Ground Control to Major Tom

I like to talk about technology. I claim no technical acumen; I am the voice of the purely average user. I do not speak, or understand, tech talk, but I do have tremendous respect for those who do. I just hope and pray they do not speak “geek” to me.

A good technology experience can put you over the moon, without requiring a degree in rocket science. I find no joy in tinkering or toiling over a computer or electronic device, and I know I’ve got trouble when I continually default to the ‘shut down and reboot’.

Last week I decided it was high time I deal with some chronic problems I was encountering with a very important computer program, critical to my work. I had been shutting down and rebooting for months, and felt empowered as I sent off an email to the support desk, anticipating that my problems would be magically corrected with the checking, or un-checking, of an obscure box or two.

The very prompt and polite response appeared to come from another planet, in a completely unfamiliar language. However, it did give me an answer to my problems: I’ll just continue to live with them.

Below, is just a portion, of the alien instructions I received…

“1. Click on the Start button
2. Click on Control Panel
3. If you are using Windows XP Category view click on Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices (if you are using Windows Classic view skip to step 4) 4. Click or Double Click if you skipped step 3) on Sounds and Audio Devices 5. Select the Audio tab 6. Make sure that "Use only default devices" is unchecked 7. Click the OK button

Look for a file called tts.ini. Its location is the following:
C:\\Program Files\\ZoomText 9.1. Open the file in notepad. Look for something in that file that looks like what I have below:

[TextToSpeech]
EnableOnlyDefinedTTS=0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Speech\\Voices\\Tokens\\VW
Kate 16k]
comment=NeoSpeech Kate - AiSquared engine
VALID=1
FAMILY_GUID=4C46D835-4C95-4b15-9147-48939B6060D3
VOICE_GUID=A7D57D51-E96D-4a0b-97C6-BEC1544F5E8A
ENGINE_NAME=NeoSpeech English [Ai Squared (v2)] ENGINE_NAME_LOW=NeoSpeech English [Ai Squared (v2)] VOICE_NAME=Kate DESCRIPTION=
PBR_RATE=35
PBR_PERIOD=100
PBR_STEP=0
COLUMNPAUSE

In the section that has the following: EnableOnlyDefinedTTS=0 change it to read this:

EnableOnlyDefinedTTS=1

Then save the changes and do a reboot and then see if that helps.”

THEN, TAKE YOUR PROTEIN PILLS AND PUT YOUR HELMET ON!

Apple Takes Another Bite

The much anticipated introduction of the iPad clearly positions Apple to, once again, shift a culture or two.

As we anticipated the tablet’s introduction, there were so many questions: what does it do, how does it look, what is it called, what is the price? For me, there is one question that supersedes all others --- is it accessible? The answer is “YES!” The iPad did not disappoint.

This sets a precedent. While Apple has been quietly executing their seamless commitment to “Universal Access” for some time now, the iPad marks the move up, to first generation standard, for Voice Over and Zoom.

I say hooray! From the get-go, Apple is making their superstars accessible right out of the box for people with impaired vision. It’s big and bold and warm and embracing. It’s about inclusion; we don’t have to wait for years for someone to cobble together a “third party” solution that is mediocre, at best, and costs 4 times more than it’s worth.

And, as if this were not already enough goodness, I do believe the iPad will also answer my call for access in my last post titled “Make It So”) to Kindle menus and Digital Video Recording. Never mind. My wishes appear to be granted by iPad access to the iBook Store and to TV and movies, as well.

Ah yes, the sweet taste of progress.

Make It So

I spoke with a Microsoft executive last year about the inaccessible nature of Speech Recognition in Windows Vista. I was excited by the prospects presented by Microsoft – “You can dictate documents and emails in mainstream applications use voice commands to start and switch between applications, control the operating system, and even fill out forms on the Web.”

I expected it to work. Seemed like a natural for people with impaired vision. Unfortunately, it was not up to the task, and my friend at Microsoft told me that I was expecting “Star Trek Technology” and they were not quite there yet.

All I could think of were the words used by Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek, when commanding his crew to execute an order --- “Make it so!”
I know, we are not on the Starship Enterprise, but it is 2010 and there are a few things that cannot wait for the next generation:

Speech Recognition is still at the top of my list. I want an easy to access program built right into my computer. We can, after all, get movie tickets, conduct banking transactions, and pay our bills, at this point, just by speaking into the phone. Ford put Sync in cars to dial the phone or find our favorite music. It’s high time our computer can do the same.

The Kindle should make those menus talk!
In order to enjoy the text-to-speech feature, I must find the publication I want to read, but the print is not big enough, so I need it to speak. I can live with the Authors Guild restrictions, but I cannot use a Kindle without spoken menus.

Mobile phones should make their menus talk too! Not such a leap, if Apple could make it happen on a touch screen iPhone, it’s time to make it a build in option in all phones.

Give me access to the GPS that is apparently in mobile phones, at the touch of a button, I want to hear my exact location: You are on the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue at 24th Street.

The DVR (Digital Video Recorder) needs a voice as well. I want to DVR my favorite programs, like everyone else. Then again, will Web TV make the DVR mute?

I want to hear from the bar code scanners, too, in the grocery store, the drug store, the department store. It should just be standard…like the talking ATM.

Make it so.

Luxury Or Necessity?

Having the Intel Reader at my disposal for several weeks did feel like a little luxury. Passing it on to a colleague yesterday definitely stirred up some separation anxiety.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ease it brought back to recipe reading, and the angst it took away from the mail and the (dreaded) form. I used it as my own private teleprompter, to practice and give prompts, for a speech. I used it for reading printed documents, on a daily basis; I actually cleaned up the piles of paper I wanted to read, but had not quite figured out how – until now.

The Intel Reader passed two of my critical technology tests. It helped me feel like I could read anything, and it made me feel good about doing it. It also passed my usability test, with flying colors, which means: if I can operate this device…anyone can.

I, like Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, got better at Intel Reading each day. I originally thought I would be flipping through the pages of Vogue and the New Yorker, but this was not as easy as it looked. There were some articles that I photographed again and again, before I got a readable shot. Newspapers were equally as difficult, clearly a skill to be acquired over time.

I did take a few books off the shelf and read excerpts from a couple of them, once read by my eyes. This, for some reason, I excelled at; however, it also gave me a real appreciation for the Capture Station, an accessory available with the Intel Reader, for photographing entire books (without breaking them apart).

So now I will decide which category does the Intel Reader belong: luxury or necessity? At $1,500, and in the month of December, it can only come from one place…Santa, are you listening?

The Intel Reader Takes Form

I like my font big and bold (about 2 inches high) and at eye level; in this format I can read just about anything. Well, then again, I could not exactly call this reading. Let’s say, in this format, I could identify one word at a time, slowly. For me, “listening” is the new “reading.” It is far more enjoyable and, definitely, more efficient to hear printed words spoken, than to undergo the arduous process of deciphering words, which sometimes appear to be moving or broken. It can be like reading a book under water.

A few days ago, a former colleague asked if I would write a recommendation for grad school. I was happy to do it until she handed me the (dreaded) form. I am not fond of forms, especially the instructions about how to fill out the form. So I decided to take a picture of it with the Intel Reader and have it read me the instructions, where I learned that I could answer the questions on a separate page. I listened to each question and answered it in a word document in my computer, printed it, attached it, and voila, another form bites the dust.

Stay tuned for …Intel Teleprompter.