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                            THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST

                                 Issue # 1040

                            Monday, May 16, 1994

Today's Topics:


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                             Macular Degeneracy
                             microbraille! help!
                      Re: Books/Novels on disc or CD ?
                        Optical Character Recognition
                              ALL CAPS SOFTWARE
                             SmartVoice program?
                       braille handling on computers?
         Re: Does anyone make a screen reader for X-windows/Unix ???


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                              Bill McGarry (Moderator)
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Subject: Macular Degeneracy
From: feld@cc.umanitoba.ca (Michael Feld)
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada


I would like to communicate with others experiencing retinal
disintegration.
--
--
Michael Feld                  | E-mail: <feld@cc.umanitoba.ca>
Dept. of Philosophy           | FAX: (204) 261-0021
University of Manitoba        | Voice: (204) 474-9136
Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2M8, Canada




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Subject: microbraille! help!
From: dperez@eis.calstate.edu (Rusty Perez)
Organization: California Technology Project of The Calif State Univ

Hi, I recently commissioned the brailling of a book. I requested that the
transcribers send me computer files as I had just bought a braille
embosser. Well they sent me the files, Microbraille files and I don't
know what to do with them. They contain tons of uper ascii graphics
characters. They are not the conventional braille type files you get from
say, nfbtrans or Turbo Braille.
Does any one know what I could do with these files to either turn them in
to normal braille files or just to print them on my Juliet. Thanks
Rusty
Please email me as I may not find it on the list
Thanks
 -- I
refuse to disclaim anything!
Anything and everything I say is a product of  everything and everyone I
have ever been  associated with
David (Rusty) Perez (dperez@eis.calstate.edu)
. "Oh wind, if winter comes, can spring be far
behind?" -- Shelley




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Subject: Re: Books/Novels on disc or CD ?
From: mars@netcom.com (Darren Giles)
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)

In article <32135@handicap.news>,
Sven U. Grenander <Sven_U_Grenander@ccmail.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> wrote:
>Index Number: 32135
>
>I'd like to know what is available in the form of electronic books, either

As far as the Macintosh selection:

There are some excellent commercial offerings from Voyager, each on a
single floppy...  they're cheaper than a hardbound book, and should be in
any computer store.

There are also a good number of public-domain texts files of the classics,
some of which have been incorporated into HyperCard "perBooks."  Mail
me for info.




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Subject: Optical Character Recognition
From: gunnar.wickman@hol.com
Organization: Hawaii Online * Lihue, Kauai - Hawaii * 808-246-8887


Mr Eric Arvidson
1750 Kalakaua avenue
suite # 1008
Honolulu Hawaii 96826O

At a low cost Optical Character Recognition

You are perhaps already receiving Faxes on
your computer , or on a dedicated FAXmachine . Either way you have perhaps
found it frustrating not to be able to " manipulate " the text you received
from a FAX transmission and add it to ; in example a word processing document
.If you are so fortunate that you also have a scanner then you can already do
this , but since most of us do not , here is a inexpensive way to achieve the
same result .I use my computer as a FAX machine for both incoming and outgoing
Faxes . My FAXsoftware is by a company called FAX STF , version 3.0 for the
Macintosh , in addition to that I have purchased an upgrade for said software
called : STF AutoPack for FAX STF 3.0 . That upgrade gives you the ability to
convert a fax document ( that you have received in a PICT format ) to a in
example a text document of your choice . When you convert it any and all
graphics will be automatically deleted . And only the raw text will appear in
your new document .You ( depending on how you set your preferences ) "lost" the
original PICT FAX and you will be able to view it in that format as well .Now
if you take this one step further : say you have a visual impairment ( or blind
) and you have a read-back speech program like in ex " outSPOKEN " by Berkeley
Systems for the Macintosh you would be able to have your computer read a FAX
back to you once you have converted it .And also if you have a dedicated FAX
machine as well as a computer like I do , you can simply FAX yourself ( your
computer ) a text document that you have received via mail and then convert it
. This method requires two telephone linesand a modem as well as the dedicated
FAX machine . You can also use a 3rd party FAX machine for FAX ing your
computer an occasionaldocument .Hints : It is important when using this
technique , to always send the message at the slowest speed / the finest
setting . After you have received the documentand converted it to a text , in
your favorite word processor to run a spell check . A conversion from PICT to
Text always have some errors and the spell checker will help you correct that

