TomTom XL 325-SE for $89 | GPS Deals
TomTom XL 325-SE for $89. November 27, 2009 · Filed Under Auto GPS deals, Current GPS deals, TomTom GPS deals. TomTom-XL-325SE. This is a Walmart exclusive, limited quantity item and the price is good only for today, Black Friday. …

TomTom ONE 125 SE And XL 325 SE To Hit Walmart Stores On Black …
The worldwide leading maker of navigation devices, TomTom has introduced its two new TomTom navigation devices highlighted in Walmarts Black Friday specials – TomTom ONE 125 SE (3.5? touchscreen) and TomTom XL 325 SE (extra wide 4.3? …

Get Yourself a TomTom XL 325 SE For Just $89 From Walmart”s Black …
TomTom-XL-325-and-XL-325-S-GPS-. If youve wanted to buy a GPS device but never liked the idea of spending a lot of cash on one, you can now buy the TomTom XL 325 SE for a mere $89, thanks to Walmarts Black Friday promotions. …

Black Friday : TomTom 4.3” XL 325 GPS Navigation System for …
Also comes TomTom XL 325, an easy to use widescreen navigation GPS comes preloaded with maps of the US. It is with the following features: 4.3? Touchscreen, full TFT color LCD (480 x 272 pixels, supports 64K colors), …

TomTom ONE 125 SE and XL 325 SE GPS Devices for Walmart”s Black …
TomTom brings two new GPS navigation devices for Walmarts Black Friday specials, the ONE 125 SE Special Edition and the XL 325 SE Silver Edition. The.

TomTom announces details to TomTom One 125 SE and TomTom XL325 SE …
If you sifted through Walmarts Black Friday ads yesterday youll have noticed two new TomTom portable GPS devices on sale …

TomTom ONE 125 SE and XL 325 SE GPS Devices | Instring
TomTom comes up with two latest GPS navigation devices 125 SE and XL 325 SE GPS Devices, both includes excellent features. It is equipped with maps of the.

TomTom One 125 SE and XL 325 SE GPS units hit Walmart on Black …
Friday is Black Friday meaning that there will be hoards of people out shopping and some of the best deals of the Christmas season. TomTom has announced that.

Two more GPS devices from TomTom
Both the TomTom One 125 SE and TomTom XL 325 SE contains the TomTom Map Share enabling users to change street names and other options of the Map Share. Aside from that, the GPS devices also have free map updates valid for the initial 30 …

Black Friday, TomTom One, Walmart, GPS devices, preloaded, points of interest, street names, touchscreen, GPS units, Spoken instructions, text to speech, iPhone, Unveils, digital maps, Twitter,

I’m big into using audio to change habits, memorize things.

Every now and then when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I write out the words, “breathe, be here, relax” in notepad. Then I copy and paste the phrase about 1000 times and then load the file into Spokentext.net.

Within minutes, out comes an mp3 file so I can listen to my phrase (mantra?) over and over again and literally within an hour, I’m right as rain again (as the Oracle would say).

They even let you change the voice and the speed by which the voice reads your text document aloud.

