I hope I won't be in trouble from the moderators, but I got this nice
message from Todd, who is still being moderated, and he said I could share
it with you all. Just one more bit of information, for people like me, to
understand the technology, used by you folks in the deaf blind community.
Linda.
I know exactly what you are talking about!
It is called TeleBrailler, not Teletype. Sadly, TeleBrailler is no longer
manufactured! It was discontinued years ago! It was first manufactured
by TSI then for a short time by Blazie. Yes, there is a "screen" which is
more like a display with LCD on it. I have one here! I use it for
telephone only but do not use it much anymore. Why? E-mail!
Let me give you a little bit of history about TTY:
You know the big noisy machine that had a big roll of paper that resembled
a big roll of paper similar to the well-known aluminum foil or Saran
wrap. That machine had a typewriter-like keyboard where you pressed the
keys harder and it used ink ribbons similar to old manual typewriters that
printed letters/numbers, etc. That was after telegraphy was used. That
machine I am talking about is out of existence now. Nevertheless,
interestingly, during and right after WWII, the deaf started using these
machines for communication purposes, so they were able to do so just as
hearing communicate with other hearing by telephone. That was done for
many years until the 1980's when a new and smaller device called TDD was
first introduced, which is still used by the deaf but less now than
before. After TODAYDs they now have what is called NexTalk, a software,
that you could use your own PC to do the same as either a TTY or a
TDD. Do you know what the acrostics of TTY and of TDD are?!
TTY = Teletype (or also Teletypewriter). TDD = Telephone Device for
the Deaf.
Any questions?
If you think it would be something new to the blind, you have my
permission to post it onto the list because I am still unable to do so
until they quit acting the way they were to me before.
Thank you.
Todd
>----- Original Message -----
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: Braillenote List <[email protected]
>Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 15:29:10 -0400
>Subject: RE: [Braillenote] waterproof the BN
>Yes, I just realized why a braille note with speech would be handy for a
>deafblind person. There used to be something which I think was called a
>teletype, and I think that it was a querty keyboard with a braille display,
>and I believe the way it worked was that, both sighted and blind people
>would type what they wanted to say, and the blind person would read the
>braille. Now for any of you who know about this gadget, did it have a
>screen so that the sighted person could see what the blind person was
>typing? If so, what would happen if a deafblind person, and another blind
>person who could hear, but didn't use braille, were trying to communicate?
>So here's where braille note with speech, and probably the qwerty board
>would be so handy. Am I right in my thinking?
>By is the teletype still around, or has it gone the way of the dodo bird?
>Linda.
