hmmm, you can't do poetry or a play in synthesized speech, Braille is essential for that or hearing a dramatic reading, but sometimes you need both. I would not be without Braille. I have read it for more than 60 years.
bj colt via Talk <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Terry, > > While I did read braille, speech has overtaken that method of > reading. When I did my Hon BA Social science course. I read hundreds > of books. I mean hundreds. I scanned in every single one of > them. Reading them in braille would have taken me abgout 40 years. My > fingertip senses have reduced dramatically because of playing the > guitar and neuropathy from Diabetes. > > I could never go back to braille. At one time I did read 60 words a > minute. Which isn't fast, maybe between mid and high but not > fast. Some people could read it fast. However for the deaf bllind > 1,000 dollars is something else. Or for those who prefer > braille. About time the price was brought down. Rip off bastards.lol > > Live long and prosper, John > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Terry Bartlett via Talk" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 5:29 PM > To: "talk list" <[email protected]> > Subject: Interesting fb post > > > Today, blind people fluent in Braille can read computer screens s > > > > > > through refreshable displays that convert words to raised dots – but > > > > > > only one line at a time. > > > > For the sighted, imagine a Kindle that presents just 40 characters per > > > > > > page, says Sile O’Modhrain, an associate professor of Music, Theatre > > > > > > and Dance at U-M, who is blind. Forty characters amounts to about 10 > > > > > > words. > > > > The process is slow. It doesn’t give context. It’s expensive. And > > > > > > O’Modhrain believes it's one of the factors contributing to Braille’s > > > > > > declining use. Even though fluency in the nearly 200-year-old code is > > > > > > linked with higher employment and academic performance for the > > > > > > visually impaired, fewer blind people are learning and using it. > > > > > > Taking Braille’s place are text-to-speech programs that make it easier > > > > > > and faster to consume electronic information, but at the same time, > > > > > > hold back literacy. > > > > So O’Modhrain, who is also in the School of Information, has teamed up > > > > > > with engineering researchers to build a better Braille display – one > > > > > > that could show the equivalent of a whole Kindle screen at once. In > > > > > > addition, it could translate beyond text, rendering graphs, charts, > > > > > > spreadsheets, maps and complicated equations in a medium the blind > > > > > > could more fully understand with their fingertips. > > > > “What we’re trying to build in this project is full-page tactile > > > > > > screen for something like a Kindle or an iPad where you could just > > > > > > display refreshable text in real time,” O’Modhrain said. “Relative to > > > > > > what’s done today, and how that’s done, it’s a complete paradigm > > > > > > shift.” > > > > In the 1950s, about half of blind children learned to read Braille, > > > > > > according to the National Federation of the Blind. Today, that number > > > > > > is just 10 percent. Yet 80 percent of the blind people who are > > > > > > employed know Braille. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, as > > > > > > definitions and health outcomes have evolved over the years. But the > > > > > > trend they suggest is real. > > > > “When you’re learning to read and write, it’s hard to find a > > > > > > substitute for physically encounter text – whether it’s in visual or > > > > > > tactile form,” O’Modhrain said. ”There are many studies that show that > > > > > > listening to something is not the same as reading it.” > > > > The system she is developing with Brent Gillespie, an associate > > > > > > professor of mechanical engineering, and Alex Russomanno, a doctoral > > > > > > student in the same department, would make e-reading for the blind > > > > > > more efficient and a lot less expensive. Today’s commercial one-line > > > > > > Braille displays cost around $5,000. If you were to directly scale up > > > > > > the mechanism behind it to show a whole page, it would cost around > > > > > > $50,000, Russomanno says. The U-M researchers’ aim to offer that > > > > > > capability at just $1,000 per device. > > > > How can they make a bigger display at a fraction of the cost? Their > > > > > > answer is microfluidics – a branch of science and engineering that > > > > > > involves specially etched chips with tiny channels that guide flows > > > > > > of liquid or air. Microfluidic chips are modeled and made like the > > > > > > integrated circuits of computers. They are printed rather than > > > > > > assembled. > > > > “We use the equivalent of electronic logic and circuitry,” Russomanno > > > > > > said. “When I say that, I’m referring to the way a computer works, > > > > > > with transistors and resistors, except ours is not electronic at all. > > > > > > It’s fluidic. Instead of high voltage and low voltage you have high > > > > > > pressure and low pressure, and instead of electric current flow you > > > > > > have fluid flow and you can achieve the same basic logic features.” > > > > And like the 0s and 1s that undergird computing, Braille is a binary > > > > > > code. Each Braille cell (which is sometimes a letter and sometimes a > > > > > > whole word) contains six dots that can be either raised or flat to > > > > > > convey different information. > > > > Michigan engineers have developed technology that may soon lead to a > > > > > > refreshable braille tablet the size of a Kindle. > > > > “The dots are either there or they’re not,” O’Modhrain said. “That’s > > > > > > why this circuit is so elegant.” > > > > With just two input valves, the researchers are able to generate more > > > > > > than 50 different dot states. The valves move fluid that controls tiny > > > > > > bubbles that raise or lower dots. > > > > At this point, they've shown that they can drive the dots with > > > > > > bubbles, and that they can print a microfluidic device that could let > > > > > > them efficiently control those bubbles. Over the next year, they'll be > > > > > > working to integrate the two and produce a larger prototype. > > > > "We would like to think a device like this would make reading > > > > > > electronic Braille more attractive again, make it close to the > > > > > > experience of reading a traditional book," O'Modhrain said. "Another > > > > > > challenge is convincing educational authorities to teach Braille > > > > > > again. It has dropped out of the system in terms of the education of > > > > > > blind people and we think it’s important to bring Braille back." > > > > About Michigan Engineering: The University of Michigan College of > > > > > > Engineering is one of the top engineering schools in the country. > > > > > > Eight academic departments are ranked in the nation's top 10 -- some > > > > > > twice for different programs. Its research budget is one of the > > > > > > largest of any public university. Its faculty and students are making > > > > > > a difference at the frontiers of fields as diverse as nanotechnology, > > > > > > sustainability, > > > > healthcare, national security and robotics. They are > > > > > > involved in spacecraft missions across the solar system, and have > > > > > > developed partnerships with automotive industry leaders to transform > > > > > > transportation. > > > > Its entrepreneurial > > > > culture encourages faculty and > > > > > > students alike to move their innovations beyond the laboratory and > > > > > > into the real world to benefit society. Its alumni base of nearly > > > > > > 70,000 spans the globe. > > -- > > -- > > > > > > - > > > > > > > > Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which > > get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you.” > > > > ― Winnie the Pooh > > > > Terry Bartlett > > > > Ph: +6434847487 > > > > Fax: +6434847145 > > > > Mobile: +64212063874 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of > > the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > > > For membership options, visit > > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/bjcolt%40blueyonder.co.uk. > > For subscription options, visit > > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > > List archives can be found at > > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > > _______________________________________________ > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author > and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > For membership options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/covici%40ccs.covici.com. > For subscription options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > List archives can be found at > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > -- Your life is like a penny. You're going to lose it. The question is: How do you spend it? John Covici [email protected] _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
