Profile of Steven Hazelhurst

In one way or another, I have worked in the field of computer analysis and programming for over 20 years, using my own initiative to provide solutions to real world problems.

This is not surprising, since my sight loss means that I cannot use a computer by means of the standard display monitor, and my hearing loss prevents me from using speech output (reproduction of computer screen contents in spoken form) technology, which is the most extensively supported access technology (software that verbalises the contents of the computer screen in an alternative form of output, such as speech or Braille) for people unable to see the screen. I can only access computer facilities with Braille, using a refreshable Braille display (electronic output device that presents an area of the screen as Braille text and can be refreshed to show other areas) to provide me with the necessary information to operate computer programs via the keyboard, equivalently to a sighted person with the screen and mouse.

I was born with very little sight and attended the Wavertree Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool, from 4 to 12 years of age. My hearing was only slightly impaired, but began deteriorating markedly soon after leaving Wavertree with a place at the R.N.I.B. New College (then Worcester College for the Blind). I had easily passed entrance exams to R.N.I.B. New College in my last year at Wavertree, in spite of headmaster predictions that I would fail due to having had a lot of time off school with illness (he only let me sit the exams because a teacher persuaded him to and accepted responsibility if I failed, but that teacher saw to it that I didn't, spending a great deal of time with me to brush my Maths up in particular, which was considerably better than average, as has been the case ever since). Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) kept me off for 6 months and may have been the cause of ensuing hearing deterioration.

I left R.N.I.B. New College in 1984 with 12 "o"-levels, 4 "a"-levels (Maths, Further Maths, Physics and German) and 2 scholarship levels (Maths and German), and a University place at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, to study for a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics.

I had demonstrated a flair in Mathematics since an early age, after taking an unusually long time to be able to count to 10. Throughout most of my education I intended to go into research and teaching, but this career line started to look implausible at University, due to the problems of keeping up-to-date with information in face of my combined hearing and sight losses. I personally believe that with the Internet and the standard of access to it afforded for Braille users today, some of which I have developed myself, access to up-to-date information would not be a major obstacle now, but the net was not an option in the '80's. I had lecture notes transcribed into Braille for me by the R.N.I.B. as I could not attend lectures, and even discounting the occasion when these were sent to the Ministry of Defence by intriguing dint of error, it was not real time. I had always tended to regard computing as essentially a tool of Mathematics, but this view changed radically when I began to find personal uses for computers that I could program into them myself - the first being, not surprisingly, a replacement for the pocket calculator that I couldn't use without a human reader.

As Braille computers became available to deafblind people, and then the trend towards using standard personal computers via attachable Braille units emerged, I found many things that I could do to improve facilities for myself and others. A primary area of development was that of using the computer as an ordinary telephone, to be able to communicate with another person directly over the 'phone like hearing people do. To be able to just pick up the 'phone and talk to one's friends or conduct business is a vital aspect of most people's daily lives that they take for granted, but without hearing it is not granted, even in today's age of technology. Deaf people with sight can choose from a range of standard communications software packages, or from a variety of screen devices, which facilitate a telephone conversation by typing and reading instead of speaking and listening, respectively. This is called text-to-text communication, where the person "talking" uses the keyboard to type what they want to say as text to the person at the other end of the line, who "listens" by reading that text on their screen. Specialised software is required to make this facility available using a Braille display attached to a PC, and mine are the only packages in existence that are dedicated to the purpose and serve it efficiently without requiring technical expertise on the part of the user.

Being able to use the telephone like everybody else is a personal matter of vital importance to myself and most other deafblind people. It is a lifeline, just as it is for anyone else. Today, the National Telephone Relay Service for the Deaf enables us to use the telephone with hearing people who are not using any special equipment, just the standard telephone in the standard way. This service also provides access to the emergency services (fire, police, etc.) and automated telephone services such as the clock.

