🚀 go-pugleaf

                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1141

                           Sunday, April 23, 1995

Today's Topics:


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                              jaws for windows
                                    help
                      Re: Power Braille 40 with Windows
                      Voice feedback Pulse Rate Monitor
                              recipes for blind
                            Re: Vision Impairment
                        MicroBraille vs. MegaDots???
                            Used Perkins Brailler
                    MicroBraille and MegaDots comparison
                       Visual impairment info needed.


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Subject: jaws for windows
From: scottr@ion.apana.org.au (Scott Rutkowski)



Hi All. I was just wondering if anyone knows if Jaws for windows has been
released yet? If so, can you please tell me an ftp site I can download it
from?
Thanks in advance and bye for now.




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Subject: help
From: gary@sasquatch.com (Gary Peterson)

Hello,

I am blind and have Ceribbrelpalsy.  I can not write or sign my
name, so I use a signature stamp.  While this works well most of
the time, because I'm not able to write, I'm totally dependent on
others to assist in writing checks, filling out deposit slips
etcetera.

I'm trying to come up with a way I can do all this on my
computer, including writing checks.  Razed line checks are not an
option, because I would still have to be able to write the amount
of each check.  Does anyone out there know of any soft where that
would allow me to write bank like documents directly from my
keyboard.  Any feedback or help you can give me with this will be
greatly appreciated.  Thanks,


Gary Peterson



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Subject: Re: Power Braille 40 with Windows
From: adaptive1@aol.com

Regarding the person from Taiwan who is using a Power Braille 40 with
Windows.
spcell@NCUE4680.ncue.edu.tw is the tag address.


If Screen Power Speech for Windows is not yet available to you, contact
Baum in
Germany.  They manufacture the David Braille Computer among other braille
devices.  Most interesting for you, however ; is the Virgo product they
sell which was also sold to TSI to allow them to market it in the USA as
Screen Power Speech for Windows.

The Virgo product not only offers speech output but slick braille
depictions of screen information in windows.  I hope this helps you!

Dan Aunspach, Adaptive1@AOL.COM
                       Aunspac@IBM.NET



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Subject: Voice feedback Pulse Rate Monitor
From: mehalek@teal.csn.org (Stephen Mehalek)
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.

I'm looking for a pulse rate monitor that will allow you to wear headphones,
and will speak to you i.e. Pulse 110....Pulse 120.  My eyesight is impaired,
and I don't have the ability to utilitize pulse monitors that typical have
the display in an LCD format.

I know that many years ago, Nike made one for runners.  However, I
have been unable to locate one since.

If you could e-mail me directly it would be appreciated.


Stephen Mehalek

mehalek@csn.org

--
Stephen Mehalek     mehalek@csn.org



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Subject: recipes for blind
From: LGIBSON@NMU.EDU (Gibson, Leon)
Organization: NMU.EDU (Northern Michigan University)

I am looking for easy to follow recipes for the blind. The should have a
s few steps to follow as possible. Any dishes are welcome. Please send t
hem in e-mail to LGIBSON@NMU.EDU. Thank you.




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Subject: Re: Vision Impairment
From: davidcscott@delphi.com (DAVID C. SCOTT)
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)

In the Mac 7.5 system there is a special needs folder and in that
folder is a program called "Close View."  This program can be
activated to enlarge the Macintosh displaly.



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Subject: MicroBraille vs. MegaDots???
From: sinh@dlep1.itg.ti.com (Arun Sinha)
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway

I am wondering whether I should buy MicroBraille or MegaDots?
I know MegaDots costs more, but what are the differences?

Thanks in Advance,

Arun Sinha




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Subject: Used Perkins Brailler
From: ullmann@bcaix1.chemie.uni-hamburg.de (Martin Ullmann)
Organization: University of Hamburg -- Germany

To whom it may concern,

i m looking for a used perkins brailler. I could pick it up this
summer when visiting friends in Seattle/WA. If someone like to sell
one, please e-mail to my address so that we can figure out how to
do it.

