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Re: Microsoft: National Consumer Organization SHHH Awards Microsoft Top Honor (fwd)



On Tue, 17 Jun 1997, Harvey J. Stein wrote:

> Omer Zak writes:
> > 
> > On Tue, 17 Jun 1997, guy keren wrote:
> > 
> > > On Tue, 17 Jun 1997, Omer Zak wrote:
> > > 
> > > > Another big challenge to Linux from Micro$oft.  (Besides the Office 
> > > > applications, that is.)
> > > [rest deleted to savethis space].
> > > 
> > > yet they've not prepared software for blind people.
> > 
> > So this is a door into which Linuxphiles can break.  Start working!  (And
> > please don't forget also us deafies, even though our needs are in several
> > cases opposite those of the blind.)
> 
> There's something called emacspeak which the blind use.  It narrates
> what's in the emacs buffer utilizing all sorts of mode information.
> Since you can edit in emacs, telnet from emacs, web surf from emacs,
> run a shell from within emacs, etc., making emacs talk gives pretty
> good access.
> 
> -- 
> Harvey J. Stein
> Berger Financial Research
> abel@netvision.net.il
> 

pmfji but there is a program called 'say' or something on Sunsite. It is a
text-to-speech system that I have compiled and it works perfectly (no
Mickey Mouse on $elecom - it even has a kockney accent and phrase
inflexion).

Turning that into a Linux for the blind is childishly easy. All one has to
do is hack a virtual console into having a cursor steerable by mouse or
such (with announcement when hitting a margin) and with mouse clicks
steering voice output start (also on events, screen refresh, jump
word/phrase/paragraph forward/backward etc. 

Since Linux has a web browser (text mode = Lynx) and everything else it
should be possible to make such a system. I'm interested in input on this
theme. It could make Linux very popular here. 

Peter Lorand Peres
------------------
plp@actcom.co.il 100310.2360@compuserve.com


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