.

CNIB is Canada’s largest supplier of innovative consumer products for people living with vision loss. Our software products include computer screen readers, screen magnifiers, speech synthesizers, and voice input software that operate in conjunction with graphical desktop browsers and other programs. For more information visit CNIB or call toll-free 1-866-659-1843.

Code Factory is the leading provider of screen readers, screen magnifiers, and Braille interfaces for the widest range of mainstream mobile devices including Symbian-based and Windows Mobile-powered Smartphones as well as Pocket PC phones and PDA's. Its product line is the only one to support phones working on the GSM, CDMA and WCDMA networks. The company also collaborated with leading talk-to-speech providers and Braille manufacturers, thus enabling Code Factory to provide excellent TTS technology in many languages for Mobile Speak products, and to incorporate support for over twenty wireless Braille devices into the software.

It has been Dolphin Computer Accessibility's vision to deliver independence to people with vision and print impairments all over the World since 1986. Independence is a different experience for every person, but for some of their customers it means securing their first job in industry, for others it's being able to read their mail again having lost their sight in later life. Dolphin's roots are in assistive technology and they are proud to have developed one of the first commercial screen readers.

Duxbury Systems are the first name in software for braille translation since 1975.

The award-winning Firefox web browser has security, speed and new features that will change the way you use the Web. This link is provided as a gateway for an easy method of locating and downloading this web browser.

Freedom Scientific's's mission is to change the world for people with sensory impairments and learning disabilities by creating innovative, technology based products and solutions. Freedom Scientific publishes JAWS screen reading software and MAGIC screen magnification software.

Frontier Computing is a Sales and support company for people who are blind, have low vision or a learning disability. Over the past twenty years, they have become the leading distributor of access technology in Canada.

GW-Micro, Inc. gives independence to people who are blind or sight-impaired through its computer based speech products.

GW-Micro Script Central is the official repository for Window-Eyes scripts, scripting documentation, and other script related resources. These include scripts for several programs such as MSN, MS Office, Skype, and more.

HumanWare, Inc. specializes in products for people who are blind or visually impaired, including DAISY talking book players.

IBM Special Needs Solutions offers assistive devices and software tools that make the computer more accessible and friendly to people who have vision, hearing, speech, mobility, and attention/memory disabilities.

Java Access Bridge for the Microsoft Windows Operating System makes it possible for a Windows based assistive technology to get at and interact with the Java Accessibility API. The Java Accessibility API is implemented in the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) Project Swing user interface components.

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. develops and provides leading edge educational software and computer systems for reading.

The Mac-cessibility Network is devoted to connecting, compiling, and providing easy access to the best resources for blind, visually impaired, and other disability groups using Apple products. It is maintained by a dedicated group of visually impaired volunteers, who are Apple enthusiasts themselves.

Magnifying Choices offers a variety of magnifiers, adaptive technology solutions and numerous living aids products.

Microcomputer Science Centre Inc. are devoted to creating computer solutions for people with special needs since 1980.

Founded in 1993, Next Generation Technologies, Inc. is a custom solutions provider of adaptive and vocational technologies, with a primary focus on computer access and related assistive computer technologies. NGT's product line-up includes Various speech products such as J-say- an interface that can be used with Dragon Naturally Speaking speech recognition software and JAWS.

NVDA - a free and open source screen reader for Windows which is just a download away. NVDA now comes with its own talking installer, which allows you to install NVDA with out the use of another screen reader or sighted assistance. NVDA has been translated into 13 different languages. The languages NVDA now supports are:English, French, Portuguese, Brizillian Portuguese, Spanish,Finnish, German, Hungarian, Italian, Slovak, Traditional Chinese,Swedish and Czech. NVDA now supports SAPI4, but most importantly now comes with the E-Speak synthesizer built in to NVDA itself. This means that NVDA can now be used on any Windows 2000/xp/Vista computer.

Opera - an interNet web browser is a free browser that can be acquired through a simple download from the web site. In addition to the computer-based Opera application, individuals can download Opera Mini for their mobile phones.
Perkins School for the Blind sells a wide variety of products, such as Braillers and accessories, screen reading and magnification software, blindness and low vision products, learning enhancement and daily living products. They provide on-campus, community and international programs to provide educational opportunities for people who are blind all over the world. They also offer a Braille and audio Book library.

Thunder is an award-winning free talking screen-reader software for people with little or no sight. It works well with Windows 7, Vista or XP. We have partners in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Spain, Estonia, Slovakia, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland; as together we move towards making Thunder free talking software available throughout the world.

WebAnywhere allows blind and sight-impaired people to surf the Web on the go. Developed at the University of Washington, WebAnywhere turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer with speakers or a headphone connection. This is for situations where someone who's blind wants access to the Internet while at a museum, a library, a public kiosk, a friend's house or the airport. The free program with both audio and video demonstrations is available at WebAnywhere.

WebbIE is an internet browser for blind and visually-impaired people, especially those using screen readers, used since 2001 all over the world. It comes with the Accessible programs, letting you access news and audio on the Internet in a simple and accessible way, allowing you to use podcasts, listen to the radio and read RSS feeds and news with your screen reader or other access solution. Together they provide a way to access websites and other great things online - and they are all free!

WebVisum is a downloadable add-on for the firefox web browser for people who are blind or sight-impaired. WebVisum is a unique browser add on which greatly enhances web accessibility and empowers the blind and visually impaired community by putting the control in your hands! Its aim is to allow you to better enjoy surfing the net and be significantly less dependent upon outside help. Now available in English, German, Russian, Italian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Dutch, Croatian, Romanian, Portugese, Turkish and Spanish!

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