Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from audible.com?
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hi well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it flawlessly to use my ihp 120. tj tj ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Price" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PC audio discussion list. " <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods > Hello Steeve, > I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. > I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for > me because of the fact that I'm blind. > If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket > City > to get one. > I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Steve Pattison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Access-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "PC Audio" <Pc-audio@pc-audio.org> > Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM > Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods > > >> >>>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> I thought this was very interesting ... >> >> Dave >> >> Technology Review >> Tuesday, May 08, 2007 >> >> Audio Menus for iPods >> >> By Kate Greene >> >> Download an MP3 version of this story >> http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 >> >> 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu >> options >> instead of looking at them. >> >> Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant >> amount of >> visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even >> dangerous >> (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and >> Microsoft >> Research are working on software that could make it possible to >> navigate >> the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, >> without >> looking at them--only audio cues would be used. >> >> The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called >> earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or >> her finger >> around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the >> expansive >> menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick >> Baudisch, a >> research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked >> on the >> project. >> >> LINK: >> http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ >> >> Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can >> navigate >> two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, >> and just >> as accurately. >> >> "Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is >> reasonable," >> says >> Baudisch, "but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant >> visual >> attention] is unreasonable." In addition to giving people back >> their eyes, >> he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not >> wasting >> energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the >> screen-free >> devices such as the iPod shuffle. >> >> The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, >> after >> all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted >> technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld >> >> consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few >> reasons >> for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology >> and >> college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. >> >> LINK: >> http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ >> >> One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have >> been >> resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation >> and >> energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to >> program. >> >> But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an >> increasing >> need >> to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says >> Walker. >> Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices >> with >> small displays "has made us all visually impaired." Currently >> there are >> only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at >> ways to >> make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker >> expects the >> ranks to grow in the coming years. >> >> This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 >> items >> per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use >> the >> system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random >> >> assortment of categories: "clothing," "fish," "instrument," >> "color," and >> four others. The next level contained eight examples of these >> items. The >> iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes >> "music," >> "extras," "settings," and then lower menus that include >> "playlists," >> "artists," and "albums," for instance. The earPod approach could >> be >> extended to read off a limited number of names of artists and >> songs as >> well. >> >> EarPod was designed specifically for gadgets with circular touch >> pads, >> says Baudisch. The circular touch pad is evenly divided into eight >> >> sectors: it's cut like pieces of a pie, with each menu item >> associated >> with each piece. When a person touches the dial of an >> earPod-equipped >> gadget, the audio menu responds with a prerecorded human voice. If >> a >> person puts his or her finger at 12 o'clock on the touch pad, the >> voice >> might say "Color," indicating that the finger is on the color >> sector. When >> the finger crosses one of these invisible sector lines, the user >> hears a >> clicking sound. As a finger moves, a new menu item is announced. >> To select >> an item and go to the next menu level, the user lifts his or her >> finger >> and hears a "camera-shutter" sound, which indicates that an item >> has been >> chosen. >> >> Because the touch pad is divided into portions, says Baudisch, >> people >> can >> easily learn where menu items are and quickly jump to certain >> items >> without having to scroll through a list, as with an iPod. Another >> feature >> of earPod, he says, is that a user doesn't need to wait until a >> menu item >> is read before moving on to another. When a finger moves to a new >> sector, >> the audio is interrupted and the new item is announced. >> >> In the earPod usability study, conducted by Shengdong Zhao, a >> doctoral >> student at the University of Toronto, and project lead, the >> researchers >> found that people who had no experience using either an iPod or an >> >> earPod-equipped device used the devices with equal accuracy. >> EarPod was >> 92.1 percent accurate, while the visual system was 93.9 percent >> accurate, >> but the difference was not statistically significant. It took >> people >> longer to grow accustomed to earPod, but with experience, users' >> performance on the audio menu became faster. After 30 minutes of >> training >> on both devices, subjects could navigate two levels of menu with >> earPod in >> 2.1 seconds as opposed to 2.5 seconds with the visual menu. >> >> Georgia Tech's Walker is impressed with the earPod approach and >> results. >> "My overall impression is that this is great ... It was >> inevitable: trying >> to look at how to take an interface that is purely visual on the >> iPod and >> turn it into an interface that's purely auditory, because, after >> all, the >> iPod's an auditory device. Why should a person have to pull their >> player >> out while they're jogging to look at it?" >> >> Currently, however, earPod could not be a complete replacement for >> an >> iPod >> menu, Walker notes. One reason is that earPod doesn't lend itself >> to menu >> flexibility. Once a person learns the position of the menu items, >> he or >> she might become frustrated if those positions need to change due >> to a >> software update or added playlist. In particular, the approach >> would not >> work well for menus such as mobile-phone address books, Walker >> says. >> >> In addition, adds Baudisch, because the circular track pad is >> divided >> into >> sectors, there are a limited number of menu items that a person >> can >> access. If there are 8 sectors, each with 8 menu items, then there >> are >> only 64 total items accessible on the device, and this wouldn't be >> good >> enough for iPods that hold hundreds of playlists and thousands of >> songs. >> However, Baudisch suspects that future prototypes will provide >> ways to get >> around the problem. He and his team are exploring how people >> respond to >> faster audio output (speeding up the recorded voice) and how >> people use >> audio and visual cues simultaneously. Developing an >> all-encompassing >> interface for eyes-free operations on auditory devices is still a >> future >> project, he says. >> >> http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18703/ >> >> >> Regards Steve >> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Skype: steve1963 >> MSN Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >> Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... >> http://www.pc-audio.org >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.7.0/803 - Release Date: 5/13/2007 >> 12:17 PM >> >> > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
