@nina_kali_nina I think this is a problem that requires subsidizing the costs of.

[shroudedscribe@fosstodon.org]

@nina_kali_nina I think this is a problem that requires subsidizing the costs of. There are a couple of ways this is already done (speaking from a US perspective) - hearing aids have some coverage under many health insurance plans, and schools receive funding that is supposed to be exclusively for accessibility improvements. But this is clearly not enough.

More government funding is required. And it sounds like that applies beyond the US.

[pixx@merveilles.town]

@nina_kali_nina
I imagine a 3d printer with a paper feed as in a 2d printer could make a decent braille printer? 🤔

[pixx@merveilles.town]

@shroudedscribe
Government funding for colleges has only resulted in college tuition getting more expensive.

If people are paying $1000 now, and the government offers $500 in assistance, and the seller raises the price to $1400 - well, you're only spending 900 now, so it's still cheaper for you

You can't solve high prices by throwing money at the problem. Imo what we need is for people to undercut the sellers.

Solve the prices at the root.

@nina_kali_nina

[pixx@merveilles.town]

@shroudedscribe
And from a purely ethical perspective: if a company is deliberately price gouging people they know are desperate, why should we reward that behavior by giving them more money in the form of subsidies?

@nina_kali_nina

[alcinnz@floss.social]

@nina_kali_nina Regarding Braille... I'm aware of this effort: https://hackaday.io/project/191181-electromechanical-refreshable-braille-module

[bangskij@climatejustice.social]

@nina_kali_nina surely, millions of people will be using hearing aids, and millions of people will have braille displays, thus economies of scale must exist. Those prices make me think of prices of medications like insulin which cost almost nothing to make and are sold for astronomical mark-ups. We absolutely can do better.

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@nina_kali_nina a small bit of good news for people in the US with moderate hearing loss is our laws have been updated recently to allow the sale of hearing aids without requiring an expensive prescription or an audiologist. this has greatly brought down the cost. (I assume the ones rated for severe hearing loss that you need a prescription for are probably still absurdly expensive though)

[bri7@social.treehouse.systems]

@nina_kali_nina to some degree i understand these are treated like medical devices and can be partially covered by disability insurance schemes.

- and also the price is not just the device itself but a certain amount of support and verification of quality and durability

it sfill sucks though

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@nina_kali_nina valve has been fond of touch pads with subtle haptics in their controllers, and I've been wondering how far they'll be able to push that technology. I doubt they're anywhere near to being useful for braille yet, but it makes me think that cheap mass produced haptic elements could probably be used for something.