[1085] in linux-announce channel archive
Soft Braille for Linux: BRLTTY 0.22 BETA Release
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Lars Wirzenius)
Mon Sep 25 21:56:55 1995
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 11:28:08 +0200
From: Lars Wirzenius <wirzeniu@cc.helsinki.fi>
To: linux-announce@vger.rutgers.edu
From: Nikhil Nair <nn201@cus.cam.ac.uk>
Reply-To: nn201@cam.ac.uk
Subject: Soft Braille for Linux: BRLTTY 0.22 BETA Release
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Approved: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov (Lars Wirzenius)
Organization: ?
Followup-to: comp.os.linux.development.system
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Access Software for Unix for a Blind Person
Using a Soft Braille Terminal
By
Nikhil Nair & James Bowden
Version 0.22 BETA
22 September 1995
-----------------------------------
We are proud to announce the first public release of BRLTTY, a software
system to allow access to the console of a Unix system for users of soft
Braille displays.
BRLTTY currently requires a Linux system with kernel version 1.1.92 or
later.
The package has been uploaded to sunsite.unc.edu in the directory
/pub/Linux/Incoming. We expect it to move to /pub/Linux/utils/console at
some later date. See the Linux Software Map entry below for details.
--------------- EXTRACT FROM THE README FILE ---------------
INTRODUCTION FOR THOSE NEW TO SOFT BRAILLE
==========================================
There are two common ways in which blind people access computers. The
first, and more widely known, is synthesized speech, which, while having
many advantages (e.g. speed for reading plain text), does have its
drawbacks: speech output generally gives little information about
formatting, making tables, spreadsheets etc. difficult to use; it can also
be difficult to use speech output with particularly technical material
containing lots of symbols (though many determined people do use it for
such things).
The other solution, which attempts to answer some of these problems, is
Braille output. A soft (or refreshable) Braille display typically consists
of a single row of either 20, 40 or 80 characters, each made up of a matrix
of 4X2 (4 down, 2 across) dots. Each dot is individually driven by a
separate motor, making the whole assembly extremely expensive.
A soft Braille display would connect to a PC by either the serial or
parallel port. Software on the PC drives the display, reproducing a
rectangle of the screen image (which we will call the window) in Braille.
Buttons on the Braille display itself are used to send signals back to the
software, instructing it to move the window around the screen, or some
other specialised function.
With a soft Braille display of 40 or 80 cells, it is quite easy for a blind
user to appreciate the format of information on the screen, and even allows
the reading and editing of on-line Braille documents (a concept not widely
enough utilised).
INTRODUCTION TO BRLTTY
======================
While soft Braille displays have been used for some years under MS-DOS, and
are even starting to be used under Windows, it seems that they have not
been used on Unix consoles. This could well be because blind people have
been able to access Unix systems through accessible terminals. With the
advent of PC-based Unix systems (such as Linux), the need becomes evident.
BRLTTY attempts to fill this gap. It runs as a daemon, possibly started at
boot-time, and allows a soft Braille user to access text mode applications.
Since BRLTTY is written as a daemon, it should allow a user a completely
free choice of application and development tools.
FEATURES
========
- Full implementation of the standard screen review facilities.
- A wide range of additional optional features, including blinking
cursor and capital letters, screen freezing for leisurely review,
attribute display to locate highlighted text, hypertext links, etc.
- `Intelligent' cursor routing. This allows easy movement of the cursor
in text editors etc. without moving the hands from the Braille
display.
- An on-line help facility.
- Easily configurable Braille character set tables allow use of codes
other than the North American Braille Computer Code.
- Modular design allows relatively easy porting to other Braille
displays, or even (hopefully) to other Unix-like platforms.
CURRENTLY SUPPORTED HARDWARE
============================
BRLTTY version 0.22 BETA requires Linux kernel 1.1.92 or later (for
`/dev/vcsa').
Tieman B.V.'s CombiBraille is supported, although only the serial (rather
than the parallel) interface may be used, and there is no use of the in-
built speech synthesizer. Although not recommended, this system also
supports Blazie Engineering's Braille Lite.
If you want another Braille display to be supported, please contact Nikhil
Nair <nn201@cam.ac.uk> or James Bowden <jrbowden@bcs.org.uk>. Ability to
add more Braille displays does, however, depend on the level of cooperation
from the manufacturer in providing programming information.
--------------- THE LINUX SOFTWARE MAP ENTRY ---------------
Begin3
Title: BRLTTY - Access software for Unix for a blind person
using a soft Braille terminal
Version: 0.22, 22SEP95
Entered-date: 24SEP95
Description: BRLTTY is a daemon which provides access to a Unix console
for a blind person using a soft Braille display (see the
README file for a full explanation).
BRLTTY only works with text-mode applications.
We hope that this system will be expanded to support
other soft Braille displays, and possibly even other
Unix-like platforms.
Keywords: Braille console access visually impaired blind
Author: nn201@cam.ac.uk (Nikhil Nair)
jrbowden@bcs.org.uk (James Bowden)
Maintained-by: nn201@cam.ac.uk (Nikhil Nair)
Primary-site: sunsite.unc.edu /pub/Linux/utils/console
30kb brltty-0.22.tar.gz (includes the README file)
5kb brltty-0.22.README
Alternate-site:
Original-site:
Platforms: Linux (kernel 1.1.92 or later), not X/graphics.
Tieman B.V.'s CombiBraille (25/45/85 cell),
(with no support for the parallel interface or
in-built speech synthesizer;
Blazie Engineering's Braille Lite (not recommended).
Copying-policy: GPL
End
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