Okay to answer this question let’s start with some fact or fiction. 1. Starting a conversation with a blind person is different than starting one with a sighted person. Fiction. In fact it’s is the same. 2. You should offer them help when you think that they need it. Fiction. If we need help we will eventually ask you because we were taught by our mobility teacher (teacher who teaches us how to use a cane; also called a Mobillity specialist) or we are taught by some other source. And a little secret, sometimes I pretend to be lost just to see who will offer to help me before I have to ask. It’s a test for me to see if anyone’ll wait for me to ask. I know it’s mean and aI also know that I’m probably not the only blind person who does this sort of thing. Am I?
3. You should walk up to a blind person and say hi and their name if you happen to know them. Fact. Be honest would you want a blind or visually impaired person to shout out “Hey sighted Person!” No. Then why would you shout out “Hey blind person?” This is my suggestion if I were sighted I’d say “hi.” then wait if the person doesn doesn’t say anything I’d say “how are you?” by that time the blind person should be able to figure out that you are talking to him/her. That’s how I usually do it if I’m not sure if someone is talking to me. Or I may ask, “are you talking to me?” it’s not meant to embarras anyone it’s just meant to make sure that the sighted person is indeed talking to you and not the person near you. I remember feeling verry embarrased when I first started asking that question. Then I looked at it this way, what if I answered a “hi.” and it wasn’t meant for me. For me that would be more embarrasing then asking “are you talking to me?”
I may write this in more than one blog post and I’m going to write it here now.
We as blind people live normal lives, we may hold down the same job as you, we may walk down the same street as you, read the same books, and use a lot of the same computer programs. Of course we may need adaptive equipment to do so like a cane, a braille machine for the braille so we can read the books,a driver to drive us to where ever we need to go, and a computer with a text to speech program on it. Yet despite all of this a lot of us (like me) don’t consider being blind a disability. We consider ourselves “normal” whatever the deffinition of the word is for you. For me the word “normal” means a good job, a car with a driver, a computer with a text to speech program, and less people asking me if I want or need help until I ask for it. It also means treating me like you would someone who’s sighted only minus the vision. Example don’t ask a blind person “how many fingers am I holding up?” Just don’t let that stop you from treating a blind person like you would a sighted person. the only thing wrong with us is that we can’t see. That’s all. Why should we be treated differently because of that? We should not.
Thanks to the viewer who brought this up.
If you have questions leave a response here or send an email to the following email address:
Stephieonyoutube@gmail.com
Please let me know if I missed anything.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/zynmcwzjtmj/Balabolka By Azteking.rar*Programa texto a voz balabolka
*3 Voces De Loquendo Con Expresiones y 8 Sin Expresiones+Medicina(Archivo LoqTTS6.dll)+Instrucciones Para Hacer Funcionar Las Voces
*Software Necesario Para Poder Usar Las Voces De Leonor Y Soledad+Instrucciones De Instalacion
*Pieles Para Balabolka
*Script Para Usar Las Voces De Loquendo Con El Msg Plus Live
*Verificación De Ortografía Para Balabolka

Datos:
vallan a opciones, parametros y marquen la opcion iniciar la lectura en voz alta desde “principio del texto”
asegurense de estar en la pestaña “SAPI5″ y hay seleccionar la voz y poner a leer el texto

Descripción:
Balabolka es una palabra rusa, que se puede traducir por “charlatán”.

Balabolka es un programa de Texto a Voz (Text-To-Speech, TTS). Todas las voces instaladas en tu sistema están disponibles para Balabolka. El texto de la pantalla puede ser guardado como un archivo en formato WAV, MP3, OGG o WMA. El programa puede leer el contenido del portapapeles, ver el texto de un documento en formato DOC, RTF, PDF, ODT, FB2 y HTML, personalizar las fuentes y el color de fondo, controlar la lectura desde la bandeja de sistema o mediante las teclas rápidas globales. Balabolka usa varias versiones de Microsoft Speech API (SAPI); esto permite modificar los parámetros de las voces, incluyendo velocidad y tono. El usuario puede definir una lista de palabras para mejorar la pronunciación de la mismas en el texto. Esta característica es útil cuando se desea cambiar la pronunciación de algunas palabras. Las reglas para corregir la pronunciación usan la sintaxis de VBScript.

Especificaciones Técnicas
Tamaño: 2,93MB

Versión: 1.27.0.428

Licencia: Gratuito (Freeware)

Sistema operativo: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista

Idiomas: español, alemán, búlgaro, checo, francés, holandés, hungaro, inglés, italiano, polaco,
portugués (Brasil), rumano, ruso, ucraniano

Balabolka soporta pieles que permiten personalizar su apariencia.

