Hello Steve,

You say:  "Also, keep in mind that Digital Talking Books do not
have to be played on one of these stand-alone machines, but can be
utilized on a computer with fairly inexpensive (perhaps free) software."

Does this mean that the material is available in ASCII?  Ideally
it would be available in HTML, so you have headings, emphasis,
and hyperlinks.  Then it can be read by inexpensive software such as
WordAloud.  You can download a free (but time-limited) evaluation copy of
the software from www.wordaloud.co.uk.  Is this the kind of software
to which you were referring?  If you say the needs of the end-user
are the driving force, then you should be catering for the majority
of visually impaired people who are elderly and need some very simple
software to use.  WordAloud was developed in the Senior Online project,
and made exceptionally simple to use for elderly people reading from
the web.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John
--
In message  <[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask] writes:

>As the former Manager of Product Development for Recording for the
>Blind & Dyslexic, I can tell you that we addressed the Digital Talking
>Book initiative by making the needs of the end-user the driving force
>of the whole process.  Huge amounts of feedback from beta-testers and
>other users were continuously re-integrated into the design process to
>ensure that the resulting product would be the best technology
>available--delivered at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time
>period.
>
>One of the problems we have always been concerned about is the cost of
>the stand-alone DTB players.  Remember that we do not design or build
>any type of hardware--we only create the accessible content.  The two
>hardware manufacturers, Plextor and VisuAide, have also invested
>several years of research and design effort into their products, and I
>can tell you that even at $500 they may not be recouping their expenses
>for quite some time into the future.  However, once there is a
>sufficient demand for these devices, one can expect the cost to drop
>sooner or later.  Also, keep in mind that Digital Talking Books do not
>have to be played on one of these stand-alone machines, but can be
>utilized on a computer with fairly inexpensive (perhaps free) software.
>
>
>In an ideal world, educational materials (including textbooks) would be
>universally designed and fully accessible from the start, and
>specialized equipment and services would not be required to gain access
>to these materials.  Although you and I will never live in an ideal
>world, it may be that current legislative initiatives (such as the
>proposed Accessible Instructional Materials Act supported by the NFB,
>ACB, NFB, RFB&D and others) will someday transport us into a world
>where providing access to educational information (at least) will be
>required by law.
>
>Steve Noble
>Policy Analyst
>Kentucky Assistive Technology Service Network
>8412 Westport Road
>Louisville, KY 40242
>Voice: (502) 327-0022 x268
>Fax: (502) 327-9974
>[log in to unmask]
>Board of Directors, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (KY Unit)
>Board of Directors, Learning Disabilities Association of Kentucky
>Contributing Editor, Information Technology and Disabilities

--
Access the word, access the world! -- Try our WordAloud software!!

John Nissen, Cloudworld Ltd., Chiswick, London, UK
Tel:   +44 (0) 845 458 3944 (local rate in the UK)
Fax:   +44 (0) 20 8742 8715
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web:   http://www.cloudworld.co.uk and http://www.wordaloud.co.uk