encyclo - 2:53 pm on Sep 9, 2006 (gmt 0)

With this ruling, somebody could get rich by inventing a monitor that displays in braille

Do you mean like a refreshable braille display [deafblind.com]? You'd be surprised what technology exists to help blind users access the web.

By the way, the above link is on a site called A-Z to Deafblindness [deafblind.com]:

[deafblind.com...]

The person who created the site is both blind and profoundly deaf. There is a good page with Information About Deafblindness [deafblind.com]:

(...) For me however, computers are my GATEWAY to the outside world. Like many other deafblind and blind people on the Net, I can access information, such as the newspapers, magazines, especially PC magazines, but they just usually give little extracts from a PC magazine, although that's better than nothing. There are also many great archives of the great classic books on the Net. You may be saying to yourself so what, but to people like myself who cannot have access to such material it's great. The Net to us is like our public library, and it is our corner shop to get our newspapers as well.

I have been on the Net for well over Ten years now. I have taught myself all about computers, but am still learning more and more every day. Some people find it very hard to believe that people like myself are capable of creating and maintaining a web site. I made A-Z to Deafblindness on my own without the help of anyone.

The web is an incredible resource for blind people who are not able to just jump in the car and drive down to the closest shopping mall. The issue is not where "it is all going to end", but where should we be starting in trying to ensure that our sites are usable and accesible to the widest possible audience.