[BRLTTY] Multi-Line Braille Display Question

[avery ingram]

Perhaps I was misunderstood and you replied to me before reading Samuel's clarification.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't understand how almost any of this works. It would be like if you needed to know something important about how a medicine works, and a doctor just said that it acts on receptors. I would either need someone to explain a lot of this in a very simple, yet informative way, or do what you did in this email, which is telling me what I can do to help. It's kind of funny too because I'm trying really hard to get my VR agency to fund computer science classes for me, so maybe if they had by now, I'd understand what you're all talking about.

Brltty already supports multiline so that isn't an issue. What is an issue is that brltty doesn't yet have a driver for the Monarch itself. We'd like to implement one but we haven't yet had access to an actual Monarch in order to test our driver development work.

We aren't a commercial organization and don't have the money to purchase braille devices, most of which are rather expensive. The Monarch, in particular, is incredibly expensive due to its size. We're just a group of regular people - some on fixed incomes, some with families, etc - who enjoy working on this project.

I had basically no technology at all when I happened to be accepted into the RISE program, and it's still the only Braille display I have, so I totally understand.

So, you might wonder, how it is, then, that we do implement drivers for braille devices. Sometimes, a manufacturer or vendor has lent us a device. At other times, a user has lent us a device. At yet other times, a user has worked closely with us so that we'd write the code and that user would test it. At even other times, a user has granted us ssh access so that we could work more directly with the device.

I know RISE has rules about what I am and am not allowed to do with my Monarch. When I was planning to take the Medical College Admissions Test a long time ago, someone was unable to lend me her device because of those rules, or at least that's what I was told. So in terms of what I can do, it seems like you're saying I have three options. I'll ask RISE if they can send you a Monarch. If they say no, I'd be glad to test things on my Monarch if you write the code. I don't know if SSH works with the Monarch, but I assume it works with my PC, which would be connected to it. Do those options seem viable?

So, yes, at some point, we'll be able to imploement a driver for the Monarch. We certainly do want to do so. What we aren't willing to do is write code in the mere hope that it'll work and then release it, without testing, with an implicit promise that it actually does.

If I myself were ever to win big in a lottery - which isn't going to happen as I don't gamble - I'd probably set aside a million dollars for the purchase of braille devices. Until then, wouldn't it be nice if manufacturers would simply recognize the benefit that we bring them for free and just give us sample devices to work with. :-(

I totally agree. Being able to work with Linux seems like a really important aspect of the Monarch. I really appreciate your help!

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