I did spend some time developing mathematical software aside from a calculator emulator, including equation solvers, mainly with a notion of them coming in handy if I succeeded in getting a job as a Maths teacher, but I quickly became more and more immersed in providing or improving everyday computer facilities for deafblind people after leaving Imperial College, and thoughts of a different kind of career faded. I was experiencing difficulty finding a job as a school Maths teacher anyway, most applications barely received any consideration. This didn't bother me perhaps as much as it should have, because on the one hand, I knew perfectly well that there was no reason why any school should feel it to their advantage to recruit a teacher who would need communications support if other options were available, and on the other hand, I had never actually intended to be a school teacher, the idea was more a fallback, I originally wanted to teach in a University while doing research. I had realised while studying at University myself that going into research was not going to be practical for the reason mentioned above, and rather screwed up my degree, achieving a lower grade than might have been the case if my interest in the subject had not waned. So a change in direction was in the pipeline, and it was really quite fortunate that a career in computer programming in this special field devolved upon me of itself (or by the grace of God) at the right time, without me having to fret over spilt milk.

I have worked with a variety of programming languages and diverse environments, and been involved in several projects. My personal situation as a deafblind person relying completely upon Braille output has frequently necessitated implementation of custom software or adaptations to get the most out of the computer and get to where I want to go most efficiently, leading to me being naturally gifted in achieving efficiency and user-friendliness for other deafblind people as well. I worked extensively on the hand tapper project to develop an output device (the hand tapper) that could deliver information electronically using the deafblind manual alphabet instead of Braille on a display line, as many deafblind people cannot read Braille. Work with hand tapper took place mainly, but not entirely, during the six years I spent employed by Deafblind UK as a computer support officer, when I developed comprehensive software for a prototype hand tapper to enable a deafblind person to use the telephone and read teletext pages. My original work on hand tapper prior to my joining Deafblind UK was primarily as an evaluator working with its hardware engineers. Sadly, the hand tapper project has been completely disbanded since I left Deafblind UK, though the fact it wasn't being taken seriously and there was little chance of it coming to fruition as a product for deafblind people influenced my decision to leave. Another project along the same lines which I was also briefly involved in has also come to nothing. I would like to revive the project or take it up myself, but a thorough evaluation of the demand for it should be undertaken first, times have changed.

The teletext reading software was originally written for Braille users in my second Braille telecommunications and reading program for MS-DOS (Ucom), and then incorporated into the hand tapper software because of the difference it made to the lives of deafblind people. It included access to subtitled pages, making it possible to "watch" television news broadcasts, documentaries, films, etc., anything that was subtitled for deaf viewers. I originally intended to include access to teletext in my Windows products, additionally providing for speech and large print (access technology for people with impaired vision but enough to use the screen if its contents are magnified or the most important parts made more conspicuous) users. Those with enough hearing and/or sight can of course use the television directly, but there are still benefits of being able to use the PC. One reason for this is that when reading subtitles, the teletext software allows you to read at your own speed instead of having to keep up with the broadcast, and to review previous text, which is very important for some users. However, the capability to verbalise teletext in text-readable form only partially exists with digital TV networks, so I never have reproduced the work on a foundation that may only work for a limited period. Access to the Internet is much better nowadays, and mostly does away with the need for teletext news, but the ability to "watch" TV would not come amiss. Verbalising Windows TV programs as plain text cannot be taken for granted, but is not a topic that I have actively investigated to date.

I was not happy for most of my time working for Deafblind UK. I was employed by the charity as a technical support officer for deafblind people. After leaving Imperial College, I worked on several projects, some voluntary and some financed, before taking the job with Deafblind UK, which on paper seemed to offer the most effective means of lending my special expertise to serving the technical needs of deafblind people. Although my post was supposed to be developmental, this was more and more swept under the carpet in favour of making the most of existing facilities, which were pitifully inadequate. The hand tapper project also faded away and I felt that my real skills, as a systems developer, were simply not being used.

