Re: Making gnome speak



Paolo Molaro wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Aug 27, 1999 at 09:45:44PM -0400, SEGV wrote:
> > The problem is far more complicated than that. Ever see a blind person
> > use a computer? Their needs are more complex, and what's the point of
> > adding voice output to a computer system if it doesn't free you to not
> > look at the screen?
> 
> Uh? I don't understand what you're trying to say. Can you be a bit more
> specific?

I'm saying that speech output for blind people involves more than just
speech output. Since that is their only means of accessing and
controlling the computer, it is more than just a fancy add-on. It must
provide them with the means to do just that.

It's cute to listen to Festival or MBROLA read Moby Dick for a bit. But
when you are doing extended research on the web, using only speech,
those voices tire quickly. They still are not as adequate as dedicated
hardware.

A blind person will likely have the speech speed up so high you could
not understand it. The software will have to be understandable (to them)
at that speed.

These and other issues make it a harder problem than at first glance.

Whenever I show my blind girlfriend these text-to-speech efforts on
Linux, she isn't impressed. They are mostly inadequate for a blind
person to command and control their computer, but nice to listen to
while doing the dishes.

-- 
SEGV  -  http://www.cgocable.net/~mlepage/
Features Minion real-time strategy game, RTS game programming info,
GTK+ tutorial, etc.



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