Balabolka:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zynmcwzjtmj/Balabolka By Azteking.rar

Balabolka Portable:
Balabolka portable no requiere instalación y se puede ejecutar desde una memoria USB.
El equipo debe tener al menos una voz instalada.
LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/file/xmik0unitun/Balabolka Portable By Azteking.rar
(Si utiliza la versión anterior de Windows, es posible que la versión anterior del codificador LAME
Descarga el archivo y descomprimelo en la carpeta de Balabolka).
LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/file/qgd12omzx0k/lame.3.90.3 By Azteking.rar

Pieles Para Balabolka:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/dzzm55zrzho/Pieles Para Balabolka By Azteking.zip

Verificación de ortografía para balabolka:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4vmnjndyzzt/Verificación De Ortografía Para Balabolka By Azteking.zip

voces Loquendo:

Voces Con Expresiones:
Carlos:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/vhlxzldiyk2/Voz De Carlos Loquendo By Azteking.part1.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/j5znwgw1ny1/Voz De Carlos Loquendo By Azteking.part2.rar

Jorge:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hygjyzt4jty/Voz De Jorge Loquendo Con Expresiones By Azteking.rar

Carmen:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/yylzze2ezhh/Voz De Carmen Loquendo Con Expresiones By Azteking.rar

Voces Sin Expresiones:
Jorge:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ymimmnwlzym/Voz De Jorge Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Carmen:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/mnxnuinmznk/Voz De Carmen Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Juan:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/lxnydemyzyy/Voz De Juan Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Leonor:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/k2nzoym1xxy/Voz De Leonor Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Soledad:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ymjbfimmlyz/Voz De Soledad Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Esperanza:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nljyzghyzyt/Voz De Esperanza Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Francisca:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/oj3kameyzzz/Voz De Francisca Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Diego:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/qlymmohyhym/Voz De Diego Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Medicina Para Las Voces(Archivo “LoqTTS6.dll” )+Instrucciones De Uso:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zmmhzimmzuf/Medicina Para las Voces Loquendo By Azteking.rar

Software Necesario Para Ke Funcionen Las Voces De Soledad Y Leonor(Loquendo TTS 7 Engine Full Distribution, Spanish Distribution Y Patch)+Instrucciones De Instalacion:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/wezngzdunmo/Loquendo TTS 7 Engine Full Distribution, Spanish Distribution Y Patch By Azteking.rar

Script para usar las voces de loquendo con el msg plus live:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/zyzyohymywj/Script Para El Msg Plus Live By Azteking.rar

Accessibar is a Firefox toolbar that lets you change the appearance of web pages and their content for better usability, including zoom, colour changes, and text to speech capabilities. Ideal for classroom settings and homework.
TIP: Strip the images off of a webpage for a cleaner layout!
IMPORTANT: Users must have the Mozilla Firefox browser.
URL: http://accessibar.mozdev.org

Have a lot of readings but don’t have a lot of time? Let your Mac help you!

The Text to Speech function of Mac OS X Leopard reads any selectable text on your screen out loud. You can choose from an assortment of voices ranging from human to synthetic and adjust the rate of speaking to the speed that you want.

I think this tool is super awesome because it helps me multitask. I can be getting ready for school, folding the laundry, cleaning around the house (things that don’t require full concentration) all while getting my emails read and online reading assignments done. It’s also great for proofreading. I can let it read my composition to tell if what I wrote makes sense. I can also let it read me to sleep or (and I have yet to try this) help me study while I sleep.

Check it out for yourself. It can be found under System Preferences>> System>> Speech.

To start using it, select the System Voice you want, adjust the Speaking Rate to whatever works for you (you can test it with the Play button), and check the box for “Speak selected text when key is pressed.” You will then be prompted to create a key combination (I set mine to Command + N). You will use this key combination to let your Mac read your selected text and also to stop reading.

Have fun playing with it!

Intel’s newly announced Intel Reader product will read aloud text from  sources such as scanned pages, ebooks, and electronic documents using Text-to-Speech programs.  It also has the ability to magnify images taken with its built-in camera and play back audio book formats.

With the introduction of Intel’s new low power Atom processor families we will see an explosion in specialized applications using these processors which were once only used for PCs. I am curious to see what the open source and ARM communities can put together in a competitive product. The primary innovation is in application, form factor, and simplicity. Most of the technologies that are employed in the Intel Reader are fairly mature and have been around quite a while, but with the help of Moore’s Law, Intel is able to cram all these capabilities into something that looks like the size of a large paperback book.

