Describes several ways in which microcomputers have been adapted to needs of the handicapped. One system consists of a Dynatyper (solenoid driven array of plastic plungers sitting above typewriter keyboard), Braillewriter, and Apple II microcomputer which produces hard-copy braille. (JN)

This article describes potential use of new technological products and services by blind/visually impaired people. Items discussed include computer input devices, public telephones, automatic teller machines, airline and rail arrival/departure displays, ticketing machines, information retrieval systems, order-entry terminals, optical character…

This report describes a project which commenced in 1980 at the Open University in England, the object of which was to provide blind Open University undergraduate students with home-based computing facilities through the use of low-cost commercially available microcomputers and speech synthesizers. The development of computer programs that…

This article discusses technology available in Sweden for visually impaired and deaf-blind people. It describes systems for stop announcements on buses and trams, queuing systems in shops and banks, text telephones, synthetic speech or braille displays of newspapers and other information sources, and home computers. Ideas for the future are also…

This article traces the development of reading methods for blind/visually impaired persons, including paper braille, recordings, radio reading services, computerized telephone services, personal computers, books on compact disks, and scanning systems. Technological trends that may decrease accessibility to text materials are also noted, such as…

This article describes differences between the graphical user interface and traditional character-based interface systems, identifies potential problems posed by graphic computing environments for blind computer users, and describes some programs and strategies that are being developed to provide access to those environments. (Author/JDD)