Martin

P.S. It doesn t have to be a perkins brailler, any other model would be fine
 too.

__________________________________________________________________
Martin Ullmann        University of Hamburg
Dep. for Biochemistry and Molelcularbiology
Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6    20146 Hamburg
Germany
Phone:   +49-40-4123-2845
Fax:     +49-40-4123-2848
e-mail:  ullmann@chemie.uni-hamburg.de



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Subject: MicroBraille and MegaDots comparison
From: dnavy@well.sf.ca.us (David Holladay)
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway

Here is a response to the request for a comparison of MicroBraille and
MegaDots. It comes from a transcriber from Texas:




  Statement of Edie Cheney on MicroBraille and MegaDots
  April 6, 1995

  7898 Little Branch Road Waxahachie, Texas
  Hi Aaron,

     You asked if I would compare 6-key entry in MegaDots to Microbraille,
and since I have been working with text already entered as print on disks
from publishers or from scanners, I really hadn't had the chance to do
much with direct braille entry in MegaDots.

     Well, I have now, and without a doubt it is far superior to
Microbraille. It always seemed to me that Microbraille was pretty easy to
teach to my volunteer braillists who were moving from Perkins to computer
braille. But the learning curve for MegaDots is very much shorter. I
shouldn't be surprised at this because I know how much more quickly I can
teach a new user to translate braille with MegaDots than I could with
Duxbury. The documentation for MegaDots is excellent and the help screens
information accessed with F1 are very easy to use. The configuration menus
are easy to set and save and retrieve and the F2 list of choices for each
element when configuring leaves no doubt as to the information the user is
expected to give. Microbraille really has nothing to compare to this. It
has no help screens and very few choices of settings except for color of
background and dots.

     The fact that MegaDots gives a choice of ways in which to view dots
is unique in direct entry programs. Most braillists my age will choose
large dots which make reading the screen much less stressful. But, for
those braillists who wish to view the screen in braille ASCII or small
dots, that option is available. And one can quickly switch between modes.

     By hitting F5 and Alt Scroll Lock, the braillist can immediately have
her braille dots translated to print for proofreading. Then correction can
be made to the print screen, or the braillist can move back to the braille
screen, again by hitting F5 and Alt Scroll Lock-, and the changes can be
made with six-key entry. When the corrections are made, THE FILE IS
IMMEDIATELY REFORMATTED CORRECTLY. In order to do any proofreading in
print, the person using Microbraille must leave that program, load the
braille file into a program such as BCU (a program separate from
Microbraille specifically written for this purpose), AND wait for a
translation which can then be printed to a printer or to the computer
screen. The text is proofread and corrections to be made are noted. The
Microbraille file is then reloaded and the corrections made in
Microbraille. As material is added or deleted lines must be pulled up or
pushed down. Your file will not be reformatted automatically. One hazard
of this process, as anyone who does quality control on "corrected"
MicroBraille files knows is that if the braillist unintentionally cursors
over the page breaks in MicroBraille while correcting, the running print
pagination advances one page automatically and usually incorrectly--the
most common error we find in MicroBraille files in fact is incorrect
running print pagination numbers. Not only can the MegaDots braillist
easily translate and proofread her work in print, she will soon discover a
SPELL CHECKER built into MegaDots. There is nothing to compare to this in
MicroBraille.

     Having to add or delete lines in Glossaries is a nightmare in
Microbraille due to the fact that the guide words then have to be changed
manually. Microbraillists who remember having to make these kinds of
changes on their old Perkins would be stunned to see how once MegaDots has
been told that any entry word is a potential guide word, it will simple
keep automatically reformatting that glossary!

