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David Holladay

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David Holladay
small headshot of Holladay a white man in glasses wearing a brown hat and a blue shirt
BornSeptember 17, 1953
San Andreas, California
DiedFebruary 15, 2024(2024-02-15) (aged 70)
Westford, Massachusetts
SpouseCaryn Navy

David Holladay (September 17, 1953 – February 15, 2024) was an American computer programmer who worked on early Braille translator word processing software allowing blind Apple Computer users to enter, edit, and translate text.[1]

Early life and education

Holladay was born in San Andreas, California to William Lee Holladay and Jean Grosbach.[2] He received some of his early education at the American Community School Beirut, and in Leiden while his father was receiving a PhD from Leiden University in Holland.[3] He graduated from Newton North High School in Massachusetts in 1971. He is a graduate of MIT with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He met Caryn Navy at MIT and they were married on January 2, 1977. The couple had two adopted children.[4]

Navy attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Holladay worked as a computer programmer for the University of Wisconsin.[5] When Navy got a teaching position at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, the couple moved and Holladay started working on his home-based programming work.[5]

Career

Holladay started a software company called Raised Dot Computing, focused on computer Braille technology in 1981, inspired by his spouse Caryn Navy's need for Braille translation to help with her math teaching.[6] He contacted Apple Computer to get access to their operating system so that he could create software to help an Apple computer interface with Navy's VersaBraille system.[5] Raised Dot sent out a newsletter which was distributed all over the world on cassette and discussed innovations in their software, as well as other advances in accessible computing at the time.[7]

In December 1981, Raised Dot Computing released its first major product, BRAILLE-EDIT, a word processor and two-way Braille translator program for the Apple II.[8] The company moved back to Madison, Wisconsin in July 1984.[8]

Raised Dot Computing's assistive software produced enhanced versions of BRAILLE-EDIT and other utility programs to handle textbook-format Braille and other special formats. He supported production of print math from Nemeth Code mathematics braille. In 1985 they added a line of MS-DOS software, culminating in the company's most successful product, MegaDots.[9] The company received a $250,000 National Science Foundation Innovative Research Grant in 1989.[9][10] Released in August 1992, MegaDots provided Braille translation and word processing for the PC, for people using popular programs such as Word Perfect or MS Word.[9] Raised Dot Computing was reorganized in September 1998 to a Wisconsin nonprofit organization called Braille Planet, which was acquired August 1999 by Duxbury Systems.[8][11]

Navy and Holladay lived in Westford, Massachusetts, and continued work at Duxbury after the acquisition.[12][6]

References

  1. ^ Kimbrough, B. T. (August 2004). "Dots And Doubts: Technology And Turmoil Continue To Flourish After Braille's First Century and a Half". Information Technology and Disabilities Journal. X (1). Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "David Holladay of Westford, Massachusetts". Morse Bayliss Funeral Home -. February 19, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Legends and Pioneers of Blindness Assistive Technology An Oral History Project". Duxbury Systems. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Holladay, David (October 22, 2015). "David Holladay". Smashwords. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "A History of Raised Dot Computing by David Holladay". Background on Braille Planet. July 18, 1984. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Candela, Anthony R. (September 2006). "Legends and Pioneers of Blindness Assistive Technology, Part 2". AccessWorld. 7 (5). American Foundation for the Blind. ISSN 1559-5781. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  7. ^ Jonathan Mosen (February 28, 2024). "Living Blindfully" (Podcast) (267 ed.).
  8. ^ a b c "Assistive Technology Timeline". American Foundation for the Blind. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Hawkins Jr., Lee (May 9, 1996). "A New Way to Bring Text to the Blind". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 47. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Braille Planet: Company Background". Index. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  11. ^ Dean, Katie (February 24, 2000). "All Eyes on Braille Software". WIRED. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "Staff". Duxbury Systems. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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