Self-voicing
A self-voicing application is an application that provides an aural interface without requiring a separate screen reader. Self-voicing applications can be an important form of assistive technology, useful to those who have difficulty reading or seeing.
A prominent group of self-voicing applications are talking web browsers. Traditionally, talking web browsers have been specially created, as was the case with:
- pwWebSpeak, originally developed by The Productivity Works in Princeton, New Jersey (now obsolete)
- Simply Web (also now obsolete)
- Home Page Reader (HPR) from IBM (recently discontinued)
- Connect Outloud from Freedom Scientific
- WebAnywhere from University of Washington
A more recent trend has seen the self-voicing capabilities added to mainstream web browsers with free add-ons. In 2004, Opera Software created a self-voicing and speech-recognition extension for the Windows version of their web browser.[1] And in 2005 Charles L. Chen devised Fire Vox, an extension that adds speech capabilities to the Mozilla Firefox web browser on Mac, Windows, or Linux.[2]
A second important category are broader self-voicing applications that function as what T. V. Raman calls "complete audio desktops",[3] including editing, browsing, and even gaming capabilities. These include Raman's own Emacspeak enhancement for Emacs and Karl Dahlke's Edbrowse.
References
- ↑ Opera Sings with IBM's Speech Technology: New version of Opera Embeds ViaVoice from IBM (Opera press release, 23 March 2004). Accessed 2007-02-03.
- ↑ Charles L. Chen, About Fire Vox. Accessed 2007-02-03.
- ↑ T. V. Raman, Emacspeak - The Complete Audio Desktop. Accessed 2007-02-03.
External links
- Edbrowse, a command line editor, browser, and mail client
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