Re: 6 dots and 8 dots braille

[jrebman@netcom.com (Jim Rebman)]

Avi writes:

> is there a future for the eight dots braille ?
> if yes , is it spreading rapidly ?

Probably not, except for it's use in refreshable braille displays.  It is 
going to be very difficult to get the majority of braille readers to 
switch to reading an 8-dot code, and of course, that implies adopting 
another code as well as undertaking the effort to retrain your fingers.  
I say difficult, but in practical terms, really it is impossible -- more 
for political reasons than technical ones.  If you are interested in 
looking at a technically elegant, and perhaps even superior, proposed 
8-dot unified braille code, you can check out the GS-8 code that is 
described on the web pages of the Oregon State Science Access Project:  
http://dots.physics.orst.edu

The code was developed jointly by Dr. John Gardner of Oregon State 
University and Norberto Salinas of the University of Kansas, hence the 
"G" and "S" respectively.  It is a very interesting code, but I don't 
think it will ever be used in the mainstream.

As to your question of how rapidly 8-dot braille is being adopted, the 
answer is, it's not.  Look around -- do you see any 8-dot slates or 
Braillers being sold anywhere in this country?  They do exist, but mostly 
in Europe, and mostly in Spain and Germany as far as I can tell.  The one 
braille product being produced in this country that has 8-dot capability 
is the Braille Lite 40 from Blazie engineering, and mostly that is 
because it is capable of supporting two languages, and is intended to be 
sold in other countries where 8-dot braille is used.  It does have uses 
here for things like 8-dot computer braille, and it is possible to make 
the GS-8 code an optional "second language" on this machine.  Also, I 
should mention that the Braille Blazer embosser has an option to produce 
8-dot output -- there may be one or two other embossers available in 
North America that also have this capability, but I don't know which ones 
offhand.

Hope this helps,

Jim Rebman <jrebman@netcom.com>