This has multiple applications in teaching language and helping the visually impaired.

Intel Reader

Cnet’s News Coverage

Intel’s Press Release

Text2Go 4.0.2 has been released today. The major new feature is ebook to audiobook conversion. Text2Go reads ebooks in the open ebook format know as ePub (.epub), html (.htm or .html) and plain text files (.txt). The ePub format is preferred. If you have an iPod, Text2Go will create an audiobook complete with chapter marks. If you have another MP3 player, Text2Go will create one MP3 file per chapter and name them so they will appear in the correct order.

There is a tutorial on the Text2Go website that guides you through the process.

Changes since the beta include

• A faster text to speech process, resulting in quicker ebook to audiobook conversion.
• Support for DAISY text-only DTBooks.
• Improved ‘Split by Section’ command. It now recognises more variations of chapter headings.
• Support for ebooks containing drop-caps represented as an images.
• Correctly reports progress for ebooks with over 100 chapters.
• Now asks the user if they wish to share pronunciation corrections the first time they create a correction. Previously this was on by default.

You can download it directly here. Existing Text2Go users – make sure you uninstall your current version first.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to everyone who participated in the beta test and provided feedback. You input was invaluable.

As ever, I have to marvel at the caseless effort that goes on to make the world more accessible for us blind and visually impaired people.

20 Essential Tweaks and Tips Every Firefox User Should Know

Adobe Accessibility: Accessibility and Adobe Open Government – leader of Adobe’s accessibility team sets out claims about how accessible Adobe products are. Why then did I have to stop what I was doing the other day to download a special separate version of Adobe Reader? Why isn’t the program accessible by default?

Blind councillor praised as role model | Stuff.co.nz – retired newspapaer editor Lance Girling-Butcher was the first blind councillor to be elected in New Zealand. He has won praise for his contribution to the community in general, and for improvments to accessibility in the New Plymouth area.

Kapten Personal GPS Voice Navigator

FBC, The Seeing Eye/Little House on the Prairie THE MUSICAL blindness event « Journalism, Non-Profits, and Where They Collide – event in December in Phoenix, Arizona, will raise awareness of guide dogs.

HumanWare Allies with Intel® Corporation on Distribution of New Intel® Reader – device can convert text into digital text and speak it. You might also like to read this
post from a detractor.

New accessibility features in Firefox 3.6

Planon DocuPen Takes Scanning to the X-Level » ZiggyTek » Blog – pen scanner claims to be more accurate than most scanners and cameras.\ 

Web site with speechless video demo (very useful!)

Sharp 941SH Phone Packs Amazing Resolution, iPhone Misses By A Longshot » ZiggyTek » Blog – other attractions include haptic feedback and an 8-megapixel camera (compare the 3 megapixel camera on the iPhone).

Site simplifies text for students with disabilities – new database makes it easier to track student text books.

The Wired Campus – Finding the Kindle a Poor Device for the Blind, 2 Universities Say They Won’t Buy More – The Chronicle of Higher Education

UK Workers spend nearly 22 million hours commuting every day, equivalent to £266 million worth of working time 

Each worker spends on average 52.6 minutes commuting to and from work each day, with workers in London having the longest commute of 74.2 minutes per day. The research was undertaken by the union congress and published to coincide with the start of Work Wise UK’s Commute Smart Week.

One way to alleviate this problem according to TUC General Secretary Brendon Barber is for employers to offer flexible working arrangements.

 ”Remote working and flexible shifts can reduce commute times, save on office space and reduce energy costs – saving companies money and helping staff enjoy a better work life balance.”

This is a great suggestion for some jobs but for many, such as those in the service and retail industries, employees must keep regular hours and work from the premises. It’s still possible for an employee in this situation to vary their hours but it requires extending their day at either the start or end. For example, an employee could commute into work early and go to a gym located near their place of employment.

