Re: [Hpr] Community request (input needed).

[Mike Ray]

Personally, I don't like anything that appears on HPR with anything 
other than HPR branding.


Any recurring cast which seeks its own identity/label/title, is, IMHO, a 
parasite.


Why not just produce the same content without the extra layer of branding?






On 19/05/2023 15:30, Yung Lyun wrote:

Hello HPR Community.

I’m requesting assistance from the HPR community. A show I produce and 
upload to HPR must be paused until we have the communities input; 
nothing too bad just need more input before continuing.


First, I create and release the “Oh No! News” on HPR. It has been 
brought to my attention that the shows content requires further review 
and must be changed to comply with HPR’s community guidelines 
(https://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#permission). 
Some of the shows contain direct quotes and **not** all jurisdictions 
support “fair use”. This is a flaw/failure on my part and **if** the 
show is allowed to continue, it must be brought inline with HPR 
community guidelines.


Secondly, syndication concerns must be addressed 
(https://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#syndication). 
When I created the HPR News, now the “Oh No! News”, I did **not** 
considered syndication; I had no interest. Let me be very clear, at 
**NO** point do I plan to seek syndication; I’m not interested. The “Oh 
No! News” was/is created for the HPR community as a product we can 
share, enjoy, and participate in without any limits. It is my way of 
“giving back” to the community that has provided loads of information 
and entertainment for me. I’ll be releasing a show with more information 
on the subject soon.


Last, If it must go, then let it go. I’ve enjoyed creating the “Oh No! 
News”, but I enjoy HPR more. If the show threatens the community or 
isn’t accepted by the community I have no problem letting it go. No 
decisions have been made and this is a call for all members of the HPR 
community to weigh in on the matter. I ask that you voice your concerns 
and/or provide any feedback at your earliest convenience.


Thanks,

SGOTI (Some Guy On The Internet).



--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery





___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Is HPR a podcast or podcast hosting platform ?

[Mike Ray]

It's a podcast.

With multiple hosts.




On 11/08/2022 21:16, Ken Fallon wrote:

https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=3658

"In this episode our two ageing heroes explore the inner workings of a 
podcast (or podcast hosting platform depending on your perspective) 
called Hacker Public Radio."


Are we a podcast or podcast hosting platform ?

I believe there is a fundamental difference between the two. Knowing 
which we are impacts the direction we will take as a project.


Can you please provide your view on this.




--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] More about tag a11y

[Mike Ray]

I just went to the tags page again.

Going down the page that shows all of the tags for each starting letter, 
there is nothing but a 'go to index' link between each.


For example between the 'k' page and the 'l page.

Another screen reader navigation option is to jump from heading to heading.

So it would be better if there was a heading something like:

Tags beginning with 'K'

Before each block of tags.

Then a screen reader user could jump from heading to heading until they 
find the letter they want.


Note that hitting 'k' to jump from link to link is annoying when going 
through the list of letters of the alphabet, plus some more. It is a 
long list.


So a heading after 'z' would provide a landmark to jump to, in the 
absence of the usual "skip to" links which are put in accessible Web pages.


A note about that...

Most Web pages written by a11y-aware authors include links and landmarks 
that are invisible to people who can see, but which are spoken by a 
screen reader.


Such things as:

"skip to main content"
"Skip navigation"

I can provide information on how to do that if you want.

In fact, here it is, with apologies if the HTML screws up anybody's 
email clients, and be careful of line-wrapping:




.sr-only {
position: absolute;
width: 1px;
height: 1px;
padding: 0;
margin: -1px;
overflow: hidden;
clip: rect(0,0,0,0);
border: 0;
}

.sr-only-focusable:active,.sr-only-focusable:focus {
position: static;
width: auto;
height: auto;
margin: 0;
overflow: visible;
clip: auto;
}



And at the top of the page:

Skip to main 
content


(that href will not be visible, but my screen reader speaks it).

And at the start of the content:




Don't forget to close that div. Or perhaps it could be "".

And you can see how to create other landmarks and invisible links.

Audible to my screen reader, but not visible to photon-dependent types.

Mike








--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Accessibility problem

[Mike Ray]

Reading further down your email than I did before Ken, this solution 
would work, if the tag subject were included in the first anchor in a 
list of tags for that subject.





On 02/08/2022 17:39, Ken Fallon wrote:

I think I understand the problem

We have the search text and then the episode number(s) where that 
keyword appears


kafka: 3639
kali linux: 1457

So when you search for kafka you would land on "3639" which you hear. is 
fine as that is the show for kafka


But you cannot see if there are 2 or more shows for kafka

As when you tab again you hear the text "1457" which is not about kafka 
but in fact kali linux.


If someone else records a show about kafka then we would have

kafka: 3639, 
kali linux: 1457

So the search to kafka would then go to 3639, then , and then 1457

There is no indication to show which link is about kafka.

Is that the problem ?

If so then would the solution be to have the tag included in the first link

So the first hyperlink would be "kafka: 3639"

The second would just be ""  and then on for as many shows as there 
are.


When you jump to the next tag you would hear "kali linux: 1457" and then 
any other show numbers


Is that a solution ?

Or should we just have each tag as a heading and then each show having 
it's own line with a complete line of title text ?



regards

Ken.



On 2022-08-02 17:29, Mike Ray wrote:


Hello Dave

Apologies for top-posting.

If you can get your hands on the bootstrap3 style css, search for 
'sr-only'.


I suggest you might want to create a bogus tag "a11y" with a link to a 
bogus show, and when you have done that let me know.


Although of course the styling is probably done in a loop, so any 
style applied will be applied to all?


And I guess what you mean buy index is that you want any tag to appear 
on the page only once, but then be followed by a column to the right 
with the show numbers.


I'm sorry to moan about this, but running down a list is very, very 
annoying when meaningful entry is not included in the link.


In the case of the HPR tags page, I just get number after number, and 
on a lot of pages, as I suggested before, it is only ever the word 
'here' that is linked.


Jumping either forwards or backwards through links with 'k' or 'shift 
k', I have no idea when I have landed on a link I want.


Perhaps we can do some trials, and give me the nod each time you made 
an update.



PHP? Yuck. Dancer2 is where it's at Dave. All the Perl happenin' dudes 
are there.



Mike








On 02/08/2022 14:17, Dave Morriss wrote:

On 01/08/2022 21:09, Mike Ray wrote:


Hello

I just spotted a glaring accessibility issue on the HPR site.


I just listened to the community news, published today, and heard 
mention of a show about Kafka. Which I need to know about right now 
for work.


So I went to the site and to the tags page.

Running down the list of tags that begin with the letter 'K', I found:

• kafka: 3639

That's fine, but only the 3639 bit is included in the link.

So, when I hit the 'k' button to navigate by links in NVDA, a 
Windows screen reader, all I get is number after number. I believe 
all major screen readers include a key to jump from link to link.


No idea which is the Kafka show.

So, the link needs to be changed to include the tag in the anchor.

I have mentioned this before, that anchors should include the full 
text that describe the link, not just the word 'here' as in "click 
here to learn about invisible giraffes with six legs".


I would want the whole thing in the link, so that I could find the 
link about invisible giraffes with six legs, and not just "here, 
here, here, here, here" AARGH!


I don't know how I missed that when it was published. But I am one 
of those people who screw up the stats, because I delete most shows 
based on the title, after making sure it is not one of my "must 
listen" list of hosts. Linux Inlaws is not one of those.


Mike


Hi Mike,

I must apologise for this problem; the page is something I designed 
and constructed myself. For new readers, we're talking about 
https://hackerpublicradio.org/tags.php.


I wanted the page to be like an index in a book with the keyword 
(tag) on the left, followed by a list of the page (show) numbers. As 
I designed this it seemed that each link was best presented as a 
number. I didn't know that screen readers would cope badly with this.


I'm wondering if there's a way of including text that would help a 
screen reader while leaving the list of show numbers as it is.


I was unavailable this morning but I have just tried doing what some 
accessibility advice I found suggests: namely giving each link to a 
show a 'text' attribute. In experiment one I added the show title there.


I saw the warnings

Re: [Hpr] Accessibility problem

[Mike Ray]

Let me see if I can explain this in simple terms with a list.


Imagine this list on a Web site, and I am not going to put HTML here, 
since a) emails with HTML in are a crime against humanity, and b) it 
might upset the email clients folks have set for HTML and not plain text:


Click here to go to the foot of our stairs.
Click here to eat vanilla ice cream.
Click here to get rid of all right-wing governments forever.
Click here to restore human rights across mainland Europe.
Click here if you think eSpeak is the best TTS engine ever.


There are five entries in that list. If each sentence only had the word 
'here' included in the anchor, then starting from the top, and using the 
navigation key the screen reader provides for jumping through links, I 
would hear "here, here, here, here, here".


About as useful as a chocolate tea pot, since I would not know what each 
of those 'here' things were.


I'm aware that if you are not using a screen reader yourself, this is 
hard to understand. And just using a screen reader to test this stuff is 
hard, since getting to the point where you are relaxed and familiar with 
a screen reader takes time.


I will see if I can work out a way to record the text from my screen 
reader while I 'k' down through a list of links of tags on HPR. 
Presumably the 'eSpeak' tag list must be longer than War & Peace :)


Mike









On 02/08/2022 17:39, Ken Fallon wrote:

I think I understand the problem

We have the search text and then the episode number(s) where that 
keyword appears


kafka: 3639
kali linux: 1457

So when you search for kafka you would land on "3639" which you hear. is 
fine as that is the show for kafka


But you cannot see if there are 2 or more shows for kafka

As when you tab again you hear the text "1457" which is not about kafka 
but in fact kali linux.


If someone else records a show about kafka then we would have

kafka: 3639, 
kali linux: 1457

So the search to kafka would then go to 3639, then , and then 1457

There is no indication to show which link is about kafka.

Is that the problem ?

If so then would the solution be to have the tag included in the first link

So the first hyperlink would be "kafka: 3639"

The second would just be ""  and then on for as many shows as there 
are.


When you jump to the next tag you would hear "kali linux: 1457" and then 
any other show numbers


Is that a solution ?

Or should we just have each tag as a heading and then each show having 
it's own line with a complete line of title text ?



regards

Ken.



On 2022-08-02 17:29, Mike Ray wrote:


Hello Dave

Apologies for top-posting.

If you can get your hands on the bootstrap3 style css, search for 
'sr-only'.


I suggest you might want to create a bogus tag "a11y" with a link to a 
bogus show, and when you have done that let me know.


Although of course the styling is probably done in a loop, so any 
style applied will be applied to all?


And I guess what you mean buy index is that you want any tag to appear 
on the page only once, but then be followed by a column to the right 
with the show numbers.


I'm sorry to moan about this, but running down a list is very, very 
annoying when meaningful entry is not included in the link.


In the case of the HPR tags page, I just get number after number, and 
on a lot of pages, as I suggested before, it is only ever the word 
'here' that is linked.


Jumping either forwards or backwards through links with 'k' or 'shift 
k', I have no idea when I have landed on a link I want.


Perhaps we can do some trials, and give me the nod each time you made 
an update.



PHP? Yuck. Dancer2 is where it's at Dave. All the Perl happenin' dudes 
are there.



Mike








On 02/08/2022 14:17, Dave Morriss wrote:

On 01/08/2022 21:09, Mike Ray wrote:


Hello

I just spotted a glaring accessibility issue on the HPR site.


I just listened to the community news, published today, and heard 
mention of a show about Kafka. Which I need to know about right now 
for work.


So I went to the site and to the tags page.

Running down the list of tags that begin with the letter 'K', I found:

• kafka: 3639

That's fine, but only the 3639 bit is included in the link.

So, when I hit the 'k' button to navigate by links in NVDA, a 
Windows screen reader, all I get is number after number. I believe 
all major screen readers include a key to jump from link to link.


No idea which is the Kafka show.

So, the link needs to be changed to include the tag in the anchor.

I have mentioned this before, that anchors should include the full 
text that describe the link, not just the word 'here' as in "click 
here to learn about invisible giraffes with six legs".


I would want the whole thing in the link, so that I c

Re: [Hpr] Accessibility problem

[Mike Ray]

Hello Dave

Apologies for top-posting.

If you can get your hands on the bootstrap3 style css, search for 'sr-only'.

I suggest you might want to create a bogus tag "a11y" with a link to a 
bogus show, and when you have done that let me know.


Although of course the styling is probably done in a loop, so any style 
applied will be applied to all?


And I guess what you mean buy index is that you want any tag to appear 
on the page only once, but then be followed by a column to the right 
with the show numbers.


I'm sorry to moan about this, but running down a list is very, very 
annoying when meaningful entry is not included in the link.


In the case of the HPR tags page, I just get number after number, and on 
a lot of pages, as I suggested before, it is only ever the word 'here' 
that is linked.


Jumping either forwards or backwards through links with 'k' or 'shift 
k', I have no idea when I have landed on a link I want.


Perhaps we can do some trials, and give me the nod each time you made an 
update.



PHP? Yuck. Dancer2 is where it's at Dave. All the Perl happenin' dudes 
are there.



Mike








On 02/08/2022 14:17, Dave Morriss wrote:

On 01/08/2022 21:09, Mike Ray wrote:


Hello

I just spotted a glaring accessibility issue on the HPR site.


I just listened to the community news, published today, and heard 
mention of a show about Kafka. Which I need to know about right now 
for work.


So I went to the site and to the tags page.

Running down the list of tags that begin with the letter 'K', I found:

• kafka: 3639

That's fine, but only the 3639 bit is included in the link.

So, when I hit the 'k' button to navigate by links in NVDA, a Windows 
screen reader, all I get is number after number. I believe all major 
screen readers include a key to jump from link to link.


No idea which is the Kafka show.

So, the link needs to be changed to include the tag in the anchor.

I have mentioned this before, that anchors should include the full 
text that describe the link, not just the word 'here' as in "click 
here to learn about invisible giraffes with six legs".


I would want the whole thing in the link, so that I could find the 
link about invisible giraffes with six legs, and not just "here, here, 
here, here, here" AARGH!


I don't know how I missed that when it was published. But I am one of 
those people who screw up the stats, because I delete most shows based 
on the title, after making sure it is not one of my "must listen" list 
of hosts. Linux Inlaws is not one of those.


Mike


Hi Mike,

I must apologise for this problem; the page is something I designed and 
constructed myself. For new readers, we're talking about 
https://hackerpublicradio.org/tags.php.


I wanted the page to be like an index in a book with the keyword (tag) 
on the left, followed by a list of the page (show) numbers. As I 
designed this it seemed that each link was best presented as a number. I 
didn't know that screen readers would cope badly with this.


I'm wondering if there's a way of including text that would help a 
screen reader while leaving the list of show numbers as it is.


I was unavailable this morning but I have just tried doing what some 
accessibility advice I found suggests: namely giving each link to a show 
a 'text' attribute. In experiment one I added the show title there.


I saw the warnings that many screen readers will not use this attribute. 
I also wonder if this will have the effect of making the page 
excessively complex for screen readers that do use it. Using this text 
has the advantage for sighted users that hovering over each link shows 
what the episode is about.


I found many references to 'Accessible Rich Internet Applications' 
(ARIA) in my research, and see that I could add these types of attributes.


What do you think?

Dave




--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Accessibility problem

[Mike Ray]

Hello

I just spotted a glaring accessibility issue on the HPR site.


I just listened to the community news, published today, and heard 
mention of a show about Kafka. Which I need to know about right now for 
work.


So I went to the site and to the tags page.

Running down the list of tags that begin with the letter 'K', I found:

• kafka: 3639

That's fine, but only the 3639 bit is included in the link.

So, when I hit the 'k' button to navigate by links in NVDA, a Windows 
screen reader, all I get is number after number. I believe all major 
screen readers include a key to jump from link to link.


No idea which is the Kafka show.

So, the link needs to be changed to include the tag in the anchor.

I have mentioned this before, that anchors should include the full text 
that describe the link, not just the word 'here' as in "click here to 
learn about invisible giraffes with six legs".


I would want the whole thing in the link, so that I could find the link 
about invisible giraffes with six legs, and not just "here, here, here, 
here, here" AARGH!


I don't know how I missed that when it was published. But I am one of 
those people who screw up the stats, because I delete most shows based 
on the title, after making sure it is not one of my "must listen" list 
of hosts. Linux Inlaws is not one of those.


Mike




--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Source Code for the HPR website.

[Mike Ray]

Dave, and all

Please excuse top-posting. But I have an excuse :)

Dave, I refer the honourable gentleman to the show I did about 
many-to-many relationships some years ago, in response to that nice Mr 
Fallon's shocking approach to tags. Mr Codd was spinning in his grave.


I would not call SQLite a database fit for heavy use. It is fine, very 
fine in fact, as a single-user database, especially in embedded stuff. 
All of us probably carry at least one around in our pocket all day long.]


But for concurrent access by multiple Web visitors, we really need a 
transactional database.


PostgreSQL is, IMHO, superior now to MySQL/MariaDB.

You might also consider MongoDB. Oh no, hang on, let's not let Ken 
Fallon loose on a database that does not demand any structure to speak 
of. That way madness lies.


I have used the Nikola static site generator extensively and can 
recommend it.


The P in LAMP used to stand for Perl, and not PHP. And it still does in 
my world.


Mike



On 27/06/2022 14:10, Dave Morriss via Hpr wrote:

On 25/06/2022 15:16, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

I had a conversation with Alan Pope on mastodon about fixing some 
issues on the HPR website. He makes the valid point that if we don't 
release the code (because it's a mess), then it's not actually open 
source.

https://mastodon.social/@popey/108476716097169705

Cruel but fair. Cruel but fair.

I contend that it would be crueler to release the current code due to 
the risk of eye damage that could occur.


So how to proceed ? I suggest we eliminate the problem by eliminating 
the code.


My intention has always been to have a massively multiplayer online 
mirroring service where anyone can have a complete instance of 
everything. With a combination of git, and rsync anyone would have 
everything needed to host their own complete version of the site.


We would still need to maintain the LAMP stack for the reservations 
and the processing workflow, but that code is a lot easier to sanitize 
and publish.


