David Holladay | |
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Born | September 17, 1953 |
Died | February 15, 2024 | (aged 70)
Spouse | Caryn 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]
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]
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]
David Holladay | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | September 17, 1953 |
Died | February 15, 2024 | (aged 70)
Spouse | Caryn 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]
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]
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]