Another strategy is to turn your commuting time into productive time. At least this way the time spend behind the wheel is not a complete waste of time. This exact scenario was the inspiration behind Text2Go. I was spending over 90 minutes in the car every day and wanted to put this time to better use. As a software developer I needed to spend a lot of time learning new technologies. My solution was to create an application to turn articles, and news available on the web into speech and transfer it to my iPod. Now I could switch off the inane breakfast and drive radio shows and listen to information I found interesting and relevant to my profession.

Recently ebooks have been gaining in popularity. There is now a huge collection of top quality novels available on the web. Every genre is available and in fact due to the low cost of publishing on the web, you’re much more likely to find a genre specific to your tastes (now you can purchase those teen zombie romances  you love so much without being embarrassed at checkout time). Many ebooks are free and almost all are significantly cheaper than a paperback, often available for a couple of dollars – the price of a cup of coffee. Text2Go 4.0 has just been released and supports direct conversion of ebooks in the standard ePub format to audiobooks. Chapters from the original ebook are preserved in the audiobook, making navigation during playback easy.

There is an unlimited amount of information on the web, catering to all interests and professions. Now is the time to turn some of that wasted commuting time into productive or at least entertaining time. If you do this, I promise you, your commuting time will seem much shorter and you’ll arrive at your destination a lot less stressed and perhaps just a little more well informed.

For more tips on commuting see

15 Ways to Maintain Your Zen Calm on the Road

8 Ways to iPod your car – from ultra-cheap to ultra-sophisticated

Gleich vorweg: Der Intel Reader ist nicht als neues Entertainment-Gadget gedacht (wie die gesamten eBook-Reader), sondern soll Menschen, die wegen Seh- oder Leseschwäche Problem haben, durch den Alltag helfen.

Aber da ja bekanntlich Technologien auch gerne mal auf andere Bereiche “überspringen”, lohnt sich der Blick auf das Text-to-speech-Gerät auf jeden Fall.

Der Intel Reader hat eine Kamera, die Bilder von dem vorzulesenden Text macht, die wiederum mittels OCR in ASCI II-Zeichen verwandelt werden, die das Gerät als Sprache ausgibt. Dabei kommt es mit relativ bescheidenen Mitteln aus: Atom-CPU, 4,3-Zoll-LCD-Anzeige, 5MP-Kamera, 4GB Speicher, zwei USB-Ports. Mit einem 6-Zellen-Akku soll der Reader vier Stunden Text-to-speech-Betrieb liefern und fünf Tage Standby durchhalten.

Zu den (derzeitigen) Schwächen gehört, dass er Schwierigkeiten mit Handschrifterkennung hat, und eine internationale Version ist erst in Arbeit. Das Demo-Video sieht aber schon mal gut genug aus, um zu vermuten, dass der Reader Zukunft hat – und dass sein Funktionen (angesichts der offenbar geringen technischen Anforderungen) in Zukunft auch in anderen Geräten stecken könnten. [dieter]

[via Übergizmo]

Buscando Loquendo para Mac y sin haber encontrado nada, empece a meterme por foros, paginas web… Al final llegue a una página llamada Acapela, donde puedes escribir un texto y el te lo leía, pero no podía guardar ese documento así que seguí buscando y encontré GhostReader.

Esta aplicación, que puedes descargarla desde su página Web, lee archivos de texto corrientes (como los de la suite Office de Microsoft) al mismo tiempo también puede escribir tu propio texto y escucharlo, posteriormente puedes guardar esa grabación de audio en diferentes formatos.

De serie, la aplicación no incorpora ninguna voz (aunque reconoce la incorporada con el Mac). Esta carencia podéis olvidarla, ya que desde la propia página web os da la opción a descargar voces (de muy buena calidad, por cierto) de diferentes sitios y de diferentes idiomas, podemos encontrar desde el Inglés Americano hasta el Frances Canadiense pasando por el Danes y el Ruso.

Así que, si estas cansado de leer y no te importa que alguien te lo lea (o simplemente te quieres divertir) puedes descargar esta aplicación en tu Mac y pasar las horas muertas haciendo que la voz entre en un bucle infinito…

Página oficial | ConvenienceWare
Descarga | ConvenienceWare – Download

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LITCHARTS aren’t just the newest series of literature guides on the web. They’re also the fastest, smartest, and free-est series of literature guides on the web.