The site itself is made up of 3 parts

 1. Static pages, like header, footer, howto's etc
 2. Dynamic pages derived from the Database
 3. Media, audio, video etc

The media and show notes are covered under the Creative Commons License.

I would suggest releasing the code under the AGPL v3 or later, and 
publish it to our repo on https://repo.anhonesthost.net.


Thoughts ?

--

Regards,

Ken Fallon (PA7KEN,G5KEN)
https://kenfallon.com
https://hackerpublicradio.org/hosts/ken_fallon



I thought it might be a good idea if I shared my perspective on the way 
the HPR stuff is put together and managed. If there's anything I have 
misrepresented, I'm sure Ken will comment.


Database

This is not really up to the tasks it needs to perform. For example, 
there's a many-to-many relationship between shows and hosts. We have had 
many shows with multiple hosts, and it is highly desirable in my mind 
that we associate the participating hosts with their shows. We also want 
to include the "Today with a Techie" shows into the database. Also, when 
a show has what I call "assets" (photographs, extra documentation, 
script examples) we should associate these with the show. Finding all 
the components of a show for upload to archive.org is a pain when you 
have to parse the HTML notes looking for them. In addition, I'd like to 
structure things to reflect the relationship between tags and shows.


Website
---
We have discussed making the site as static as we can. This would 
simplify the current dynamic component a lot and should make the site 
less vulnerable to attacks. We'd still need an interface for uploading 
shows and comments but these need not be overly complex as far as I can 
see. The static site would probably be refreshed on a daily basis. We 
could use an existing static site generation system - though I have no 
experience of any at the moment.


"Janitorial" duties
---
There would still be a lot of behind the scenes activities, at least in 
the beginning. I tend to process notes (and assets) for new shows so 
they generate clean HTML for the database. Ken does the preparation of 
the audio, and posts the end result to the site and leaves the 
components for upload to archive.org (aka Internet Archive or IA). I 
gather up new shows and their various files and perform the IA upload as 
the need arises. These tasks have been streamlined over the years, and 
there are probably many ways of streamlining them further.


I tend to perform curation tasks as well as the above, such as managing 
the project to add summaries and tags to shows (now completed). I'm 
currently ensuring all shows are on the IA with a range of properly 
tagged audio formats and any assets that were missed in the time before 
we decided to add them. I'm also looking at performing link checks on 
shows at the moment with a view to "repairing" the inevitable problems 
of "link rot".


Database rebuild

As far as this is concer

Re: [Hpr] Source Code for the HPR website.

[Mike Ray]

I suggest that if something new is going to be developed then it should 
be in Perl, using either Dancer or Mojolicious as the framework.


This I suggest since Dave is a Perl enthusiast, and I am currently 
professionally engaged in Perl development of a system comprised of both 
CGI, and psgi components.


It could even be containerised and then easily movable from host to 
host. Using a container with nginx and uwsgi serving up the pages. And 
another container with MySQL in it.


Whatever it is, it should not be PHP. And the pages should use templates 
so as to separate back-end from front-end design work.


At a pinch, my second suggestion would be Python and either Django or Flask.

But there is likely to be less of a legacy of Python skills in the 
current HPR 'staff'.


Don't take this to be me volunteering to give much time, as my time is 
currently over-subscribed. But this might reduce later in the year as 
some heavy research I am engaged upon comes to an end.


I will, of course, be hauling HPR over the a11y coals if I detect any 
hint of a problem :-)


How many great shows could we get out of a complete rewrite of the whole 
enchilada?


Oh, and keep the bleeping Javascript to a minimum.











On 26/06/2022 15:26, Ken Fallon wrote:

On 2022-06-25 22:32, Klaatu wrote:

I think what you are saying is that HPR requires a full rewrite.

I think what you are proposing is that we forget that the existing code
exists, because it's not worth "saving", and instead develop new open 
source

code to replace it.

If that's correct, then I agree. Let's not dwell on broken code that 
nobody

loves, but move forward with new open source code that actually meets the
site's requirements (and ideally makes the admins' lives easier).

-klaatu


Yes got it in one.




--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Policy change: Show complaints procedure

[Mike Ray]

+1 from me. Good call, and don't feed the trolls.




On 10/06/2022 14:26, Claudio Miranda wrote:

I also approve of this change.

Thanks,

-Claudio

On Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 3:30 AM Ken Fallon  wrote:


Hi All,

This policy change relates to shows that have been published but which may
contain problem content.

For more information listen to today's show, where I suggest that we
continue to post the shows as normal, if we get a complaint then the
Janitors will contact the host as normal. Should the host be unavailable,
uncooperative, or disagree, then the Janitors can either move the show to
the backup queue, or hide it depending on the severity of the complaint. In
all cases we'll keep the special advisory committee aka the auditor team of
volunteers in the loop to make sure all is above board. The community can
then decide on the best course of action.
https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=3615

I would like to propose the following changes to our policies.

Both relate to
https://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#not_moderated

Currently: "We do not vet, edit, moderate or in any way censor any of the
audio you submit, we trust you to do that."

Proposed: "We do not vet, edit, moderate or in any way censor any of the
audio you submit, we trust you not to upload anything that will harm HPR."

Add the line: "Any material that is reported as harming HPR may be
unlisted until such a time as the situation can be resolved."

--
Regards,

Ken Fallon 
(PA7KEN,G5KEN)https://kenfallon.comhttps://hackerpublicradio.org/hosts/ken_fallon

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org



--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Moving a show out ... again

[Mike Ray]

No, don't  move the show. Just don't post it. We don't want holocaust 
deniers on HPR.





On 09/05/2022 15:44, Sarah wrote:

Yes - move the show.

-S

On Mon, May 9, 2022 at 10:02 AM sp0rus  wrote:


Yes

Sent from my RadioShack TRS-80 Model 1

On Mon, May 9, 2022, 8:11 AM Ken Fallon  wrote:


On 2022-05-09 14:01, Brian K Navarette wrote:

I'm confused. is it the ukraine stuff in the show that is an issue or
is there holocaust denial stuff i missed or is it calling the systemd
guy a creep the problem? it seems like what ever it is the show is on
the website and the "law" of the lowlands has already been violated.
brian-in-ohio


The issue with the previous show was Holocaust denial which is illegal
in the Netherlands. The show in the queue has been deemed by our hosting
provider to violate the terms and conditions of their US based ISP. I
cannot speak to what that is.

So rather than debate the issue can people please focus on the only
question you are been asked.

Can we move the show our to a later date - a simple yes or no will
suffice.


--

Regards,

Ken Fallon (PA7KEN,G5KEN)
https://kenfallon.com
https://hackerpublicradio.org/hosts/ken_fallon


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org



--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Moving a show out ... again

[Mike Ray]

IMHO any host guilty of holocaust denial should be banned outright, no 
questions asked. And not just because it could land the janitors in prison.


Of course they could then just pop up again with another name.



On 09/05/2022 07:40, Ken Fallon wrote:

On 2022-05-08 23:34, DuJeon wrote:
we cannot really offer insight, or an educated response without actual 
information. i still do not know the issue with the last show, and 
"prison" should definately come with an explanation.


The issue with the previous show was Holocaust denial which is illegal 
in the Netherlands.


Google Translated:

"Article 137c 1 He who, in public, orally or in writing or image, 
deliberately insults a group of people
because of their race, their religion or belief, their heterosexual or 
homosexual orientation or their
physical, psychological or mental disability, shall be punished by 
imprisonment of not more than one year

or a fine of the third category."

http://www.wetboek-online.nl/wet/Sr/137c.html

https://www-wetboek--online-nl.translate.goog/wet/Sr/137c.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp 



Luckily the host removed the show as. My wife and I were not willing to 
risk prosecution, or suffer the associated reputational damage that 
would come even by been seen to be associated with the show.



this is all way too vague and amounts to a discussion around when we 
will be screening/disallowing  shows.

-brian


At this stage what I am asking for is to move out the show until the 
community can decide what to do.


Screening everything may be the way of it in the future. Don't like it, 
then if you live in the EU, then contact your rep.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2347



Putting down my official Janitor mop of office for a minute. As I see it;

  * The Janitors should *NOT* have the right to censor a show.
  * The Janitors *DO* have the right not to post the show.

So how do we balance these ?

My own personal opinion is that the system we have in place for the last 
nearly 17 years, is working well enough. We get the shows and we 
continue to post them without vetting them. If someone complains, and 
the claims seem to be valid, the janitors should be able to notify 
everyone and postpone it's release until such a time as the community 
can decide what to do.


Pretty much what we're doing here.


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org



--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Moving a show out ... again

[Mike Ray]

IMHO the three strikes rule is unworkable. As Ken suggested, maybe not 
in so many words, ONE strike could land one or all of the janitors in 
prison, or fined out of existence. And that is definitely not acceptable 
as a risk. Even more so for those who provide hosting free of charge.


It is not censorship to remove something that would destroy their lives. 
It is just sensible.


The janitors do not owe us any debt of care.

And freedom of speech has hard limits. Anybody who thinks it does not is 
living on cloud cuckoo land.








On 08/05/2022 22:58, sp0rus wrote:

The solution seems simple enough. We just make Ken and the other
janitors/hosts/patrons fabulously wealthy so that the law is no longer of
consequence.

Barring the community implementing that, I'd say that censorship for the
sake of censorship is one thing, but not publishing something that would
land the responsible party in legal hot water is another.

I feel that Ken and others have acted in good faith in the past and would
likely say they've regularly not agreed with things creators have said on
their shows.  The beginnings of HPR were before my time in the community,
but I don't believe Ken or others agreed that they'd take the legal bullets
for creators as part of volunteering to help HPR run.  I would be
interested in knowing more of the particulars of how the content of these
shows would be a legal issue for HPR's managers, but from what I've seen of
how things are handled I also have some level of trust that they aren't
blowing smoke when these claims are made.

I think this three strikes rule has some merit, but is probably worth more
discussion from the community on how exactly it should be worded and
implemented.  Since we ask for hosts to self-censor themselves, how would
we make sure we aren't putting shows out that would cause legal troubles
without having some sort of board to listen to them all and vet them? You'd
likely need to have legal counsel to know for sure. It seems like a
possible slippery slope from there to not publishing things because of fear
of reprisals even if it wouldn't actually be illegal.

That said, I'm fairly certain that in some locales there wouldn't be legal
issues for the publisher of the content, but I'm also not a lawyer and know
that the people who are part of HPR encompass many legal jurisdictions that
likely work in many different ways.  I know there have been many debates
regarding US law and platforms vs publishers and who is responsible.
Typically these debates I've seen have been regarding social media.

The unfortunate reality that I have to remind myself often is that what may
be legal for some people is not going to be for others. Just because you
may be able to legally do something where you are doesn't make it fair to
require those in another jurisdiction to be left holding the bag when the
cops come calling.

Unfortunately, this is an area (like many) where I don't feel I'm able to
offer any solutions, but would like to say that I appreciate how these
stickier issues tend to be handled by the HPR community and staff.  While I
don't know that I've ever seen everyone 100% agree, there's almost always a
level of respect to the discourse that makes me quite proud to have even a
small connection to this community.

Thank you to all who have made and continue to make HPR what it is.

sp0rus

On Sun, May 8, 2022, 4:14 PM Mike Ray  wrote:




And having just read the other comments...

Voltaire does not matter when ONE strike would get Ken landed in prison.

As much as we hate it, there are rules about stuff like using
copyrighted material, or acts of slander or defamation on public media.

The only people who get away with breaking the law repeatedly are either
Donald Trump or Conservative MPs and ministers.

And they have deep pockets.




On 08/05/2022 22:09, Mike Ray wrote:



IMHO any show that contains stuff that might get the janitors into
bother legally should be canned.

And repeat offenders should be barred.

Obviously I don't know about the content. But what I do know is anything
like this that I created and which came to the attention of my employers
would get me the sack.

Mike






On 08/05/2022 19:28, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

You may remember
<

http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2022-March/015174.html>


that back in March a host submitted a show that we had some problems
with. We didn't go into details at the time as I wanted to give the
host the benefit of the doubt. Suffice to say that were the show
posted, I was looking at a considerable fine and up to a year in
prison. In the end the host got back to us and decided to post it else
where. As it turns out that platform also did not post the content in
my region for the same reasons.

We now have another show from the same host and it has content that
would bring us ot

Re: [Hpr] Moving a show out ... again

[Mike Ray]

And having just read the other comments...

Voltaire does not matter when ONE strike would get Ken landed in prison.

As much as we hate it, there are rules about stuff like using 
copyrighted material, or acts of slander or defamation on public media.


The only people who get away with breaking the law repeatedly are either 
Donald Trump or Conservative MPs and ministers.


And they have deep pockets.




On 08/05/2022 22:09, Mike Ray wrote:



IMHO any show that contains stuff that might get the janitors into 
bother legally should be canned.


And repeat offenders should be barred.

Obviously I don't know about the content. But what I do know is anything 
like this that I created and which came to the attention of my employers 
would get me the sack.


Mike






On 08/05/2022 19:28, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

You may remember 
<http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2022-March/015174.html> 
that back in March a host submitted a show that we had some problems 
with. We didn't go into details at the time as I wanted to give the 
host the benefit of the doubt. Suffice to say that were the show 
posted, I was looking at a considerable fine and up to a year in 
prison. In the end the host got back to us and decided to post it else 
where. As it turns out that platform also did not post the content in 
my region for the same reasons.


We now have another show from the same host and it has content that 
would bring us other legal issues, as well as violating the terms and 
conditions of our hosting providers. The host is not responding to my 
emails, presumably they are out camping again.


While our policy on censorship states "We do not vet, edit, moderate 
or in any way censor any of the audio you submit," it continues ",we 
trust you to do that 
<https://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#not_moderated>." 
While this host was given the benefit of the doubt the first time, I 
feel that by immediately posting another show like this they have 
betrayed the trust of the Janitors, Hosting Providers, Patrons, and 
the wider HPR community.


As you can imagine even having the show in the future feed is a bit 
risky, but we can not allow it to hit the main feed until the entire 
HPR community has had time to decide how to proceed. We will bring 
this up on the next community news and allow discussions as to how we 
deal with this stuff going forward. Up until now it has not been 
necessary but alas apparently now it is.


So I am once again asking you to allow me to move the problem show out 
so the host has time to get back to me.


FYI: The cc list has been included on all correspondence.


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org






--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Moving a show out ... again

[Mike Ray]

IMHO any show that contains stuff that might get the janitors into 
bother legally should be canned.


And repeat offenders should be barred.

Obviously I don't know about the content. But what I do know is anything 
like this that I created and which came to the attention of my employers 
would get me the sack.


Mike






On 08/05/2022 19:28, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

You may remember 
 
that back in March a host submitted a show that we had some problems 
with. We didn't go into details at the time as I wanted to give the host 
the benefit of the doubt. Suffice to say that were the show posted, I 
was looking at a considerable fine and up to a year in prison. In the 
end the host got back to us and decided to post it else where. As it 
turns out that platform also did not post the content in my region for 
the same reasons.


We now have another show from the same host and it has content that 
would bring us other legal issues, as well as violating the terms and 
conditions of our hosting providers. The host is not responding to my 
emails, presumably they are out camping again.


While our policy on censorship states "We do not vet, edit, moderate or 
in any way censor any of the audio you submit," it continues ",we trust 
you to do that 
." 
While this host was given the benefit of the doubt the first time, I 
feel that by immediately posting another show like this they have 
betrayed the trust of the Janitors, Hosting Providers, Patrons, and the 
wider HPR community.


As you can imagine even having the show in the future feed is a bit 
risky, but we can not allow it to hit the main feed until the entire HPR 
community has had time to decide how to proceed. We will bring this up 
on the next community news and allow discussions as to how we deal with 
this stuff going forward. Up until now it has not been necessary but 
alas apparently now it is.


So I am once again asking you to allow me to move the problem show out 
so the host has time to get back to me.


FYI: The cc list has been included on all correspondence.


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org



--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Auditing the janitors

[Mike Ray]

You're quite right. I had no idea there was any money involved at all.


Any thoughts about GDPR?



On 24/03/2022 09:19, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi Mike,

Please take this seriously. You have no idea the amount of money the 
Janitos have to deal with.


Only yesterday we had a Nigerian prince offer us almost $ 15,000,000 
American Dollars, not to mention the issues the UN secretary general 
seems to be having with his bank account.





--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Auditing the janitors

[Mike Ray]

I've got a better idea...how about we start remembering this is a 
podcast and not Goldman Sachs?


I don't mean to be cheeky or aggressive, but the mention of 'auditors'? 
Is that not going a bit far?


You're not going to be fined for non-compliance, or for underpaying 
corporation tax, if indeed anybody anywhere actually pays corporation 
tax anymore.





On 23/03/2022 20:25, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

I'd like to suggest a new thread about the need to provide oversight 
into the work of the janitors.


My initial suggestion is to have an Auditor from the Community join the 
Admin channels for the purposes of monitoring their work. This should be 
a rotating position, so that the person/people don't become on of the team.


They could then report to the mail list or on the community news when 
they feel that there is anything that is not above board.


Anyone got any better ideas ?




--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] eSpeak (don't cringe, its positive, not more banging on about how great it is)

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks

Well what do you know?

I have recently installed the newest version of the NVDA open source 
screen reader for Windows.


And it now uses espeak-ng (ng for new generation).

I don't know how 'new generation' it is. On Linux there are still 
problems with it responding to 'stop' commands. And the build system is 
still a mess.


But...

There are some new voices.

The default voice, variant 'Max', is the one every photon-dependent one 
of you moans about.


But I have fallen in love with the new voice called 'Edward 2'. It is 
lovely. And it still features eSpeak's small footprint. No bloatware, 
unlike MaryTTS and the like. eSpeak continues to be light enough to run 
on even the first generation Raspberry Pi.


I listened to the OpenTTS HPR episode a few nights ago. So I cloned the 
repository, because I thought I might be able to write a speakup (Linux 
console screen reader) to OpenTTS connector, based on espeakup. But 
OpenTTS failed to build.


