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Thread: Talking websites

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Number of posts in this thread: 8 (In chronological order)

From: Geof Collis
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 7:30AM
Subject: Talking websites
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Hi All

I'm wondering what the Pros and Cons are of talking websites?

I understand a site needs to be accessible for it to work properly
but is there a real need for it and if a site is very elaborate how
would it handle many navigation links etc.

cheers

Geof


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From: Moore,Michael (DARS)
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 7:57AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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Geof asked about the pros and cons of talking websites.

There is a service called Browse Aloud which I evaluated, that will speech enable websites using a browser plug-in that the user installs. They have some good information on their website about the service and links to places where it has been implemented. The service is not meant to be a substitute for a screen reader or a magnifier but does provide many advantages to people who may use it.

People who understand spoken English but may not be proficient English readers.
People who are dyslexic or have other cognitive disabilities.
People with mild vision issues who have do not use a screen reader or magnifier.

The only cons that I can think of are that it requires a user to install a third party plug-in to use the service and that you have to pay to have your site enabled for the service. Of course the funding for the service needs to come from somewhere.

Mike Moore

From: Geof Collis
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 8:36AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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Thanks Mike

I got most of that from
http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=10628


cheers

Geof

At 08:57 AM 3/31/2010, you wrote:
>Geof asked about the pros and cons of talking websites.
>
>There is a service called Browse Aloud which I evaluated, that will
>speech enable websites using a browser plug-in that the user
>installs. They have some good information on their website about the
>service and links to places where it has been implemented. The
>service is not meant to be a substitute for a screen reader or a
>magnifier but does provide many advantages to people who may use it.
>
>People who understand spoken English but may not be proficient
>English readers.
>People who are dyslexic or have other cognitive disabilities.
>People with mild vision issues who have do not use a screen reader
>or magnifier.
>
>The only cons that I can think of are that it requires a user to
>install a third party plug-in to use the service and that you have
>to pay to have your site enabled for the service. Of course the
>funding for the service needs to come from somewhere.
>
>Mike Moore
>
>

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 8:42AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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On 31/03/2010 13:57, Moore,Michael (DARS) wrote:
> Geof asked about the pros and cons of talking websites.
>
> There is a service called Browse Aloud which I evaluated, that will speech enable websites using a browser plug-in that the user installs. They have some good information on their website about the service and links to places where it has been implemented. The service is not meant to be a substitute for a screen reader or a magnifier but does provide many advantages to people who may use it.

> The only cons that I can think of are that it requires a user to install a third party plug-in to use the service and that you have to pay to have your site enabled for the service. Of course the funding for the service needs to come from somewhere.

And the lovely thing is: technically their plugin works on any site,
it's just that by paying them you get added to a plain text whitelist of
sites. Personally, I think this approach is deeply flawed and
extortionware, but hey...

--
Patrick H. Lauke

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 8:45AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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On 31/03/2010 13:28, Geof Collis wrote:
> I'm wondering what the Pros and Cons are of talking websites?

Cons: depending on how you implement the feature, talking sites can
actually interfere with screen readers (in the simplest case, you may
hear two audio streams at the same time...the self-voicing feature of
the site and your screen reader's output).

> I understand a site needs to be accessible for it to work properly
> but is there a real need for it

There's arguments for and against self-voicing features. I'm firmly of
the belief that users have a responsibility for using the right tools
that work for them, and not everything can or should be done by
websites/developers. Same argument as those text size widgets etc.

P
--
Patrick H. Lauke

From: Geof Collis
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 9:00AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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Hi Patrick

I'm not a big fan of them either nor am I big on font resizers.

I was asked by a City clerk about talking websites, they were
thinking about implementing them to make their site accessible but
I'm getting the impression they think it will be a substitute for
actually building it to WCAG standards, or a quick fix.


cheers

Geof

From: J. B-Vincent
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 9:45AM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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BrowseAloud (or as it calls itself, Browsyloud) is relevant for people with learning disabilities; it does require mouse use and therefore is not a substitute for a true screen reader. Like all speech output programs, it will not handle bitmapped text or other inaccessible features.

I'm much more heartened by the free open source screen readers such as SATG and NVDA and by anything that educates developers about _why_ certain design features impede accessibility.

--Jane Vincent, Center for Accessible Technology

--- On Wed, 3/31/10, Patrick H. Lauke < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

From: Patrick H. Lauke < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Talking websites
To: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 6:41 AM

On 31/03/2010 13:57, Moore,Michael (DARS) wrote:
> Geof asked about the pros and cons of talking websites.
>
> There is a service called Browse Aloud which I evaluated, that will speech enable websites using a browser plug-in that the user installs. They have some good information on their website about the service and links to places where it has been implemented. The service is not meant to be a substitute for a screen reader or a magnifier but does provide many advantages to people who may use it.

> The only cons that I can think of are that it requires a user to install a third party plug-in to use the service and that you have to pay to have your site enabled for the service. Of course the funding for the service needs to come from somewhere.

And the lovely thing is: technically their plugin works on any site,
it's just that by paying them you get added to a plain text whitelist of
sites. Personally, I think this approach is deeply flawed and
extortionware, but hey...

--
Patrick H. Lauke

From: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 12:12PM
Subject: Re: Talking websites
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While talking web sites can be entertaining and amusing at times there are
definite cons with screen readers. First the speed at one which a narrator
talks on a talking web site is much slower than what I read with JAWS and is
not a good use of my time. Secondly, when music is in the background on a
web site often times it is louder than the screen reader and is more
distracting than helpful as is also true with some of the voice over as
well. Occasionally I have come across a site where the sound can be disabled
on the site that is obvious rather than having to go through various
internal processes with my computer. I personally would recommend in the
development of a web site a process where the audible features can be turned
on or off at the preference of the visitor.
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "Geof Collis" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 5:28 AM
Subject: [WebAIM] Talking websites


> Hi All
>
> I'm wondering what the Pros and Cons are of talking websites?
>
> I understand a site needs to be accessible for it to work properly
> but is there a real need for it and if a site is very elaborate how
> would it handle many navigation links etc.
>
> cheers
>
> Geof
>
>
> Administrator
> Coalition of Ontario Accessibility Advisory Committees (COAAC) Website
> www.coaac.ca
> Follow COAAC on Twitter
> www.twitter.com/coaac
>
>