[nabs-l] FW: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo

[Joshua Lester]

I'm supporting him.
Please have the individual E-mail me, so I can have him advertise on
the new station.
He needs to have all the help he can get.
Blessings, Joshua

On 12/31/11, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
> The proposal mentions 40 cells.
>
> Dave
>
> At 07:35 PM 12/31/2011, you wrote:
>>Hopefully he'll get it.
>>I'd like to know how many cells he's going to have on it, though.
>>Blessings, Joshua
>>
>>On 12/31/11, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
>> > If you actually read the message3 you would have seen that there is
>> > not yet a Braille display.  The guy has some ideas and is looking for
>> > funding.
>> >
>> > Dave
>> >
>> > At 06:44 PM 12/31/2011, you wrote:
>> >>How many cells are on this new Braille display?
>> >>Also, why do the current ones cost so much?
>> >>That's like the IBill!
>> >>The IBill is small, but it costs $100.
>> >>It's the size of a Giga-pet, like I got as a child.
>> >>I only paid $5, for the giga-pet, but they expect me to pay $100 for
>> >>something, the same size!
>> >>Wow!
>> >>They should price things by size.
>> >>Blessings, Joshua
>> >>
>> >>On 12/31/11, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> >> > wonder when it will be ready for sale. I'd like braille displays to
>> >> > be
>> >> > more
>> >> > affordable. Even $500 would be better than the thousands they are
>> >> > now.
>> >> >
>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>> >> > From: Humberto Avila
>> >> > Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 10:00 PM
>> >> > To: shaneread at fastmail.fm ; jessbrl at fastmail.fm ; deniserob at gmail.com
>> >> > ;
>> >> > nabs-l at nfbnet.org ; GUI-talk at nfbnet.org ; villagers at gmail.com
>> >> > Subject: [nabs-l] FW: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display --
>> >> > IndieGoGo
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>> >> > From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> >> > [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> >> > On
>> >> > Behalf Of David Andrews
>> >> > Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 12:03 PM
>> >> > To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>> >> > Subject: [Blindtlk] Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo
>> >> >
>> >> > Subject: Open Source Braille Display -- IndieGoGo
>> >> >
>> >> > http://www.indiegogo.com/Open-Source-Braille-Display
>> >> >
>> >> > The Story
>> >> >
>> >> > This project started earlier this year when I
>> >> > read a local author's book of life as a Blind
>> >> > person. After contacting him, I decided I could best help by
>> >> > designing a simple device to make low-cost
>> >> > Braille display from a computer possible.
>> >> >
>> >> > So Will It Change the World?
>> >> >
>> >> > I hope so - or I wouldn't be working on it!
>> >> >
>> >> > Braille is to the Blind as the written word is to
>> >> > us sighted folk - and so Braille literacy is
>> >> > vitally important. Yet according to Wikipedia, while in 1960
>> >> > half of blind American schoolchildren could read
>> >> > Braille, in 2007, that number had dropped to one
>> >> > in ten. To improve literacy, we need to make available
>> >> > more ways to access and learn Braille - and an
>> >> > important one is a tool to allow the Blind to
>> >> > read the vast amounts of information on the Internet.
>> >> >
>> >> > For many years, Braille readers have done just
>> >> > that. A Braille reader takes computer text and
>> >> > turns it into tactile impressions of Braille characters for
>> >> > the blind to 'read'. However, these devices are
>> >> > expensive - thousands of dollars - and so few can
>> >> > afford them. The goal of this project is to make an Open
>> >> > Source/Open Hardware Braille reader: simpler,
>> >> > easy to build, well documented, and inexpensive,
>> >> > so people anywhere can make it themselves (or get it made
>> >> > locally).
>> >> >
>> >> > But there's a second goal: to get people doing
>> >> > more. This design is meant to be simple and cheap
>> >> > to build. My hope is other, smarter people will step in
>> >> > and build better, faster, and more powerful
>> >> > devices. But nobody is doing it now, and so
>> >> > someone has to start the ball rolling.
>> >> >
>> >> > With your help, this will be that ball...
>> >> >
>> >> > What You Can Do
>> >> >
>> >> > The goal is to get from the current first
>> >> > prototype to a finished design for a 40-character
>> >> > Braille display, complete with software, and all the details
>> >> > people need to build it, placed online. To that
>> >> > end, here's some of the things needed:
>> >> > list of 4 items
>> >> > . Small CNC machine (build or buy), to do faster
>> >> > turnaround of prototype parts.
>> >> > . Purchase a selection of stepper motors and
>> >> > driver boards, to test different
>> >> > price/performance ratios for the Braille display design.
>> >> > . Get a low-cost netbook to prototype the exact
>> >> > software to run a device (netbook rather than a
>> >> > full computer so as to test the device in the most likely
>> >> > 'real world' situation).
>> >> > . Materials! Prototypes use up a lot of material,
>> >> > as a part can get tweaked many times, each time requiring a new piece
>> >> > cut
>> >> > out.
>> >> > list end
>> >> >
>> >> > Make no mistake - the project IS going ahead,
>> >> > whether a little or a lot of money comes in - the
>> >> > difference is just the speed things happen! So when this
>> >> > project is out there making the difference I hope
>> >> > it will, ask yourself how good it will feel to
>> >> > say 'I helped with that' - and please contribute!
>> >> >
>> >> > Any level is appreciated, and there's some 'thank
>> >> > yous' listed on the right side of this page to show appreciate
>> >> for your aid.
>> >> >
>> >> > Progress will be discussed on my blog,
>> >> > http://UtopiaMechanicus.com,
>> >> > and designs will be made available there as they
>> >> > are finished. All code and design will also be
>> >> > made available for download, allowing people to make or
>> >> > modify these products.
>> >> >
>> >> > What (Else) You Can Do
>> >> >
>> >> > Tell the world - the more people that know of
>> >> > this project, the greater impact we can make.
>> >> > Blog about it, tweet away, link to it, talk about it at work.
>> >> > And please share this information with everyone and anyone.
>
>
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