[nfbcs] Programming with a Braille display

Wed Nov 9 19:35:42 UTC 2011

Thanks. I'm starting to get in some actual practice at skill building in 
between trying to work at the stuff I have been skill rebuilding for 
since I got the new computer and went linux. /smile/

The screenreader for Linux is Orca. It comes bundled with most distros 
these days. It has really come a long ways, and accessibility has 
improved even in the short time I've been a full-time Orca user. Thus, 
more programs are more accessible all the time, which is neat. There are 
a couple that I use now that weren't accessible when I first tried them 
out... Now they are. And I didn't have to pay a dime.

The Orca list is really where I'm practicing listening to code and path 
names to improve my ability to hear in a useful way. It's also a good 
education for me in building up a conceptual framework for how all the 
accessibility layers work together. And what is what. Just because I 
knew what it was when I was seeing the words on the screen does not mean 
I have ever heard of any such thing. /lol/ Then I suddenly figure it out 
and have a good laugh at myself. Oh, of course. Emacs.

There are a few options besides Orca, and some people use those for 
certain tasks. Also different synthesizers, like eSpeak, SpeakUp, 
Festival mbrola, and of course Speech Dispatcher which seems to be the 
main engine for Orca... I may not be explaining that properly, since I'm 
picking up concepts while I'm learning to use Orca for more and more 
complex tasks. While reviewing what the heck is what in the wide world 
of Linux. /lol/ For getting back into the basics of programming with 
speech, I need to change some configuration files in the layers 
underlying Orca... I'm going to need to grit my teeth and have some 
concentrated time to do that, but as I start working more beneath the 
GUI, I'm hoping things will improve quickly in terms of my understanding 
of what Orca is saying and how to translate it to things I recognize. 
And to develop patience for reading the fine details and proofing my own 
changes. So far, my work with the terminal has been tiny and limited to 
things I can't accidentally screw up. /smile/

Hearing what others have done in the past and how they work now in the 
changing tech climate is really helpful. I'm getting a lot of ideas to 
use and a bit more backbone to get past my own wining. /lol/

Tami

On 11/09/2011 04:56 AM, david hertweck wrote:
> I am a professional software engineer and I only use speech.  It works good
> for me.  As an aside what screen reader are people using for linux.
>
> Helpful setting for code
> Symbols read all
> In your editor have the editor use spaces rather than tabs
> Use the move 1 word to the left and right a lot.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Bryan Schulz
> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 5:57 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Programming with a Braille display
>
> hi,
>
> i only had speech in the late 90s to 2001 with cobol, c++ and visual basic
> and it wasn't hard.
>
> Bryan Schulz
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tami Kinney"<tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
> To: "NFB in Computer Science Mailing List"<nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 2:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Programming with a Braille display
>
>
>> 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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