[ntnm] Re: Fw: Electronic newspapers: some observations
- From: Janet Price <price.janet@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ntnm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ntnm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 01 May 2014 19:07:04 +0100
Sorry, I have just joined the list too and was thinking of a reply to Gareth
and accidentally hit the send button
Janet
Sent from my iPad
> On 1 May 2014, at 19:03, Janet Price <price.janet@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 1 May 2014, at 18:35, Gareth Williams <edward.williams123@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all
>>
>> I have just joined the list, and partly as a test to see if it is working,
>> and also to stimulate discussion, I am forwarding a copy of some
>> observations I have sent to RNIB.
>>
>> All the best
>>
>> Gareth
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Gareth Williams
>> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 1:15 PM
>> To: RNIBSolutions@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: Electronic newspapers: some observations
>>
>> Hello
>>
>> When the production of electronic newspapers moved from TNAUK to RNIB on 1
>> April, I determined to make no comment of the "things will never be the same
>> again" variety or, indeed, any other comment, for a month, so that
>> production would have a chance to settle down. The month has now elapsed, so
>> I would like to make a few observations.
>>
>> 1. On the whole, I feel the transfer has worked fairly smoothly. The website
>> is uncluttered, and it is simple to download the paper of my choice. I read
>> the Guardian regularly, using the Victor Reader Stream, and my comments are
>> based on this paper alone. I have tried both the html and epub versions.
>>
>> 2. I greatly miss the facility to receive my paper by email and its later
>> availability. Previously it arrived, almost without fail, just after
>> midnight. I would then transfer it to the Stream before going to bed, and
>> read much of it before getting up. It now seems to appear at about 2:30
>> A.M., so I am deprived of this pleasure. The only way round this is to
>> download to my iPhone, and the availability of the text on this device is
>> the one big advantage of the transfer. Nevertheless, I find the text more
>> navigable using the Stream, so would prefer earlier availability of the
>> material.
>>
>> 3. My biggest complaint is the layout of the text. Two levels of headings
>> are included, one for individual articles, the other for the different print
>> pages. I fear this is due to a sighted interpretation of what the blind
>> person requires. I am not in the least interested in what page the
>> particular article is on. I would much prefer that this level of heading be
>> used for the categorisation of the articles. So, for example, in the
>> unlikely event that I want to go straight to the Obituaries, I can do so
>> quickly by moving through this heading level. This was possible in the past,
>> when I used to convert the .doc text to html using the SpeakOn software. In
>> the event that I wish to discuss an article with a sighted friend, or vice
>> versa, I am sure we will find the relevant piece without wasting a level of
>> heading on moving from page to page.
>>
>> 4. The results pages of the sports section are never included. They were
>> always there in the past, as was the diary of forthcoming sporting events on
>> a Monday. The Guardian quiz is included on Saturdays but, annoyingly, not
>> the answers.
>>
>> 5. There is marginally more garbled text in the new version.
>>
>> 6. It would be an improvement if the name of each newspaper included its
>> date. I rarely read all I want to of the Saturday paper before the following
>> Monday's arrives. This causes a confused numbering which could be avoided by
>> inclusion of the date.
>>
>> 7. Would it not have made more sense for you to have consulted your users
>> more than a fortnight before the transfer was to take place? You would then
>> have had time to incorporate into the system any improvements suggested.
>>
>> I hope you consider my observations constructive, and look forward to
>> receiving your response in due course.
>>
>> Gareth
>>
>
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