[gui-talk] Need Your Advice

[Tactile Display]

Hello Laura,

The refresh rate per page runs about 2 or 3 seconds.  But, a reader takes up 
to a  minute to read the same material on a single line display, so there is 
a reduction in wait times for readers.  This holds, of course, only for 
multi-line presentations; we don't claim to refresh as fast on a per braille 
cell basis, and the hundreds of folks who have responded so far don't care!

Because multiple lines are displayed at a time the reader doesn't need to 
fiddle with controls so much and that reduces wait times also.  In short, 
there is a real reduction in user times, not an increase as my be first 
thought.

TDC will have an independt group run focus groups next year to document all 
of this.

Best regards, Peter Duran





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1 at carolina.rr.com>
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 1:55 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Need Your Advice


> Is this the same display with the slow refresh rate--like 2 seconds, as
> opposed to 1 tenth a second for the current displays?
> Just curious.
> --le
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Tactile Display" <tactiledisplay at bellsouth.net>
> To: "gui talk" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 8:26 PM
> Subject: [gui-talk] Need Your Advice
>
>
> Hello friends and colleagues
>
>
>
> Tactile Display Corporation (TDC) can manufacture a multi-line refreshable
> braille display (RBD) and must now answer 2 crucial questions: How big 
> (rows
> high and cells wide) should the ideal RBD product be to function as a
> braille book reader? How big should our initial product be to be 
> acceptable
> in the marketplace?
>
>
>
> As you are aware, there are 2 different standards for the presentation of
> brailled text: 25 lines by 40 characters for embossed hard copy (except 
> for
> magazines) and 1 row by 20, 40 or 80 cells wide for refreshable braille
> devices.
>
>
>
> Both standards, of course, are somewhat arbitrary - based on history,
> production limitations, current costs - and not on intrinsic 
> psycho-physical
> and cognitive factors - reading rates, fatigue factors, and so on.
> Apparently, no research has been conducted on this question directly 
> related
> to RBD products in connection with textbook access - tables, charts, and 
> the
> like.
>
>
>
> I am aware only of research conducted at the University of Minnesota on 
> line
> length as a crucial factor that determines reading rates - 5 words or less
> drastically reduces reading rates in print as well as in braille.  Too 
> much
> context is lost.
>
>
>
> Also, it's well known that users are unable to read tables, charts, and
> spreadsheets with single-line braille displays; again, too much context is
> lost.
>
>
>
> Please think about and help us answer the question: What size multi-line
> refreshable braille display would you like, recommend, or agree to market?
>
>
>
> TDC can manufacture a multi-line RBD product at current single-line 
> 40-cell
> prices, so price should not be a deciding factor.  Let me know if you 
> would
> like to be a beta tester next year.
>
>
>
> Best regards, Peter Duran
>
> Tactile Display Corporation
>
> Fayetteville, GA
>
> Toll free:  877-993-4994
>
> tactiledisplay at bellsouth.net or brlinc at bellsouth.net
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> gui-talk mailing list
> gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
>
> _______________________________________________
> gui-talk mailing list
> gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
>