Category: Geeks r Us
Hi, everyone,
Just wondering if anyone uses a braille display with their computer. If so, what kind, and how does it work for ya?
Let me know!
Kate
at work I use a powerbraille 40, bit out of date now but it works, and is simply installed via the screenreader, in my case jaws. i use it for transcribing/proofreading and can happily silence the speech while i work. and, i want one at work. now graciously accepting money for the buy sam a braille display campaign. lol
Hey Kate,
I use a PACMate Portable 40-cell Braille display, which I also use with my PACMate, with JAWS all the time, and it works quite well. Even though it doesn't have a built-in Braille keyboard for issuing commands from the display as many of the desktop displays do, there are hotkeys incorporated in to the buttons of the display for performing various functions, and I've personally used the KeyBoard Manager in JAWS to recustomize the display's buttons for performing functions that I would use most frequently with a display, so I don't mind that it lacks the input keyboard, and I actually don't think I would have the space for a larger display anyway. Like I said, it works really well, and I can't imagine not having a Braille display with a computer anymore! Having Braille makes it a lot easier, in my opinion, to proofread documents, and the cursor routing buttons are really useful when editing documents or reading/interacting with Web pages. Although I like speech, I've always preferred Braille to audio, so I really like seeing the output of my computer screen in Braille, not to mention that a Braille display is very helpful to me when I'm taking notes while listening to a lecture or talking with someone on the telephone or via voice chat over the Internet because I can turn JAWS off and not have the speech distracting me while I'm also trying to listen to the other person's voice. Just my two cents...
Maria
Hey! Thanks a bunch. It's always helpful. I am currently using a Rabbit (RBT40) and it works fairly well, but I am goign to apply for funding to get something for work so I don't have to carry the eight-year-old braille display back and forth.
I'm using my BrailleNote as a Braille display, and it works pretty good for me. Of course, I can't read as much at a time as I would be able to witha regular Braille display, but I like finally having an alternative way of reading things. It's especially good for editing. You can use the thumb keys in the front of the BrailleNote to move around with the display, but if you're mainly going to be reading large pages, I would suggest having your screen-reader running at the same time and using that to find/navigate quickly, and using the Braille display to read and edit. At least that's what I usually have to do if I'm going to be moving around in one page most of the time. But if I'm dealing with more than one window and will be switching back and forth a lot or just editing in a document, then using the Braille display without JAWS works pretty well for me.
Alba makes the beest braille displays. I'm currently working on getting my rehab counselor to get me one. They're light weight, and have really neat navigation keys so you can navigate the screen easily without using hte regular keyboard at all. So that would be my recommendation.
I use the Alva Satellite 84 at work and absolutely love it, usb connections, portable, both 110 and 220V so you can plug it in anywhere in the world, has downstream USB ports so you can connect your display to the computer and then the printer to the display. It's horrendously expensive however, this this one cost almost $13000 (paid for by my employer, thank goodness). I've heard that Freedom Scientific are coming down with their prices on their displays a lot, 80 cell ones down to $6000, but I have no idea how good/bad they are.
cheers
-B