[roundtable] RealSam - an accessible media resource
- From: "Round Table - Administration" <admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <roundtable@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:41:02 +1100
The email (below) is forwarded on behalf of Neil Jarvis.
The information is circulated for the information of list subscribers.
While Round Table strives to make the information circulated on this list as
relevant, timely and accurate as possible the circulation of information on
this list does not constitute endorsement by Round Table.
RealSam
RealSam is a hand-held device, about the size of a small mobile phone which
is described as an accessible media resource for people who are not
confident with technology. It relies entirely on voice-input, rather than
touch-screen or keypad commands, and, unlike many interactive voice devices,
it actually works well from the perspective of the user.
What can it do?
To see a couple of demonstrations, go to:
http://www.realsam.com.au/
At present, a user can ask it to read newspaper articles. You can either
have a list of articles read to you and you choose one, or you can search
for articles containing specific keywords and it will provide a menu of
articles with those words in it.
Right now, anyone has access to a couple of Australian newspapers. If you're
a Vision Australia client, you get access to all 300- or-so feeds which
their clients get through their iAccess service.
On talking with them, it would not be difficult to add NZ newspapers for
our members. They already have good links with the Fairfax people, and we
already have a feed from the NZ Herald. We believe the format of that feed
is likely to be the same xml-type feed which they are currently getting from
Fairfax newspapers.
Then there are podcasts. They already were providing podcast feeds from ABC
Australia, BBC in the UK, CBC in Canada, NPR in the US and Vision Australia.
When talking with them last Thursday, I indicated that, like the newspapers,
we'd want to see NZ content added to the podcast feeds to make it attractive
to our clients. By Friday evening they'd added Radio New Zealand podcasts:
all of them!
Just as with the newspapers, you can ask it to search for podcasts about
certain topics and it will provide you with a filtered menu of relevant
podcasts from around the world. And it works.
Next, it has some GPS capability, so you can ask it where you are and what
is nearby.
This is all exciting as it stands but there are some very interesting
possibilities for the future.
One thing it can do is to send the user a flash message relevant to them, or
a broadcast message which might be of interest to them. So, for instance, we
could send out a message from the Foundation telling users about an
engagement roadshow in their neighbourhood, and urge them to check out the
strategic plan consultation document, or tell them about a new product from
Equipment Services, or new titles in the library, or whatever. Or
potentially you might be able to send a message reminding somebody that
they're going to be visited by an O&M instructor today.
I've been testing this device over the weekend and on Sunday got a
personalised message from one of the guys I was talking to on Thursday
giving me an update on the RNZ podcast situation, and acknowledging a bug
I'd signalled with one of the commands about getting the time. The message
also referred directly to the conversation we'd had a couple of days
earlier.
They will soon be introducing access to the free Guttenberg book collection,
and they're exploring with VA the potential of reading books on their
iAccess site from the device. They are also talking to Bookshare about
enabling the device to work with one's account on Bookshare, something which
would be of great interest to us if people could read Bookshare content from
it.
In Australia, they have done a deal with one of the TelCos so that people
can have a 3g/4g data plan as part of their monthly subscription to RealSam.
You can also access the device and it's service through a WiFi connection.
I'm alerting you all to this now as I see this, all being well, as a real
potential for getting online content to people who wouldn't otherwise want
to go online, either because of confidence or expense. The unit itself costs
AU$290; and you then pay a monthly subscription fee for the service.
It is also something which holds great potential down the track as an
additional communications channel.
I'll keep you all informed as we learn more.
All the best,
Neil
<http://www.blindfoundation.org.nz/support-us/legacies?utm_source=Legacies&u
tm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Staff+Signaturehttp://>
<http://www.blindfoundation.org.nz/support-us/legacies?utm_source=Legacies&u
tm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Staff+Signaturehttp://> Image removed by
sender. Campbell, 11, who is blind
<http://www.blindfoundation.org.nz/support-us/legacies?utm_source=Legacies&u
tm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Staff+Signaturehttp://> How will you be
remembered?
Leaving a gift in your Will makes an ongoing difference in
the lives of New Zealanders who are blind or have low
vision. Ask us how to
<http://www.blindfoundation.org.nz/support-us/legacies?utm_source=Legacies&u
tm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Staff+Signature> leave a gift in your Will
today.
Follow us on <http://www.facebook.com/rnzfb> Facebook and
<http://www.twitter.com/rnzfb> Twitter
############################################################################
#
This email, including any attachments, is intended solely for the
addressee(s)
It is confidential and may be legally privileged.
If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, disclose,
distribute
or otherwise use it or the information in it. Please notify the sender at
once
and delete it from your system immediately.
Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the Blind Foundation.
The Blind Foundation does not accept responsibility for any viruses or other
malicious code that may be transmitted with this email.
############################################################################
#
Other related posts:
- » [roundtable] RealSam - an accessible media resource - Round Table - Administration