I will go back to it when I get a chance. But don't get much spare time 
at the moment.


Just thought you might like to hear me banging on about eSpeak again, 
but this time in a not-so-snarky way.


Mike

--
Michael A. Ray
Software engineer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him/cis

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery




___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] takov751

[Mike Ray]

I can.

As can a lot of blind people who rely on tts.

Perhaps not for prose, but certainly for source code.







On 11/01/2022 18:49, Nigel Verity wrote:

Hi Ken

The third voice is head and shoulders above the other two to my ears. Above 
200% speed I struggle to take everything in. By the time you get to 500% it is 
just a joke. Surely nobody can follow speech at that speed.

Beeza

  LibreOffice - Free and open source office suite: LibreOffice 
Website<https://www.libreoffice.org>
  Respects your privacy, and gives you back control over your data


From: Hpr  on behalf of Ken Fallon 

Sent: 11 January 2022 18:09
To: m...@raspberryvi.org ; hpr@hackerpublicradio.org 

Subject: Re: [Hpr] takov751

Hi Mike,

As a TTS engine for reading the screen back to me I am more than happy
with it and use it continually during the day. It's not just visually
impaired people that rely on TTS. It does that job and does it well.

The objection I have to using espeak as the voice of HPR is that it is
harsh, unfriendly and not welcoming, its so bad in fact that it makes
kids cry. I speak from personal experience. When my kids were small I
made a project based on espeak (in English) for them to interact with.
It was a disaster. When the espeak voice started speaking they got
scared, started to cry, ran away, and never wanted to have anything to
do with it again.

Over the years the biggest objection to the TTS on HPR has been the
espeak voice. It has also been the biggest point of negative feedback I
get when trying to promote HPR to potential interviewees or projects.

If those are not valid enough reasons then I don't know what will
convince you. I can also assure you my desktop wallpaper is the default
supplied with my distro.

In the past it has been argued that the more natural voices are
difficult to understand when sped up. So I took the two most natural
voices from the list and posted a side by side comparison to espeak at
150%, 200%, 250%,  300%, 350%, 400%, 450%, and 500%. In my opinion the
coqui-tts_en_en_ljspeech is more understandable than espeak at every speed.

Can everyone have a listen to this and tell me your preference
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhackerpublicradio.org%2Ftts-espeak-ljspeech-vctk-normal-150-200-250-300-350-400-450-500-percent.ogg&data=04%7C01%7C%7Caa9e5cf113f0411706b908d9d52db85a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637775214626255386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=LU99WKYC1M8TCvMdKh8hM6N4h%2BalZ9gmdlGY%2FG65VtA%3D&reserved=0

Ken.



On 2022-01-11 14:35, Mike Ray wrote:



And here was me thinking about posting to the list about how much
better  it is now with the softer music in the background and a nice
punchy eSpeak voice.

I still have no idea what the objection to the eSpeak voice is.

If you spend as many hours a day coding as I do, and rely on tts to
make this possible, then eSpeak is the way forward. Although I know
this may only be true for English speakers. Not sure how good eSpeak
is at other languages.

People who complain about eSpeak are probably the same people who
never get any work done because they are constantly fiddling with the
desktop wallpaper.

:-p





On 11/01/2022 10:44, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

We got a comment from takov751 via 
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmatrix.to%2F%23%2F%23hpr%3Amatrix.org&data=04%7C01%7C%7Caa9e5cf113f0411706b908d9d52db85a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637775214626255386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=Sxnt0xVQ%2B1EpCxXi%2FtWfLHlgnsyM4FMpp9X42%2FQY0KY%3D&reserved=0



Greetings i am a long listener of the shows . And of course planing
to make my first show . I would like to ask question regarding tts at
the beginning of the show usually I hear the espeak robotic voice .
In the workflow  have you considered using mimic1 or opentts /
Mozillatts or something along those lines ? It’s seems like these
would be compatible with licensing as well and bir more realistic
voices . A few examples 
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhub.docker.com%2Fu%2Fsynesthesiam&data=04%7C01%7C%7Caa9e5cf113f0411706b908d9d52db85a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637775214626255386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=AE86feZPVXgAFElFBdWJkO3f48W6FbaCChLwJd9jBpU%3D&reserved=0



Re-posted with permission

Sample voices are here: 
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsynesthesiam.github.io%2Fopentts&data=04%7C01%7C%7Caa9e5cf113f0411706b908d9d52db85a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637775214626255386%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik

Re: [Hpr] takov751

[Mike Ray]

And here was me thinking about posting to the list about how much better 
 it is now with the softer music in the background and a nice punchy 
eSpeak voice.


I still have no idea what the objection to the eSpeak voice is.

If you spend as many hours a day coding as I do, and rely on tts to make 
this possible, then eSpeak is the way forward. Although I know this may 
only be true for English speakers. Not sure how good eSpeak is at other 
languages.


People who complain about eSpeak are probably the same people who never 
get any work done because they are constantly fiddling with the desktop 
wallpaper.


:-p





On 11/01/2022 10:44, Ken Fallon wrote:

Hi All,

We got a comment from takov751 via https://matrix.to/#/#hpr:matrix.org



Greetings i am a long listener of the shows . And of course planing to 
make my first show . I would like to ask question regarding tts at the 
beginning of the show usually I hear the espeak robotic voice . In the 
workflow  have you considered using mimic1 or opentts / Mozillatts or 
something along those lines ? It’s seems like these would be compatible 
with licensing as well and bir more realistic voices . A few examples 
https://hub.docker.com/u/synesthesiam




Re-posted with permission

Sample voices are here: https://synesthesiam.github.io/opentts

@Mike Ray

I would like to try and get a happy balance between meeting your needs 
and having a voice that is friendly. While I love espeak it is not 
friendly - it literally put my kids in tears when they were younger :-)


Could you have a listen to some of the other voices and see if any of 
them come close to your requirements for TTS


FYI I find these two "friendly"

  * https://synesthesiam.github.io/opentts/#coqui-tts_en_en_ljspeech
  * https://synesthesiam.github.io/opentts/#coqui-tts_en_en_vctk




--
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Summary of recent policy changes.

[Mike Ray]

Looks fine Ken.

Mike G4XBF




On 23/12/2021 10:16, Ken Fallon wrote:
I believe that the following policy changes have been accepted will be 
made over the holiday period.


This is your last chance to provide feedback.

HPR will move #oggcastplanet on libera, and we will also include links 
to the matrix, and mastodon channel
http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2021-July/014969.html 



Existing shows will be flagged with the current version and new shows 
will default to "Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)"
http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2021-August/014973.html 



The Intro Outro will be changed and the upload form will remove the 
option to add intro and outros.
http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2021-November/015100.html 



[Hpr] Policy Change: Removal of "by arranged permission" when posting to 
HPR
http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2021-December/015114.html 






--
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when 
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Possible cause and solution to subscriber attrition(trying again without encryption)

[Mike Ray]

The length of the intro annoys me. TTS, followed by ad for AHH, followed
by horrible and raucous music.

There is a much softer version of the music which IMHO should be used.





On 18/10/2021 17:50, Todd wrote:
> I would subscribe to a feed that did not have the intro music.
> 
> I like the branding, but I know there have been several comments about
> improving the music.
> The best solution may be to offer a feed with only the contributor's voice.
> 
> On Sun, Oct 17, 2021 at 7:16 PM Thaj Sara  wrote:
> 
>> Ok I'm going to be the pedantic audio nerd here.  Using decibels to
>> measure this sort of thing can quickly lead to issues.  The above example
>> kind of proves that.  Without going into a REALLY long rant about audio
>> measurements and acoustics, the industry standard for measuring finalized
>> audio levels like this are LUFs (Loudness Unit Full Scale).  The level that
>> is standard for podcasts is -16 LUFS.  On Tenacity/Audacity this can be
>> achieved using the "Loudness Normalization" effect.  I usually do some work
>> on audio prior to using that plugin to even out the levels.  This would
>> ensure that the intro, body and outro of the show are all at the same
>> loudness.  Yes Ken, I know I owe you a show...
>>
>> I agree with Klaatu.  I usually bake in the intro and outro but would be
>> more than willing to not if it makes another feed easier to produce.
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 16, 2021 at 5:40 PM anarchore via Hpr <
>> hpr@hackerpublicradio.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi;
>>>
>>> There was a community news show about a month ago during which the
>>> producers remarked that there was a plateau in subscribers.
>>>
>>> I have a suggestion that may improve this attrition rate... I and I'm
>>> sure a lot of others listen to podcasts to wind down while going to sleep.
>>>
>>> The intro song is loud, low bitrate sounding trumpet chiptune fanfare,
>>> which is fine.  The thing is, the shows are often recorded at a low volume
>>> level so the volume must be adjusted upward to hear them... then after
>>> being soothed by a soft spoken hacker voice, the blaring, loud chiptunes
>>> are blasted again at the end of the show.
>>>
>>> This has woken me up from sleep many times.  I can only imagine the
>>> consternation from headphone users.
>>>
>>> I'm sure this has led to many rage-unsubscriptions by those less level
>>> headed than I.
>>>
>>> There is a much more mellow sounding intro that is the same tune at a
>>> lower volume, that is used sometimes.   If there must be an outro song,
>>> this should be it, and the loud blaring fanfare tune should be only used at
>>> the beginning.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Sent with Tutanota, the secure & ad-free mailbox.
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] [HPR3442] Klaatu, CoVID, and Science

[Mike Ray]

I think you mean "hear, hear."

What a load of bollocks.





On 13/10/2021 14:54, BK Navarette wrote:
> Here, here
> 
> leave a comment on the website like I did
> 
> brian-in-ohio
> 
> On 10/13/21 09:41, Ken Fallon wrote:
>> On 2021-10-13 15:06:58, e8h wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hi e8h,
>>
>> As a new member of the community you may not be aware that the purpose
>> of this mail list it to discuss HPR policy:
>>
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/about.php#governance
>> "HPR is entirely community driven. Policy decisions are proposed and
>> discussed on the Mailing list, which is open to anyone to join."
>>
>> Can you please use the comment section for commenting on shows. Here
>> is the link to that show
>> https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=3442#comments
>>
>>
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Regarding episode 3414 and COVID-19 disinformation

[Mike Ray]

With the greatest respect to the people of New Zealand, which have done
a great job in general, and their prime minister, who is a superstar,
the country has a population of half of that of London. So no wonder it
has been easy to keep infections down.




On 17/09/2021 23:56, Klaatu wrote:
> Content is frequently edited on HPR. Our shownotes team is very active in 
> maintaining relevant shownotes, correcting errors, and so on.
> 
> Technically, we also prepend and append audio to episodes that require intro 
> and outro sequences.
> 
> I think links to some country's disease control could be useful in the 
> shownotes. After all, the show host *is* encouraging people to think 
> critically about a disease, so providing a link to knowledgeable sources of 
> information seems in line with what that episode is [technically] all about. 
> I'm not convinced that the US's CDC is the best source of information, 
> however. I propose the New Zealand government site, as NZ has been able to 
> keep casualties and breakouts pretty low. 
> https://covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/about-covid-19/
> 
> On Saturday, September 18, 2021 10:29:47 AM NZST BK Navarette wrote:
>> I thought content wasn't edited on hpr.
>>
>> Brian-in-ohio
>>
>> On 9/17/21 17:21, Joshua Knapp wrote:
>>> Would it be possible to actually flag 3414 with the information to the
>>> CDC or other reputable source of information?  Similar to how YouTube
>>> and other services flag posts like this?
>>>
>>> On Fri, Sep 17, 2021 at 2:17 PM Klaatu  wrote:
>>> It is objectively true that people are dying from Covid-19, and if
>>> that didn't
>>> concern the Hacker Public Radio community, I'd be saddened and
>>> disappointed in
>>> all of us.
>>> 
>>> Most listeners of HPR are not on this mailing list.  I propose we
>>> combat the
>>> disinformation in 3414 with *several* episodes of correct
>>> information. I
>>> believe the best cure for ignorance is knowledge.
>>> 
>>> People already believe that "critical thinking" (read: ignoring
>>> scientific
>>> evidence and "doing your own research" even though you have no
>>> access to Covid
>>> patients or laboratories) will expose "the truth" behind Covid. 
>>> Episode 3414
>>> isn't introducing anybody to these ideas.
>>> 
>>> Episodes in response to it, however, could be the thing that gives
>>> someone the
>>> courage to stop all of their head-in-the-sand "critical thinking"
>>> and to start
>>> listening to the experts.
>>> 
>>> I'm happy to do an episode in response, and in fact I'll post one
>>> later today.
>>> I'd be happier still if anybody responding to this thread does the
>>> same.
>>> 
>>> -klaatu
>>> 
>>> > brian-in-ohio
>>> > 
>>> > On 9/17/21 15:09, nihilazo via Hpr wrote:
>>> > > Hello,
>>> > > I have been wanting to contribute another episode to HPR for
>>> 
>>> years but
>>> 
>>> > > have not got around to it yet. However I am more skeptical to
>>> 
>>> lend my
>>> 
>>> > > voice to HPR after the publication of episode 3414, which spreads
>>> > > anti-vaccine and conspiratorial ideas and promotes vitamin B3 as a
>>> > > vaccine alternative (which has some benefits, as a preventative
>>> > > alongside the vaccine, but is no replacement, and studies are
>>> 
>>> still
>>> 
>>> > > fairly preliminary).
>>> > > I understand that usual HPR policy dictates that episodes are
>>> 
>>> not to
>>> 
>>> > > be edited or removed after they are uploaded but in the case
>>> 
>>> of this
>>> 
>>> > > episode I think it's irresponsible for Hacker Public Radio to
>>> 
>>> leave it
>>> 
>>> > > up, especially in the midst of a global health crisis.
>>> > > Are there any plans to deal with this episode's potentially
>>> 
>>> harmful
>>> 
>>> > > content?
>>> > > 
>>> > > Thanks,
>>> > > Nico
>>> > > 
>>> > > ___
>>> > > Hpr mailing list
>>> > > Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> 
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.or
>>> g
>>> 
>>> > ___
>>> > Hpr mailing list
>>> > Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> 
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.or
>>> g
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.or
>>> g
>>>
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> 

Re: [Hpr] Regarding episode 3414 and COVID-19 disinformation

[Mike Ray]

OK. So if I did a podcast about how to make a bloody great truck bomb to
park under Canary Wharf, would that get removed?

How about a podcast about how to make novichok?

Freedom of speech has its limits.






On 17/09/2021 23:29, BK Navarette wrote:
> I thought content wasn't edited on hpr.
> 
> Brian-in-ohio
> 
> On 9/17/21 17:21, Joshua Knapp wrote:
>> Would it be possible to actually flag 3414 with the information to the
>> CDC or other reputable source of information?  Similar to how YouTube
>> and other services flag posts like this?
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 17, 2021 at 2:17 PM Klaatu  wrote:
>>
>>     It is objectively true that people are dying from Covid-19, and if
>>     that didn't
>>     concern the Hacker Public Radio community, I'd be saddened and
>>     disappointed in
>>     all of us.
>>
>>     Most listeners of HPR are not on this mailing list.  I propose we
>>     combat the
>>     disinformation in 3414 with *several* episodes of correct
>>     information. I
>>     believe the best cure for ignorance is knowledge.
>>
>>     People already believe that "critical thinking" (read: ignoring
>>     scientific
>>     evidence and "doing your own research" even though you have no
>>     access to Covid
>>     patients or laboratories) will expose "the truth" behind Covid. 
>>     Episode 3414
>>     isn't introducing anybody to these ideas.
>>
>>     Episodes in response to it, however, could be the thing that gives
>>     someone the
>>     courage to stop all of their head-in-the-sand "critical thinking"
>>     and to start
>>     listening to the experts.
>>
>>     I'm happy to do an episode in response, and in fact I'll post one
>>     later today.
>>     I'd be happier still if anybody responding to this thread does the
>>     same.
>>
>>     -klaatu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     >
>>     > brian-in-ohio
>>     >
>>     > On 9/17/21 15:09, nihilazo via Hpr wrote:
>>     > > Hello,
>>     > > I have been wanting to contribute another episode to HPR for
>>     years but
>>     > > have not got around to it yet. However I am more skeptical to
>>     lend my
>>     > > voice to HPR after the publication of episode 3414, which spreads
>>     > > anti-vaccine and conspiratorial ideas and promotes vitamin B3
>> as a
>>     > > vaccine alternative (which has some benefits, as a preventative
>>     > > alongside the vaccine, but is no replacement, and studies are
>>     still
>>     > > fairly preliminary).
>>     > > I understand that usual HPR policy dictates that episodes are
>>     not to
>>     > > be edited or removed after they are uploaded but in the case
>>     of this
>>     > > episode I think it's irresponsible for Hacker Public Radio to
>>     leave it
>>     > > up, especially in the midst of a global health crisis.
>>     > > Are there any plans to deal with this episode's potentially
>>     harmful
>>     > > content?
>>     > >
>>     > > Thanks,
>>     > > Nico
>>     > >
>>     > > ___
>>     > > Hpr mailing list
>>     > > Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>     > >
>>    
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>     >
>>     > ___
>>     > Hpr mailing list
>>     > Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>     >
>>    
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
>>
>>
>>     ___
>>     Hpr mailing list
>>     Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>    
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Regarding episode 3414 and COVID-19 disinformation

[Mike Ray]

I haven't listened to it. Don't listen to many these days, but yes I
agree it should be taken down.



On 17/09/2021 20:22, Jeroen Baten wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have not heard the episode yet but agree with you that health
> disinformation is a plague that should be dealt with.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jeroen Baten
> 
> On 17-09-2021 21:09, nihilazo via Hpr wrote:
>> Hello,
>> I have been wanting to contribute another episode to HPR for years but
>> have not got around to it yet. However I am more skeptical to lend my
>> voice to HPR after the publication of episode 3414, which spreads
>> anti-vaccine and conspiratorial ideas and promotes vitamin B3 as a
>> vaccine alternative (which has some benefits, as a preventative
>> alongside the vaccine, but is no replacement, and studies are still
>> fairly preliminary).
>> I understand that usual HPR policy dictates that episodes are not to
>> be edited or removed after they are uploaded but in the case of this
>> episode I think it's irresponsible for Hacker Public Radio to leave it
>> up, especially in the midst of a global health crisis.
>> Are there any plans to deal with this episode's potentially harmful
>> content?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Nico
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Hpr Digest, Vol 155, Issue 8

[Mike Ray]

Here in the UK, about 35% of fatal road accidents are caused by people
driving under the influence of alcohol.

