RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release

  • From: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:04:32 -0500 (EST)

That's an exciting roadmap -- go for it, Sina!
Jamal
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007, Sina
Bahram wrote:

> Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:34:50 -0500
> From: Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
>
> Unfortunately not, as far as a date goes, but I can give a tentative order
> of operations schedule, I think.
>
> I want to merge my group's work with Jay's various packages, and develop a
> story that we can start to tell about how these tools can come together and
> be useful. Often times, releasing something is only the most basic and
> minimal of steps ... putting them together in a coherent way, such that they
> are useful, visible, and accessible to all, in lots of different senses of
> those words, makes for a much more comprehensive and, I humbly feel, better
> user experience.
>
> Next, I want to work with Mike Grace, the lead developer, to finish up a
> release of the universal access bridge, which will include a plug-in that
> will make the application self-voicing ... this plug-in will contain the
> same technologies as used in the java screen reader I have written, and will
> most likely get significantly expanded with Jay's assistance. We also have
> some other features that are necessary for the Remote Access Bridge, such as
> single sign-on support, API compliance with the Virtual Computing Lab's XML
> RPC protocol at NC State University, and so on.
>
> Finally, we want to all start working on putting things together in a
> completely modular, package based way. Think of Eclipse's plug-in
> infrastructure, but a bit easier to use, I dare say, and much more simple to
> implement once our helper classes are complete, which will be happening
> during this entire process. We already have this mechanism working quite
> beautifully for the Remote Access Bridge, and I'd like to extend it to a
> library based approach to offer SSIP services, speech recognition services,
> screen reading services, remote desktop services, multiple voice TTS
> services, and a lot more.
>
> Take care,
> Sina
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal Mazrui
> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 2:09 PM
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
>
> I understand.  Can you give a time estimate on the first public beta
> (explicitly designated as such)?
> Jamal
> On Fri, 30 Nov 2007, Sina Bahram wrote:
>
> > Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:50:38 -0500
> > From: Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
> > Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> >
> > It can do a lot more, at any case. You see, the java access bridge
> > isn't the only thing that has access to such things, so sometimes,
> > folks can gleam more information about objects.
> >
> > I'll want to do lots more integration on the screen reading component
> > before releasing it. I've learned, and gotten burned by, releasing too
> > soon, especially on this list, remember?
> >
> > So I really want to make sure things are up to snuff, some QA is done,
> > and so on, before I dare even releasing a beta.
> >
> > Take care,
> > Sina
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> > Mazrui
> > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 11:02 AM
> > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> >
> > Are you saying that a Java screen reader you have written will enable
> > Java applications that are currently not accessible with JAWS to
> > become accessible?  That would be major, so I look forward to any URLs
> > you can post that show this capability.
> >
> > Jamal
> > On Thu, 29 Nov 2007, Sina Bahram wrote:
> >
> > > Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:48:54 -0500
> > > From: Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx>
> > > Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > >
> > > Everything you said and a lot more is possible with the combination
> > > of the screen reader I've written, the SSIP technologies a friend
> > > and coworker of mine have worked on, and the use of the abstraction
> > > layer that Jay has developed.
> > >
> > > Take care,
> > > Sina
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> > > Mazrui
> > > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 10:31 PM
> > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > >
> > > Hi Jay,
> > > Are you saying that this would make a Java application self voicing
> > > even if it was built without accessibility in mind, or that a
> > > developer interested in accessibility could make an application
> > > self-voicing by making calls to this server?  If the latter, is the
> > > idea similar to the extra speech messages I have implemented in my
> > > applications?  In other words, is this an API whereby a developer
> > > can make an application generate speech using the screen reader
