[accesscomp] Fw: Accessible World Tek Talk Archives Archive Update
- From: "Bob Acosta" <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "access comp" <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 14:04:45 -0700
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From: <donotreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 1:57 PM
Subject: Accessible World Tek Talk Archives Archive Update
Posted by: admin
ACCESSIBLE WORLD TEK TALK FEATURES BILL SPIRY, EARLSPEECH has been posted to
the Tek Talk Archives Archives and can also be found on the front page of
http://accessibleworld.org/ under the "Recent Content" heading.
The link to the full description of the archive is below:
http://accessibleworld.org/content/accessible-world-tek-talk-features-bill-spiry-earlspeech
The link to download the file is below:
http://accessibleworld.org/sites/default/files/tt-07-29-13-features-earlspeech.mp3
Tek Talk Archives description:
Many of us have smart phones which seem to do everything except wash the
dishes and we are very comfortable with this gee-whiz technology. There
are,
however significant numbers of folks-like our mothers perhaps-who will never
be comfortable with these devices. Even some of us geeks sometimes long for
an application that would, say, let us read our newspaper without having to
be a software engineer.
A company named Earlspeech has come up with just such an application called
Earl. Earl is the name of a real person. He is a gentleman in his 80's who
is the father-in-law of one of the developers. He wanted to be able to
read
newspapers and other magazines and periodicals without having to learn a
multitude of gestures and swipes. The Developer took on the task of
developing such an app and named it after his father-in-law. Earl is a
voice-driven application which allows one to read newspaper articles solely
by using voice commands. When one launches the application, a large logo
appears on the screen-and nothing else. A start-up message, spoken in a
very
understandable human voice, quickly reassures the user that he can navigate
the functions of the application without a screen, using his voice and then
proceeds to instruct him in the commands he needs to speak in order to get
things done. The user precedes each spoken command by tapping the screen
twice with one finger. For example, one has but to say "newspapers" and he
is presented with a list of his favorite newspapers. He then speaks the
name
of the paper he desires and, voila, up it comes. He is then spoken a list
of
the sections available in his paper and, again, has but to speak the section
he wants and up comes a list of articles. He speaks the article he wants
and
it begins to read, all in that pleasant human voice.
The user can customize the program to use his favorite voice, choose its
speed, and add his favorite newspapers and periodicals, and many other
things
all through the sound of his voice. The application is free at last check
but there is a $9.99 per month or $99 yearly subscription fee. The
available
content seems to be expanding rapidly with recent additions of many books
from Gutenberg and many web pages. If your newspaper or magazine isn't
available, you can drop the company an e-mail and they will usually get it
added in a couple of days.
Presenter Bill Spiry:
E-Mail : bspiry@xxxxxxxxxxx
E-Mail: Customer Support:support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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http://www.twitter.com/accessibleWrld
The Accessible World, a division of Helping Hands For The Blind, a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit organization, seeks to educate the general public, the
disabled community and the professionals who serve them by providing highly
relevant information about new products, services, and training
opportunities
designed specifically to eliminate geographic and access barriers that
adversely affect them.
http://accessibleworld.org/
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