Comment Re:Digital Talking Book player activation (Score 1) 370
And just wait until these activated devices turn up on ebay as the old four track tape players do all the time.
Comment Re:17 USC 121 (Score 1) 370
So is a Macintosh computer, which has a built in screen reader which anyone can activate a "specialized device" that are "available only by prescription to people with a qualifying disability"? No of course not. Yet it has text to speech able to read books or anything else for that matter.
The makers of talking book players are happy to sell the devices to anyone who wants one, disabled or not. See www.humanware.com or want one of those 1/4 speed four track tape player? you can buy a new one here: http://secure.nfb.org/ecommerce/asp/default.asp
The makers of talking book players are happy to sell the devices to anyone who wants one, disabled or not. See www.humanware.com or want one of those 1/4 speed four track tape player? you can buy a new one here: http://secure.nfb.org/ecommerce/asp/default.asp
Comment Re:Seriously... (Score 3, Informative) 370
The issue i much bigger than just the blind. Both the MacOS and many versions of Linux have screen readers for the blind as part of the OS and there are similar products for sale or download for Windows.
These screen readers can be activated and used by anyone, not just the blind. So is this technology illegal? Should the users of such be required to prove they are disabled before it can be activated on their computers?
While the voices on the Kindle 2 were not that great there are very high quality voices which are more useable the MacOS Alex voice for one. To see where this all might go you can visit an experimental talking book library in Western Australia www.cucat.org/library/ which permits the public to download DAISY digital talking books (www.daisy.org) recorded in higher quality voices.
These screen readers can be activated and used by anyone, not just the blind. So is this technology illegal? Should the users of such be required to prove they are disabled before it can be activated on their computers?
While the voices on the Kindle 2 were not that great there are very high quality voices which are more useable the MacOS Alex voice for one. To see where this all might go you can visit an experimental talking book library in Western Australia www.cucat.org/library/ which permits the public to download DAISY digital talking books (www.daisy.org) recorded in higher quality voices.
Comment Accuse the Prime Minister... (Score 1) 449
John Key of infringement and have his internat (202.160.117.122) disconnected. See how long it takes to have some method of dealing with false accusations then.
Submission + - A state with no iPhones 3
gkearney writes: "As a developer of Macintosh software I thought I would like to undertake development on the iPhone platform as well. To that end I looked into the purchase of an iPhone and the AT&T service. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I am not allowed to buy an iPhone or AT&T service, why is this you might ask? It is because I live in the state of Wyoming which has no AT&T service at all.
Wyoming has only "Partner" service and according to AT&T and according to them "Excessive use of Partner coverage may subject your service to early termination." So even if I went to another state and got an iPhone I would not be able to use it in Wyoming.
AT&T informs me that there is no service in Wyoming nor do they ever plan on offering any in the future. So in effect AT&T, and by extension Apple, are saying that if you live in Wyoming you can not permitted to have an iPhone.
Here is my question, given that there is no ATT service in Wyoming and according to AT&T there never will be, will Apple sell me one of the "unlocked" iPhone they sell in Hong Kong to use on one of the services wwe do have here? Would that even work?
Was Apple aware that a whole state was not served by AT&T Wireless? What are Apple customers in Wyoming supposed to do if they want an iPhone?
Greg Kearney"
Wyoming has only "Partner" service and according to AT&T and according to them "Excessive use of Partner coverage may subject your service to early termination." So even if I went to another state and got an iPhone I would not be able to use it in Wyoming.
AT&T informs me that there is no service in Wyoming nor do they ever plan on offering any in the future. So in effect AT&T, and by extension Apple, are saying that if you live in Wyoming you can not permitted to have an iPhone.
Here is my question, given that there is no ATT service in Wyoming and according to AT&T there never will be, will Apple sell me one of the "unlocked" iPhone they sell in Hong Kong to use on one of the services wwe do have here? Would that even work?
Was Apple aware that a whole state was not served by AT&T Wireless? What are Apple customers in Wyoming supposed to do if they want an iPhone?
Greg Kearney"
Comment Re:Awesome! (Score 2, Informative) 148
In all due respect Narrator is not a screen reader and Microsoft never claimed it was. To gain access to the OS in Windows you will need to buy a Windows screen reader which will add a thousand dollars to the cost of what ever computer you will buy. Or put another way you can buy a entry level Mac for less than the cost of a Windows screen reader itself.
While many here have said that VoiceOver is not as capable as it commercial Windows counterpart I would beg to differ. VoiceOver is fundimentaly different from Windows screen readers in several ways:
VoiceOver is a integrated part of the OS. Therefor it does not attempt to step in an do tasks that the OS does. So it does not need commands to close a window, for example, as the OS provides that already.
Second in Macintosh it is the applications that are changed to become accessible with the screen reader and not the other way around. So we gain accessibility each time a developer follows the rules and improves his applications (Microsoft did you hear that? Microsoft Office for Mac is not accessible but OpenOffice 3 is.)
I would also point out that VoiceOver support most USB braille displays without having to install drivers for them. Anyone who has ever tried to get a braille display running under Windows will see the improvement in that.
Now I'm not one of these Mac fanboys who will urge a Mac where it is not appropriate but for many blind users, and for most dyslexics who require a screen reader, who have usual computer need and who do not need a Windows computer for some specific task a Mac should be considered. It will perform the basic tasks, will cost less at the outset and will cost far less to upgrade over time as there will be not screen reader updates to buy. They support braille. They are less prone to spyware and such and the out of the box voice quality is hard to match on any platform at any price
Enso Gives Keyboard Commands to Windows Users 234
illuminatedwax writes "The Wall Street Journal's Walter S. Mossberg's latest column is a writeup on a new software system called Enso. Enso is from a small software startup called Humanized, led by Aza Raskin. The software allows Windows users to do common tasks, like launching programs, spellchecking, or Googling for search terms, but what's interesting is that it allows you to do these tasks from within any program in Windows by use of the keyboard. From the article: 'There are two initial Enso products, which can be downloaded at humanized.com. One, called Enso Launcher, allows you to launch programs and switch among windows via typed commands. The other, called Enso Words, allows you to do spell-checking, even when the program you're using doesn't include that capability, and to look up the meaning of words. Both products also include a simple calculator and the ability to launch Google searches.' Humanized says that users will be able to program their own commands for Enso in future versions."
