[nabs-l] braille displays

Sat Apr 30 02:46:48 UTC 2011

Hi, all.

Before making my comment, please know that I'm not speaking against Braille
nor am I contradicting what others have said about the usefulness of Braille
displays.  In fact, I own and happily use a Braille Sense Plus.  I also was
the primary author of Washington state's Braille Bill.  Please keep this in
mind when reading what follows.

Several people on this list have listed the virtues of computer Braille
displays.  I, however, don't use one and probably will not.  Perhaps I am
old-school but I am of the generation that learned to type using -- gasp --
a real typewriter (and a manual one at that!).  I far prefer speech access
to a computer because I don't have to take my hands off the computer
keyboard.  Hence, I can type faster and interact with the computer more
quickly than I could if I were constantly having to take my hands off the
QWERTY keyboard to read the Braille display.  Moreover, even though I use
and love the Braille Sense Plus with its Braille keyboard, I can type far
faster using the QWERTY keyboard on the computer than I can Braille using a
Braille keyboard.

As to detecting punctuation and the like, if one listens closely, one can
catch possible punctuation faux pas and typeos and spelling mistakes -- at
least I can.  Admittedly, exactly what's wrong requires one to review a bit
withs peech but I'm pretty fast at it, especially as I haven't taken my
hands off the keyboard.

As to dealing with foreign languages, I admit that Braille is helpful in the
beginning.  But, at least with respect to Spanish and German, the
orthography and pronunciation/spelling rules are sufficiently literal and
fixed that one gets quite good at listening to the languages and knowing how
words are spelled just from their pronunciation, just as one often can
(though obviously not always) in English.  By the time I took advanced
German courses, I had no Braille materials and had to use readers just as I
did in my regular courses conducted in English.  I had little trouble and
usually knew when to ask how a word was spelled.

Just wanted to let people know that even a Braille lover such as I prefer
speech to Braille for computer access.  And yes, I programmed using speech
for many years.  One gets used to the quirks of one's synthesizer and can
often tell what's on the page and what it looks like, especially with
Punctuation set to All.  I know other programmers (including Tracy Carcione)
who used speech for computer interaction as programmers for many years.

Peace!

Mike Freeman

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of bookwormahb at earthlink.net
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 4:50 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] braille displays

Katie,
Exactly. I want the display for reading/editing documents because I can
actually see the punctuation and spelling then.
For personal reading or leisure books, either using the braille Note / web
braille works or just the myraid of audio options.  I tend to use audio, not
because I don't like the braille display, but because I don't want to wear
the thing out!  Its delicate and I do Not want the cells to wear out again;
as they did a while ago; like four cells had to be repaired.

I also read hard copy braille too. That reminds me, got to order some books
to keep my library membership active and practice braille.

Ashley

-----Original Message-----
From: Katie Wang
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 1:59 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] braille displays

Jewel, I also have a Focus 40 braille display and find it very useful for
reading web pages and such. However, I do find it a little tricky to
navigate MS Word documents and wonder if you have any tips.
Specifically, I can use the panning keys to read through a line of text on
the screen, but at the end of the line I have to pann back to the beginning
of the line and use the whiz wheel to move to the next line. If I keep
pressing the panning keys without using the whiz wheel, the braille display
will show some random information about which page and section I'm on and
stop advancing. Have you encountered this problem? Is there any way to fix
it or is this just how the display works with MS Word?
Ashley, I believe a braille display would be most useful when you need to
read/edit long documents on the computer, so how much you will need it
depends on the nature of the job you find. For personal reading/leisure
books that you do not have to read on your PC, your Braille Note probably
can serve the same purpose as a braille display connected to the computer.
   Katie

On 4/29/11, Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> Jewel here. I have a Focus 40. For me, the main benefit is not 
> wondering how a word is spelled while I'm reading it, knowing where 
> the punctuation is put, and being able to read instead of listening to 
> e-mails, books, and schol work.
>
> An example: In Spanish class, we have to know how to spell words 
> correctly. Without the braille display, I have to listen to each 
> letter individually for every word. This takes waaay to long. Also, I 
> am given worksheets where I need to put the answer within the area of 
> the line. If I am lsstening to this, I have to go word by word until 
> it says underline underline underline. With a braille display, I can 
> find the line just while reading and can press a cursor routing key to 
> go directly to that area.
>
> I had no troulb e setting up the display. It comes with a CD that you 
> put in the computer and goes step by step through the process. Also, 
> it has a Braille translation key that, when on, translates whatever 
> you are reading into grade 2 Braille, whether on-line, in a word or 
> TXT file, or hatever. To read a BRF file, you just press the braille 
> translation key to turn that off.
>
> I'm still learning how to use the display as a keyboard, but it is 
> proving promising. I know how to move through a file without touching 
> the keyboard, and am learning how to type using the six-dot keyboard 
> (which is actually eight because it can do computer Braille).
>
> I wanted to show someone how much of a difference the dislay made for 
> me, so I read a file for the first time via the JAWS speech, answered 
> comprehension questions, then read it with the Braille display and 
> answered other questions. I got way more comprehension when I read the 
> file with the display.
>
> I've never use d a Braille note, but with the Focus 40, I have several 
> options for panning, using a wizwheel, two rocker switches, and two 
> panning buttons. For examle, I tend to use the right panning button 
> for panning while reading a long file, because I can just tap it at 
> the end of the line before moving b ack to the beginning of the line.
> When I'm skimming a document, I use the wizwheeel to skim by line, 
> paragraph, or sentence. Moving the cursor is easy, like I said 
> earlier, by just pressing the button above the cell you want the 
> cursor to move to.
>
> If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.
>
> ~Jewel
>
> On 4/28/11, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
>> What model and KS version of the BrailleNote do you have? You can use 
>> the BrailleNote as a Braille display for the computer.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:08 PM
>> Subject: [nabs-l] braille displays
>>
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I'd love to have a braille display.  If I work for a government 
>>> organization or contractor, they will likely purchase one for me as 
>>> they have the funds for it.
>>> But privately, I don't know.  Isn't the typical display $3000?
>>>
>>> Anyway, as I dream of what I think its benefits are, I'd like to 
>>> know the reality of them.
>>> I'm not an auditory person and I've just thought that reading the 
>>> display via the computer will afford me the opportunity to see the 
>>> punctuation and
>>>
>>> spelling you miss with speech.
>>>
>>> So for those of you who use displays, what are your thoughts?
>>> What display do you have?  How does it work?  What are the benefits?  
>>> Is it like the Brialle Note display where the cursor can be moved at 
>>> the touch of a button?  Do the pins stay duravle?  If not, how often 
>>> do they need maintenance?
>>> If you buy a display to work with jaws, is it hard to install?
>>> Also, can the display show you grade 2 braille in text documents?  I 
>>> mean does it automatically convert to grade 2 braille even though 
>>> its text?
>>> If
>>> not, do you have to convert to .brf to run it?
>>>
>>>
>>> Any pros and cons, I'd like to hear.
>>>
>>> I have the display on the Braille Note and do not use speech.  The 
>>> braille
>>>
>>> is quiet and works so much more efficiently for me!
>>>
>>>
>>> Ashley
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>>
>>
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