[accessibleimage] Elia Alphabet, article from Viet Nam

*Sent earlier articles about *Elia Alphabet, am sending a follow up and an article from Viet Nam

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http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01KAL020706
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4309368
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Blind follow World Cup by radio, ’net*

"We too we are living with the World Cup," boasts Nguyen Van An, a 19-year-old student at HCM City’s school for the blind, Nguyen Dinh Chieu.

Like many youth in Viet Nam, they have been lured by exciting matches, but their chosen medium is radio. "With our new facilities, we learn through reference books or the internet," An said.

In recent years, experts at the Library for General Sciences in HCM City have used software like Braille Music and Tactile Graphics to design digital talking books or tactile books for the visually impaired.

Students can use software to illustrate their works via Tactile Graphics which uses a device known as a "heater" that causes the drawings to protrude from the surface.

The library has also supplied Nguyen Dinh Chieu schools all over Viet Nam with other useful software, including Jaws to help blind students read Western languages and Smart View which enlarges a document or zooms in and out on text or images.

"Some specialised tools also enable us to log on to the internet and view special webistes," An says.


 A local library helping inventors prosper


       Eyewitness News

Andrew Chepaitis gave up his Wall Street job to follow a dream to develop a tactile alphabet for blind people that improves upon braille.

It's called the Elia Alphabet. But success as an inventor is a tough road to navigate, especially when it comes to research.

Andrew got his innovation off the ground thanks to the Science Industry and Business Library, a branch of the New York Public Library.

The library also offers free classes on everything from patents, trademarks and how to run a business. There's also its vast collection of books and scholarly periodicals.

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And most important: the library has a treasure trove of over 150 highly specialized databases.

Andrew is scouting the library's databases to find new and old technology to help him get his tactile system onto the computer screen.

Thousands of innovators have fine-tuned their ideas here. While it's still a time consuming process, this research library can help put an invention within reach for many who otherwise couldn't get there.

All the services the library offers are for free.



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