s more of a blog post than an essay, i'n'it?
Nevertheless I am in agreement.
The problems are two: braille tech is pitiful, and people in general, independent of vision, tend toward the path of least resistance.
I've said more than enough on the former point, (I'd provide links if I wasn't on mobile), so the real question is: if print is the path of least resistance for the sighted, why is it audio for the blind? I suspect this would remain the case, even with the best tactile device ever imagined +3, and personally, that's saddening. But if I'm wrong, and all we need is a magical shapeshifting touch-panel made of enchanted octopus flesh, then that'd be a nice kind of wrong to be. ... Umm, especially if this does not require killing or tormenting a ton of octopodes for research and materials. Have you ever tried to capture an octopus? Doc Oc is not living up to his namesake, I can tell you that.
P.S. I greatly appreciate the line breaks. I've noticed that blind people tend toward unformatted walls of text, which works if you're reading line-by-line with a screen reader, but in no other context whatsoever. Other contexts include reading by paragraph with the exact same screen reader because that's more efficient, reading on mobile, etc. I was kinda annoyed at all the times I'd run across sighted people complaining about walls-o-text, but then longer posts became more common around here, and holycrap you guys please press enter every now and then. I am typing this with braille screen input on iOS, and yeah, unless they fixed it in iOS 11, you can't add line breaks without going out of BSI, using the on-screen keyboard, then going back into BSI. But line breaks are totally worth it, if you ask me. And if you disagree... MBraille, or Pages, then copy/paste? I find doing it in the box more convenient, but yeah.

i gotta be honest, I don't read braille nearly as much as I should. I know it, pretty well, but don't read it much, because yeah... I prefer to read audiobooks. Not only because i can just listen, but braille books are quite huge. One harry potter book, for example, is like 5 volumes at least. Its much more convenient to read audio.
As for my spelling, its pretty bad, probably because of the fact I don't rea braille that much. However, I still know it, and do read it. Braille signs, or my braille note touch, or math work, are all in braille. Yes, I use braille on my touch rather than speech. I actually turn off the speech most of the time and just read everything.
But, although I do turn to audio when I can, I still know there's always going to be a time for braille. Many people I know who go to a blind school hardly know braille. Yet another reason i dislike those schools... You aren't forced to read. Apparently its more independent that way? For another topic. anyway, people I know don't even hardly know braille at all. And, honestly, that pisses me off. Braille is reading. If you don't know it, you don't know how to read. I was at a summer camp in july, and someone asked me to read the sign for a room because he didn't know contractions. Seriously? While I don't always read braille, it is still important to know. It may be dying... Slowly... But same with cursive writing i guess... I do think it is very important to know braille, because if you don't you basically don't know how to read.

hmm. I agree for the must part.
The reason I aren't reading braille myself is because I started learning it at the age of 16 (and I'm 18 now).
I just can't learn it quick enough that it would be practical for me to use when I'm at school or programming at home, but I would love to some day read braille as fast (or nearly as fast) as I can understand a speech.

Afrim, it's interesting you bring that up because I actually had a debate with someone about that very same topic not long ago. While yes, Braille displays do a lot less than mainstream computers, consider this: Computer manufacturers are selling to a higher number of people. They can afford to make their prices significantly less, because their devices are in much higher production and much higher profit. Now a braille device is usually A, bought by a school district for one or more students or B, bought by a select group of people who can raise the money for it, their profit is significantly less. And there are multiple things besides the technological aspects. You have to take into account licensing agreements, labor costs, part costs, distribution, repairing, like any other tech company would have to. But again, the reason braille devices are so outlandishly pricey is the simple fact they need to do it to make a living.

hello guys
I leave in Indonesia, where many people still don't know what we, as the visually impaired, can do by ourselves. the public facilities for us here aren't all accessible not like their in US or other country, or so I thought.
I started elementary school in school for the blind, they call it here SLB, and I learned and read with braille by then. I was there till my high school, and still didn't think it much.
now after went to Uni and experienced so called a college life, I didn't think I could survive if with just braille, so I began to using screen reader for most (if not all) college learning activities, and braille has slowly forgotten. I am currently taking english as my major, and after several months I know using screen reader makes my spelling became rather bad, but I didn't know if I'd go back to braille yet, because it sounds rather impractical. but screen reader make some of us here in Indonesia, had a serious problem with spelling, it serious to the point, that they could wrote hashtag as link number sadmonday rather than #sadmonday in their facebook status. but it can't be denied that screen reader is the thing that can help us keep up with the world around us.

The space thing is a huge pest. I had backpacks split in half while I was walking. There was a year or so where I switched to a big leather bag with handstraps, but the straps didn't last very long. I finally settled on one of those packs on wheels, kinda like a wheeled suitcase. ... then everything went digital and I could get away with just carrying one book and a notetaker.
The same reforms that let blind people attend public school also made it much easier to get away with not teaching braille, given the slightest excuse (has no one heard of a progressive eye condition?). In the US, at least. I wouldn't be surprised if this sudden decrease in braille-literate students also has to do with the pathetic technological progress in making braille more convenient and affordable.
... Also slate and stylus. Sighted students have to hand-write everything, but blind students have to lug around a 10-pound metal contraption that costs hundreds of dollars to replace if they should drop it? I was led to believe that brailling by hand was a painfully slow and tedious process. Then I was handed a slate and stylus and no, not really. If you use a stylus as much as a sighted student uses a pencil, the problems go away and it becomes a convenience that I really wish I'd been introduced to over 20 years ago. I do notice that slating speed goes away pretty quickly if you don't use it, though. Typing is more convenient, definitely. Typing is more convenient than penciling, too. Yet pens and pencils aren't going away just yet.

