No surprise given how little actual R&D has gone into communication
software.
That still doesn't change one of the primary points of
significant cost - historically of course:
converting a storage copy into a
new print
Consider the old printers where the typeset had to be configured
by hand. Now think of all the time it took to take that book and set the new
print before they could start running off copies.
Now consider a digital
plain text version being filtered through a braille printer converting the text
into the little dots.
I never said storing the vault copy as a plain text
digital version would solve all costs. I've only spoken to the initial
conversion to get it to plain text and then software can take it from there and
put it in any version you want.
Of course - if someone out there has
patents on that kind of thing.... that's a whole different problem.
How's
this for an idea, borrowed from a movie:
How about a small portable
technological device designed with a small pad where braille dots scroll across
it. It takes works in plain text format and converts them into the equivalent
braille dots.
Obviously there's lots more details about the device to work
out such as putting in controls so one can move forward or backward in the text,
adjusting speed and so on.
The idea is basically outlined. Now tell me a
book publisher willing to make things more readily available to the visually
impaired couldn't afford to produce the device and sell it at a profit. Tell me
the device wouldn't be as good as braille paper in helping the visually impaired
understand the text in front of them.
In short: tell me that my original
point was wrong. My point being:
The book publishers could have avoided a
Law designed to allow third-parties from converting their works into formats
that the visually impaired could use. All they had to do was consider serving
the visually impaired market better.
Tell me I'm wrong on that. Tell me
that the third-parties picking up that torch will fail because what they're
trying to do is impossible.
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