That means 65% approximately are caused by people who are sober.

Conclusion, sober people are more dangerous than drunks?

No, just idiot manipulation of statistics.

So, Covid-19 is more survivable than influenza is it? Same bollocks
manipulation of statistics.

Currently a lot of the hospitals in the west are under a serious strain.
Well the ones here in the UK are anyway, perhaps not in the USA where
most people have to file bankruptcy if they get chronically sick. I
would hate to have the first question I am asked when I am rushed in
with Covid be what is my credit card number.

Since the start of the pandemic hundreds of thousands of people have
died of Covid-19 who would not otherwise have died.

They might have died if they got influenza, but are not exposed to
influenza in the same way as Covid-19, and Covid-19 is more virulent.

Your right to not wear a mask and to carry on as normal does not trump
(Trump?) my right to stay alive. Nor that of my elderly and vulnerable
family, friends and neighbours.






On 29/08/2021 05:26, e8h wrote:
> 1. I got the impression from a recent HPR podcast with the "Janitor" that 
> they 
> fill a one show a day schedule and limit the rest.  Maybe I need to listen 
> again.
> 
> 2. Agree.  I have been contemplating how to make content.
> 
> 3. It was more about casting a whole community as bad in a disrespectful, 
> hypocritical political way, and not by Chris Fisher.  Similar to dishing on 
> veteran soldiers.  Noting I don't support wars unless defensive.  Also note, 
> COVID19 has 99.97 survival rate and compares to influenza of 99.98 so no 
> you're 
> not killing people by being normal and asserting god given access to nature 
> and life pursuits.  
> 
> On Sunday, 29 August 2021 12:03:37 AM AEST hpr-requ...@hackerpublicradio.org 
> wrote:
>> What a ridiculous email.
>>
>> 1. HPR struggles to fill every weekday, frequently having to ask for
>> more shows so as not to stop altogether.
>>
>> 2. You cannot demand the rest of the world provide you with distraction.
>> If you need distraction, record some shows.
>>
>> 3. Covid lock-down freedom fighter? You obviously care more about your
>> freedom to infect than others freedom not to be infected/potentially killed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Please more shows each day.

[Mike Ray]

No doubt a lot of them are not in English, but four million is a whole
lot of podcasts.

Here are a few of my favourites, not in any particular order:

I hear of Sherlock Everywhere (weekly?)
Sherlock Holmes, trifles (weekly)
The Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Podcast (monthly I think)
This Week in Google (Thursday)
Security Now (Wednesday)
This Week in Linux (Monday, I think)
Windows Weekly (Thursday?)
Floss Weekly
The Ubuntu Podcast (annoying music)
Compiler (from RedHat)
Command Line Heroes (from RedHat)
In Our Time (BBC, weekly)
In Touch (BBC, weekly, magazine prog for visually impaired folks)
Friday Night Comedy (BBC, Friday)
Oh God, What Now, formerly Remainiacs (Friday)
The Bunker (from those who brought us remainiacs, Friday)
The New European Podcast (Friday)
2.5 Admins (Linux, weekly)
Destination Linux (weekly)
DLN Xtend (from the same stable as Destination Linux)

No Such Thing as a Fish (very funny, Friday)

Shed loads more.

Some of the Linux ones are annoying in that they bang on about gaming
and inaccessible Linux phones a lot. Linux podcasts are about the only
category where I still believe the primary driver is people who like the
sound of their own voice.

But some of them are OK.

One of my recommendations would be to try casts on a subject you don't
know you are interested in. This is a good way to be surprised.

There are probably some about epidemiology and how wearing a mask and
staying at home when there is a f***ing pandemic saves lives.







On 28/08/2021 13:36, BK Navarette wrote:
> 4,000,000+ according to open source project https://podcastindex.org/
> 
> brian-in-ohio
> 
> 
> On 8/28/21 08:27, Mike Ray wrote:
>>
>> There are thousands upon thousands of shows out there. I currently have
>> about forty on my podcatcher.
>>
>> So there is something for me every day. And that is even now when I
>> delete most HPR podcasts without listening to them.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 28/08/2021 13:19, BK Navarette wrote:
>>> Not sure what this is about but two things, make a show about it, 2
>>> listen to NoAgenda, 6 hours of fun a week
>>>
>>> brian-in-ohio
>>>
>>> also, theres 3000+ shows in the hpr backcatalog, so no need to lament
>>> the loss of that lossy jupiter broadcating
>>>
>>> or twit either. (spin right be damned!!!)
>>>
>>> On 8/28/21 08:12, e8h wrote:
>>>> It's painful to only have one show a week day, and that's double pain
>>>> if only
>>>> a short podcast.  I regularly start the day off with listening to
>>>> podcasts but
>>>> recently I unsubscribed from a bigger creator (Jupiter Broadcasting)
>>>> for
>>>> dishing on freedom fighters of COVID lockdowns, so, I'm now lucky to
>>>> have one
>>>> show pop up a day to listen to.  Not enough.  I can't see why HPR is
>>>> restricting the flow of information. It's crazy.  People can limit
>>>> themselves
>>>> if they find they are overwhelmed.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers e8h.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ___
>>>> Hpr mailing list
>>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Please more shows each day.

[Mike Ray]

There are thousands upon thousands of shows out there. I currently have
about forty on my podcatcher.

So there is something for me every day. And that is even now when I
delete most HPR podcasts without listening to them.



On 28/08/2021 13:19, BK Navarette wrote:
> Not sure what this is about but two things, make a show about it, 2
> listen to NoAgenda, 6 hours of fun a week
> 
> brian-in-ohio
> 
> also, theres 3000+ shows in the hpr backcatalog, so no need to lament
> the loss of that lossy jupiter broadcating
> 
> or twit either. (spin right be damned!!!)
> 
> On 8/28/21 08:12, e8h wrote:
>> It's painful to only have one show a week day, and that's double pain
>> if only
>> a short podcast.  I regularly start the day off with listening to
>> podcasts but
>> recently I unsubscribed from a bigger creator (Jupiter Broadcasting) for
>> dishing on freedom fighters of COVID lockdowns, so, I'm now lucky to
>> have one
>> show pop up a day to listen to.  Not enough.  I can't see why HPR is
>> restricting the flow of information. It's crazy.  People can limit
>> themselves
>> if they find they are overwhelmed.
>>
>> Cheers e8h.
>>
>>
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Please more shows each day.

[Mike Ray]

What a ridiculous email.

1. HPR struggles to fill every weekday, frequently having to ask for
more shows so as not to stop altogether.

2. You cannot demand the rest of the world provide you with distraction.
If you need distraction, record some shows.

3. Covid lock-down freedom fighter? You obviously care more about your
freedom to infect than others freedom not to be infected/potentially killed.








On 28/08/2021 13:12, e8h wrote:
> It's painful to only have one show a week day, and that's double pain if only 
> a short podcast.  I regularly start the day off with listening to podcasts 
> but 
> recently I unsubscribed from a bigger creator (Jupiter Broadcasting) for 
> dishing on freedom fighters of COVID lockdowns, so, I'm now lucky to have one 
> show pop up a day to listen to.  Not enough.  I can't see why HPR is 
> restricting the flow of information. It's crazy.  People can limit themselves 
> if they find they are overwhelmed.
> 
> Cheers e8h.
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

He/him

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Article by hedorah on HPR

[Mike Ray]

I don't really understand the audio quality issue.

It is so easy to produce audio which is of reasonable quality, I don't
see why anybody should be submitting shows where it is not of a basic
standard.

The only possible issue as I see it, is when somebody has recorded on
the move, in their car, or on foot.

But even then it is relatively easy to make sure your voice is at a
level which overrides any environmental sounds.

I've stopped doing shows because whatever subject I think of, I am
conscious that there are bound to be plenty of people listening who know
more than I do about that subject.




On 26/04/2021 13:37, Thaj Sara wrote:
> In response to HonkeyMagoo, it is true that the original article did not
> mention the audio quality issue.  That came up from the discussions here,
> and since it's my personal crusade I jumped on it.
> 
> I agree that considering audio quality does create a "barrier to entry" for
> some, but my hope is that providing some information about the ways to fix
> things will help people who do care about it to do more.  While I
> appreciate Klaatu's response, I don't know that adding more to the
> post-upload workflow would really work.  That being said I am always
> available for those who want to talk to someone about improving the audio
> quality and/or trying to fix a recording that is already made.  The biggest
> caveat to that last part is audio is very much garbage in, garbage out.
> You can only fix things so much if the initial recording is not great.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 2:16 PM Ken Fallon  wrote:
> 
>> A Nice article on HPR with a valid question at the end.
>>
>> https://foxacid.se/hedorah/posts/hpr/
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>>
>> Ken Fallon
>> http://kenfallon.com
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=30
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery

___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Raspberry Pi

[Mike Ray]

If you want sound or video, there is no point in running a 64-bit OS on
a Raspberry Pi, because there is no 64-bit userland code (the stuff in
/opt/vc). Some of that is not Open Source, so 64-bit operating systems
will have no sound.

I think 64-bit userland code is in beta, but is not reliable. And will
certainly not be included in anything other than images downloaded from
their Web pages.

IMHO the Foundation have been guilty several times of crimes against
Open Source.

They try very hard to fail to mention that the desktop on Raspbian is
LXDE. Even calling it 'the official Raspberry Pi' desktop, especially
after somebody developed a new theme for LXDE which helped them to
'badge' it as theirs.

Also changing the name from Raspbian to Raspberry Pi OS does, IMHO, try
to conceal that Debian is the origin.

They have a tendency to ignore mentioning anything about the origins of
anything that runs on a Pi in 'their' OS.

Anybody who is as obsessed with libre software as RMS would not touch a
Raspberry Pi with a barge pole.



On 09/02/2021 07:36, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2021-02-09 04:35:53, Brian wrote:
>> Run Slackware on your pi, be free of system d, apt and coming soon
>> true 64 bit os
>>
>> https://sarpi.fatdog.eu/
>>
>> Brian-in-ohio
>>
>> (visiting oklahoma)
>>
> 
> Looking forward to the show about it :-)
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Changes to the website.

[Mike Ray]

Ken,

Do you need an accessibility (a11y) review of any changes?

If so I can wait till I am in a grumpy mood, :-)

Mike



On 07/12/2020 13:56, Ken Fallon wrote:
> TL;DR Site updates reflecting a backlog of policy changes and tidy ups.
> I believe all these changes were discussed previously here - if not
> please comment.
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> Both Hacker Public Radio and GNU World Order were on the "Top Stories"
> of Hacker News over the weekend.
> 
> Addressing some of the points in the comments, the syndication.php page
> was updated to remove the reference to mp3's been patent encumbered. The
> sizes of the feeds have been increased, and additional playout sites
> were listed.
> 
> These were also added to the footer:
> Removed Google Play.
> Change the Archive.org link to our project page.
> Added links to iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, MixCloud.
> (If there are more out there please send them on.)
> 
> In addition there have been some changes made to the "Contribute", and
> "Stuff you need to know page" to clarify our policies that were
> previously discussed here on Mailing list, and on the Community News shows.
> 
> Changed everywhere from "We are a Community podcast network" to "We are
> a Community podcast" - note the outros still need to be updated.
> 
> Changed Contribute page:
> From "Your show will not be moderated."
> To "Your audio will not be moderated."
> 
> Changed the "Stuff you need to know page":
> Reorganized the sections.
> Changed the link to the unmaintained site "Hacker Media", to reference
> "Free Culture Podcasts"
> Changed links from http to https
> Changed "Your show will not be moderated." to "The audio of your show
> will not be moderated."
> Changed "We do not vet, edit, moderate or in any way censor any of the
> shows on the network" to "We do not vet, edit, moderate or in any way
> censor any of the audio you submit"
> Added:
> "We do transcode the audio into different formats.
> Please note that this only relates to the audio you upload.
> The rest of the meta-data (branding/summaries/tags/show notes/etc.), are
> managed by the HPR Community, and may be edited.
> The show https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=2210";>hpr2210
> :: On Freedom of Speech and Censorship describes the agreed approach
> to this topic."
> 
> Added:
> Keep accessibility in mind.
> 
> When you includes output from the command line in the show notes,
> posting screen-shots of console or terminal output makes it impossible
> for screen readers to access the text.
> Always try to include the raw output ( eg: embedded in 
 tags)
> 
> Include descriptive language in any link texts.
> 
> Avoid structures like: "For accessibility information click  href="#accessibility">here"
> Rather use: "For more information click our  href="#accessibility">accessibility page"
> 
> 
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Accessible IOS app for rolling D&D dice

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks,

Some might remember my post a few days ago about blind playing of
Dungeons & Dragons.

It got a mention on the community news for October, and there has been
some discussion with Klaatu about an episode or two on this subject.

I was sitting here by my PC during the night just gone by, listening to
the election results, and trying to get together ideas for an audible
poly dice roller for the ESP8266 nodemcu microcontroller.

I got the design together, but in a spare minute I checked the IOS app
store, and found a totally accessible app called 'Natural 20 Lite'.

It will 'roll' D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 and D100. A D100 is usually
made by rolling a D10 twice, once for tens and once for units. Zeros on
both rolls is 100.

With the VoiceOver screen reader on, on any IOS device, iPhone or iPad,
it will audibly speak the result of any roll.

I have no idea whether the app is also available for Android.

It's a brilliant little app, and means I can roll any of the dice needed
to play D&D.

The app store said 'in app purchases', but I have not seen anything pop
up yet that is annoying.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Blind Dungeons & Dragons (and episode request)

[Mike Ray]

Klaatu,

Having done a load of reading and having asked some questions on the FB
forum I have joined, seems I have been in something of a misapprehension
in the past.

I have always thought of a player character as something that travels
with it's human owner. From campaign to campaign.

The majority opinion on Facebook, those opinions which did not come with
a big shovel of trolling and snark, seems to be one should create a
character from anew for each campaign.

So if we do a little episode or two about blind D&Ding in fifth edition,
I guess our first task could be for you to guide me through creating a
character.

I fancy a paladin, or some other kind of magic user. Preferably one who
is also a bit of a bruiser.

I assume you are still in NZ. I can be around weekday mornings early
UTC, if that corresponds to a good time for you. I'm 13 hours behind
Wellington. Weekday mornings are more likely to be quietish here,
without my great nieces toddlers making a racket.

Mike


On 01/11/2020 06:04, Klaatu wrote:
> Off the top of my head:
> 
> Set input to the "Monitor of " your desired input device
> 
> Fire off sounds using whatever app you want to use; I could see LMMS locally, 
> or Gridsound.com in your browser, as being convenient tools for this.
> 
> I guess combining the streams of your voice and the Monitor soundboard is the 
> tricky part. I'm not 100% sure how that would be done, as I haven't thought 
> it 
> through. Maybe just signing into your online game with 2 separate accounts 
> and 
> clients.
> 
> 
> 
> On Sunday, November 1, 2020 2:49:44 PM NZDT epicanis+...@dogphilosophy.net 
> wrote:
>> You know, this makes for an excellent excuse for me to an
>> HPR-episode-request and/or request for pointers about something I've
>> been trying to figure out.
>>
>> Even for people with ordinary visual acuity, I still think more
>> attention audio would be great for TTRPGs, especially ones run
>> virtually. For example, it's doesn't seem to be uncommon for the DM to
>> post a picture of a place the PCs have walked into (which might possibly
>> have some visual clues of some sort in the details). What if the DM also
>> had a "soundscape" prepared for locations, like low-whistling wind and
>> very echo-y dripping-water sounds for the large cavern, or clinking of
>> dishes and faint bardic music amid the walla-walla of background
>> conversation in a crowded inn?
>>
>> (And then, for example, if the DM has a "bonus clue" they want to offer
>> to the players, they might push a button on a soundboard to insert a
>> brief, faint but comprehensible snippet of conversation into the noise
>> of the Inn, or if the PCs are being stalked through the caverns - an
>> occasional out of place scuffing or shuffling noise, and if the players
>> notice, the PCs notice).
>>
>> Plus, of course, the potential for real-time audio effects applied to
>> voices of NPCs, like perhaps a slight vocoder effect for a golem, or an
>> unnaturally-deep pitch-shift for the Great Demon-Lord Doombelch, etc.
>>
>> So, along those lines, lately I've been wondering how to construct a
>> real-time combination of
>> microphone/"filters"/soundboard/pre-recorded-audio-stream that could be
>> applied to any online conferencing system. I feel certain this is doable
>> (I know it's at least *possible* to define a "virtual" microphone with
>> pulseaudio) but I haven't been able to figure out where to start.
>>
>> Anybody willing to record an episode (or just point me at some
>> appropriate resources) on ways one might put together something that
>> works like that? Can it be done in "pure" pulseaudio? Or maybe this is
>> the kind of thing Jack is for?
>>
>> Or maybe someone's already done this and I just didn't notice it in the
>> HPR archives...
>>
>> On 10/29/20 3:43 AM, Andrew Conway wrote:
>>> Hi Mike
>>>
>>> I play D&D with Klaatu's HPR group and I've been amazed at how
>>> effective RPGs can be audio only and online. In some ways it is like
>>> the old saying about radio: the pictures are better than TV!
>>> [...]
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Blind Dungeons & Dragons (and episode request)

[Mike Ray]

Sounds like there is beginning to be quite some interest in this subject.

We are about to go back into full lock down here in southeast UK, so I
will be devoting some time to getting some characters generated and
doing some serious reading to get to the point where I might be able to
at least take part in a small adventure as a player character in an
episode or two for HPR.

I like the idea of sound scapes and effects being added, but that sounds
like a lot of work for the DM.

And as any others being interested in taking part are likely to be
widespread in timezone terms, it might be hard to get everybody together
at the same time.




