To All,
Below are your eight responses to my recent VICUG inquiry about
enabling a Mac with speech. (A ninth response requested that I
post my answers back to the list, as such.)
Your feedback contained some agreement and some inconsistencies.
Perhaps we can nail down a few definites, and restate the
lingering issues.
My original email had posed these three questions:
1. Is there a useful speech program designed by Mac to use with
its computers?
2. Are there any free speech programs that I can download for
this Mac?
3. When I get a new speech program for my PC, whether Jaws,
WindowEyes or another brand, which would be best for my use on a
Mac as well?
And here are your responses:
#1 -- Peter,
You must differentiate between screen readers and speech
synthesizers. the phrase "speech program" is not accurate.
Assuming you mean screen readers like Jaws or Windoweyes, then
you're talking about a screen reader which controlls a speech
synthesizer.
In that case there is currently not a screen reader for the Mac .
Apple is promising one soon to be included with some new version
of their operating system, and if that happens it will be very
cool, but as of now, no luck.
there used to be "Outspoken for Mac" designed by Berkeley
systems, and distributed by Alva Access Group,
http://www.aagi.com
but that program is no longer available.
since Apples promised screen reader is not yet available, it is
not possible to tell whether it will have "look and feel" similar
to any other screen reader.
In short, its called no answers now, you're gonna have to wait
and see.
tom Fowle
P.S. Apple is forced into doing their own screen reader so they
can keep selling to the huge educational market without getting
caught by the current complete inaccessibility of there products.
* * * * *
#2 -- Dear List:
outspoken for the Macintosh still can be purchased for 9.2 for
$695.00 from the old company I worked for ALVA Access/Vision Que.
They can be reached at
888 318 2582 and speak with Larry Lake.
The next OS from Apple will have its free speech access for the
Macintosh in 2005.
Sincerely,
Christopher McMillan
Rehabilitation Engineer
203 444 5661
[log in to unmask]
* * * * *
#3 -- no pc speech will work on a Mac. The only currently
available speech for the Mac will not be available till some time
next year with the forth coming Tiger release.
you can read about it at:
http://apple.com/accessibility
but if anyone hears or knows of something else, I'd love to know.
Johnnie Apple Seed
* * * * *
#4 -- there is supposed to be a new speech program for the Mac, I
believe it is called spoken interface, and it is supposed to be
incorporated into the operating system, therefore meaning no
extra downloads or purchases.
as yet though I don't know what is going on with it, as I have
heard nothing about it for at least 6 months. from what I heard
then it is supposed to be extremely good and have a grate deal of
potential, would be interested if you hear anything about this
from anyone else, as I would like to check it out with protools
if it is available.
Simon
* * * * *
#5 -- In answer to your questions:
1. Mac is working on an integrated screen reader which is suppose
to come out with a future release of the operating system.
2. There are no free screen readers currently available for the
Mac.
3. None of the windows screen readers will work on a Mac.
* * * * *
#6 -- Hi Peter,
Mac is supposed to be coming out with an upgrade to its operating
system with speech accessibility built in. Much more than that I
don't know. So it's the operating system you'll have to get, not
just a speech program.
Best wishes,
John Sanfilippo
* * * * *
#7 -- Hi Peter!
Essentially, there is only one speech product available for the
Mac and that product, outSpoken, is only available for systems
running anything below Macintosh operating System 9.4. Many who
have either upgraded or purchased Macintoshes recently have no
speech products available to them.
Macintosh computers between System 9.4 and System 10 (any variant
thereof) will not work at all with outSpoken.
No PC screen reader works with the Mac. Apple is currently
developing a new operating system called Tiger into which they
are attempting to merge a speech interface. This system, though
in Beta for almost 8 months, has not been released yet.
Good luck with this,
Steve Hoad
* * * * *
#8 -- Hello Peter,
At the present time, there are no screen readers for the Mac.
Apple is working on one that is scheduled to be released sometime
in the first half of next year. It will be part of the operating
system and will not cost you anything other than the cost of the
operating system.
As to the last question, there are basic differences between
Windows and Macintosh computers that normally will allow you to
run a program for one kind to run on the other kind.
Hopes this helps and Merry Christmas
Marshall
* * *
The ball is inb your court.
Peter Seymour
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
|
