Hi Dorene,

Thanks for your comments. I suspect you are right.

It seems to me they haven't really thought this through, which is such a 
shame given that they've put the work into making an accessible product.

UK Kindle users who wish to use text-to-speech functions have the same 
restrictions placed on them as US customers. If the author chooses not 
to allow access via text-to-speech, then irrespective of whether the 
Kindle user is in the UK or the US and/or is using their Kindle device 
or Kindle PC software, text-to-speech won't work.

Where the author has not actively made a decision to refuse access to 
their content via text-to-speech strategies, both US and UK customers 
can access content via text-to-speech when using their Kindle devices. 
However, only US customers can access content via text-to-speech 
strategies when using Kindle PC software. Also, it seems that the Kindle 
PC app appears to be actively refusing to expose itself to screenreader 
software. This seems wrong to me irrespective of intellectual property 
or copyright arguments.

Obviously, screenreader users will get around this problem by using the 
same techniques they use to access some PDF documents e.g. via onscreen 
OCR strategies, to access the Kindle application window, or will 
experiment into hacking into ebook files to extract the text, but it 
seems wrong to me that people should have to go to these extremes just 
to read a book that's already fundamentally been produced in a 
potentially accessible format.

Ian








On 28/04/2011 00:05, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Hi Francis
>
> I expect the main reason is something to do with intellectual property
> issues.
>
> The archives of this list contain a number of entries about the Kindle
> and the Authors Guild. I am typing what I remember because I do not have
> time to go look and see what is most current. The Authors' Guild in the
> US considers audio rights, whether human or text-to-speech to be
> separate from print. Some authors grant rights for TTS reproduction;
> some do not. I generally support authors getting the best deal they can
> and authors tell me there are several reasons dealing with Amazon is
> hard no matter how much they care about accessibility.
>
> I am not very familiar with the provisions of US copyright law that
> allow reproeduction through specific pathways in the name of access for
> the visually impaired. but I expect that copyright framework is
> different in the UK as well.
>
> Perhaps this is a helpful place to start. I agree that this sort of
> barrier is a big nuisance.
>
> Best
>
> Dorene Cornwell
> Seattle WA
> (the navel of the Amazon universe in case I ever get tempted to go apply
> for a job.)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian F. <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wed, Apr 27, 2011 1:19 pm
> Subject: [VICUG-L] Kindle PC App Accessibility Plugin for UK Users
>
> Hi All
>
> I contacted Amazon today to ask then to give me a reason why the
> accessibility plugin is not available for UK customers so I can pass
> this on to disappointed disabled students here in the UK who've tried to
> use the package. I explained that several print impaired university
> students had found the Kindle device to be quite helpful but were
> disappointed to discover they could not access Kindle content on the PC
> via text-to-speech strategies, unlike their fellow students in the US. I
> simply received an automated response from Amazon.
>
> Does anyone here know why they have deliberately removed the
> text-to-speech function from the non-US version of the Kindle PC app?
>
> I note that the app also does not appear to work with a screenreader.
> Does the US version expose itself to a screenreader to allow text to be
> read e.g. via Jaws?
>
> Best wishes
> Ian Francis
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> Archived on the World Wide Web at
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