On 01/11/2020 06:04, Klaatu wrote:
> Off the top of my head:
> 
> Set input to the "Monitor of " your desired input device
> 
> Fire off sounds using whatever app you want to use; I could see LMMS locally, 
> or Gridsound.com in your browser, as being convenient tools for this.
> 
> I guess combining the streams of your voice and the Monitor soundboard is the 
> tricky part. I'm not 100% sure how that would be done, as I haven't thought 
> it 
> through. Maybe just signing into your online game with 2 separate accounts 
> and 
> clients.
> 
> 
> 
> On Sunday, November 1, 2020 2:49:44 PM NZDT epicanis+...@dogphilosophy.net 
> wrote:
>> You know, this makes for an excellent excuse for me to an
>> HPR-episode-request and/or request for pointers about something I've
>> been trying to figure out.
>>
>> Even for people with ordinary visual acuity, I still think more
>> attention audio would be great for TTRPGs, especially ones run
>> virtually. For example, it's doesn't seem to be uncommon for the DM to
>> post a picture of a place the PCs have walked into (which might possibly
>> have some visual clues of some sort in the details). What if the DM also
>> had a "soundscape" prepared for locations, like low-whistling wind and
>> very echo-y dripping-water sounds for the large cavern, or clinking of
>> dishes and faint bardic music amid the walla-walla of background
>> conversation in a crowded inn?
>>
>> (And then, for example, if the DM has a "bonus clue" they want to offer
>> to the players, they might push a button on a soundboard to insert a
>> brief, faint but comprehensible snippet of conversation into the noise
>> of the Inn, or if the PCs are being stalked through the caverns - an
>> occasional out of place scuffing or shuffling noise, and if the players
>> notice, the PCs notice).
>>
>> Plus, of course, the potential for real-time audio effects applied to
>> voices of NPCs, like perhaps a slight vocoder effect for a golem, or an
>> unnaturally-deep pitch-shift for the Great Demon-Lord Doombelch, etc.
>>
>> So, along those lines, lately I've been wondering how to construct a
>> real-time combination of
>> microphone/"filters"/soundboard/pre-recorded-audio-stream that could be
>> applied to any online conferencing system. I feel certain this is doable
>> (I know it's at least *possible* to define a "virtual" microphone with
>> pulseaudio) but I haven't been able to figure out where to start.
>>
>> Anybody willing to record an episode (or just point me at some
>> appropriate resources) on ways one might put together something that
>> works like that? Can it be done in "pure" pulseaudio? Or maybe this is
>> the kind of thing Jack is for?
>>
>> Or maybe someone's already done this and I just didn't notice it in the
>> HPR archives...
>>
>> On 10/29/20 3:43 AM, Andrew Conway wrote:
>>> Hi Mike
>>>
>>> I play D&D with Klaatu's HPR group and I've been amazed at how
>>> effective RPGs can be audio only and online. In some ways it is like
>>> the old saying about radio: the pictures are better than TV!
>>> [...]
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] [HPR} Blind Dungeons *& Dragons

[Mike Ray]

I think I need to read a bit more before I dive into a game.


On 31/10/2020 13:01, Klaatu wrote:
> I'm up for a one-shot game, for sure.  I could make a 2 to 4 hour session on 
> UTC Saturday anywhere from 16;00 and later [UTC]. 
> 
> I've extracted the text, and converted all tables to bullet lists, from the 
> System Reference Document (SRD) of the Player's Handbook. I discuss this with 
> McNalu in episode http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=3120
> 
> The "drawback" (if you call it that) is that I've added some open game 
> content 
> to fill out missing character options, which causes my SRD to diverge from 
> the 
> official Player Handbook. For instance, the Player's Handbook offers Path of 
> the 
> Berserker and Path of the Totem Warrior for Barbarians, but they only release 
> Path of the Berserker as part of the SRD. So my version offers Path of the 
> Berserker and a third-party Path of the Shaman instead. Not really a big deal 
> unless you're playing with someone adamantly opposed to third party content.
> 
> Here's the Git repo to that document: 
> https://notabug.org/notklaatu/5srdnd
> 
> The document is 5e_SRD.md 
> 
> That may or may not be of use to you.
> 
> -klaatu
> 
> On Saturday, October 31, 2020 2:12:20 AM NZDT Mike Ray wrote:
>> Klaatu,
>>
>> This is all great stuff.
>>
>> I was not able to reply directly because I currently have some kind of
>> enigmail error on TBird, which stops me replying to anybody with a key.
>> Need to sort that out. So this is a new message with the subject
>> hopefully set right.
>>
>> I have created an account on dndbeyond, after sending them an email and
>> asking them if their materials are accessible.
>>
>> I have bought the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Handbook, and
>> I can not only confirm that both are indeed accessible, but that both
>> are beautifully formatted for me to access with a screen reader.
>>
>> For example, the Monster Manual is well indexed with all the monsters
>> falling under alphabetical order and I can go to, say, Goblins directly
>> and see their stats.
>>
>> So if I was making a campaign, I can easily copy and paste monster stats
>> into a serial order text document for me to follow on a laptop or my iPad.
>>
>> It's been great seeing monster names I have not heard or seen for over
>> forty years, like carrion crawlers and gelatinous cubes.
>>
>> The 5th editition rule book I found online and converted into text with
>> the help of the great Kurzweil 1000 OCR app on Windows. The rule book
>> was a PDF of scanned images making up each page, but OCR was not a
>> problem. It has not formatted tables correctly, but I can extract what I
>> need.
>>
>> I've also joined a very big community on Facebook dedicated to 5e D&D,
>> and the folks on there also seem to think being blind is no barrier.
>>
>> Certainly I had already kind of accepted the idea of players rolling my
>> dice for me, and don't think there is any impediment there.
>>
>> I look forward to another episode on this subject from you.
>>
>> Perhaps if this becomes something of a discussion, we can have a small
>> 'game-ette' on Zoom or, preferably, Jitsi, and make an episode from it.
>>
>> Anybody else who is up for that could also join in.
>>
>> I have not generated any characters yet, have to get on to that.
>>
>> Next problem is how to stop buying dice on Amazon, but that's another story.
>>
>> It's also very easy to write dice applications in Python and Javascript
>> of course.
>>
>> Mike
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] [HPR} Blind Dungeons *& Dragons

[Mike Ray]

Klaatu,

This is all great stuff.

I was not able to reply directly because I currently have some kind of
enigmail error on TBird, which stops me replying to anybody with a key.
Need to sort that out. So this is a new message with the subject
hopefully set right.

I have created an account on dndbeyond, after sending them an email and
asking them if their materials are accessible.

I have bought the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Handbook, and
I can not only confirm that both are indeed accessible, but that both
are beautifully formatted for me to access with a screen reader.

For example, the Monster Manual is well indexed with all the monsters
falling under alphabetical order and I can go to, say, Goblins directly
and see their stats.

So if I was making a campaign, I can easily copy and paste monster stats
into a serial order text document for me to follow on a laptop or my iPad.

It's been great seeing monster names I have not heard or seen for over
forty years, like carrion crawlers and gelatinous cubes.

The 5th editition rule book I found online and converted into text with
the help of the great Kurzweil 1000 OCR app on Windows. The rule book
was a PDF of scanned images making up each page, but OCR was not a
problem. It has not formatted tables correctly, but I can extract what I
need.

I've also joined a very big community on Facebook dedicated to 5e D&D,
and the folks on there also seem to think being blind is no barrier.

Certainly I had already kind of accepted the idea of players rolling my
dice for me, and don't think there is any impediment there.

I look forward to another episode on this subject from you.

Perhaps if this becomes something of a discussion, we can have a small
'game-ette' on Zoom or, preferably, Jitsi, and make an episode from it.

Anybody else who is up for that could also join in.

I have not generated any characters yet, have to get on to that.

Next problem is how to stop buying dice on Amazon, but that's another story.

It's also very easy to write dice applications in Python and Javascript
of course.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Blind Dungeons & Dragons

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks

I'm fifty-six, and those who know me from HPR will remember I am totally
blind, although I have not always been so.

I last played Dungeons & Dragons over forty years ago when I was at
school, at about age fifteen.

Recently I have been doing loads of reading and research into the latest
edition of D&D, the fifth edition.

I now have a burning desire to play again, perhaps as the DM.

Part of this is because I have been working with a pair of friends who
have taken over the local village pub and I want to help them succeed in
difficult times. If I can get a D&D group together we could meet at the
pub and play a socially distanced game of D&D, with masks if desired.

Of course it could also be either on Zoom or Jitsi.

So, how do I DM when I can't see?  I can't draw or access visual maps of
course. So this will have to be more 'theatre of the mind' stuff than
usual I guess.

I have listened to some of Klaatu's shows on RPGs and they just make me
foam at the mouth even more to get this moving.

I'm also making an audible poly dice roller out of an Arduino and a
speakjet shield.

By listening to the 'Critical Role' podcast I have found out about
dndbeyond.com, which will make it possible for me to access stats and
other materials online from either a laptop or my iPad while I DM.

But there has to be some cross-over between me who can't see, and the
players who can.

Anybody got any wisdom to impart.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Note about accessibility in show notes

[Mike Ray]

Here again is an explanation, this time in markdown:

1. Bad

You can find the manual for Template [here][tt].

[ttt]: https://themanualfortt


2. Good

You can [find the manual for Template here][ttt].

[tt]: https://themanualfortemplate

Note that these are not the right URL, just some nonsense I put in.

In the bad example, jumping to the link would make my screen reader say
'here'.

Jumping to the second would say 'find the manual for template here'.

You can understand the difference. In the first one I land on a link and
have no idea what is 'here'.  So then I have to move the cursor to read
(hear) what is here.

So for show notes submitted in markdown, as in HTML, it's down to the
author I guess, rather than Dave's gizmos.




On 25/08/2020 18:48, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 25/08/2020 18:17, Kevin O'Brien wrote:
>> I think I have the same question as brian-in-ohio. I submit my show
>> notes in plain text, and to do this I just put the links in as plain
>> addresses. If there is a better way to do it, I need to know what that
>> way is.
> 
> I most often process incoming show notes. If they are plain text then I
> turn them into Markdown. I wrote a Perl script (make_markdown) that
> recognises URLs, determines if they are pictures or not and rewrites
> them to be suitable for the Pandoc processor. I call the script from Vim
> which is my editor of choice.
> 
> The links generated by this method in the final HTML look like:
> 
> URL
> 
> For my own shows I use Markdown and Pandoc and send in the HTML that's
> generated.
> 
> Dave
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Note about accessibility in show notes

[Mike Ray]

Thanks Dave. It's a very subtle thing, but it is one of the more serious
accessibility gaffs guaranteed to have me shouting at the computer, if I
haven't already got a sore throat from shouting at the Today programme.

Unfortunately HTML5 has introduced some 'interesting' accessibility
gaffs. But at least these days people are not using tables to format Web
content. Tables are for tabular data. Libraries like bootstrap are
fantastic now for responsive Web content that works right on all types
of screen.




On 25/08/2020 14:50, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 25/08/2020 12:59, Mike Ray wrote:
>> Little windows that come up when the mouse hovers over, tool tips you
>> could call them, are worse than useless, since blind folks mostly do not
>> use the mouse.
>>
>> Most screen readers have a keyboard way of moving the mouse pointer to
>> where the virtual review cursor is, and then simulating a left or right
>> click with the keyboard, but these little hovers do not show up. It may
>> be a setting in my screen reader, but those things are distracting.
>>
>> Better to link as much of the sentence is necessary to describe where
>> the link goes instead of just 'here'.
>>
>> I think it is bootstrap that provides a 'popper' to do the little tool
>> tips, but again, pretty useless for us.
> 
> OK, that's what I wanted to know. Titles are just for pop-ups and aren't
> useful for screen readers.
> 
> I won't stop using them but will try and make the link text more
> meaningful in stuff that I write.
> 
>> I am doing this from memory, but I think markdown is something like:
>>
>> [Find the Template manual here][tt]
>>
>> And then:
>>
>> [tt]: 
>>
>> That would work better than:
>>
>> Find the Template manual [here][tt]
>>
>> Because again that will create a link that just says 'here'.
> 
> You are correct, that's how it's done. It's a useful feature for me
> because I can make several references to the same link, but I take the
> point that the link text is the key part for blind users.
> 
> Dave
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Note about accessibility in show notes

[Mike Ray]

Little windows that come up when the mouse hovers over, tool tips you
could call them, are worse than useless, since blind folks mostly do not
use the mouse.

Most screen readers have a keyboard way of moving the mouse pointer to
where the virtual review cursor is, and then simulating a left or right
click with the keyboard, but these little hovers do not show up. It may
be a setting in my screen reader, but those things are distracting.

Better to link as much of the sentence is necessary to describe where
the link goes instead of just 'here'.

I think it is bootstrap that provides a 'popper' to do the little tool
tips, but again, pretty useless for us.

I am doing this from memory, but I think markdown is something like:

[Find the Template manual here][tt]

And then:

[tt]: 

That would work better than:

Find the Template manual [here][tt]

Because again that will create a link that just says 'here'.

Mike




On 25/08/2020 12:40, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 24/08/2020 17:25, Mike Ray wrote:
>> You can find the instructions for feeding elephants
>> here
> 
> In Markdown there's a so-called "reference link" through which a title
> can be provided. This populates the 'title' attribute in the link. I use
> these in my notes a moderate amount, partly because hovering over the
> link shows the title.
> 
> Do screen readers read the title attribute at all? If they do is it
> helpful, since it doesn't necessarily provide the sort of information
> that you're referring to?
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Note about accessibility in show notes

[Mike Ray]

Hello,

If a site has only the word 'here' linked in multiple links that take
the user to lots of different resources, then navigating those links by
using the keyboard to jump from link to link, the screen reader says
"here, here, here, here, here."

But what is here?

You should make at least a sensible portion of the sentence a link so
the user using a screen reader knows what each link is, without having
to use the arrow keys to read the full sentence.

Mike


On 25/08/2020 12:14, Thaj A. Sara wrote:
> So just to clarify for myself, it is preferable for accessibility to make an 
> entire sentence a link instead of individual words?
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Note about accessibility in show notes

[Mike Ray]

Hello guys and gals,

I'm currently working on a project using Template::Toolkit, and finding
Dave's show notes on this subject very useful.

I have a small favour to ask with reference to writing show notes and
accessibility for those of us using screen readers.

All the screen readers I use have 'landmark' navigation keys.

Typically one can press a particular key and jump between HTML tags.

For example, I can jump from link-to-link using NVDA in Windows with the
'k' key.

And here is the accessibility bit.

If the page is sprinkled with this kind of thing:

You can find the instructions for feeding elephants here

If I jump to that link, my screen reader says 'here'.  Well, what is here?

Better to write it:

You can find the instructions for feeding elephants
here

Markdown allows that kind of thing too.

Thanks.

Mike




-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] eps.php

[Mike Ray]

That is because the second question mark should be an ampersand:

http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1837&other=pants

There should only be a question mark after the page url and before any
get variables.  All other get variables are separated by an ampersand.

And be careful to urliffy any characters such as space.

Mike


On 17/08/2020 02:39, sigflup synasloble wrote:
> eps.php does not like extra variables on the get request beyond 'id' This
> is especially bad linking hpr episodes from facebook.
> 
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1837 works find
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1837?other=pants Does not work
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] on the air.

[Mike Ray]

Given the wildly varying length of HPR episodes, how could you possibly
schedule a regular show to fit the same timeslot each day?



On 04/08/2020 22:42, sigflup synasloble wrote:
> I'm thinking about setting up a show at my local radio station, KFAI. The
> show would be made out of hpr episodes. So I'll just be rebroadcasting HPR
> over the radio. What does everybody think of this?
> [image: YAFT615g.png]
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Fwd: I Love Free Software - and you?

[Mike Ray]

eSpeak #IloveFS

:-p

Also Orca.




On 11/02/2020 11:55, Ken Fallon wrote:
> I thought this may be of interest to us.
> 
> Ken.
> 
> 
>  Forwarded Message 
> Subject:  I Love Free Software - and you?
> Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2020 09:55:13 +
> From: Max Mehl 
> 
> 
> Hi Ken Fallon,
> 
> While you are reading this, someone somewhere is working on improving
> the code of a Free Software you use yourself. Although millions of users
> depend on Free Software, the people behind the respective projects
> usually remain invisible. Together we want to change that. 14 February,
> the "I love Free Software Day", is a good opportunity to do so. But we
> need your help for that.
> 
> Behind every Free Software project is a team of developers, translators
> and designers. These are people who fix bugs, make improvements and
> provide security updates. They do a great service to our society by
> making the code of their software available to the general public. This
> cannot be taken for granted. Many of these people do it voluntarily in
> their spare time. But how often do we actually thank them for this?
> 
> 14 February is "I love Free Software" day. On this day, Free Software
> users are called upon to show their appreciation for a project of their
> choice. It's easy to join in: just write a short message of thanks on
> the social network of your choice with the addition #IloveFS. Or write a
> short thank you email to a development team. The message does not have
> to be long - a simple thank you is often enough. Do you think it's
> important for journalists to be able to research the web anonymously
> with Tor? Do you regularly use the Firefox browser, LibreOffice, or a
> Linux system yourself? Or is there a smaller and less known project that
> you personally care about? You alone decide who you want to please on
> this day. On the "I love Free Software Day" action page you will find
> various ideas and suggestions:
> 
> Action page: ilovefs.org 
> 
> The "I love Free Software Day" is an important institution in the Free
> Software community. The more people participate, the more we can make it
> clear that we value this work, which is immensely important for our
> society. We would therefore be very pleased if you too would take part
> and take a moment on 14 February.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Max Mehl
> Programme Manager
> Free Software Foundation Europe
> 
> 
> PS: Writing a short message takes only a few minutes. But this small
> gesture means a lot to many people. As FSFE we regularly get feedback
> from Free Software projects that the "I love Free Software Day" gives
> them a lot of strength and encourages them to continue. All the more
> reason why we should not let this day pass without a short thank you to
> our favourite project: ilovefs.org 
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] The Oxygen of Publicity, was: Re: Fwd: Harassment

[Mike Ray]

Yes, but if I have this right, the trolls are not doing this in our
house.  I am sure comments on the HPR site are adjudicated and removed
if they are offensive.

