Re: A question on Screen Reader Speed Standards
- From: Andreas Stefik <stefika@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 13:12:02 -0600
Thanks folks, this is really helpful.
On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 1:08 PM, Jim Bauer <holdsworthfan@xxxxxx> wrote:
> Also, some screen readers (at least the Windows flavor) offer APIs.
> You might be shooting for a more generic approach, but you could speak
> NetBeans-specific messages with the screen readers that do make APIs
> available.
> Andreas Stefik <stefika@xxxxxxxxx> wrote on Wed, 9 Dec 2009 12:48:37
> -0600:
>
> >James,
> >
> >All of our settings are internal to when they are using Sappy, so they
> >shouldn't affect personal settings. And we're also trying to garner the
> case
> >when no screen reader is present, or when there is a screen reader
> present,
> >but it doesn't do anything sensible (Voice over and NetBeans don't get
> along
> >very well, for example).
> >
> >Point well taken, though, we're definitely trying not to squash everyone's
> >settings, and by default, Sappy just uses whatever system settings have
> >already been set. So, if the user never changes them manually, they won't
> >even notice that our tool is there. It should "just work" as the apple
> folks
> >like to say.
> >
> >Stefik
> >
> >On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Andreas Stefik <stefika@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Yaa, I think so, thanks.
> >>
> >> So, one thing I was considering doing is basically making speed a number
> >> from 0 to 1, where 1 is the max and 0 is the min, which is done quite a
> bit
> >> in audio processing. Then, on each platform, we'll translate those
> numbers
> >> into something that particular voice/platform understands. Sounds like,
> >> since there is already so much disparity, having that sort of system
> >> wouldn't harm anything.
> >>
> >> Anyway, does that sound like a sensible approach?
> >>
> >> Stefik
> >>
> >>
> >> On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 12:17 PM, qubit <lauraeaves@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Andreas, not only do all screen readers have different numbers for
> >>> speed, but different synthesizers used by the screen reader speak at
> >>> different rates for the same numbers. I have never understood the
> meaning
> >>> of jaws' speed numbers. The scale has changed over the history of
> jaws, and
> >>> as I said, the synth is where the rubber meets the road so to speak.
> All I
> >>> do is set up the speed as fast as it can go and still be completely
> >>> intelligible, while fast enough to be comfortable. (You said you are
> >>> sighted; When blind using one of these things, you start out at a slow
> >>> comfortable speed, but learn fast that you really need speed or
> listening
> >>> can take all day -- so you speed it up little by little, till the other
> >>> people in the room wonder what on earth you are listening to. There
> are
> >>> also verbosity settings, such as the amount of punctuation to include,
> which
> >>> of course slows down the word count as the stream is filled with
> syllables
> >>> for the punctuation. Different people have different preferences for
> these
> >>> types of settings.
> >>> So, I would say, if you do insert a speed number, it should be
> something
> >>> like "slow, medium, fast" or something subjective like that.
> >>> Is that what you are looking for?
> >>> --le
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> *From:* Alex Hall <mehgcap@xxxxxxxxx>
> >>> *To:* programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 09, 2009 11:48 AM
> >>> *Subject:* Re: A question on Screen Reader Speed Standards
> >>>
> >>> Most screen readers have either a scripting language, which can speak
> >>> through the user's preferences saved by the reader, or an API to make
> the
> >>> reader speak a string, again according to the reader's settings. You
> then
> >>> have SAPI, which has its own API.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Have a great day,
> >>> Alex
> >>> New email address: mehgcap@xxxxxxxxx
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> *From:* Andreas Stefik <stefika@xxxxxxxxx>
> >>> *To:* programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 09, 2009 12:26
> >>> *Subject:* A question on Screen Reader Speed Standards
> >>>
> >>> Hi folks,
> >>>
> >>> I'm working right now on trying to build up our cross platform speech
> >>> engines for the Sappy project and am trying, specifically, to get
> NetBeans
> >>> to store custom preferences related to screen reader speed. On Mac, we
> >>> basically just pass a flag to the TTS engine with a number, which, I
> >>> suspect, is words per minute, although I'm not completely sure. On PC,
> >>> things appear to be quite different and I'm not sure about all of the
> open
> >>> source, and other, solutions out there (insert your favorite technology
> >>> here).
> >>>
> >>> My question is, what would people suggest for standardizing the numbers
> >>> for speed of reading we use for screen readers across all platforms?
> For
> >>> example, does each screen reader everywhere measure speed in a
> different
> >>> way? Should just put everything in words per minute and not worry about
> it,
> >>> translating any screen reader that doesn't comply through some kind of
> >>> calculation (if possible?)? Should we just standardize through some
> >>> arbitrary metric, like 0 is the slowest and 1 is the fastest, then test
> >>> everywhere to make sure those settings are "reasonable" and that the
> user's
> >>> system preferences are not disturbed?
> >>>
> >>> To be clear, remember that our tool has to, ultimately, be compatible
> with
> >>> every kind of screen reader, and should still work for the blind even
> if no
> >>> screen reader is present (or if the screen reader doesn't work well at
> all).
> >>> That's why I am asking,
> >>>
> >>> Thoughts are welcome,
> >>>
> >>> Stefik
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
>
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