----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Meijer" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 6:40 PM
Subject: [The vOICe] Version 1.59 of The vOICe available
Hi All,
Version 1.59 of The vOICe Learning Edition is now available.
First a bit of introductory information. The normal human
retina has separate so-called "ON" cells and "OFF" cells
for detecting, with comparable sensitivity, bright points
on a dark background and dark points on a bright background.
These "ON" and "OFF" cells have their own separate neural
pathways to the brain. With the upcoming first generations
of retinal implants, normal color perception cannot be
provided because retinal cells cannot be individually addressed
with current technology, and addressing individual brightness
and darkness sensitive "ON" and "OFF" cells will for much the
same reason also remain impossible for a long time to come.
Similar remarks apply to brain implants for artificial vision.
The vOICe too was so far hampered by the lack of equivalent
"ON" cells and "OFF" cells in the early stages of the human
hearing system, thus making it hard to notice small dark
objects on a bright background. However, version 1.59 now
exploits certain special properties of human hearing to
partially get around this, and you should find it easier than
before to notice small dark objects on a bright background.
This refined functionality is part of the default behaviour
of The vOICe version 1.59, so you need not set any options.
I think it brings soundscapes another modest but significant
step closer to key properties of normal vision.
To extend functionality from another angle, version 1.59 now
also adds provisional and basic support for tactile feedback
from pointing devices like the Logitech Wingman Force Feedback
Mouse or the HP Force Feedback Mouse. This new extension has
been tested with these two devices. Special thanks go to
Immersion Corporation for providing the necessary tools for
extending The vOICe with basic tactile feedback options. There
remain major perceptual limitations though, because simple
force feedback tends to become unstable (resonant) with small
details like with typical graphics. In spite of this it might
find some uses in analyzing screen graphics in combination with
soundscapes. Those who have a tactile mouse can give it a try.
The vOICe will automatically detect an Immersion pointing device
(tactile mouse) at startup if one is connected, and then add
appropriate menu items to the Edit and Drivers menu. Take care
that The vOICe window currently must have focus during tactile
feedback. You will get brightness-dependent tactile feedback
from the mouse pointer as you move the mouse, and you can use
this in combination with mouse area sonification (function key
F9), although this is not required. The current tactile
feedback, version 0.1, counts as experimental, and will for
that reason remain largely undocumented for some time to come.
For much more elaborate tactile feedback options for screen
graphics you are referred to the ifeelpixel software available
from www.ifeelpixel.com.
Finally, version 1.59 fixes some bugs and adds workarounds
for known problems. It fixes the bug affecting the saving of
AVI movie files with non-default frame rates as reported before,
and it may help prevent occasional problems upon program exit.
I do not know if it also solves the system crash problems upon
program exit as reported by some Jaws users. Version 1.59
also includes a workaround for the recently reported audio
output driver problems with devices (such as modems) that
do not support The vOICe's default audio format.
The updated version 1.59 can be downloaded from one of the
following three direct download URLs (executable file size
is less than 500 K):
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/voice.exe
http://home.hccnet.nl/peter.meyer/voice.exe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/voice.exe
In order to use the optional tactile feedback extension, you
need to download the zip file named "vOICeIFC.zip" from the URL
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/vOICeIFC.zip
After unzipping, move the resulting two files named
"vOICeIFC.dll" and "IFC23.dll" to the folder where you
stored The vOICe executable voice.exe. The "vOICeIFC.dll"
file is the run-time interface between The vOICe and the
Immersion tactile feedback software in "IFC23.dll". You
may also put the two DLL files in your "Windows" folder
if preferred.
Best wishes,
Peter Meijer
Seeing with Sound - The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm
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