What are Braille Terminals?
Visually impaired persons may use braille terminals in order to understand what text is being displayed on a computer monitor. Braille terminals are machines that convert the text on a screen to braille. The braille displayed on the terminal is refreshable for repeated use. Braille terminals are generally expensive machines but alternative aids are available. Speaking software, or speech synthesizers, can be employed to read the text aloud to the visually impaired user. Touch monitors are also available to assist the user in typing. In fact, some systems combine the functions of a braille terminal and a regular keyboard. Braille terminals are generally very basic looking machines that display anywhere from 20 to 80 cells which can be refreshed by being pushed up or down. Typically, a cell, which conveys one character, is represented by six raised dots or bumps — two across by three down. Braille terminals, however, employ eight dot cells — two across by four down. The extra two dots ar
