Hi All,
A new "seeingwithsound" mailing list has been created for
users of and people interested in The vOICe technology and
The vOICe Learning Edition software for converting images
into sounds. This list is not about sonar obstacle detection,
but about the latest experimental camera-based technology
for hearing arbitrary images, graphics and video. One of
the important unanswered questions is how well blind people
can learn to (and want to!?) interpret the often extremely
complicated sounds as generated from real-life images and
video. Discussions on the new mailing list may help to find
better answers to that, as well as help identify and explore
less ambitious applications that are useful but not quite
as hard to master as the understanding of arbitrary visual
scenery via sound. Some things, such as color identification,
may be relatively easy, while results in other areas may
require too much training effort to be attractive. It should
be clearly stated that there is a lot that we do not know yet:
it is a new field for exploration where blind users can help
to evaluate and shape their own technology of the future.
You can subscribe to the mailing list by sending an e-mail
to
[log in to unmask]
after which you can post messages by mailing to
[log in to unmask]
Messages from this mailing list are distributed with the
prefix [The vOICe] in the subject line.
Members can also access the mailing list archive via the
web page
http://www.egroups.com/list/seeingwithsound/
It might take a few weeks before this list ramps up to
normal operation, so please be patient if the list seems
too silent or too noisy or otherwise disappointing in
the beginning. Of course your own participation will be
decisive for the success of this list. You are welcome
to contribute by posting your ideas, comments, experiences
and so on relating to The vOICe approach and The vOICe
Learning Edition software. The mailing list is unmoderated,
and I hope to keep it that way.
A number of requests came after the recent demonstration
at the CSUN 99 conference, asking to make the non-camera
features available without requiring a camera. This has
been granted, and the most recent version of The vOICe
Learning Edition, version 1.23 as released early this
week, now indeed allows the non-camera features to be
used without having a camera connected. This includes
the built-in scientific graphing calculator (function
key F8), as well as the possibility to hear BMP images
imported via the file menu, plus the option to hear the
screen area around your mouse pointer (function key F9).
Still, please keep in mind that this software was really
developed for use with a PC camera, and that remains the
primary target, in spite of the availability of several
non-camera features.
The latest executable for Windows-95/98/NT can be obtained,
free of charge for personal use, via the web page
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/winvoice.htm
or downloaded from the direct download URL (600K file size)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/voice.exe
mirrored at http://www.gironet.nl/home/meijerpb/voice.exe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/voice.exe
If the sound output conflicts with your screen reader,
for instance because you have only a single sound card,
you may have to use the Ctrl+F2 toggle to mute and release
the audio device from The vOICe Learning Edition in order
to hear your screen reader again. Apart from this possible
issue, the software is known to cooperate well with the
Jaws for Windows and Window Eyes screen readers.
Best wishes,
Peter Meijer
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Soundscapes from The vOICe - Seeing with your Ears!
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Peter_Meijer/
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