-----Forwarded Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Neil
Barnfather -
eHosting Limited
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 1:25 PM
To: 'Talks Mailing List'; [log in to unmask]; 'The Accessible
Phones
Discussion List'
Subject: Officially from Nuance
Dear All,
It is with regrettable sadness that I am having to write to you
to confirm that
Marcus Groeber has confirmed to me the sad news to which we've
been discussing.
Aged 47 years, Torsten Brand sadly passed away during a routine
operation
yesterday.
At this stage very little else is known other than to say the
obvious; Torsten
alongside Marcus were true pioneers in the world of accessible
technology for
the blind community. Much is owed to their efforts and
activities spanning the
past decade and we all have much by way of appreciation owing to
them both.
Torsten was a genuine and inspirational individual who will be
missed by us
all.
If further information is forth coming I will pass this on to
you.
Regards.
Neil Barnfather
TalkNav
-----Forwarded Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Jonathan Mosen
Less than a decade ago, the only way a blind person could send a
text message
was through a website, or by connecting some models of phone to a
computer.
Less than a decade ago, the only way a blind person could
navigate the menus
and change settings on their phone was to memorise the sequences
of key presses
required, or carry around a Braille cheat sheet. And then, two
brilliant people
began collaborating. Marcus Groeber and Torsten Brand formed
Brand and Groeber
communications, and they got our phones talking.
The original Talx, yes it was spelled with an X in those days,
worked on the
Nokia communicator, a PDA device with a qwerty keyboard. Later
however, Talks
was released for S60 phones. In 2003, I purchased a Nokia 6600,
and I'll never
forget the phone starting up after I'd installed Talks. It was
almost unreal.
After 13 years of not being able to use all the features of my
phone and really
set it up the way I wanted, my phone was truly accessible. He
made this dream a
reality for blind people all over the world, in numerous
languages.
Those very early versions of Talks were somewhat sluggish, and
had numerous
issues. But we stuck with it because we knew it was ground
breaking technology.
Over the years, Marcus and tenacious Torsten kept at it, to the
point that
Talks is now a very robust, reliable, speedy solution.
Talks became so successful that eventually it was acquired by
Nuance
Communications, who thankfully kept Torsten and Marcus on to
manage and develop
the product.
In looking back at the email correspondence I've had with Torsten
over the
years, and the times we've met up to chat or have dinner, a few
words come to
mind. Thoughtful, intelligent, committed, good fun, and great
company with that
distinctive German accent of his, when we'd catch up at CSUN or
some other
conference.
As a blind guy himself, Torsten used the product he managed every
day. I have
always believed this makes a big difference. It is reflected in
the power, and
elegant user interface of Talks. Talks gets an awful lot done,
very simply,
with in many cases only a number pad and a few other keys to work
with. He took
user interface and efficiency extremely seriously, sometimes
considering
esoteric issues like how many syllables a prompt contained,
because as a speech
user himself, he knew all of that stuff mattered. Most recently,
he and Marcus
worked together on a very elegant implementation of an accessible
interface for
the S60 Fifth Edition touch phones.
Torsten was in his prime, with many more great ideas on which he
and Marcus
would have collaborated. His passing is a tragedy for the blind
community.
Let's not also forget, Torsten was a husband, and a dad. There
are two things I
send to Torsten's family. Firstly my sincere condolences. But
secondly, I send
my deep appreciation. The work Torsten did changed lives for the
better. If you
can leave this world a better place than you found it, in
whatever endeavour
you pursue, your life has been worthwhile. Torsten led a most
worthwhile, and
worthy life. He has earned his place in the history of assistive
technology.
Ever since I heard the news of Torsten's death, every time I pick
up my Nokia
handset, so much more powerful than the first one Torsten helped
to make
accessible, I pause, and say a little thank you to him.
You will be missed Torsten.
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