[access-uk] Accessible Kindle App for Windows PC by Amazon
- From: "Dave Mack" <dcmack2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2011 11:08:27 -0700
Fellow subscribers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and United States:
This is an invitation only, so please only reply on the newly created email
list described below, if interested.
I wish to invite members to a new and specific discussion list regarding the
relatively new and free Amazon Kindle Book-Reader application for Windows with
Accessibility Plug-in for blind and vision-impaired customers. I should add
that this list is for users and interested paarties and is not affiliated with
Amazon nor am I affiliated with Amazon except as a vision-impaired customer.
Let me begin by saying that In spite of some deficiencies described below, I
applaud Amazon for their efforts thus far in finally making this free app
available to blind and low-vision Amazon customers which makes a number of
books accessible which were otherwise not available in other formats and
venues. For those unfamiliar with the free Windows Kindle text-to-speech
book-reader application, it is available to JAWS and NVDA screenreader users at
the following location:
www.amazon.com/kindle/accessibility. It is also available to users in the
United Kingdom, Austrailia and Canada in addition to the United States.
In addition to reading books aloud whith TTS enabled, it also reads text aloud
in books with the TTS turned off in standard Kindle versions since it is an
assistive technology and may legally do so in the aforementioned countries.
I have created a special group email discussion list (as described in more
detail below) entitled "Accessible Kindle App" to discuss the current status
and limitations of the reader for blind and low-vision users.
You may join the list at:
accessible-kindle-app-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the Subject
field OR by visiting the list page at
//www.freelists.org/list/accessible-kindle-app
The purpose of our group for blind and vision-impaired users (and potential
users) is to share experiences with this book reader and especially to discuss
any features or conveniences people would like to have added to the free
Accessible Windows PC version of the Kindle reader in future upgrades.
Since there is strength in numbers, I hope we can get a sufficient number of
members in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia so that when we contact Amazon
and its Kindle development team we can initiate upgrades more quickly than when
trying to contact Amazon alone.
Please encourage your friends and acquaintances in the blind and loe-vision
community to join our list as either users of the Kindle App or as potential
users in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Australia where the Accessible
Kindle Application is currently available. Again, there is strength in numbers.
Some limitations I have noted since the app became available early this year
are as follows . . .
Presently, the free Accessibility Version of Kindle App for Windows PC lacks
the following capabilities of the Standard Version: There is no dictionary word
look-up and there is no copy & paste feature for adding text from books to
one's notes. Hence, blind students are at a disadvantage to their sighted
counterparts when using the app for textbooks, etc.
There is also no library feature implemented at this time nor has page
numbering been implemented as in the Standard Windows Version.
Currently, the Accessibility Version does not support Braille, nor is there an
option to use other text-to-speech voices other than the two Nuance voices
provided with the application, but the TTS issue is minor, in my opinion, and
the Braille issue more pressing for many, I presume.
Also, there is presently no pronunciation modification available for the two
bundled Nuance voices - but, again, this is only an occasionally minor
annoyance for me personally.
More surprisingly, there is no keystroke combination available to read one's
current book location expressed as a percentage of book read and the only way
to access that locator is by using a physical mouse at the very bottom-center
of the application where a tiny box is situated and may only be accessed by
low-vision users with a mmouse, as pressing the tab key will not get one there
either.
There is also presently a bug in the software in "continuous reading mode"
whereby the reader automatically turns pages in many book titles from some
publishers and keeps announcing "There is no text on this page" and keeps
turning pages and incorrectly making the same announcement all the way to the
end of the book.
Lastly, the highlight feature for loe-vision users should have the option for
bright yellow orbright orange highlighting when using a black background for
white text as blue highlighting against a black backgground is hard to discern
by many low-vision persons.
This is just a list of my own observations and I encourage comments from others
in the Accessible Kindle App group so we can address these and other issues
collectively since Amazon - like some others - may drag its feet when making
changes to the accessible version without our collective voices being heard as
customers and potential users.
Again, for info on the Accessible Version of Kindle App for PC, click this link"
www.amazon.com/kindle/accessibility.
If alternate links are available in the U.K. and Australia, please post them in
the new group.
Best regards to all and I welcome all comments at the group list I have created
exclusively for that purpose. Again, you may join the list at
accessible-kindle-app-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the Subject
field OR by visiting the list page at
//www.freelists.org/list/accessible-kindle-app
Since I have just started this list, please excuse any problems you may
encounter and send problems to me personally at dcmack2@xxxxxxxxxxxx
I have only posted this here with the best of intentions. Thanks to all
subscribers who have helped in my transition as I have lost vision in my later
years!
Please forward to others who may be interested.
Grandpa Dave in California - a low-vision user of the Kindle Windows App with
Accessibility Plug-in
Other related posts:
- » [access-uk] Accessible Kindle App for Windows PC by Amazon - Dave Mack
