[tabi] Re: online voice chat and accessible meeting freeware

  • From: "Allison and Chip Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:40:13 -0500

Hi Yvonne,

yes, it seems to be compatible with all major screen readers.

as for what it does: it lets you put on a headset with a microphone, and be
part of an online conference, or meeting, or chat.  if you have a webcam you
can actually see the other people as well as talk and listen to them.

what's unusual about the way it handles voice is that many people can talk
at the same time; that means you don't have to wait for the other person to
stop talking, before you can ask a question or say something.  if you want
them to know you didn't understand what they just said, you can actually say
it right away.  that's called "full duplex" sound, and we usually only get
it on a telephone conference call, but this software, TeamTalk, has it.

if there's a conference, and you don't own a microphone, you can still join
in and listen, and if you have a question, you can type it in in the text
message box of TeamTalk (which I may call "the client" sometimes).

if you or anyone else has a file you'd like everyone to be able to have,
there's a place where the person with the file can "share it", and that
allows everyone else to download if they want.

I haven't used TeamTalk myself, but when I asked others who have a lot of
experience with this kind of software what I should use to go about holding
group classes or meetings, where people could speak using "full duplex",
TeamTalk is what was recommended the most.

I think it's very important to have full duplex, as it allows people to
quickly indicate, while everyone is thinking about the point, that they have
a question or a disagreement.  it allows for much more natural
conversational flow.

and TeamTalk has no limit on how many users may participate at once, and
it's free!!!

so, if we can get it to work, we'll have a great tool for learning from one
another, and for just getting together to talk to one another.

blind people are very socially isolated as compared to sighted people, and
it's because of the transportation issue.  I hate it that we can't just open
up TABI for a free-for-all chat to help with this issue, but we can't, so
something like this is the obvious solution.  and, while buying a headset
can cost $50, it's much more relaxing and enjoyable to be able to talk with
your friends than to type to them.  and there aren't nearly so many
emotional misunderstandings, which can so easily creep in to an email
conversation.

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten angry, or made someone else
angry, needlessly, because the emotional content of what they or I was
trying to say got lost.  and so, an effort to help one another turned into
an argument unnecessarily.  I think hearing the other person's voice will
keep all that kind of thing from happening.

so, please, everyone give it a try; buy a headset if you can (Robert, do you
have ideas, or do you sell headsets?).

I bought mine from emicrophones.com because the owner helped me pick out
something which plugged into my audio card rather than being a usb headset,
and wasn't that expensive.  it's a good site if you want help in picking
something out, and he carries a huge variety of headsets.

don't forget, if you own a headset for a cell phone, such as a bluetooth
headset, and you have bluetooth on your pc, that should work fine.  there
are adapters you can buy for the plugs on a phone headset to allow you to
plug it into the pc audio card.  and of course, you don't need a headset; if
you have earphones and a microphone that should work.

hth,

Chip
 

-----Original Message-----
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Yvonne Britton
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 3:49 PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: online voice chat and accessible meeting freeware

Hi, Chip
A lot of the technical terms I don't understand but I wanted to  know if
this software is compatible with J. A. W. S. and System Access? And could
tell which download I am suppose to do. A lot of the technical words I don't
understand so if you can explain it where I can better understand I would
appreciate I am sure I am not the only who can not some of these things.
Yvonne
GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allison and Chip Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 1:33 PM
Subject: [tabi] online voice chat and accessible meeting freeware


> Hi all,
>
> this message is about a new freeware software package, with a 
> specially designed accessible version, for holding online meetings and 
> audio/video chats.  the software is TeamTalk version 4, and their 
> special accessible version download page is:
>
> http://bearware.dk/index.php?section=products&pageid=tt4accessibility#
> hdrmen
> u
>
> it allows full duplex chatting (that is like a phone conference call 
> where one person can interrupt another, without having to push a 
> button to talk).
> it also allows the use of web-cams, so sighted users can have a video 
> chat.
> and finally, it allows file sharing among conference members.
>
>
> I'm wondering about holding a TABI series of chats or classes, if we 
> can get enough people to download and install TeamTalk.  if you don't 
> have a microphone, then you can stil listen to a meeting, and type 
> your questions via the text message feature of the client.
>
> so everyone, as time allows, please download and install TeamTalk, and 
> read a little of the help.  and start thinking what topics we might 
> use to build an online meeting around:
>
> are their computer topics you'd like someone to teach more about?  how 
> to improve your finances and money situation?  argue out the star 
> metro situation?
>
> Are there topics you'd like to offer to teach/organize?
>
>
> anyone can request, or be the organizer, of any online meeting, and we 
> don't have to arrange transportation!
>
>
> enjoy,
>
> Chip
>
> Check out the TABI resource web page at 
> http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
> and please make suggestions for new material.
>
>
>
> if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web 
> interface, or by sending an email to the address 
> tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject. 

Check out the TABI resource web page at
http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
and please make suggestions for new material.



if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web
interface, or by sending an email to the address tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.

Check out the TABI resource web page at http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
and please make suggestions for new material.



if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web 
interface, or by sending an email to the address tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.

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