I would assume so, since I just got RockBox on my IPOD last week, and I see no menu choice for Audible books. But, in I-Tunes there was a menu choice for Audible. I would guess you could download Net Library books and read them with RockBox, but I bet there will be a problem getting back to where you left off last time. I doubt that there is any kind of way to place a bookmark for where you left off.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Amanda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PC audio discussion list. " <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 2:57 AM Subject: RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : 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] : : : -- : No virus found in this incoming message. : Checked by AVG Free Edition. : Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.8/800 - Release Date: 5/11/2007 7:34 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]
