Hi everyone, When I was at Louisiana Center for the Blind back in 1994, I learned how to input ASCII Braille characters on the typewriter keyboard with a Braille display attached to the computer. When I took the Reading and Writing Braille 1 & 2 back in the spring and summer 2003, I learned how to input six dot keys using the typewriter keyboard with both Perky Duck and the Duxbury Braille translator using a Braille display to check my work on the screen. It's another skill that I have mastered in the Braille translating business. I have been very busy updating my web pages and doing a lot of consulting work for Northwest Vista College since completing the Braille Transcription Program at Northwest Vista College. I am on my fourth week at this job working from home keeping track of my activities and the timing to do each job. Please take the opportunity to view my web site and maybe you'll come away learning something new every time. Thanks. Lisa Hall, Consultant for Adaptive Technology for Northwest Vista College, a college of the Alamo Community College District. Web page: http://home.satx.rr.com/lisahall Phone: (210) 829-4571 E-mail and MSN I.D.: lhall10@xxxxxxxxxxx _____ From: duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of WarrenDFig@xxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 8:02 AM To: duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [duxuser] Re: Why Six-key Entry? Remember when we were going to totally abandon conventional ovens in favor of the microwave? Now it is true that many people's cooking habits center on the newer technology, but it's also true that conventional ovens still sell. There's a place for either or both devices in the modern kitchen. It's the same thing with ascii braille and six key entry. Both techniques are available for use in any combination. But I'd guess that the use of ascii braille is on the rise as people become more comfortable with its use. I learned to use ASCII braille in the 80s when I had to write a daily Braille Corner for the print edition our school bulletin. At first it was difficult for me. It felt really wrong to type a comma or a 4 and get a capital sign or a period on the screen--my fingers and my brain wanted to rebel. In time the uniquely strange became comfortably familiar and I got used to it because I had to. Now, it is simply another skill I possess. (While I can type in ascii braille, I don't like to look at it in anything but a braille font.) I suppose that's because I read braille with my fingers, too. However, I know quite a few transcribers who work exclusively in ascii braille and do quite well.) I like to use six key for spatial things and appreciate features that make using it easy. In MegaDots, you can set an editor preference that automatically flips your keyboard into 6-key mode when you have chosen the Translate Exactly style. So when I input something like a crossword puzzle, I 6-key it in the print side and move on. I hope the next braille production program can do this and even change that portion of the text to a braille font on the screen. I am happy that Susan Jolley brings up these and other thought-provoking issues for I believe that her open mind and willingness to explore different avenues makes her a strong advocate for braille. She is more a part of braille's future than its past. And that's not always appreciated in our insular and super ultra conservative braille world--we guard our traditions and practices aggressively sometimes to our own detriment. Warren