.Sources :%        FAX STF 3.0 & Auto Pack : # 1-800-783-2002%     outSPOKEN by
Berkeley Systems :Apple Co / Aisle 17 # 1-800-600-7808
     Sincerely
     Gunnar Wickman ,owner    CC;Mr Bill Peay / Ken Jones KMUG

I wrote this on request from Aloha Stack (Accesess to computer
techhnology for people with disabilities / Special Technological
Access Center ) for their News letter , thinking that you might be
able to use something here ??  Gunnar

GSW FineWoodworking
1746 Hulu Road  Kapaa  Hawaii  96746
Phone ; ( 808 ) 822-3771 8 am - 5 pm
/ Fax ; ( 808 ) 822-0606  24 hours
Internet Adress : GUNNAR.WICKMAN@HOL.COM
Wednesday, May 11, 1994Aloha Stack Att ;



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Subject: ALL CAPS SOFTWARE
From: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com (Bill McGarry)

I have gotten a request from someone who is visually impaired
and who cannot read notes written in lower case letters and
is looking for a program that will convert a file into
all uppper case letters (a DOS program).

Any ideas?


                                Bill McGarry
                                (203) 926-6187

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Subject: SmartVoice program?
From: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com (Bill McGarry)

Here is another request that I received.  Any ideas on this
one?

On 03/26/94 AEATON  [Queenie] said to ALL
 AE>I am at the home of a pal who is VI. He wants to find a program
 AE>compatible with SmartVoice that will echo keyboard or announce
 AE>keystrokes. Thanks a lot! Queenie

(Queenie's e-mail address is aeaton@nvn.com or just post an
answer or e-mail it to me and I will make sure that she gets it.)

Thanks!

                                Bill McGarry

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NVN:        ABILITY                      Compuserve: 73170,1064




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Subject: braille handling on computers?
From: pinard@IRO.UMontreal.CA

My main interest goes into producing Spanner code for musical
notation, as an optional output format to the incoming GNU Music
score editor.  Please tell me about any information or reference you
might know about this that I should be aware of.  If you are not the
appropriate person to ask, but know whom I should ask, please tell me.
Would you mind replying to the few following questions?

* Is there any standard table(s) associating the 64 braille symbols to
computer bytes?  (I did my own, but would prefer to follow standards
if some exist).

* Is there any computerized braille text freely available?

* Is there a computerized list of braille abbreviations for English,
and other languages?  (I types the one for French yesterday).

* Is there any public domain or free (in the GNU meaning) braille
processing program, or program specifications, or any related
information I should read?

By the way, I wrote yesterday an ad hoc, simple braille mode for GNU
Emacs.  The reason was to speed me up, without first becoming fluent
at reading braille, while typing the 921 French braille abbreviations.
Tell me if I should announce it somewhere.  It's free.

--
Franc,ois Pinard        ``Vivement GNU!''       pinard@iro.umontreal.ca
About the League for Programming Freedom?  Email me or lpf@uunet.uu.net




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Subject: Re: Does anyone make a screen reader for X-windows/Unix ???
From: wwalker@zk3.dec.com (Will Walker USG)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


Hello Stuart:

I work with the DACX (Disability Action Committee for X) group to
develop solutions for X for people with disabilties.  As far as I
know, a publicly available screen reader for X is not available
today, though the members of DACX are working very hard to get one
working for R6, the next version of X.

In particular, the people on the Mercator Project at Georgia Tech
are making significant progress in the development of a screen
reader for X.  I'm not sure on how soon it will be available, but
since it is based upon some underlying hooks for R6, and since
R6 will not be shipped by commercial vendors for a while, I wouldn't
expect to see something until towards the end of the year at the
earliest.

Hope this helps,

Will Walker

- - - -----------------------------------------------------------------
William D. Walker                             wwalker@zk3.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation                          Nashua, NH






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                 End of Issue # 1040 of the Blind News Digest

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