2338 The Tech Toolbox from Orbit Research (Sep. 20, 2023)

Show Notes
Orbit Research carries a wide variety of products suitable for students, professionals, and home use. These range from talking and graphics calculators to multi-line and graphical braille displays, to low vision magnifiers to braille computers. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Venkatesh Chari, President and CEO of Orbit Research, about their many offerings.

2337 Joining the ACB Community (Sep. 13, 2023)

Show Notes
People with visual impairments may experience geographical and/or social isolation. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Cindy Hollis, Manager of Membership Engagement for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) about the many virtual community events that they host aimed at bringing people with a wide range of interests from around the world together.

2336 See the World the Way You Want with the ReBokeh App (Sep. 6, 2023)

Show Notes
Rebecca Rosenberg felt that none of the built-in accessibility features in her smart phone were designed to address her particular needs and vision disorder so she got to work. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Rebecca about how she started a company that developed an iOS app that helps her and others interact with and see the “real world”.

2335 The Chatbots Are Coming (Aug. 30, 2023)

Show Notes
Chatbots and Large Language Models have recently become very popular and developers are experimenting with many uses for them. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey demonstrate a few of the more commonly used tools to show what they are capable of and how you might be able to make use of them for aiding the visually impaired, work, school, or just plain fun!

2334 Going Beyond the Words in Documents and Presentations (Aug. 23, 2023)

Show Notes
Creating impactful documents and presentations is important for connecting with sighted individuals in all walks of life. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Judy Dixon about her latest books, “Designing Documents for Appearance” and “The Power of PowerPoint”, that give tips on how those who are visually impaired can produce such material.

2333 The Sky Is the Limit – A Skydiving Adventure (Aug. 16, 2023)

Show Notes
Zach Tidwell is a blind military veteran who enjoys a variety of physical activities such as snowboarding, ski biking, mountain biking, rock-climbing, white-water kayaking, jiu-jitsu, rafting, and recently, skydiving. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Zach about skydiving without sight and how it compared to skydiving before he lost his sight.

2332 Cracking the Code of Darkness (Aug. 9, 2023)

Show Notes
Zach Tidwell was a marine who lost all of his sight in an instant during a period of deep depression. Despite all odds, he quickly adapted to blindness and taught himself to code. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Zach about his incredible journey, the Zanagrams app he created, and his plans to develop future accessible apps for iOS devices.

2331 Encore of 1813 Outtakes from Eyes On Success (Aug. 2, 2023)

Show Notes
They say that nothing is ever perfect. Fortunately, though, with a little extra work, most mistakes can be fixed. That even applies to the productions of Eyes On Success. Sit back and enjoy some laughs with hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey as they enjoy some Summer fun by sharing some humorous moments that never made it into the show.

2330 Navigating the Transition to Sight Loss (Jul. 26, 2023)

Show Notes
In his new book “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir At the End of Sight”, author and audio producer Andrew Leland chronicles his slow progression from sightedness to blindness due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Andrew about the book, his transition through various stages of sight loss, and what he learned along the way.

2329 Defining Your Dream Job (Jul. 19, 2023)

Show Notes
Few companies were concerned with the accessibility of their products when Jyotsna Kaki was looking for a job. Undaunted, she went on to get a position at Google as an Accessibility Analyst despite the fact that that role was not yet defined. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jyotsna about her journey and how her role has changed over the years.

2328 Accessibility of Google Android and G Suite (Jul. 12, 2023)

Show Notes
Google continually introduces new features in their products to make them more accessible for people with disabilities. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jyotsna Kaki, a blind Accessibility Analyst at Google about a number of the latest G Suite and Android OS features, designed to enhance the experience for visually impaired users.

2327 Preparing for Employment with Clusiv (Jul. 5, 2023)

Show Notes
Clusiv offers a screen-reader friendly, on-line training program aimed at providing blind clients with the skills to find meaningful employment. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Tamer Zaid, who recently went through the program, about how the program works, the courses he took, and how the skills he learned helped prepare him for the workforce.

2326 The Key to Being a Piano Technician (Jun. 28, 2023)

Show Notes
Tuning and repairing pianos is a profession that can be enjoyable and rewarding even if one is blind. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Dewald van Deventer, a blind piano technician living in South Africa, about his musical background and training, as well as the ins and outs of his daily work traveling between several neighboring towns.

2325 Innovative Impact LLC (Jun. 21, 2023)

Show Notes
Kirk Adams is the managing director of Innovative Impact LLC, a venture he started whose mission is to consult with companies to accelerate inclusion for people who are blind in their workforce. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Kirk about his background and how he now matches blind job seekers with companies eager to hire.

2324 Woodworking By Touch (Jun. 14, 2023)

Show Notes
Dave Carlson was introduced to woodworking as a youth, watching and helping his dad in the shop. However, it wasn’t until losing his sight to RP in his 40’s and was inspired to make a toybox for his grandson that he took on this hobby in earnest. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Dave about his experiences as a blind woodworker and how it all works.

2323 Be My Eyes Virtual Volunteer (Jun. 7, 2023)

Show Notes
Be My Eyes is an app that connects blind individuals and their cameras to sighted volunteers for real-time assistance. Now the power of AI comes to the app with the addition of their “virtual volunteer” option. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with founder and CEO Hans Jørgen Wiberg about the power of this new feature and how it can be used.

2322 Blazing the Trails with Awarewolf Gear (May 31, 2023)

Show Notes
Sedona Dave is blind and was tired of people not noticing him when walking around town and crashing into him. He also wanted a better and safer way of hiking the trails around him. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Dave about how he solved his problems by starting Awarewolf Gear a journey that was frustrating at times, but rewarding in the end.

2321 Awarewolf Gear All Terrain Cane (May 24, 2023)

Show Notes
The All Terrain Cane (ATC) is a sturdy folding cane designed for blind hikers. Made of lightweight titanium and having an adjustable length, the ATC is suitable for a variety of terrains. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Sedona Dave, founder of Awarewolf Gear, about how he came up with the idea, and the benefits of using it for hiking and other outdoor activities.

2320 Firefox Accessibility Enhancements (May 17, 2023)

Show Notes
Accessibility has always been an important factor in the development of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jamie Teh, technical lead for accessibility at the Mozilla Foundation, about recent improvements to both the accessibility and responsiveness of Firefox for those using screen readers as well and how that work is done.