I resigned from Deafblind UK in 2002. I had at one point been very close to leaving for a programming post with the Royal National Institute for the Blind (R.N.I.B.), but it fell through, and in retrospect I'm glad it did. At the time I resigned, it was still possible to use my DOS software to enable deafblind people to communicate over the telephone, but the urgency for a Windows program for the purpose was growing, and as this venture was not considered an objective of my employment, I would only have been able to do it in my own time. I could see that, should I succeed in producing a bona fide product with market value in those circumstances, there would be issues with property rights, which I didn't want, so I finally handed in my notice and commenced work on my current Windows solution in September, after completing my notice period in June.

Although I had been part time self-employed for some years, I knew that at that time, due to the growth of a new operating system (Windows), I did not have good business prospects. But I also knew that I never would have if I stayed put.

I have never regretted my decision to move on, which I believe was the right decision and I have achieved more because of it. I can distinctly remember a conversation I had with the Chief Executive, in which she pointed out that my employment was for the benefit of the charity and to do what the charity wanted me to do, not what I wanted to do. This didn't seem quite consistent with the stated reasons for my employment in the first place, which were manifested in my contract, to use my special expertise to promote deafblind people's interests in the field of access to communications and information, but other than that I take the point completely, and circumstances change. So I opted out. I would not say that the approach adopted by Deafblind UK was necessarily wrong, as I only saw it from a technical perspective, not in the wider corporate context of the charity as a whole, but insofar as I was concerned, my role in the organisation had run its course.

I sold my first Windows-based textphone (device or software enabling telephone communication by means of typing instead of talking and reading text typed back instead of listening to it spoken) for deafblind people at the dawn of 2003. Several more sales followed, including the one to the user who wouldn't pay (if that can be called a sale) and thereby helped in some respects because the episode jogged me to develop a timed evaluation version at an early stage. The main problem was to develop something that would be of interest in a wider sphere than just deafblindness, while remaining focussed upon the needs of deafblind people.

The upshot is the WintextCom Personal Information Manager. This software consolidates my concepts of ergonomic computer application and Braille-friendliness, with advanced capabilities for those who require them or can put them to use in providing simple access to information for others. WintextCom has been the name of the product right from the beginning, but only as a Braille textphone, which remains a central feature together with a Braille reader. Both features are not limited to use by deafblind people. The reader displays text in a full size window, while the communications element can be used as a standard terminal and in other situations where a serial connection is required.

I always had it in mind to consolidate everything into WintextCom rather than release several products all doing their own thing, but it took years to accomplish this end, not only because of the enormous amount of time spent doing research, but also because it is never possible for me to concentrate single-mindedly upon one project. Writing the documentation and developing a functional website are both large projects in themselves, plus general business administration. I have taken a lot of time out developing corporate software for my own use to facilitate my core objectives and in-house tasks, where this has seemed a better option than working with existing commercial products not designed for operation with Braille and not very efficient in those circumstances, but it does have its overhead. In particular, the project management software that I use to work on the software, documentation and web is home-grown. It could have been a marketing venture in itself and might still be turned into a marketable product in the future, but I worked on it as rapidly as possible as a means to an end rather than as an end in itself, and did not bother with the finer points of presentable software.

I have always been a good self-teacher. Providing I can get hold of all the relevant information, I am much more comfortable on my own than being taught by someone else. Perhaps this is partly an evolved skill due to the problems of interactive tuition that my hearing loss poses. The primary obstacle for me is not the learning curves, but the difficulty pinpointing the information that I need. Searching for information on the Internet with a Braille display and the keyboard is far removed from the click-and-glance procedure that it is for a sighted person with the screen and mouse, it is a lengthy process of keying instructions and trawling through unwanted information to locate what you do want on the page, or determine that it isn't there. The same kind of problem applies to using software that is intended for standard screen/mouse operation and does not take alternative usage into account. For this reason, it is often much quicker just to do something my way than read up on how to do it somebody else's way, and much more rewarding.

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