I hope that any libraries or others considering the purchase of a braille
display who do not have to use the technology will seek out comments from
multiple people who read braille on a braille display before making any
purchases.  I know all too well how expensive access technology is but as
someone who's been reading braille for more than 25 years, I have to point
out that an eight cell display is far too short for most people to use
effectively.  At best you get two to three words displayed on the unit at a
time and must then scroll the document to continue reading.  This is at
best and much of the time you get only one word on the eight cell display
at a time.  It just isn't comfortable for anything beyond basic computer
navigation in my opinion.

This is in no way intended to say that the Bookworm isn't a quality
product.  I believe it can be appropriate in certain settings but not for
any sort of lengthy reading.

Others may have widely different opinions.  That's why I strongly urge
people to get feedback from the people who will use the technology in
making a purchasing choice.

---
Kelly Ford
Access Technology Coordinator
Mt. Hood Community College

EASI's online workshop on Barrier-free Educational Technology,
Barrier-free Ed-Tech, begins March, 13.
Making campuses accessible is the right thing to do,
and it is the law.  For information, go to
http://www.rit.edu/~easi and click on workshops.