If podcasters are being trolled on email, or on some platform totally
outside the control of HPR then the transgression is not "in our house."

As such the HPR community has no way of stopping it, and just talking
about it at length just "feeds the trolls."






On 17/12/2019 12:37, jason wrote:
> "Victims, just shrug it off. That's what I do." Strikes me as one of the
> attitudes that's been part of the problem that's been allowed to persist
> for far too long.  Not everyone or every situation is the same.
> 
> Again, the point isn't to stop people from being bad actors. It's to
> address how we as HPR will respond when they are.
> 
> You can't control what people do outside your house but you can set
> rules for conduct inside your house.  Even then you can't control what
> someone does in your house, but you sure can control how you respond
> when someone violates the rules inside you house.
> 
> That's the point.
> 
> On 12/17/19 4:34 AM, Mike Ray wrote:
>> For my two pen'orth )sorry, English idiom)...
>>
>> There has already been too much discussion about this on here.
>>
>> There is nothing anybody can do to stop anybody on the internet being
>> trolled, whether it is on Twitter, Facebook, on a mailing list or
>> anywhere else.
>>
>> Its annoying, and often downright sinister and disturbing.
>>
>> But talking about it and wringing your hands at length is just 'feeding
>> the trolls'.
>>
>> I suggest everybody just shrugs it off and moves on.
>>
>> Even a 'code of conduct' is a way of letting the trolls know they are
>> making an impact.
>>
>> I get trolled regularly on Twitter because I dictate most of my Tweets
>> and IOS often types 'to' when it should type 'too', or 'there' when it
>> should plainly be 'their'.  Something like that is too stupid to even
>> waste a breath over.
>>
>> This abuse might be far worse than that, but it is still done from afar,
>> and talking about it is exactly the troll food they want.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 16/12/2019 21:57, Jannik Wesley Pruitt via Hpr wrote:
>>> Very sad CoC should be changed
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> From: lostnbronx 
>>>> Date: 14. December 2019 at 16:52:42 CET
>>>> To: hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>>> Subject: Re: [Hpr] Harassment
>>>>
>>>> When you think about it, it's surprising we haven't had this problem
>>>> before. Unless we did, and it just wasn't brought to light.
>>>>
>>>> Can we assume the harassment source was from within the community, and
>>>> not just from random trolls on the Internet? I think removing email
>>>> addresses of hosts is a great first step, at any rate.
>>>>
>>>> A CoC would give the admins the power to act without having to seek
>>>> community consensus on every incident. It would also provide clear
>>>> guidelines for community members and admins alike regarding how to
>>>> behave, and what will happen if you don't.
>>>>
>>>> It makes me sad that we need this, but I guess we were overdue.
>>>>
>>>> ___
>>>> Hpr mailing list
>>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>>
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>>
>>
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] The Oxygen of Publicity, was: Re: Fwd: Harassment

[Mike Ray]

For my two pen'orth )sorry, English idiom)...

There has already been too much discussion about this on here.

There is nothing anybody can do to stop anybody on the internet being
trolled, whether it is on Twitter, Facebook, on a mailing list or
anywhere else.

Its annoying, and often downright sinister and disturbing.

But talking about it and wringing your hands at length is just 'feeding
the trolls'.

I suggest everybody just shrugs it off and moves on.

Even a 'code of conduct' is a way of letting the trolls know they are
making an impact.

I get trolled regularly on Twitter because I dictate most of my Tweets
and IOS often types 'to' when it should type 'too', or 'there' when it
should plainly be 'their'.  Something like that is too stupid to even
waste a breath over.

This abuse might be far worse than that, but it is still done from afar,
and talking about it is exactly the troll food they want.




On 16/12/2019 21:57, Jannik Wesley Pruitt via Hpr wrote:
> Very sad CoC should be changed
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: lostnbronx 
>> Date: 14. December 2019 at 16:52:42 CET
>> To: hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> Subject: Re: [Hpr] Harassment
>>
>> When you think about it, it's surprising we haven't had this problem
>> before. Unless we did, and it just wasn't brought to light.
>>
>> Can we assume the harassment source was from within the community, and
>> not just from random trolls on the Internet? I think removing email
>> addresses of hosts is a great first step, at any rate.
>>
>> A CoC would give the admins the power to act without having to seek
>> community consensus on every incident. It would also provide clear
>> guidelines for community members and admins alike regarding how to
>> behave, and what will happen if you don't.
>>
>> It makes me sad that we need this, but I guess we were overdue.
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Passing of 5150

[Mike Ray]

One of the highlights of the past few years of HPR was 5150 doing his
version of "what's in the box", scrabbling about in the back of his pick
up, toolbox and truck bed.  Very good episode.  I was almost able to
smell the oil :-)



On 08/09/2019 12:25, Klaatu wrote:
> I'm in shock. He and I just connected on Mastodon this past month.
> 
> He'll be missed.
> 
> On 8 September 2019 10:42:10 PM NZST, Ken Fallon  wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> It is again my sad duty to inform you that another of our hosts and
>> friends, 5150 AKA Donald Grier has passed away.
>>
>> - http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=131
>> - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=14256928219
>> - https://davsvo.com/2019/09/06/rest-in-peace-don/
>>
>> -- 
>> Regards,
>>
>> Ken Fallon
>> http://kenfallon.com
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=30
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Series Idea

[Mike Ray]

Maybe HPR should change its name.  Get rid of the 'hacker' part.


On 26/08/2019 21:42, cobra2 wrote:
> Ok LnB, I'd like to see your format so I can derive something similar without 
> going too far outside of your structures. I love the idea of "I watched this, 
> it was horrible and here is why you should watch it" 
> 
> *Poof* minds blown. 
> 
> --cobra2
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Should we reject a show with copyrighted fair use clips in it ?

[Mike Ray]

On 23/05/2019 10:47, cobra2 wrote:
> As a member of this community, I will support the host's privilege to upload 
> content. I will also comply with any legal fallout except paying fines and 
> royalties. I'll even support removing the content of the host should the 
> copyright holder request that properly with a DMCA takedown notice. 
> 
> Is that accepting legal responsibility? Probably not, I'm just thinking back 
> to the older days of RFA and TWAT. They would have posted it. 
> 
> -- cobra2
> 
> On May 23, 2019 9:32:16 AM UTC, Ken Fallon  wrote:
>> On 2019-05-23 11:28, cobra2 wrote:
>>> I disagree with the be cautious motif. Post the show. Let the
>> copyright holder do their diligence in protecting their 'brand'. Comply
>> with the DMCA request if/when it is delivered. 
>>>
>>> We are not here to follow the letter of the law. We are here to
>> spread knowledge and inspire others to try new things. 
>>>
>>> Now that being said, I HATE background music through a show. If the
>> content in question is played during the background of the show and is
>> NOT a live performance .. Kill it with fire. 
>>>
>>> My two cents. 
>>>
>>> --cobra2
>>
>> Hi cobra2
>>
>> Can I assume then that you will accept legal responsibility for any
>> actions resulting from this show ?
> 
> -- cobra2
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


This email clearly states that Cobra would NOT accept any legal
responsibility of a show containing copyrighted material.

Therefore for him/her to say "just do it" is not acceptable.

Big copyright holders have much deeper pockets than any of us.  And are
likely to defend copyright with considerable aggression and tenacity.

So, reject it.

And watch as HPR does not fade away because we rejected one or two shows
out of hundreds.






-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Should we reject a show with copyrighted fair use clips in it ?

[Mike Ray]

On 23/05/2019 10:32, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2019-05-23 11:28, cobra2 wrote:
>> I disagree with the be cautious motif. Post the show. Let the copyright 
>> holder do their diligence in protecting their 'brand'. Comply with the DMCA 
>> request if/when it is delivered. 
>>
>> We are not here to follow the letter of the law. We are here to spread 
>> knowledge and inspire others to try new things. 
>>
>> Now that being said, I HATE background music through a show. If the content 
>> in question is played during the background of the show and is NOT a live 
>> performance .. Kill it with fire. 
>>
>> My two cents. 
>>
>> --cobra2
> 
> Hi cobra2
> 
> Can I assume then that you will accept legal responsibility for any
> actions resulting from this show ?
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


This is HPR, not the BBC and not a music channel.

I too don't like music over the podcast.

But then again I don't like any HPR podcast that departs from the
'hacker' part of the name.  I currently delete more than I listen to.

So, if you are fiddling about with an electric guitar you 'hacked' by
restoring it after it was found in a dumpster, then all well and good,
if you are showing off your piano thingy that seems to be played by some
kind of digital ghost of a long-dead composer geezer, then all well and
good.

But if you are playing somebody else's music while you whitter on about
something not connected with the music that is playing, why is the music
there?  Leave that to the big broadcasters who are willing to pay to use
the stuff.

And it is no good saying the equivalent of "publish and be damned" if it
is not your head that will roll if it is picked up.

Ken and Dave, and probably others, already do more than can reasonably
be expected of them for HPR.  They certainly don't need any risk,
however small, of falling fowl of the DMCA.

How much will HPR be damaged if the occasional 'cast is pulled for
containing doubtful material?  How much will HPR be damaged if hosts
just accept they can't play any copyrighted stuff?

I suggest hardly at all.

Let's keep hacking and stop trying to impersonate the BBC, or NPR.

Although it would be hard to convince anybody HPR is the BBC unless we
suddenly have Nigel Farage on every podcast.





-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/





signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Should we reject a show with copyrighted fair use clips in it ?

[Mike Ray]

If you are in any doubt at all about it, and your head might be on the
block if it violates any rules, then reject it.

Erring on the cautious side is the best policy here.  And there are
plenty of things to podcast about on HPR without needing to resort to
including potentially copyrighted audio clips.

A few days ago I was thinking about a podcast about the BBC shipping
forecast.  But I rejected the idea since I can hardly talk about the
shipping forecast without playing the 'Sailing By' tune which always
plays before it at 1:00 AM.  But that is no doubt copyright, so I won't
do it.



On 23/05/2019 09:50, Ken Fallon wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Under safe harbor provisions, we as volunteers are usually insulated
> from any copyright issues that may arise in the shows. "We do not vet,
> edit, moderate or in any way censor any of the shows on the network, we
> trust you to do that."
> 
> This we got by accident because "This is a long standing tradition
> arising from the fact that HPR is a community of peers who believe that
> any host has as much right to submit shows as any other."
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#not_moderated
> 
> In the show notes associated with hpr2829 on 2019-06-06, the host
> included the following text "For all included materials: If anyone feels
> they have right to any material in this show please let me know and I
> will comply."
> 
> This violates the HPR upload policy
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/stuff_you_need_to_know.php#permission
> 
> "Never include content, for example music, in your show that you do not
> have permission to redistribute. Try to avoid using any content in your
> show that can not be redistributed under a Creative Commons
> Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. If you are redistributing
> under another Creative Commons License or by arranged permission please
> make note of the restrictions when you upload your show. We can then
> signal that, so that others who redistribute HPR content can filter your
> show out."
> 
> As it was clear that they were not in compliance, I contacted the host.
> The host has been very helpful and has already removed some of the
> content but commented "There are still 2 audio clips included. I claim I
> can use them on the basis off fair use principles."
> 
> While the host may be correct, if they are not, then it is me and not
> the host that will be held responsible for posting it. I do not want
> that responsibility.
> 
> Under the current HPR rules I am allowed to reject this submission.
> 
> Before I do, I would appreciate as much feedback as possible on this
> topic so that we can gauge the opinions of the HPR Community as a whole.
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/





signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Error and comment

[Mike Ray]

Hello Kirk

HPR fans, Kirk is also a not-insignificant contributor to TTS and access
tech for blind and VI users on Linux.

Unless I have this completely wrong, Kirk is the author, or at least
very significant contributor to the absolutely ubiquitous SpeakUp *nix
console-mode screen reader, written as kernel modules.

Currently every Debian and Ubuntu version out there has SpeakUp modules
compiled by default and setting up an accessible console is a breeze.
At least for ASCII.  For Unicode it's not so hot.

It no doubt is also available by default in other Linux distros, but may
not be compiled by default.

If that is the case then building a new kernel including the SpeakUp
modules is a piece of cake.

SpeakUp even has available modules for many of the old hardware speech
synthesisers such as the Dolphin Apollo, and the wonderful DECTalk.

Kirk, thanks for your work.

I too have not heard anything from Jonathan Duddington anywhere on the
net for many long years and suspect your assessment may be correct.

His contribution is difficult to quantify.

espeak-ng, as I understand it, is a newer (hence ng=new generation)
extension of eSpeak.  I assume most changes are in the build system,
which was always a bit hairy.

I have made extensive use of eSpeak's ability to return PCM, and also in
it's ability to return phonemes as a method of setting up 'fuzzy
searches' in a database by adding a column containing the phonemes to a
database table, after removing 'noise' from names and
expanding/correcting common abbreviations.

I've spent so many hours digging around in the source of eSpeak that it
is a familiar friend.

Mike







On 16/04/2019 15:33, Kirk Reiser wrote:
> Hey Mike et al: I aggree with claatu and others that an hpr episode on
> espeak and it's wonders would be great.
> 
> I'd also really like to hear an interview with Jonathan but unless I
> miss my hunch he may no longer be with us. At least I haven't heard
> anything out of him in years, hence the emphasis on espeak-ng. i'd
> really like to be wrong on that front.
> 
> Keep up the great work with the rasberry pi and turning out hpr shows.
> 
>    baffled
> 
> On Tue, 16 Apr 2019, Klaatu wrote:
> 
>> An HPR episode on this topic would be amazing. If you're too busy, i'd
>> be happy to read your email into a recorder and release the show in
>> your name.
>>
>> On 16 April 2019 1:10:29 PM NZST, Mike Ray  wrote:
>>>
>>> I got an error when I tried to post a comment about the latest podcast
>>> about TTS.
>>>
>>> I don't have the error code now as I pasted it into an email to admin
>>> and the email bounced.
>>>
>>> I suspect it was because my comment was too long, here it is:
>>>
>>>
>>> Condescending and sarcastic.
>>>
>>> Oh isn't text-to-speech such a laugh?
>>>
>>> I get really, really annoyed when people criticise eSpeak.
>>>
>>> Anybody who complains about it sounding robotic obviously was not
>>> around
>>> thirty years ago.
>>>
>>> eSpeak's author, Jonathan Duddington, in my humble opinion, deserves a
>>> Nobel prize.
>>>
>>> He has probably done more for blind and visually impaired computer
>>> users, like me, all over the world, than any other individual or
>>> organisation.
>>>
>>> In fact it is hard to name any single person who has had such an impact
>>> on any group of users, apart perhaps from Linus Torvalds and Richard
>>> Stallman.
>>>
>>> 1. It is Open Source.
>>> 2. It is tiny, the memory footprint is small.
>>> 3. It is snappy and can speak really fast, which is what we (blind
>>> people) use when we get used to it, speeds that would make your hair
>>> curl.
>>> 4. It probably has more language support than any other free and Open
>>> Source synthesiser.
>>> 5. It can run in a mode where it can return rendered speech, in the
>>> form
>>> of PCM, to a calling program, so it can be used in other programs. I
>>> don't think any other synth can do this.
>>> 6. It can even return phonemes, a mode which I have used more than once
>>> to provide a kind of 'fuzzy search' in a database.
>>>
>>> I regularly write and maintain library code, and application code, in
>>> C,
>>> C++ and/or Python, as well as Perl, and many of these code libraries
>>> have in excess of 100k lines.
>>>
>>> Including, incidentally, a library which used a combination of eSpeak
>>> and OMX to render TTS directly on the GPU of a Raspber

Re: [Hpr] Error and comment

[Mike Ray]

Ken

I have just replied to Jeroen's response.

I should try very hard not to be so sensitive to criticism, or what I
take to be negative comments about eSpeak.

The truth is Jonathan Duddington's eSpeak has touched the lives of
millions of blind and visually impaired people worldwide.

And when I use either NVDA on Windows, or either Orca in the Linux GUI,
or SpeakUp or Fenrir in the console, all using eSpeak as the synth, I
take absolutley no notice at all of the voice.  I am concentrating fully
on what I am doing.  In the same way that light-slaves like you guys are
not focused on how bad your wallpaper is or how you would rather have a
picture of Kate Moss than a blue gradient or whatever.

Thinking about it, what needs to happen, is somebody who knows how to
write Apple or Android apps should write a speech server which a PC
screen reader can connect to with Bluetooth.

Although Bluetooth is likely to be too laggy to make it possible for me
to type C as fast as I can in the Linux console with good old SpeakUp
and eSpeak.

Emacspeak is even better than SpeakUp alone, again using eSpeak as the
synth.

