No, you're dead on, smiles. I'm a lazy boy myself, and generally speaking I'm just as happy to be read to. There's something about braille though. Listening is fine, especially if you have a good book with a really great narrater. Reading with a speech engine is OK. It would let me take care of odd chores while I'm listening and still get access to that book that I can't find in audiobook format. I like reading a book in braille once in a while though, and I'm especially going to like it if I don't have to be tied down to my computer by a usb cable to do it. Reading complements listening and helps keep spelling and grammer skills sharp as well as just providing an alternative to listening to cheesie speech synthesizers. I can't stand the thought of paper braille but there's definitely an attraction for me in pulling out my braille connect and going to town on a book. I have to run around the city all the time for work and the transit system takes a while to get anywhere. So, I can plan to be on the road anywere from one hour to 2 or three to get where I need to be on any given day. Braille books are really handy for that. I can take my braille display and read my book and still pay strict attention to stop announcements and such. I can even stand on a bus or a train with my arm around a pole and the other hand scrubbing the display. Kind'a makes me feel like any other guy with a paperback or a news paper.
Best, erik burggraaf A+ sertified technician and user support consultant. Phone: 888-255-5194 Email: e...@erik-burggraaf.com On 4-Jul-09, at 1:15 PM, Jenny Kennedy wrote: > > Ah Eric, I think I see your point? > It looks as if the CNIB has what the NLS calls web braille. You just > want to grab the books that come in the web braille brf format and > read them in braille from your mac like people do when they put them > on something like a braille note? That's fair enough, some people > like reading braille over listening to spoken word. Pointless or not, > brf seems to be the file of choice by groups who provide electronic > access to their libries for braille content. There's nothing wrong > with wanting to read a book in braille via a braille display, note > taker or whatever. > Having said this though, I've gotta say I'm with Josh and find it > faster and just more enjoyable to have whatever it is read to me and > wish that the different programs who offer etexts to us would offer a > HTML or TXT version along with the BRF version. But then you run into > all that copyright stuff so I guess you deal with things as they are. > : smile : > > Am I kind of right? Or have I missed the mark altogether? > > Best regards > Jenny > > On 7/4/09, Josh de Lioncourt <overl...@lioncourt.com> wrote: >> >> >> With the advent of grade 2 translation in screen readers for English, >> the point of BRF files is basically non-existent. They only were ever >> there because, initially, screen readers didn't translate into grade >> 2, so BRF files were a convenient way to read books without the >> painful necessity of reading them in computer Braille, (AKA Grade 0). >> >> These days, BRF is convenient on some note taking devices, though >> hardlya necessity. It serves now, or so it seems to me, as a sort of >> quasi-DRM. They figure sighted users who might get hold of such files >> won't know how to read them, and therefore will not pirate them. >> >> If I was so fortunate to be able to afford a ridiculously overpriced >> Braille display, (LOL), I wouldn't bother with BRF at all. I think >> they are far more trouble than they are worth. I have always, and >> expect I always will, back translate BRF files to read them, >> regardless of them method. >> >> The only other use for BRF files, really, is if you plan on printing >> to a Braille hard copy. But really, who is going to do that? LOL. >> >> On Jul 4, 2009, at 7:11 AM, erik burggraaf wrote: >> >>> >>> OK ppl. Here's what I'm reading. >>> >>> If I want to grab a fantasy novel from CNIB library in BRF format >>> and >>> read the thing, I first have to back translate it. But if Louis >>> will >>> back translate the thing, won't it just open up nicely and allow >>> me to >>> read without any palaver? And if you have to back translate to ge >>> access to a brf file, then what is the point of having brf files in >>> the first place? >>> >>> Maybe I should just stick to doing this on my phone, but I saw a >>> friend of mine using his braille display on his mac and it looked >>> very >>> inspiring. Especially given that snowleppard will support bluetooth >>> conectivity for braille displays. >>> >>> Best, >>> >>> erik burggraaf >>> A+ sertified technician and user support consultant. >>> Phone: 888-255-5194 >>> Email: e...@erik-burggraaf.com >>> >>> On 3-Jul-09, at 8:19 PM, Josh de Lioncourt wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Back translating is really the best way to go. I mean, if you're >>>> reading with a braille display, TextEdit or any other text editing >>>> program should do the trick for you. If you want the TTS to read >>>> it, >>>> then what you're looking for is an app to do back translation on >>>> the >>>> fly. Either way, it amounts to the same. Personally, I'd prefer to >>>> just back translate it and get on with the business of reading it >>>> normally. That will also allow for easy searching of the text with >>>> standard find functions, and such. >>>> >>>> Louis works great for back translating. >>>> >>>> On Jul 3, 2009, at 4:06 PM, erik burggraaf wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Well, no, I just want to hit command O on a brf file that I >>>>> download >>>>> from CNIB and read it. Does anything do that? >>>>> >>>>> I guess if I had to I would back translate them but that seems >>>>> like a >>>>> wasted step. >>>>> >>>>> Best, >>>>> >>>>> erik burggraaf >>>>> A+ sertified technician and user support consultant. >>>>> Phone: 888-255-5194 >>>>> Email: e...@erik-burggraaf.com >>>>> >>>>> On 3-Jul-09, at 6:58 PM, Greg Kearney wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Do you want to back translate brf files to text? If so Louis will >>>>>> do >>>>>> that for you. >>>>>> >>>>>> Greg Kearney >>>>>> >>>>>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 1:37 AM, erik burggraaf<e...@erik- >>>>>> burggraaf.com> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Hi friends, I've just sifted a few pages of google results, >>>>>>> but I >>>>>>> haven't been able to find a brf reader for Mac OS. Can some one >>>>>>> point >>>>>>> me to it please? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Thanks, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> erik burggraaf >>>>>>> A+ sertified technician and user support consultant. >>>>>>> Phone: 888-255-5194 >>>>>>> Email: e...@erik-burggraaf.com >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Gregory Kearney >>>>>> Manager Accessible Media >>>>>> Association for the Blind of Western Australia >>>>>> 61 Kitchener Ave. >>>>>> Victoria Park 6100 Western Australia >>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> >>> >>> >>>> >> >> >>> >> > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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