I checked the online and PDF versions and Kurzweil 3000 was able to read the text. It is such a change to find something useful and free to be accessible.  Kudos to LITCHARTS

I few days ago I invited Text2Go owners to take part in the Text2Go 4.0 Beta. I’m now opening the beta up to anyone who’s brave enough.

You can download it directly using this link Text2Go 4.0 Beta. If you already have a previous version of Text2Go installed, make sure you uninstall this first.

The beta version is quite stable and I encourage you to give it a try. Having said that, if you do find any bugs, please use the Support… command within Text2Go to let us know.

The major new feature is ebook to audiobook conversion. Text2Go reads ebooks in the open ebook format know as ePub (.epub), html (.htm or .html) and plain text files (.txt). The ePub format is preferred. If you have an iPod, Text2Go will create an audiobook complete with chapter marks. If you have another MP3 player, Text2Go will create one MP3 file per chapter and name them so they will appear in the correct order.

There is a tutorial on the Text2Go website that guides you through the process.

Here are a few sources of ebooks to get you started.

• Smashwords, a great source of contemporary works by independent authors
• epubbooks.com, a nice selection of free, public domain classics in the ePub format.
• Project Gutenberg, the original, most extensive source of public domain classics.
• Finding Free eBooks, free ebooks from all over the web.
• eBooks Just Published, my own site announcing reasonably priced and free ebooks.

 This new version includes the following minor enhancements.

• Improved hotkey support. You can now define hotkeys for commands that work in Internet Explorer, such as  Add Text, Speak Selected Text, Text2Go, Check Pronunciation, etc.
• Support for larger audio files. Text2Go was previously limited to producing audio files up to 2GB in size. This was a limitation of the Microsoft .wav audio file used as a temporary file during text to speech. Text2Go will now save speech directly to an MP3 file, avoiding this limit. A side benefit is that outputing MP3 files is now faster as there is not need to convert from a .wav file to an MP3 file.
• A number of minor bug fixes.

Let me know what you think.

I wrote a review of Captivate 4 up on the Kineo site last month and got quite a big response. A couple of people commented on the fact that I hadn’t mentioned the text to speech functionality 

So, I have created a short little demo. It contains audio…  

Ok so maybe using it to create a scenario is a bit unfair, but you can see the downside of text-to-speech – it’s a bit flat.

Why use it then? Well, a good way of using it is as dummy audio. Allow reviewers to amend the synthesised audio and then you can add a proffessional voice over once the audio has been signed off. 

Mark Fletcher, whose blog you can visit here, gave me some great tips. He said if you are planning to do a voice over, you should take a look at the links below. They enable you to customise exactly how words are pronounced in the audio.

Customising the Text to Speech Dictionary

Using the Text to Speech – User Dictionary Editor

This will be of interest to anyone working with e-books or access technology, and offers an exciting alternative to Adobe Digital Editions. New e-book reading software has been announced which will revolutionise access to e-books for print impaired people. K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc., the world-renowned pioneer in reading technologies, and Baker & Taylor, Inc., the world’s largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products, have announced a partnership to supply digital content for a newly developed e-book reading software created in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind.

The software will be offered to consumers for free, and it is expected to be launched in the US at the end of November. It supports text-to-speech, and notably, will run on laptops and desktop computers (PCs and Macs) as well as netbooks and mobile phones – Windows mobile and the iPhone right away with other mobile phone operating systems added as quickly as possible. The software can read any format from straight text to PDF and ePub (files are converted into ‘their own format’), and the text-to-speech will synch with the text display to highlight each word as it is spoken.