Mike

On 16/04/2019 14:17, Ken Fallon wrote:
> Without sig for Mike.
> 
> On 2019-04-16 13:46, Ken Fallon wrote:
>>
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> I couldn't agree with Klaatu or yourself more, this comment and
>> command deserves it's own show. You should contact Jonathan
>> Duddington, and see if you can get an interview.
>>
>> However, from my own listening to this show I understood that the
>> context was in relation to the use case of the HPR Introduction only.
>> In that context many of your points do not apply.
>>
>> His walk through of the "state of the art" is something that I did
>> myself some years ago and I am glad he revisited it. His findings are
>> unfortunately (and this is again about the HPR Introduction only) that
>> the natural sounding voices available on Linux have not improved. Back
>> then they sounded old and dated, and now even more so when compared
>> with Amazon Echo, Apples Siri, or Google Assistant.
>>
>> I had hoped to train Mary TTS to have a HPR voice but it was beyond my
>> skill level to do this. I also contacted the Mycroft team to see how
>> they encoded Popeys voice and unfortunately it was closed source. So
>> we are still in the situation of having no "natural voices" available
>> for the many use cases where that would be useful.
>>
>> I'm including Jeroen on the bcc and he can address your criticisms
>> directly if he wishes to.
>>
>> -- 
>> Regards,
>>
>> Ken Fallon
>> http://kenfallon.com
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=30
>>
>> On 2019-04-16 04:34, Klaatu wrote:
>>> An HPR episode on this topic would be amazing. If you're too busy,
>>> i'd be happy to read your email into a recorder and release the show
>>> in your name.
>>>
>>> On 16 April 2019 1:10:29 PM NZST, Mike Ray  wrote:
>>>
>>> I got an error when I tried to post a comment about the latest podcast
>>> about TTS.
>>>
>>> I don't have the error code now as I pasted it into an email to admin
>>> and the email bounced.
>>>
>>> I suspect it was because my comment was too long, here it is:
>>>
>>>
>>> Condescending and sarcastic.
>>>
>>> Oh isn't text-to-speech such a laugh?
>>>
>>> I get really, really annoyed when people criticise eSpeak.
>>>
>>> Anybody who complains about it sounding robotic obviously was not around
>>> thirty years ago.
>>>
>>> eSpeak's author, Jonathan Duddington, in my humble opinion, deserves a
>>> Nobel prize.
>>>
>>> He has probably done more for blind and visually impaired computer
>>> users, like me, all over the world, than any other individual or
>>> organisation.
>>>
>>> In fact it is hard to name any single person who has had such an impact
>>> on any group of users, apart perhaps from Linus Torvalds and Richard
>>> Stallman.
>>>
>>> 1. It is Open Source.
>>> 2. It is tiny, the memory footprint is small.
>>> 3. It is snappy and can speak really fast, which is what we (blind
>>> people) use when we get used to it, speeds that would make your hair 
>>> curl.
>>> 4. It probably has more language support than any other free and Open
>>> Source synthesiser.
>>> 5. It can run in a mode where it can retu

Re: [Hpr] Error and comment

[Mike Ray]

Jeroen,

No apology needed.  Your podcasts and your input on the monthly
community news is welcome and always a delight.

Maybe I am just over-sensitive, but I am very defensive of eSpeak in
particular.

This is no doubt in part because I remember what voices sounded like 30
or more years ago.  Look for 'Dolphin Orpheus' on youtube, if anything
exists on there.

Back then I would not have criticised it because in 1990, when I was at
The Royal National College for the Blind and Visually Impaired, learning
to be a COBOL programmer, Orpheus was pretty much all there was to allow
blind people to be programmers.  Apart, that was, from refreshable
Braille displays.

At that time all access tech was ridiculously expensive.  It is only
now, for example, that we are beginning to see refreshable Braille
displays for under about $2500.  And the leading commercial Windows
screen reader still costs the bigger part of $1200.  Unless of course
you get your hands on it at school or college, where Freedom Scientific
almost give it away.  In much the same way that a drug dealer will give
away the first few samples, knowing you will soon be back and begging
with a fist full of dollars.

Things move on certainly, and now we are spoiled by voices like those
available on Apple and Android devices.  But none of them are Open
Source of course.

Jonathan Duddinton and his eSpeak has touched the lives of millions
worldwide.

Mike

On 16/04/2019 14:05, Jeroen Baten wrote:
> Hello Mike,
> 
> Being the maker of this podcast I feel a response is in order.
> 
> As stated in the podcast I am not an expert on speech synthesis.
> 
> Also as stated in the podcast I was only evaluating programs with regard
> to the HPR intro texts.
> 
> Having a visually impaired close friend as well as my own daughter (45%)
> I feel very sorry that I seem to have upset you.
> 
> Please accept my apologies.
> 
> regards,
> 
> Jeroen Baten
> 
> On 16-04-19 03:10, Mike Ray wrote:
>> I got an error when I tried to post a comment about the latest podcast
>> about TTS.
>>
>> I don't have the error code now as I pasted it into an email to admin
>> and the email bounced.
>>
>> I suspect it was because my comment was too long, here it is:
>>
>>
>> Condescending and sarcastic.
>>
>> Oh isn't text-to-speech such a laugh?
>>
>> I get really, really annoyed when people criticise eSpeak.
>>
>> Anybody who complains about it sounding robotic obviously was not around
>> thirty years ago.
>>
>> eSpeak's author, Jonathan Duddington, in my humble opinion, deserves a
>> Nobel prize.
>>
>> He has probably done more for blind and visually impaired computer
>> users, like me, all over the world, than any other individual or
>> organisation.
>>
>> In fact it is hard to name any single person who has had such an impact
>> on any group of users, apart perhaps from Linus Torvalds and Richard
>> Stallman.
>>
>> 1. It is Open Source.
>> 2. It is tiny, the memory footprint is small.
>> 3. It is snappy and can speak really fast, which is what we (blind
>> people) use when we get used to it, speeds that would make your hair curl.
>> 4. It probably has more language support than any other free and Open
>> Source synthesiser.
>> 5. It can run in a mode where it can return rendered speech, in the form
>> of PCM, to a calling program, so it can be used in other programs. I
>> don't think any other synth can do this.
>> 6. It can even return phonemes, a mode which I have used more than once
>> to provide a kind of 'fuzzy search' in a database.
>>
>> I regularly write and maintain library code, and application code, in C,
>> C++ and/or Python, as well as Perl, and many of these code libraries
>> have in excess of 100k lines.
>>
>> Including, incidentally, a library which used a combination of eSpeak
>> and OMX to render TTS directly on the GPU of a Raspberry Pi when 'they'
>> broke the ALSA driver on the Pi, which made the speech stutter and crash
>> the kernel, and refused to fix it for about four years.
>>
>> If I spent all my time bitching about how robotic eSpeak is I would
>> never get any work done.
>>
>> How much time do you spend when you should be writing code, worrying
>> about your wallpaper or the colour of your screen's background?
>>
>> Or do you just not notice it after a while?
>>
>> Well, after spending years writing code when I can't even see the Sun
>> when I stare directly at it, I can tell you I never notice what eSpeak
>> sounds like.
>>
>> I would probably be equally at home workin

Re: [Hpr] Error and comment

[Mike Ray]

Well said Jon.

eSpeak really is lean and mean, and faster than a greasy snake.

And it has huge language support.

Some of the female voices might be more acceptable to anybody who is
offended by the default male voices.

And eSpeak's ability to return rendered speech as PCM to a calling
program makes it far more useful than most TTS engines.


On 16/04/2019 13:14, Jonathan Kulp wrote:
> I use quite a bit of text-to-speech in my Blather commands, and eSpeak is by 
> far the best tool for the job in terms of performance. I tried Festival and 
> it was very laggy and tended to make the whole system drag. Espeak is so 
> lightweight that every response is instantaneous. I love it. :)
> 
> Jon 
> 
> Jonathan Kulp
> http://jonathankulp.org
> 
>> On Apr 15, 2019, at 9:34 PM, Klaatu  wrote:
>>
>> An HPR episode on this topic would be amazing. If you're too busy, i'd be 
>> happy to read your email into a recorder and release the show in your name.
>>
>>> On 16 April 2019 1:10:29 PM NZST, Mike Ray  wrote:
>>>
>>> I got an error when I tried to post a comment about the latest podcast
>>> about TTS.
>>>
>>> I don't have the error code now as I pasted it into an email to admin
>>> and the email bounced.
>>>
>>> I suspect it was because my comment was too long, here it is:
>>>
>>>
>>> Condescending and sarcastic.
>>>
>>> Oh isn't text-to-speech such a laugh?
>>>
>>> I get really, really annoyed when people criticise eSpeak.
>>>
>>> Anybody who complains about it sounding robotic obviously was not around
>>> thirty years ago.
>>>
>>> eSpeak's author, Jonathan Duddington, in my humble opinion, deserves a
>>> Nobel prize.
>>>
>>> He has probably done more for blind and visually impaired computer
>>> users, like me, all over the world, than any other individual or
>>> organisation.
>>>
>>> In fact it is hard to name any single person who has had such an impact
>>> on any group of users, apart perhaps from Linus Torvalds and Richard
>>> Stallman.
>>>
>>> 1. It is Open Source.
>>> 2. It is tiny, the memory footprint is small.
>>> 3. It is snappy and can speak really fast, which is what we (blind
>>> people) use when we get used to it, speeds that would make your hair curl.
>>> 4. It probably has more language support than any other free and Open
>>> Source synthesiser.
>>> 5. It can run in a mode where it can return rendered speech, in the form
>>> of PCM, to a calling program, so it can be used in other programs. I
>>> don't think any other synth can do this.
>>> 6. It can even return phonemes, a mode which I have used more than once
>>> to provide a kind of 'fuzzy search' in a database.
>>>
>>> I regularly write and maintain library code, and application code, in C,
>>> C++ and/or Python, as well as Perl, and many of these code libraries
>>> have in excess of 100k lines.
>>>
>>> Including, incidentally, a library which used a combination of eSpeak
>>> and OMX to render TTS directly on the GPU of a Raspberry Pi when 'they'
>>> broke the ALSA driver on the Pi, which made the speech stutter and crash
>>> the kernel, and refused to fix it for about four years.
>>>
>>> If I spent all my time bitching about how robotic eSpeak is I would
>>> never get any work done.
>>>
>>> How much time do you spend when you should be writing code, worrying
>>> about your wallpaper or the colour of your screen's background?
>>>
>>> Or do you just not notice it after a while?
>>>
>>> Well, after spending years writing code when I can't even see the Sun
>>> when I stare directly at it, I can tell you I never notice what eSpeak
>>> sounds like.
>>>
>>> I would probably be equally at home working with flite, festival, or
>>> svox pico (which you missed).
>>>
>>> In addition, eSpeak is in use in NVDA, the free and Open Source Windows
>>> screen reader which is currently giving the multi-hundreds of pounds
>>> commercial offerings a real problem, and providing cash-strapped blind
>>> users a chance.  Although now the Windows Narrator is catching up, I
>>> still prefer NVDA and eSpeak.
>>>
>>> MaryTTS is bloated.  There was some excitement around it a few years
>>> ago, but it has more or less faded away in the minds of the blind and VI
>>> community, 

[Hpr] Error and comment

[Mike Ray]

I got an error when I tried to post a comment about the latest podcast
about TTS.

I don't have the error code now as I pasted it into an email to admin
and the email bounced.

I suspect it was because my comment was too long, here it is:


Condescending and sarcastic.

Oh isn't text-to-speech such a laugh?

I get really, really annoyed when people criticise eSpeak.

Anybody who complains about it sounding robotic obviously was not around
thirty years ago.

eSpeak's author, Jonathan Duddington, in my humble opinion, deserves a
Nobel prize.

He has probably done more for blind and visually impaired computer
users, like me, all over the world, than any other individual or
organisation.

In fact it is hard to name any single person who has had such an impact
on any group of users, apart perhaps from Linus Torvalds and Richard
Stallman.

1. It is Open Source.
2. It is tiny, the memory footprint is small.
3. It is snappy and can speak really fast, which is what we (blind
people) use when we get used to it, speeds that would make your hair curl.
4. It probably has more language support than any other free and Open
Source synthesiser.
5. It can run in a mode where it can return rendered speech, in the form
of PCM, to a calling program, so it can be used in other programs. I
don't think any other synth can do this.
6. It can even return phonemes, a mode which I have used more than once
to provide a kind of 'fuzzy search' in a database.

I regularly write and maintain library code, and application code, in C,
C++ and/or Python, as well as Perl, and many of these code libraries
have in excess of 100k lines.

Including, incidentally, a library which used a combination of eSpeak
and OMX to render TTS directly on the GPU of a Raspberry Pi when 'they'
broke the ALSA driver on the Pi, which made the speech stutter and crash
the kernel, and refused to fix it for about four years.

If I spent all my time bitching about how robotic eSpeak is I would
never get any work done.

How much time do you spend when you should be writing code, worrying
about your wallpaper or the colour of your screen's background?

Or do you just not notice it after a while?

Well, after spending years writing code when I can't even see the Sun
when I stare directly at it, I can tell you I never notice what eSpeak
sounds like.

I would probably be equally at home working with flite, festival, or
svox pico (which you missed).

In addition, eSpeak is in use in NVDA, the free and Open Source Windows
screen reader which is currently giving the multi-hundreds of pounds
commercial offerings a real problem, and providing cash-strapped blind
users a chance.  Although now the Windows Narrator is catching up, I
still prefer NVDA and eSpeak.

MaryTTS is bloated.  There was some excitement around it a few years
ago, but it has more or less faded away in the minds of the blind and VI
community, since it is so bloated and, as far as I know, nobody has ever
made a successful screen reader from it.

Even if there was one, it would probably make a Raspberry Pi choke.
Whereas eSpeak runs snappily and happily on a 256k Raspberry Pi first-gen.

The 'holy trinity' of the Linux GUI, as far as blind and VI users are
concerned, is:

1. Orca, the GTK screen reader, written in Python, and a work of art.
2. speech-dispatcher, written in C, a TTS 'server' program which Orca
connects to to send text and get speech from it.
3. eSpeak, although there are speech-dispatcher modules also for flite
and festival, eSpeak is the best one IMHO.

In the console:

1. SpeakUp, kernel modules including speakup and speakup_soft which make
a console mode screen reader.
2. espeakup, the SpeakUp to eSpeak connector.
3. eSpeak.

eSpeak is gold dust.




-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Static Site Generators - NOT a flat file CMS

[Mike Ray]

Nikola will build the index locally, and because it uses rsync to
upload, only new stuff ever gets uploaded.  Not stuff that has not changed.


On 15/04/2019 19:59, SoundChaser wrote:
> In a bit of irony, I've just spent the last weekend digging around and 
> researching CMS'es... I started with database drive systems, and then, thanks 
> to LostInBronx and Klaatu (for running their gaming site on Grav) looking at 
> flat file CMS's.
> 
> The main issue with going the flat file approach is building index pages. 
> Every time a new post (show) is added, all of the index pages would 
> potentially need to be re-built. 
> 
> Personally, I am trying to decide what the best approach is for my situation 
> where I have ~500 articles that will be growing after I move to a new 
> system... A purely flat-file CMS might not be the best approach...potentially 
> something that is more of a hybrid system like Bolt CMS might be better -- 
> and it might fit HPR's needs too (it does use a database, but it only need 
> SQLite, and not Maria or Postgres).
> 
> I'd be interested in hearing any input others have on this topic.
> 
> George
> 
> On Mon, Apr 15, 2019, at 1:43 PM, Ken Fallon wrote:
>>
>> On 2019-04-03 20:36, Ken Fallon wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Do any of you have a recommendation for a Static Site Generators that
>>> just publishes html files.
>>>
>>> For example takes a page, adds a header and footer from somewhere and
>>> publishes the combined page.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Thanks for the suggestions, which I am working through.
>>
>> The question was in relation to the Hacker Public Radio site, which is
>> essentially a LAMP based site that is entirely database driven.
>>
>> For the vast majority of the site this is unnecessary as the pages are
>> very static and change infrequently if ever. Those could be written to a
>> static html file without a problem.
>>
>> The general goal is that everything could be rsynced from a server to
>> your local machine and you would get access to a daily snapshot of the
>> entire website. This would allow us to have multiple mirrors of hpr
>> around the place in the event of another DDOS.
>>
>> So the php page
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=0013
>>
>> would be written out to a directory accessible via a index.html page under
>> http://localhost/episodes/hpr13/
>>
>> This fixes the problem of the episode  bug, and removes the need for
>> a database query for the page.
>>
>> Unfortunately if ever the header and footer change we need to change
>> each and every exported page. HTML5 had a way to include pages together
>> fixing the problem but for some reason support for that has been dropped.
>>
>> So that is why I was thinking of a flat file CMS. The down side of that
>> is that if there is a change of header, then every single "rendered"
>> html page would need to be downloaded again because the change is
>> incorporated in every single page.
>>
>> However after thinking about it for a while, the people who are helping
>> out by doing this must have the technical expertise to rsync the site
>> locally. So it's safe to assume that they also can follow an instruction
>> page on how to set up a local lamp server.
>>
>> Then we could actually distribute a more or less static html website,
>> but use php to include the header and footer. That would not exclude the
>> need for a flat file cms, but the integration would be more focused on
>> the dynamic content.
>>
>> So I intend to setup a git repo with a index.html page that uses php to
>> include a header and footer. Trying to make the local site at least
>> usable if php or a webserver is not available.
>>
>> I'm not sure if this is even something that would be of interest to
>> people, but if it is, then I will put up links when I have something ready.
>>
>> -- 
>> Regards,
>>
>> Ken Fallon
>> http://kenfallon.com
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=30
>>
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
>>
>> *Attachments:*
>>  * signature.asc
> 
> Faster moments spent
> Spread tales of change
> Within the sound
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Static Site Generators - NOT a flat file CMS

[Mike Ray]

Ken,

I currently have raspberryvi.org in a git repository on a local machine.

There is one thing you need to know when setting up a Nikola site to
stop the blog from being the front page.  I can share that with you if
you go for Nikola.

Jekyll is used by github.io pages, but don't think it has a stand-alone
mechanism for syncing to the remote server, if it is a server other than
.github.io.

Nikola is very good at that part, you can define multiple places to
'deploy' the site, like this:

$ nikola deploy live
%$ nikola deploy local

I have raspberryvi.org set up so that I can sync it to an Apache server
I have running here, or 'live' to poke it to the host server.

eyesfreelinux.ninja is the same, and is on one of Josh's machines.

The only thing I have found annoying about Nikola is that version
changes tend to make the config.py br4eak and it can be necessary to
rehash it.

But I have now 'frozen' on an older version.

There are also Docker images containing Nikola as well and I have
considered switching to one of those, as I am now running almost
everything in containers.


