[nfbcs] Programming with a Braille display

[Tami Kinney]

Aaron,

I've been dragging my feet getting back into programming because I 
haven't managed to get a braille display, and trying to get started 
again using speech only makes me crazy. Also, Hearing code read to me 
sounds like incomprehensible gibberish. I'm starting to just suck it up 
and set aside time regularly to practice listening to code and path 
names for linux config files or terminal commands, but... It's coming 
slowly for me.

My own queries around and about indicate that most professional 
programmers find the 80-cell display to be their best option. My former 
employer was prepared to purchase one for me when I was losing the 
ability to read print, only we needed the VR agency to get someone out 
for an onsite evaluation and more information about the technical 
details, so... I hope they found someone good to do that job when I had 
to give it up because I couldn't read and the agency still couldn't get 
anyone out there. Sigh. The price of an 80-cell then, as now, is around 
$10k.

A 40-cell is around $5k, although I guess the Focus is only $4k these 
days... There are rumors that prices will start to come down soon, so 
I'm waiting for that with bated breath.

You're the third person I've ever heard of who does programming with 
speech only. /smile/ So I'm sure there must be others. You've bummed me 
out because if other people can program with speech only, then I don't 
have any excuse to put off learning to do that myself, do i? /grin/

I would say you're dead on about efficiency. I can only guess for 
myself, but there do seem to be a lot of little tasks or bits of tasks 
that involve squirrelling around with the screen reader that people who 
use braille just read with their fingers... My assumptions on my 
expectations for improved efficiency are also based on the simple fact 
that even as a pretty new braille reader, I recall waht I read through 
my fingers much more accurately and clearly than I do what I hear read 
to me... I'm getting better due to experience but ... That's not saying 
much. /smile/ Proofing is also more time consuming and also fatiguing 
for me. That could be mostly just me and how I respond conceptually to 
the spoken word as opposed to the read word... My fingers do a much 
better job for me at replacing my eyeballs than do my ears.

I don't know if that is helpful, but I thought I would throw it out 
since I'm in a similar place.

I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone else has to say. /smile/

Tami

On 11/08/2011 06:46 AM, Aaron Cannon wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> I'm wondering how many programmers use a braille display?  I have been
> programming for the past several years, but I've never tried to use a
> braille display.  Do you feel that it makes you more efficient?  If
> so, how exactly?
>
> I assume the larger the display, the better?
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.  Anything I can do to make myself
> more efficient is great.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Aaron
>
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