     There is no way in MicroBraille to state what kind of material you
are dealing with--paragraphs, captions, poetry with numbered lines,
columns or stair stepped tables, etc. The braillist sets and resets tabs
and manipulates the text until it looks right. If she changes her mind
about the way she wants it formatted--"Oh, this won't fit across the line,
I'll have to stairstep it"--for instance, she will have to change it
manually. MegaDots would allow her to simply block the lines and with a
couple of keystrokes would reformat the table for her. In fact she could
block it, and press ALT T plus C, then block again and press ALT T L, and
then once more block it and press ALT T S and in those very few seconds
see how that material would look arranged as columns, line for line, and
stair stepped. At that point she would know that she ad died and gone to
braillists heaven.

     Once MegaDots is told what kind of material it is dealing with as in
ALT B 0 for Outline, or ALT B B for paragraphs, or ALT P for poetry--then
as each entry is finished and a carriage return is hit to begin a new
entry, that next entry will have the same format--no manual indenting, no
setting tabs, until a new kind of format is indicated. There is nothing in
Microbraille to compare to this.

     Microbraille has nothing to help braillists deal with hierarchy-the
complicated indentions necessary for contents, outlines, indices, etc. She
will have to indent manually the 1-5, 3-7, 5-9, protocol called for in the
braille code for where things begin and where they run over. She will to
be sure to leave blank lines where the code demands--before and perhaps
after headings, before and after lists, etc. Once MegaDots has been told
what kind of material you are going to enter--minor head, outline,
list--it will leave blank lines, handle runovers for lists, poetry, etc.,
according to the Textbook Code, and by using ALT left or right arrow it
will format indentations and runovers in material showing hierarchies.

     If you have one of those brain glitches where you are not sure how to
contract a word you can hit F5 to change to print, type in the word, hit
F5 to go back to braille and see the word in braille dots. MegaDots is
often smarter than the user!!! Microbraille is never going to help you
with anything you aren't sure of.

     And also, very important is the number of direct entry braillists who
have been lost or whose output of braille has been severely curtailed due
to carpal tunnel syndrome. Most of these braillists can type comfortable,
they are certified and they want to keep working. MegaDots is also a
translator and they can very easily work on the print side of the
translator to enter their braille and be very confident and comfortable
hitting F5 to see their results in braille.

     Another advantage is being able to have more than one file open at a
time. All braillists "steal" material from their preliminary pages for
subsequent volumes. These can easily be loaded at the same time and when
contents parts are deleted for later volumes the remainder of the file
will reformat itself in MegaDots. Microbraille opens only one file at a
time. And it is very slow waiting for files to load, etc.

     But most important of all I have to go back to the way MegaDots
automatically reformats to the end of the file when any changes are made
to the file, particularly when material is added or deleted. I have just
seen too many hammered files when changes were made in Microbraille.

     The size of the file is limited in Microbraille. I have done
interpoint files in MegaDots of 190 braille pages in a single file.

     I haven't even mentioned the ability of MegaDots to do foreign
language or computer code or to change portions from grade I to grade 2
and back without rebrailling.

     Hey, Aaron, We Love This Program!!!!


     -- Edie

 .



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Subject: Visual impairment info needed.
From: kra@cs.stir.ac.uk (Kirsten Ramsay \(UG4\))
Organization: Computing Science and Mathematics, Stirling University

Dear All,

I am new to this newsgroup, so please bear with me.

I am need of some more detailed information about a few visual impairments.
(I am just finishing off my final year dissertation, and realised that the info
 I
have is incomplete. OOPS!)

Could someone please email me describing exactly the symtoms of the following
visual impairments?  I only know the details which follow the names.

1. Optic Atrophy - Degeneration of the nerve tissue that carries message from
 the
retina to the brain.
2. Retinitis - Inflamation of the retina
3. Retinitis Pigmentosa - Hereditary degeneration and atrophy of the
light-sensitive cells of the retina.

Any help with this matter would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Kirsten Ramsay
kra@cs.stir.ac.uk
University of Stirling
SCOTLAND





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                 End of Issue # 1141 of the Blind News Digest

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