Someone said that sighted people are moving away from print, due to more audio options? I disagree. Sighted people use audio books, and in very rare cases, TTS, primarily for multitasking. My dad listens to audio books while driving, but reads print otherwise. The other day I found someone saying they use voiceover to read ebooks while jogging, and this was a weird thing in a group of already weird people. The Kendle took off because it better digitizes the experience of reading print than a laptop, but it's still print. I frequently come across people asking for online fiction in ebook format. People still share screenshots of text (seriously, wtf is up with that?). Recently, I found someone suggesting that people might move away from print... in favor of images. I don't think audio options are hurting visual options anywhere near as much as they are tactual options.

I agree, Dragomier. I myself am moving on to screen reader because it's so much easier and simpler. and the Uni I am currently in doesn't have facility and accessibility for the blind, so I am completely learn on my own, trying to keep up with my classmates around me. often I ask to the lecturer about my problem, and luckily they are willing to cooperate with whatever they can.
however, braille in Indonesia is not fully integrated yet, in fact, audio book and other stuff too.
many soft file of the books aren't available, much less the braille, so I have to buy the hard copy and find sighted people to aid me.
that being said, the fact that people just want the easy way without thinking further of the consequences makes me sad. indeed braille can't keep up with those all inconveniences, but I definitely can't forget it, unless if I want to spell all of the millions characters in the novel I read, which I don't want to.

hi,
Yes, braille is dieing, like it or not. Anyone who claims otherwise is seriously out of touch with reality.  Tell me this, why would I read a research paper in braille at around 50-60 words a minute, when I can easily read it a few thousand words a minute with elequence? Additionally, I noticed that many people have resorted  to comparing print to braille, which is an incorrect comparason for several reasons. First, and most importantly, is speed. An average sighted person can easily read  between 500-1000 words per minute. While The fastest braille readers I heard of top out at around 150 words per minute. Second, print allows people to skim and scan text. A sighted person can take one look at a paper, and flip through the pages of a book, and decide if he should read it or not. Finally, print is easier to produce and store, while braille takes up at least 200% more space. Also, writing print does not require the use of a 12 pound device, or a device that will make your hands sore and give you blisters.
Finally, one claim often made here in this topic is that braille significantly improves  spelling. I would argue for the opposit. The use of contractions has harmed blind people's spelling more than computers ever could. It wasn't until I started using a computer that I started figuring out the actual, uncontracted spelling of words. Also, the apparent massive ammount of typos on blind people's work is only a sign of how seriously take the work. Anyone who is writing an important document, e.g a statement of purpose, a thesis,  or a job application should check his spelling. The lack of this just shows the person's carelessness with important work. Also, sited people also don't bother to check their spelling much, and complain about the grades they receive from typos on papers. On the other hand, how I choose to write in nonacademic settings is noone's business but my own.
Having said all this, does braille have it's uses? Of course. For instance learning a foreign language, studying linguistics,  or some other tasks can greatly benefit from braille. However, I believe that  learning braille isn't as important as it previously was, though it is still a useful skill to have.

Enes... I have no idea where you're getting your figures, but I don't know of a print reader, ever, who can read 1000 words per minute. I can read 240 words per minute in braille. All of your facts that you just posted are a matter of personal opinion, as are most of mine.
  I think, though, you're focusing to much on one point. You may only be able to read 50-60 words a minute, which is fine, but again, a lot of this is personal preference. I could explain myself more but it would just be me saying the same thing over and over.

hi,
They are not opinions, they are facts. see this link.
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/132 … ading.html
According to this article, an average college age adult reads approximately 300 words per minute, significantly more than the average braille reader.
they are facts. Also, you seem to only be focusing on a single point of the many points I made. For instance, completely ignoring my points on skimming and scanning. Blindness organizations imho should stop shoving braille down people's throats.
Another mess is ueb. Who asked me if I wanted the braille code changed? This was done with absolutely zero input from the blind comunity.

yeah, I agree, UEB is pretty terrible.
Another thing I don't like about braille is braille music. Its so different that its not even wurth learning in my opinion. however, I have a pretty good ear, so I imagine i'd feel different if I tried to learn music much later in life than I did.
As for the spelling debate, I agree that, although  braille may improve our spelling some what, we have a lot! Of contractions. Using screen readers may not actively improve our spelling, but I don't believe that it makes it any worse, either.  We could, if we don't know the spelling of a word, use the character by character command to look at the spelling of words, where as with braille, a lot of the time, looking at spelling isn't quite the same because of all the contractions we have. I mean yeah, we should know what letters/words the contractions contract, but still, that's not quite the same in my opinion.