Re: A question on Screen Reader Speed Standards
- From: Andreas Stefik <stefika@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 12:45:49 -0600
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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