Members of VIPACE! (www.vipace.org) will be provided with a demonstration of this product at the April 14th meeting. This article from Business Week can be read at : http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2000/nf00315d.htm ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BY JOHN M. WILLIAMS MARCH 15, 2000 For the Blind, an Operating System of Their Own HumanWare's new BrailleNote extends the Windows CE platform to convert text into digital speech or into Braille For the blind, equal access to computers and the Internet has been a rallying cry for years. But it has proven to be an elusive goal. PCs are, after all, a strongly visual tool, and most popular operating systems such as Microsoft Windows can provide only limited accessibility adjustments. So the mantra has been changing: Blind people now are demanding their own operating system capable of tapping the Net in a way perfectly suited to them. Next week at the annual California State University at Northridge Assistive Technology Conference, HumanWare Inc. will be previewing a new product that may give blind people what they've been looking for. The company, based in Loomis, Calif., will soon roll out BrailleNote, a notetaker for the blind with a modern operating system built on Windows CE technology. For the first time ever, blind users will be able to send and receive e-mail attachments that can be opened in Microsoft Word, and then converted into text, digital voice, or Braille. This would mark a big step forward. The best products on the market today can reproduce computer documents in print Braille or convert text into digital voice. But blind computer users can't send or receive accessible attachments via e-mail. The BrailleNote is the first system that will allow a blind user to use Windows technology just like a sighted person. EASY TYPING. The device looks like an oversized Palm digital assistant. Although it's a bit bulky, you could carry it in your jacket pocket or in a purse. It has a specially designed keyboard along the sides and at the bottom. The first three keys on each side of the unit contain the Braille alphabet. Other keys direct where Braille dots should be placed or can serve as cursors. For example, a single dot represents the letter "a." A dot, followed by an "above" key command, followed by another dot, would produce a "b." Two dots in a row and a third dot placed below the second dot is "c." So with a little practice, a blind person can enter just about any information into the computer. The BrailleNote also has a special display screen along the bottom. By pressing an advance bar, words in Braille move along the display screen in either 18- or 32-cell configurations. The cells are the indentations that relay information to a blind person. And they allow the user to read any material entered into the unit, including e-mail attachments. The BrailleNote also will print out files in Braille on paper, although it requires a special printer. And it will read files back to you in a clear, digital voice. It's a multifaceted device. I believe BrailleNote isn't trying to replicate what the PC does as much it is trying to leap past existing technology to a new platform in which blind people will have the tools to be as productive as sighted people. This is the revolutionary part of BrailleNote. The blind user can open the attachment to an e-mail, edit it, save it, and reattach it to another outgoing e-mail. The receiver would never know the sender used a system different from Windows to do the work. The results are identical to what you would get from someone who isn't blind. BEST BRAILLE. Among my blind friends, this device has generated enthusiastic interest. BrailleNote has the potential to put the applications people require most often from a computer into an environment that is intuitive, yet powerful. BrailleNote has an internal modem, and infrared, serial, and parallel ports. By using these industry standards, the BrailleNote allows carefree interfacing with contemporary technology such as printers, embossers, PCs, or visual displays. Within seconds of turning BrailleNote on, users can read documents in Grade 1 or Grade 2 Braille, the highest quality of Braille on the market. Forward and backward Braille translators give total flexibility in handling text and Braille documents. Tasks can be processed quickly, and you can store hundreds of files and pages of Braille. I truly believe this product will give blind people the power to be at least as productive as their sighted peers. HumanWare expects to deliver the product to market by June at a price of around $3,500 for the 18-cell model and $5,000 for the 32-cell version. What's your opinion on this topic? Let us know at BW Online's Assistive Tech Forum. Or, if you have a question about assistive technology, write to John at [log in to unmask] EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html