Dr Jan Blueher, 37, has been spending a lot of time at the computer since that moment three years ago when the programmer went into independent business by setting up his own company, VisorApps. His specialty: creating apps for the blind and those with limited eyesight.
His own blindness—something that is a hindrance in his everyday life—is an advantage here, helping him to develop software for smartphones and computer tablets that suits the way a blind person thinks.
Blueher’s latest app is a free programme for the blind and vision-impaired to access websites of libraries for the blind using cellphones or tablets.
With the app—guided by verbal commands—users can order Braille books and audio books, as well as search the content of newly published books. With a doctorate in information technology, Blueher got the idea to become an independent consultant and app programmer when he bought his first tablet.
“I was totally thrilled that you could have access to so much media all at once. I wanted to take it further,” he recalls.
_ DPA