> > > currently in use?  Is the idea that the developer does not have to
> > > know the particular screen reader API, but can write to a general
> > > one and SSIP will determine what screen reader is in use and how to make
> it talk?
> > >
> > > Jamal
> > > On Wed, 28 Nov 2007, Macarty, Jay
> > > {PBSG} wrote:
> > >
> > > > Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:43:39 -0600
> > > > From: "Macarty, Jay  {PBSG}" <Jay.Macarty@xxxxxxxx>
> > > > Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > > >
> > > > Jamal,
> > > > I'll let Sina respond to the Linux questions. But for the java
> > > > questions you asked, here are the answers:
> > > >
> > > > 1. Yes, the sample SSIPClient jar, which will come with the server
> > > > installation, could be used to self voice a java application.
> > > >
> > > > 2. To simply self voice a java application would not require
> > > > knowledge or use of the accessibility framework. If one simply
> > > > wished to self voice a particular event, such as a button being
> > > > pressed or the content of a JTextArea, one would only need to
> > > > create an instance of the SSIPClient object in the desired class
> > > > and then call the sayString method to vocalize the desired text.
> > > >
> > > > While the use of swing and the accessibility framework are not
> > > > required, certainly choosing to take advantage of the fact that
> > > > the framework is there is a big plus in self voicing an application.
> > > > also, if one wishes to create accessibility tools of a more
> > > > general purpose, such as a java based screen reader solution, then
> > > > utilizing the java accessibility API would be the best approach.
> > > >
> > > > 3. If one were simply wishing to self voice a specific java
> > > > application, the only thing you would need to do is include the
> > > > SSIPClient jar in your classpath. If you were executing multiple
> > > > applications from the same JRE, you could place the jar in the
> > > > jre\lib\ext directory so that it would be picked up automatically.
> > > > However, if you were simply self voicing a single application, it
> > > > would likely be preferable to include the SSIPClient jar in the
> > > > classpath
> > > definition for that application.
> > > >
> > > > NOTE: While you need only include the client jar to be able to
> > > > gain connectivity to the SSIP server, you must, of course, make
> > > > sure that the server executable is running to receive the
> > > > connection prior to when the java application tried to establish a
> > > > session. This could be handled as simply as placing the launch of
> > > > SSIPVoiceServer.exe in your startup folder.
> > > >
> > > > Again, if your intention was to develop a general purpose
> > > > accessibility technology, such as a java screen reader, the
> > > > configuration of the SSIP client itself isn't any harder but you
> > > > would likely have to define the accessibility application to the
> > > > JVM thru the accessibility.properties file.
> > > >
> > > > In addition to the work Sina is doing, the SSIP server, by itself,
> > > > will include the server executable and some client wrappers for
> > > > various environments such as java, AutoIt, ruby, and a DotNet
> > > > assembly dll to allow one to include a SSIPClient namespace in
> > > > whatever DotNet environment they are using.
> > > >
> > > > Hope this helps.
> > > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal
> > > > Mazrui
> > > > Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11:47 AM
> > > > To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > Subject: RE: SSIP for Windows -- beta almost ready for release
> > > >
> > > > Congratulations on your progress with this project, Jay!  Like
> > > > others, I confess having trouble understanding the full
> > > > ramifications.  Could you or Sina describe some vignettes from a
> > > > user's
> > perspective?
> > > >
> > > > I think I understand that this technology would allow someone on a
> > > > Windows computer (e.g., running JAWS) to operate a remote Linux
> > > > computer with Orca.  Is that right?  Would JAWS need to be running
> > > > after the connection was made?  If so, would there be key
> > > > conflicts to manage between JAWS and Orca?
> > > >
> > > > Does this technology also allow Java applications to be self voicing?
> > > > Do
> > > > they have to implement the Swing API according to accessibility
> > > > guidelines?  If one has a Java app installed, how would the
> > > > self-voicing part be added?
> > > >
> > > > I know from the quality of your skills and the time you have
> > > > invested in this project that it is something with exciting
> > > > potential.  I'm just trying to get a better grasp of what it would
> > > > and
> > would not do.
> > > > If there are any sample apps or audio demos that illustrate the
> > > > possibilities, that would be great.
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > > Jamal
> > > >
> > > >
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