** File was empty ** A very good point in general about research and development, Mike. Some of you may have seen a prototype of a new braille writer at Sight Village. I've known the American developer for over 20 years, and indeed he is one of my best friends. Compared to what is on the market and available right now, it is virtually silent. It's not fast by any means, but is perfect for occasional low volume use at home or school. So far, just to get to that single, one of, prototype stage has cost over $150,000 (That's about £100,000 in real money). By the time final tooling is made and everything else, a further $600,000 or £400,000 will have been laid out before a single unit is available to buy. And the first making is unlikely to be more than 1,000 for sale world-wide. And major electronics manufacturer would even consider a producing less than 50,000 of any one product. And you wonder why this kind of equipment is so expensive? Just do the arithmetic? George. ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq