edit of profiles draft

Have been out of pocket for last 2 weeks due to work and illness. Latest
draft of "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" shows much hard work.
Below are suggestions for Section 2 (not yet revised). Following the
suggestions is a rewrite incorporating the suggestions.

Braille and refreshable braille
Braille is a technique involving six [[replace-"to" with "or"]] eight dots
that are raised in different patterns to represent letters and numbers so
that they may be read by people who are blind using their fingertips.
Braille systems vary greatly around the world. Some "grades" of braille
include additional codes beyond standard alpha-numeric characters, to
represent common letter groupings (e.g., "th," "ble" in Grade II American
English braille) to make braille more compact. An 8-dot version of braille
has been developed to allow all ASCII characters to be represented. Dynamic
or refreshable braille involves the use of a mechanical display where dots
can be raised and lowered dynamically to allow any braille [[replace "words"
with "symbols"]] to be displayed. Only letters and numbers can be
represented in braille, although some braille printers have [[replace "a
utility that allows simple graphics to be drawn on a sheet" with "the
ability to emboss simple graphics"]]  using the raised dots at a resolution
of approximately 11 dots per inch.
Screen magnifiers
Software used primarily by individuals with low vision that magnifies a
portion of the screen for easier viewing. Note that at the same time screen
magnifiers make presentations larger, they also reduce the area of the
document that may be viewed [[insert-""on the monitor"]]. Some screen
magnifiers therefore offer two views of the screen: one magnified and one
default size for navigation.
Screen readers:
Software used by individuals who are blind or have learning disabilities
that interprets what is displayed on a screen, and directs it either to
[[replace "speech synthesis" with "a speech synthesizer"]], for audio
output, or [[replace "refreshable braille" with "a refreshable braille
display"]], for tactile output. Some screen readers use the document tree
(i.e., the parsed document) as their input. However, older screen readers
make use of the rendered version of a document, meaning that document order
or structure may be lost (e.g., when tables are used for layout) and their
output may be confusing.

=== Rewrite

Braille and refreshable braille
Braille is a technique involving six or eight dots that are raised in
different patterns to represent letters and numbers so that they may be read
by people who are blind using their fingertips. Braille systems vary greatly
around the world. Some "grades" of braille include additional codes beyond
standard alpha-numeric characters, to represent common letter groupings
(e.g., "th," "ble" in Grade II American English braille) to make braille
more compact. An 8-dot version of braille has been developed to allow all
ASCII characters to be represented. Dynamic or refreshable braille involves
the use of a mechanical display where dots can be raised and lowered
dynamically to allow any braille symbols to be displayed. Only letters and
numbers can be represented in braille, although some braille printers have
the ability to emboss simple graphics  using the raised dots at a resolution
of approximately 11 dots per inch.
Screen magnifiers
Software used primarily by individuals with low vision that magnifies a
portion of the screen for easier viewing. Note that at the same time screen
magnifiers make presentations larger, they also reduce the area of the
document that may be viewed on the monitor. Some screen magnifiers therefore
offer two views of the screen: one magnified and one default size for
navigation.
Screen readers:
Software used by individuals who are blind or have learning disabilities
that interprets what is displayed on a screen, and directs it either to a
speech synthesizer, for audio output, or a refreshable braille display, for
tactile output. Some screen readers use the document tree (i.e., the parsed
document) as their input. However, older screen readers make use of the
rendered version of a document, meaning that document order or structure may
be lost (e.g., when tables are used for layout) and their output may be
confusing.


Jim Allan, Statewide Technical Support Specialist
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315    fax: 512.206.9453  http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964

Received on Monday, 11 October 1999 13:00:23 UTC