Hello;
You are correct Howard about price things have come down.  I am one of those 
folks that still thinks that the longer the display the better.  I'm still 
waiting for the full page display but certainly not holding my breath.
I think braille becomes a necessity when one is in school.  I don't think 
speech helps much with spelling or grammar and paragraph structure either. 
Once you get past that point, however, speech becomes a viable option.
John you brought back some memories mentioning math class.  I had to take 
two semesters of math and the book on tape just didn't work for me.  I 
managed to get it brailled but the folks that did it are long dead.
I have no idea how I would get it done today.
Richard