3 ms·

Sure, but if you have a few keys to press, why not go all the way and make it a Braille keyboard? It would teach sight-able people how to write braille.

tsimionescu 5y ago
> It would teach sight-able people how to write braille. Is this an interesting goal? I absolutely understand why it would be extremely valuable for most people to know their local sign language for communication with those who can't hear, but I fail to see how wider learning of a very special writing system (one that anyway can't be currently read from electronic devices) would impact the sight-impaired community.
- jhy 5y ago
  There are definitely electronic Braille reading devices. They're called refreshable braille displays, and are often also combined with a specialized keyboard. Wider adoption could conceivably improve these interfaces through more users and commercial interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_braille_display https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_braille_display
  - alisonkisk 5y ago
    That doesn't read Braille. It reads digital data and writes Braille.
    - jazzyjackson 5y ago
      its a reading device in the sense that an amazon kindle is a reading device, a device with which to read
  - tsimionescu 5y ago
    Awesome, I wasn't aware of this! Thank you for the link! I believed Text-to-Speech is the only option used for HCI by people who can't see a screen.
- mlang23 5y ago
  The daughter of a coworker of mine has an elementary-school friendship with a blind girl. When she wanted to write a letter to her, I embossed the text for her, because, you know, I can write braille. I was told the little girl was very thrilled to receive a piece of paper she could actually read. But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? :-( Sad to read your attitude.
  - alisonkisk 5y ago
    Please don't be an asshole. You can do a one-off transliteration+embossing without becoming fluent in Braille or owning a dedicated Braille input device. The braille input device wouldn't make the task notably easier, since it is trivial to mechanically or electronically transliterate letters into Braille.
  - detaro 5y ago
    > But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? Parent didn't say that. Do you really think adding that ending is making your comment more convincing?
    - mlang23 5y ago
      Looking into a mirror can really hurt. Guess what, I dont care. I have been belittled, ignored, swept aside, manhandled, pushed across a street, you name it. I dont feel particularily bad if someone outside of my bubble is confronted with how their priviledged utterings make other people feel.
  - DiggyJohnson 5y ago
    You're being very disingenuous to assume that we all make decisions like the one being talked about in a vacuum.
  - 542354234235 5y ago
    You embossed a letter because you knew how to emboss. I could look up the braille alphabet for the letter faster than I could learn how to, and actually, emboss the letter itself. You don’t even need to look it up. Braille Neue is a great font that prints the roman letters with the braille locations you can then emboss. Since braille is a letter for letter transcription of English, again, what is the utility to the blind for widespread learning by the sighted? It isn’t sign language, which is a distinct language used by the hearing impaired to communicate. It is literally just a 3d font.

tsimionescu 5y ago

> It would teach sight-able people how to write braille. Is this an interesting goal? I absolutely understand why it would be extremely valuable for most people to know their local sign language for communication with those who can't hear, but I fail to see how wider learning of a very special writing system (one that anyway can't be currently read from electronic devices) would impact the sight-impaired community.

jhy 5y ago
There are definitely electronic Braille reading devices. They're called refreshable braille displays, and are often also combined with a specialized keyboard. Wider adoption could conceivably improve these interfaces through more users and commercial interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_braille_display https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_braille_display
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  That doesn't read Braille. It reads digital data and writes Braille.
  - jazzyjackson 5y ago
    its a reading device in the sense that an amazon kindle is a reading device, a device with which to read
- tsimionescu 5y ago
  Awesome, I wasn't aware of this! Thank you for the link! I believed Text-to-Speech is the only option used for HCI by people who can't see a screen.
mlang23 5y ago
The daughter of a coworker of mine has an elementary-school friendship with a blind girl. When she wanted to write a letter to her, I embossed the text for her, because, you know, I can write braille. I was told the little girl was very thrilled to receive a piece of paper she could actually read. But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? :-( Sad to read your attitude.
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  Please don't be an asshole. You can do a one-off transliteration+embossing without becoming fluent in Braille or owning a dedicated Braille input device. The braille input device wouldn't make the task notably easier, since it is trivial to mechanically or electronically transliterate letters into Braille.
- detaro 5y ago
  > But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? Parent didn't say that. Do you really think adding that ending is making your comment more convincing?
  - mlang23 5y ago
    Looking into a mirror can really hurt. Guess what, I dont care. I have been belittled, ignored, swept aside, manhandled, pushed across a street, you name it. I dont feel particularily bad if someone outside of my bubble is confronted with how their priviledged utterings make other people feel.
- DiggyJohnson 5y ago
  You're being very disingenuous to assume that we all make decisions like the one being talked about in a vacuum.
- 542354234235 5y ago
  You embossed a letter because you knew how to emboss. I could look up the braille alphabet for the letter faster than I could learn how to, and actually, emboss the letter itself. You don’t even need to look it up. Braille Neue is a great font that prints the roman letters with the braille locations you can then emboss. Since braille is a letter for letter transcription of English, again, what is the utility to the blind for widespread learning by the sighted? It isn’t sign language, which is a distinct language used by the hearing impaired to communicate. It is literally just a 3d font.