Duxbury Systems, Inc. and Braille Planet, Inc. are coming together to bring you the best of both worlds! See the text of the official announcement below. (do not) click here for an additional article about the merger.
July 1, 1999
Dear Friend:
Several months ago, Braille Planet's Aaron Leventhal and Duxbury System's Joe Sullivan and Neal Kuniansky had some long conversations at a trade show in California. They talked about what the next generation of braille software would be like, with automated translation and formatting, web-based production, on-line libraries, and use of familiar word-processing interfaces. But this was no pie-in-the-sky conversation. The conversation enlarged to include other persons at both companies, focusing on how the two companies could work together to bring this technology to market. It quickly became apparent that we all shared a passion for this vision of the future, and that the only way we could bring this to market would be by joining forces and working together.
Joining forces--now what would that mean? After weeks of discussion, we reached an agreement--Duxbury Systems would purchase Braille Planet (successor to Raised Dot Computing, Inc.), so that we could work in the most collaborative manner possible in making this beautiful braille future happen.
By coming together, we are creating a phenomenal pool of braille software development talent. The core of our technology team will consist of a group of people with a combined experience in the field of over 80 years. We have begun training the next generation of braille programmers, who bring whole new areas of expertise in windows programming and web development. Together we will be maintaining and improving the current family of software products, as well as developing the next generation of technology.
No customer will be left behind in this process. All current MegaDots and Duxbury software will be maintained and fully supported. We will be placing an even greater emphasis on user training, both in terms of written materials as well as through the development of a national network of software trainers.
The legal paperwork will still take some time to process, and we have lots of details to chase down and take care of. In the coming months, we will be keeping you apprised of developments on our respective websites.
Thank you for placing your trust in us. We cannot tell you how excited we are about this process. We pledge to continue to honor that trust, and to continue to strive to bring the best possible software technology to the market.
Sincerely,
Joe Sullivan
President, Duxbury Systems
Greg Rosenberg
President, CEO, Braille Planet
This web page now has an extensive, well-organized list of resources for blind persons. This includes equipment and services. Whether you are looking for notetakers, braillers, guide dogs, schools for the blind or libraries for the blind, you will find it in our listings. We invite you to check it out.
Braille Planet is hosting a web page devoted to the subject of preventing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in premature infants by eliminating bright fluorescent lights in hospital nurseries. This is the subject of the cover story of June 1, 1997 Parade Magazine.
If you are a blind engineer, mathematician or
scientist you may be interested in the Technical Braille Center
established by a non-profit corporation. This center will produce highly
technical material in Nemeth Code braille. Tactile graphics will be
included where practical. Books will be available to anyone at prices
depending on the cost of production. Please contact John Boyer at
Computers to Help People, 825 East Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53703,
608-257-5917 e-mail:
chpi@execpc.com
Yes, MegaDots can produce braille for British (and related) standards. Contact Braille Planet about getting a demo disk customized for your country.