[Colorado-talk] Braille Display Petition

[George McDermith]

A petition has been started by George McDermith at 
http://www.petitiononline.com/brldis/petition.html asking Braille display 
manufacturers to base their drivers on the human interface protocol, found 
on all Windows computers.  Such a design philosophy will ensure that users 
can be certain of having support for their Braille display on any computer, 
not just one which has been custom-configured for such access, and will 
eliminate the need to depend on specific screen reader drivers.



The text of the petition reads as follows:



"To: Braille display manufacturers
We, the undersigned, who are Braille display users, friends and family of 
Braille display users, and teachers of the blind,
*: Believe that accessibility to information for the blind on a par with 
their sighted piers is a right. Believe that due to this right, and due to 
the cost of Braille displays, accessing Braille through the use of Braille 
displays should not be limited by the type of screen reading solution used 
by the blind.
*: Strongly request that all manufacturers of Braille displays cease basing 
the drivers of their Braille displays off of particular screen reader 
drivers, but rather base all Braille display drivers off of the Human User 
Interface Protocol, which can be found on all Windows computers.
*: This will allow true portability and equal access to information for the 
blind, as they will be able to use their display with any computer. This 
will create greater competition in the market for the best Braille display 
to stand out, grant greater literacy in Braille through greater access to 
electronic Braille books and other materials, and support the right of all 
blind people to have accessibility anywhere."




To add your support to this worthy cause, visit the petition web page at

http://www.petitiononline.com/brldis/petition.html