Publishers Weekly Article: http://bit.ly/zSqCJ

US NFB press release: http://bit.ly/2HXQy3

さっきの記事が、個人的には悔しい内容だったので、連続でエントリー。今回は、Kindle 2が手元に届いて、更に充実したなぁ、と思うStarbucksでの過ごし方についてです。

実は週に数回、Marrさんは五反田のStarbucksで時間を過ごします（そのせいで、店員さんにもすっかり覚えられてしまっているのですが…）。仕事が終わった後のひととき、頭の中を整理したり、情報をインプット・アウトプットするには、ちょうどいい場所がStarbucks、ちょうどいい媒体がMacBook AirとKindle 2、そしてiPhone 3Gなのです。

iPhoneは初代を手にして既に2と1/4年余、音楽も聴けるし、情報も引き出せる、写真も撮れる、Twitterもできる、と何でもありのオールラウンドプレイヤーですから、片時も手放すことの出来ない必須ツールとなっています。

ただし、長文を作成したり、スケジュールを俯瞰したり、頭の中を整理するにはiPhoneは向いていません（というか僕には合っていません）でしたので、そこで登場したのが（させたのが）MacBook Air。持ち運びやすいこの子は、妥協のないフルサイズキーボードの威力も大きく、僕の要求を十分に満たしてくれる相棒になっています。

（スタバでは、いつも「ドリップコーヒーのショートとシュガードーナツ」を頼みます。）

ただ、いくら薄くて軽いとはいえ、会社のバッグに入れて運ぶにはちょっと荷が重い。ですので、スタバにご一緒する機会も少し少なめなのですが、なにしろこの子がいるとアウトプットのスピードがぐんぐん速くなります。

そして、この度Marrさんのもとに嫁入り（？）したのがAmazon Kindle 2。この子は、現状では英文しか表示できないわがままな外国人状態なのですが、なんとしゃべることが出来ます。つまり、英語をしゃべる子なのです（？？）。

ええと、きちんと書くとText-to-Speechという機能で、書籍の文章を読み上げてくれます。これが、声はいわゆるコンピューター声（とはいえ、かなりいい）。しかも、ところどころで、「その読み方はないだろ、あんた。」という部分はあるのですが、そういう突っ込みが出来るというのは、ほどんどの部分の音読時の読み方が違和感のないものだからこそ。

今日、初めてスタバにデビューさせてあげて、Text-to-Speechさせながら、この間Kindle Storeで買ってみた”The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs; How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience“を読んでみました。

すると、これがなんともすごいのです。新たな発見がありました！

例えば、小学校や中学校で、先生が（もしくは他の生徒が）教科書を音読してくれて、自分が教科書を目で追っているのを思い出してください。頑張らなくても文章の内容が頭に入ってくると思うのです。今回のKindle 2のText-to-Speech機能はまさにそれ。ぐいぐいとインプットされていきます。これは想定外でした。もう止められなくなりそう！

このように、インプットもアウトプットもまかなう何でも屋のiPhone 3G、アウトプット力を強く後押ししてくれるMacBook Air、そしてインプットの強力な味方であるKindle 2。まさに自宅と会社の中間となるサード・プレイスを提供するStarbucksで過ごす時間が、これからより充実したものになっていきそうです！

FYI this is only available for people with an American university/college e-mail address.  Check out Win741 to buy it!

Also, OfficeMax’s Black Friday ad leaked online so make sure to check out what they’re having on sale to start saving now!

AND!  If you ever want to have your computer say what you’re thinking (I’m using Windows Vista), go to the Start Menu –> Control Panel –> Speech –> Text to Speech (on the left hand side)

Text to Speech & Downloadable Audio

SIRS Issues Researcher now offers a Text to Speech feature which reads articles out loud . The text is automatically highlighted in sync with sound, allowing you to follow along as the article is read.

Click to see larger image

Downloadable Audio MP3 files also allow learners at all levels to listen to articles online, or download and save each recording to your local computer. Both features are available today in our SIRS Leading Issue articles.

Education Impacts: The SIRS Text to Speech capability supports differentiated instruction, while highlighting the text in sync with sound allows lower-level readers and ELL students to follow text to aid comprehension and increase readability.

Downloadable Audio MP3 files also allow students to hear the audio version of articles, but without words being highlighted. This further differentiates instruction for learners who need audio, but not visual support. In addition, this downloadable audio file can be saved and retrieved at a later time, both at home or school.

