IF we first are to discuss the possibilities that opens from the AudioKit in genereal, I have one wish. If WE would be released with such a feature, I do dare to say, it might likely be the first screen reader ever... :)
Sometimes - I.e when attending online classes - you need to have some other sound source, along with your speech synth running simultaneously. Well, I already mentioned the online classes, but another scenario is when you try to follow an audio tutorial, whilst you perform the suggested operations. Unless you have all the needed hardware for running two different soundcards through a mixer and into your stereo headset, you are basically left with all of this info coming through one sound system. Many times, I find that the two sounds (the Tutor, and the synth), will drown out each other. If WE - or your computer in any other ways - now happens to make a 'ding' or a 'Pling'; you soon will have a load of sound thrown at you. My experience is that many times, you are unable to discern what was said, from ONE of the sources. Our brain is created the way, that it will try to determine what is of the highest importance, and then omit the rest of the sound. Yet, there is a workaround. You will know it from the music and intertainment world. And, it is definately not anything new - these days. The solution is called: STEREO. Luckily, our brain is designed the way, that sounds that differs, and comes from different directions, will more easily be distinguished. Just try for yourself, listen to your favorite song on a MONO, compared to a STEREO system. Then come back and tell me, which made the most complete and pleasant experience of yours. Allright, so what is it I want to see from the screen reader? A full mixer? - No. But it would have been great, if the speech synth could be possitioned in the left-to-right scale. That way, I could have had the Tutor going on in the center, and possitioned my screen reader a bit to one side; or even strictly on one ear. Will this work? Will you really be able to pick up that much more from the full sound picture? - Yes, and trust me, I have tried - by help of necessary hardware. Another good reason why this would be beneficial, is to be found in the following scenario: You are trying to perform the suggested operations, along with listtening to a podcasted tutorial. Since the two different sources seem to drown each other, you decide to raise the volume on your speech synth. But, in reality, that only leads you to find yourself loosing out on what the tutor says, whenever there is any chatter from your synth. - So, you now decide to raise the volume of the tutorial, just a bit. - But, now, you are unable to hear anything of what your synth is trying to punch into your ear drums.- Finally, you have raised both sound sources to a maximum; and find yourself enclosed in sound - and totally lost from the world around you. - And still, you cannot discern what the one source is saying, from the other. :) OK, guys. I know the above was quite exergerated. But that was just to stress my point. You might likely find, that you will be operating the whole thing, at a somehow lower volume, if the different sources do not drown each other. So, GW, could it be possible in next version, to have a slider that would balance the current synth, in the left-to-right pane? And, finally as a footer of this message: It would be great if GW - along with other app developers - would have made use of the new AudioKit, and have their apps in general lower the volume of all the tinckles and bells. We do not here need to list all of them, but one that has been called for numerous times, is the beeps of the ProgressIndicator app. They are - on a normal computer system - anoyingly loud, and it would be great to see GW make use of the features that the AudioKit opens in this regard. ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Clower To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 11:55 PM Subject: Re: Audible Mouse app - a couple of suggestions. Hi, Jim. You make a good point. I want to clarify that all of the heavy lifting the audio kit is handled totally independently of Window-Eyes. The WE-related parts are the shared object it provides and the ties to the app manager. So any changes to the audio kit itself will be separate from WE, and vise versa. You do make a good point, and I will keep it in mind. Thanks, Steve -- Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. "Jim Grimsby JR." <[email protected]> wrote: Hello Steve,in my opinion this is not the way that this issue should be resolved. What should happen is the next release of window eyes 7.5 should allow a user to select where they want their window eyes sounds to go. This should be independent of the synthesizer with an option to use the synthesizer sound output. If one wishes. For example, I wear a pair of headphones to use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and I have my window eyes speech output coming from those headphones but I do not want the output from my scripts to come from that sound source. I would rather have it come from my onboard sound system not my default sound system which is my some blaster this way. I have individual control over where the sound output comes from for both the sounds that window eyes makes and the speech synthesizer.Hope this helps.Jim grimsby Jr.e-mail: [email protected]: jim.grimsbytwitter jgrimsby-----Original Message----- From: Stephen ClowerSent: Monday, September 19, 2011 5:03 AMTo: [email protected]: Re: Audible Mouse app - a couple of suggestions.Chip,For now, the audio kit uses the default sound card. A way to cause it toadjust its output according to the Window-Eyes synthesizer selection isdefinitely on the drawing board before 1.0 is released.SteveOn 9/17/2011 2:41 PM, Chip Orange wrote:> I would like a way to choose the soundcard as well; I'm not sure, but if I> change the default sound card for my synth, I do wonder if the audioKit> would use the new default or not?>> Chip>> p.s.> David,> Steve Clower at GW deserves the credit for the audioKit and the > audibleMouse> app.>>> _____>> From: Jared Wright [mailto:[email protected]]> Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 12:31 PM> To: [email protected]> Subject: Re: Audible Mouse app - a couple of suggestions.>>> FYI I think they just shipped that as a proof of concept for the audio kit> more than as a standalone app. But who knows, maybe if enough ask for it > to> be taken on as a full app they'll revisit it. The source is open, so if > they> don't some ambitious person could do it for them!>> On 9/17/2011 10:04 AM, David wrote:>> I really have been enjoying the Audible Mouse app. Hope this will be made > a> part of the shipping version of WE in the future. First time in my life, I> really started to get an idea of moving a mouse around on the screen, and > it> is somehow a new and interesting experience. Another thing is, when I > scroll> over a new screen in a software of some kind, I can get a better feeling > of> how the icons are arranged on the visual screen. Somehow useful, when > people> tell you to look at the upper right icon of the screen. Thanks, the> developer.>> Yet, having said those words, I do have a few suggestions to make.>> First of all, it has already - from another user - been suggested a way to> turn the app on/off, which might be helpful in certain cases. So let me > just> second that idea.>> Next, I wonder if there could have been a setting, which would have the > tone> somehow indicate the kind of clip the mouse is currently focusing. Let's -> for the example - say that Buttons have a Wavy sound, Graphics have a> somehow High-Low-High sound, and text has a Square sound. Well, decide for> yourself, what sound each clip type should have. You still would have the> pitch and balance changing according to the physical positioning, but the> type of sound would differ from one icon to the other. Would have made the> screen scanning far more quick and informative - as you didn't have to> consume all the chatter of the speech for each icon. Again, this should be> made a setting, that the user could turn on/off. Name it something like> enhanced sounds, or the like.>> Also, it would be nice, if the user could have chosen the sound card, and> maybe adjusted the volume of the mouse tones.>> As part of the app, could there be a way of PARKING the mouse? Is it> possible to make a hotkey, that will make the mouse blocked from moving?> Would specially be helpful on my laptop, with the touchpad silly > positioned,> right at the wrist support, in front of the keyboard. And, no, there is no> way on the HP computer of mine, to lock the mouse. Why I thought maybe the> thing could be done with a sub in the app. Whenever the mouse was trying > to> move, the app would force it back on the locked position. Would for > instance> make it possible for me, to place the mouse on the Play/Pause button of > the> video software of my system, and I could always know that a click on the> left mouse button would perform the wanted action - no matter if I > happened> to touch the touchpad. A second press on the hotkey, would unlock the > mouse,> and it could be repositioned, before being locked again.>> OK, some ideas. Thanks for a great app.>>>-- Stephen ClowerProduct support specialistGW Micro, Inc. * 725 Airport North Office Park, Fort Wayne, IN 46825260-489-3671 * gwmicro.com