L’Istitute Protection and Security Citizen, JRC (Joint Research Centre) di Ispra e il CATTID dell’Università di Roma Sapienza hanno progettato, in collaborazione con IBM, Sesamonet (SEcure and SAfe MObility NETwork): un navigatore in grado di guidare i non vedenti, mediante segnali sonori, lungo degli itinerari predefiniti. Si tratta di un dispositivo di ultima generazione capace di migliorare la qualità della vita di non vedenti e ipovedenti sfruttando la tecnologia RFID (identificazione per radio frequenza).

Nel progetto Sesamonet il lettore RFID, integrato nel bastone – strumento già utilizzato dai non vedenti per orientarsi – intercetta i dati contenuti nei tag RFID installati sotto la superficie del pavimento lungo il percorso e li trasmette via Bluetooth al dispositivo mobile, sia esso uno smartphone o un PDA.

Tali dati sono quindi interpretati dal software installato sul dispositivo mobile che fornisce messaggi di navigazione sintetizzati tramite tecnologie Text-to Speech.

Il passaggio finale è la trasmissione del messaggio audio all’utente tramite auricolare Bluetooth. L’utilizzo combinato di queste tecnologie può consentire la realizzazione di cammini interattivi capaci di guidare gli utenti non vedenti e di dar loro informazioni utili in maniera diretta e precisa sostituendo o integrando così le guide fisiche Loges in Granitogres, disposte attualmente sul terreno.

Un aspetto importante è che i microchip non necessitano di alimentazione e non sono deperibili nel tempo.

Il sistema tecnologico è composto da:

• Un lettore RFID, la cui antenna è integrata all’interno del bastone del non vedente;
• Un sentiero di Tag passivi
• Una componente software, installata su un dispositivo mobile (PDA o Smartphone), che interpreta la lettura e associa a ciascun tag RFID un messaggio audio sintetizzato con le opportune informazioni sulla posizione;
• Un auricolare bluetooth;
• Una connessione WiFi ad un server per l’aggiornamento periodico dei dati topologici

This update from a demonstration at Frankfurt Book Fair by Stephen King from RNIB and Micheal Busboom from European Blind Union, in association with the UK Publishers Association.

‘Hall 8 [at Frankfurt Book Fair] saw demonstrations of how e-book publishers could reach a potential extra 20 million people in the EU by taking advantage of usability features built into the latest e-book readers from Adobe, Amazon, Sony, Apple and Dolphin. They saw demonstrations of how the current generation of readers deliver large print for millions of older readers with failing sight, and how the Kindle, Apple I-phone, Adobe reader and Digital editions provide very basic text to speech to help people with dyslexic conditions and blind people, and how Dolphin Easy-reader now provides a great PC based e-pub reading experience for people with print disabilities.

They heard how legislation means a competitive edge particularly in education and how the e-pub format was well designed to deliver e-books usable by everyone. They learned that there are still significant problems, but Adobe have promised significant improvements in usability of the Digital Editions DRM by next March, and that Apple in the US were incorporating speech and usability features into everything in a bid to capture the education market place.

The key messages were:

•  Make inclusive publishing your policy for competitive edge
•  Publish e-book simultaneously with print
• There are no extra costs. Just use features in Adobe In-design.
• Put pressure on Adobe to deliver on its promised improvements in usability of Digital Editions.’

This is relevant to anyone working on Text to Speech, e-books or with Adobe, libraries, or other e-book reading software providers. There’s also some interesting arguments here against DRM. It is particularly relevant because although this is from the US, Overdrive are the leading global distributor of e-books and have a strong presence in the UK, working with retailers such as Waterstone’s and WHSmith, publishers such as Hachette, Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins and BBC Audiobooks, and are behind recent e-book trials in public libraries.

‘The Los Angeles Public Library won’t buy e-books in a format for Adobe Digital Editions until ADE software supports text to speech, according to Library Journal. Overdrive, who supply ADE-format books for the library hopes that a solution can be worked out, but if not, it will be “working on other avenues” beyond Adobe.’

http://bit.ly/4DYj3h