Mike


On 04/04/2019 18:21, Ken Fallon wrote:
> Top posting for Mike.
> 
> Thanks for all the feedback.
> 
> Actually this is for HPR. I want to have the website statically
> available as much as possible, so you can rsync or git clone the repos
> and run your own site.
> 
> If we consider each show to be it's own entity that is self contained
> but fits in nicely with the rest of the site.
> 
> Each show would be posted into it's own subdirectory which has a
> index.html file and other media related to the show.
> 
> Dave has been doing this for some time, see:
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr2729/full_shownotes.html
> 
> web-root/index.html
> 
> web-root/episodes/hpr0001/index.html
> web-root/episodes/hpr0001/image_for_show.jpg
> web-root/episodes/hpr0001/example_script_1.bash
> web-root/episodes/hpr0001/video.mp4
> 
> web-root/episodes/hpr0002/index.html
> 
> Ideally I'd love be able to put the entire site on a usb stick and
> browsing to it locally.
> 
> file://opt/Hacker_Public_Radio/web-root/index.html
> 
> So the source would be (for now) the HPR DB, but it could be a git repo,
> were shows are pushed ?!?
> 
> Anyway if you want to help out or follow along go to
> https://gitlab.anhonesthost.com/ and set up an account.
> 
> Ken
> 
> 
> On 2019-04-04 19:05, jezra wrote:
>> Ken, do you have a preferred input type for the source files?
>>
>> When it came time for me to pick a static site generator, I specifically
>> looked for something that was based on HAML, Markdown, and SASS; because
>> I absolutely did not want to write a bunch of raw HTML.
>>
>>
>> jezra
>> P.S. eventually I took the Fool's Route and rolled my own :)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4/3/19 11:36 AM, Ken Fallon wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Do any of you have a recommendation for a Static Site Generators that
>>> just publishes html files.
>>>
>>> For example takes a page, adds a header and footer from somewhere and
>>> publishes the combined page.
>>>
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HPR LLC

[Mike Ray]

I think this is all a cover up...

What I think has *really* happened is, Dave has sold Hollywood the movie
rights to 'Bash Tips' for an eight figure sum and he has walked away
with a huge bung in his sky rocket (pocket).  I hear it on the grape
vine that Keanu Reeves is in the frame for the leading role.


On 04/04/2019 03:06, Claes Wallin (韋嘉誠) wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 3, 2019, 14:42 Ken Fallon  wrote:
>> Also whatever HPR LLC is they also would be missing most of the domains 
>> because of
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/pipermail/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org/2018-November/014337.html
>> The others are (I think) owned by Stank Dawg, so good luck with that.
> 
> In the scenario it was your entity, right? Just issue Stank Dawg some
> shares and you're good to go! ;-)
> 
>> I was planning on doing this on the Community News and having Dave storm 
>> off, but as it happens he was not able to make the show.
> 
> Too bad!
> 
> Still, I liked that you created a difference between the "reality" on
> the show and the adjusted "press release reality" on the mailing list.
> 
> I read between the lines that he would "spend more time with family"
> due to "creative differences", as the Incredible Journey lingo goes.
> But I still wasn't sure that's how it was intended until you said it
> more explicitly on the community show.
> 
>> Plus any email I send not asking for a show should automatically cause 
>> suspicion.
> 
> *raises an eyebrow*
> 
> Like this message? No, wait!
> 
>> It was fascinating to see the different reactions and that the cultural norm 
>> different per region. After reading the wikipedia article I'd love to hear a 
>> show about the topic.
> 
> So subtle it slipped past my detectors at first. :-)
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Static site generator

[Mike Ray]

Hello

I did not reply to your email because I get some kind of signing error I
can't work out, not being able to see.

For:

http://www.raspberryvi.org/

and:

http://eyesfreelinux.ninja

I use Nikola.

All my pages and posts are written either in markdown or kramdown
(apt-get install ruvby-kramdown).

It uses bootstrap themes to stick on header, navbars and footer.

Very configurable and written in Python.

I wrote the kramdown plugin I use.  kramdown has nice table syntax,
better than markdown, and also has the ability to generate a TOC from
headers in the same page.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HPR LLC

[Mike Ray]

I think we should have a referendum over this.

I demand we have a referendum where the alternative to the status quo is
not adequately explained, a whole bunch of people lie about it, change
marginally wins and then we spend the next three years arguing about it
and failing to implement what nobody understood in the first place.

And then finally decide to change nothing, while in the meantime HPR has
fallen to bits and been taken over by extremists.

I vote remain, again.
On 01/04/2019 10:31, Mike Ray wrote:
> 
> 
> I think we should have a referendum over this.
> 
> I demand we have a referendum where the alternative to the status quo is
> not adequately explained, a whole bunch of people lie about it, change
> marginally wins and then we spend the next three years arguing about it
> and failing to implement what nobody understood in the first place.
> 
> And then finally decide to change nothing, while in the meantime HPR has
> fallen to bits and been taken over by extremists.
> 
> I vote remain, again.
> 
> On 01/04/2019 10:17, Jason Dodd wrote:
>> Finally we'll be able to afford to have more than 3 shows in the queue.
>>
>>
>>
>> On a serious note, if Audible would release under a free software license
>> AND support gnu linux, I would ALMOST consider not dumping HPR over such a
>> decision.
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 2:19 AM Claes Wallin (韋嘉誠) <
>> hackerpublicra...@clacke.user.lysator.liu.se> wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 12:27 PM Ken Fallon  wrote:
>>>
>>>> To that end I am thrilled to announce the first of our initiatives to
>>>> take HPR into the big leagues. As of today we will be partnering with
>>>> Audible to bring the best they have to offer to our network. You
>>>> couldn't ask for a sponsor that's more aligned with our mission and the
>>>> interests of our listeners.
>>>
>>> So glad to hear about this! It's been an incredible journey, and I've
>>> been delighted to have been a small part of it. I am sure that HPR,
>>> with new financial muscle as part of the Audible family, will be able
>>> to provide even better and more diversified services than it already
>>> has. Here's to the next 2781 episodes!
>>>
>>> As for the distribution part of the revenue sharing scheme, may I
>>> suggest launching an HPR cryptocurrency? Tying the rewards to smart
>>> contracts and an oracle service feeding the latest episode download
>>> numbers into the blockchain could be a powerful way to incentivize the
>>> producers of the most eye-catching and popular episodes to bring the
>>> platform to new levels!
>>>
>>> --
>>>/c
>>>
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>>
>>
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
> 
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HPR LLC

[Mike Ray]

I think we should have a referendum over this.

I demand we have a referendum where the alternative to the status quo is
not adequately explained, a whole bunch of people lie about it, change
marginally wins and then we spend the next three years arguing about it
and failing to implement what nobody understood in the first place.

And then finally decide to change nothing, while in the meantime HPR has
fallen to bits and been taken over by extremists.

I vote remain, again.

On 01/04/2019 10:17, Jason Dodd wrote:
> Finally we'll be able to afford to have more than 3 shows in the queue.
> 
> 
> 
> On a serious note, if Audible would release under a free software license
> AND support gnu linux, I would ALMOST consider not dumping HPR over such a
> decision.
> 
> On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 2:19 AM Claes Wallin (韋嘉誠) <
> hackerpublicra...@clacke.user.lysator.liu.se> wrote:
> 
>> On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 12:27 PM Ken Fallon  wrote:
>>
>>> To that end I am thrilled to announce the first of our initiatives to
>>> take HPR into the big leagues. As of today we will be partnering with
>>> Audible to bring the best they have to offer to our network. You
>>> couldn't ask for a sponsor that's more aligned with our mission and the
>>> interests of our listeners.
>>
>> So glad to hear about this! It's been an incredible journey, and I've
>> been delighted to have been a small part of it. I am sure that HPR,
>> with new financial muscle as part of the Audible family, will be able
>> to provide even better and more diversified services than it already
>> has. Here's to the next 2781 episodes!
>>
>> As for the distribution part of the revenue sharing scheme, may I
>> suggest launching an HPR cryptocurrency? Tying the rewards to smart
>> contracts and an oracle service feeding the latest episode download
>> numbers into the blockchain could be a powerful way to incentivize the
>> producers of the most eye-catching and popular episodes to bring the
>> platform to new levels!
>>
>> --
>>/c
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HPR Branding

[Mike Ray]

While I always get very uptight about people criticising eSpeak, which
is, IMHO, one of the most wonderful pieces of open source ever, and has,
without doubt, done more for blind computer users throughout the globe
than almost anything else, I know that it is not as understandable in
some languages as it is in English.  But we only use it in English.

If you think eSpeak is bad, jump in your time machine and listen to the
voices we had to use thirty years or so ago.  In the days of DOS,
Dolphin Orpheus was pretty much all there was and that was awful.

There is bound to be some Dolphin Orpheus on youtube somewhere.

But, having said that, Dolphin Orpheus still allowed blind people to do
a lot of good work and to learn how to use a PC.

If you listen to eSpeak for long enough, for example as a blind computer
user, you just concentrate on the work, not on the voice.  A bit like
not caring about your wallpaper while you're actually working.

eSpeak also has a very small code footprint.  It runs comfortably on an
old Raspberry Pi with only 256MB of RAM, where others won't.

But...svox pico is nice, at least in English.  It has rubbish language
support, I think it only works in English and French.  And I am not sure
if it has a batch mode which allows automation of the conversion of a
fragment of text into an audio file.

I don't use svox pico on my PCs though, because...it is much bigger than
eSpeak, so won't run comfortably at a very fast rate.

Pretty much anything else costs money.


On 02/09/2018 11:47, Nigel Verity wrote:
> Hi
> 
> My only gripe is with the electronic voice. A point I raised on an earlier 
> thread a few months back is that we have a lot of listeners to whom English 
> is a second language. Espeak does not lend itself to clear unambiguous 
> diction. I could just about get value from a podcast in German but I'm 
> certain I'd struggle to understand an intro in German using Espeak.
> 
> I'd prefer a gentle and clear human voice. The voice which appears in the 
> outro would be perfect, but I do appreciate it is a bit of an imposition on 
> somebody to take the upcoming episode schedules and record/edit all the 
> snippets. I'd volunteer to do it but anybody who has heard my few episodes 
> would know my voice is just not the one for the job.
> 
> Beeza
> 
> From: Hpr  on behalf of Ken Fallon 
> ly
> Sent: 01 September 2018 21:03
> To: hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> Subject: [Hpr] HPR Branding
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> Following a discussion on the Community News,
> ( 
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhackerpublicradio.org%2Feps.php%3Fid%3D2631&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb3f714638bc845dd706708d61046299c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636714290864602407&sdata=EdVu7%2B%2BIv7uDAdT%2BmlEOHRXiVjIx4LBdu2o7%2BCSDY4E%3D&reserved=0
>  )
> 
> I am reopening the discussion as to the HPR branding as defined on "Give
> Shows > Theme"
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhackerpublicradio.org%2Ftheme.php&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb3f714638bc845dd706708d61046299c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636714290864602407&sdata=wpKLCeY6vYeYqnGnN03AnnF6Z69GqBkHle4cq2%2BZyw0%3D&reserved=0
> 
> It's been a while since we had this discussion and it would be good to
> revisit it again.
> 
> Currently the branding is as follows
> 
> 1. Show Synopsis (Espeak saying "This is HPR episode ${show_number)
> entitled "${title}". It is hosted by ${hostname} ... etc"
> 
> 2. Thanking our Hosting provider (Automatically Added)
> 
> 3. HPR Introduction Music (Mandatory)
> 
> 4. The Show
> 
> 5. HPR Outro Music (Mandatory)
> 
> We would like your input on what if anything should change.
> 
> Is the 1. Show Synopsis, adding value to people ?
> 
> Do we continue to 2. Thanking our Hosting provider ? Should we remove it
> or put it in the outro ?
> 
> Should we refresh the 3. HPR Introduction Music ? Make it shorter ?
> 
> Should the 5. HPR Outro Music text be changed ?
> 
> Any other changes ?
> 
> 
> --
> Regards,
> 
> Ken Fallon
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkenfallon.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb3f714638bc845dd706708d61046299c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636714290864602407&sdata=MGxP0Y0yWwA%2BYhq%2BWL%2FID2%2B%2Fr%2BtgB9MS7M5IqEo%2FBZc%3D&reserved=0
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhackerpublicradio.org%2Fcorrespondents.php%3Fhostid%3D30&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb3f714638bc845dd706708d61046299c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636714290864602407&sdata=sOvAFLfraBB78EjfWTJqCsW2X80Loua5PdVwdx2UoK0%3D&reserved=0
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing l

Re: [Hpr] HPR Branding

[Mike Ray]

TTS bit...I'm most interested in the name of the host and the duration.
The duration I can get from my pod catcher, and I guess most pod
catchers get this.

But the name of the host is only available if I look online first, which
I don't do at one o'clock in the morning which is when the new cast
drops out.

Based on the host I sometimes just delete it without going any further.
Usually when I have heard the duration and the name of the host I jump
ahead 30 seconds and miss the host message and the music, or most of it.
 But, tedious as it is, I think thanking Josh is necessary and polite
after all he does for HPR.

Personally I hate that bleeping music :-), but it is just as much part
of HPR as the Nike flash is to over-priced sweat-shop produced sneakers.

The music is too loud, as others have said.

But, although sound quality can sometimes be annoyingly bad, and can on
occasions make it difficult to listen, a poorly recorded show is better
than no show, as Ken has often said.

Case in point...Sigflups excellent recent episode on getting the Cisco
phones she found in the garage working, contained a bad echo.  But what
a brilliant episode it was. Hacking at it's best and worthy of HPR if
for nothing else but just the obvious delight in the voice and dialogue
from the host at getting it to work.

So, it's dangerous to complain about sound recording quality. To do so
we risk not digging up some gems.

Mike


On 01/09/2018 22:42, Dave Lee wrote:
> 
> Whilst I agree that the theme music could do with turning down a bit, I also 
> think that some hosts could do more to improve the levels on their recorded 
> segment.  This is an observation I have towards many podcasts, not just HPR 
> episodes.  A tiny amount of post-production effort can make a huge amount of 
> difference to the final episode.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
> On 1 Sep 2018, 22:18, at 22:18, "Brenda J. Butler"  wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm a bit new to the community, but that said here is
>> my opinion.
>>
>>
>> I'm ok with the setup as it is, but if we could make the
>> intro/outro music a little quieter (to more closely
>> match the show) that would be nice.
>>
>> While it is a little boring to hear the "thank you" every
>> time, it is polite and thankful to the hosters.  I'm
>> ok with having it up front.
>>
>> And what's a "hacker" podcast without a little text-to-speech?
>> Having it read the show synopsis is as good an excuse as
>> any to include some tts.
>>
>> Also after listening to a podcast (or other content) it can
>> be good to have a little "filler" between shows so you
>> have a few minutes to think about the content, before
>> being bombarded with more content.
>>
>> The actual music is fine with me.  I also enjoy the occasional
>> community member's re-interpretation, be it whistled, sung,
>> and/or played on the accordion : -)
>>
>> bjb
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 01, 2018 at 10:03:07PM +0200, Ken Fallon wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Following a discussion on the Community News,
>>> ( http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=2631 )
>>>
>>> I am reopening the discussion as to the HPR branding as defined on
>> "Give
>>> Shows > Theme"
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/theme.php
>>>
>>> It's been a while since we had this discussion and it would be good
>> to
>>> revisit it again.
>>>
>>> Currently the branding is as follows
>>>
>>> 1. Show Synopsis (Espeak saying "This is HPR episode ${show_number)
>>> entitled "${title}". It is hosted by ${hostname} ... etc"
>>>
>>> 2. Thanking our Hosting provider (Automatically Added)
>>>
>>> 3. HPR Introduction Music (Mandatory)
>>>
>>> 4. The Show
>>>
>>> 5. HPR Outro Music (Mandatory)
>>>
>>> We would like your input on what if anything should change.
>>>
>>> Is the 1. Show Synopsis, adding value to people ?
>>>
>>> Do we continue to 2. Thanking our Hosting provider ? Should we remove
>> it
>>> or put it in the outro ?
>>>
>>> Should we refresh the 3. HPR Introduction Music ? Make it shorter ?
>>>
>>> Should the 5. HPR Outro Music text be changed ?
>>>
>>> Any other changes ?
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Ken Fallon
>>> http://kenfallon.com
>>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=30
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> ___
>>> Hpr mailing list
>>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>>>
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
>>
>> ---end quoted text---
>>
>> ___
>> Hpr mailing list
>> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
>> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/

Re: [Hpr] tags, virtualization, virtualisation

[Mike Ray]

How about using the function of espeak to get the phonemes for a tag?

The result in calling espeak for virtuallisation (the right way to spell
it) and virtualization (nasty, left-pondian way of spelling it ;- ) is
surely the same.

I once did this in a commercial database to provide a kind of fuzzy
search.  Works well.

I did it by adding a column to each table where searches done on names
was done and populating that column with the phonemes returned by
espeak, after removing 'noise' words like 'the' etc.

So, if there is a one-to-many relationship between show and tags, IOW
show number XXX has one row in a table but as many rows as there are
tags for it in the tags table, the tags table would have an extra
column, one for the tag and one for it's phoneme.  Then search on the
phoneme, not the literal tag.




On 18/08/2018 19:02, Brenda J. Butler wrote:
> 
> Things are quiet here, ... too quiet ... : -)
> 
> 
> 
> I'm looking at writing tags-and-summary for show 0031 on
> "Intel Virtualization Technology"
> 
> I see (thanks to the shiny new "show me all the tags" feature)
> there are two existing tags for that:
> 
>  virtualisation: 12
>  virtualization: 16, 48
> 
> 
> Is there a preference for one over the other (risking a flame war, I
> know) and should we collapse the existing two tags into one?
> 
> For now, I guess I will go with "z" as the show I'm working on spells
> it with "z".
> 
> But I really have no preference.
> 
> Are we going to try to consolidate the tags, or just leave them as
> they are?
> 
> consolidating:  pros
> 
> makes it easier and more certain to search by tag
> 
> consolidating:  cons
> 
> could weaken the community by causing division
> 
> 
> My own preference:
> 
> I'd really like to use one set of tags for any given concept, and I
> don't have any preference as to which one.
> 
> But if some people stronly prefer one or the other, (the "z" group and
> the "s" group) we could really annoy some when we choose one side.
> 
> I suppose we could set the tag to "virtuali.ation" to avoid that
> ... it might work for longer names.  This sort of side-step is less
> effective for shorter words.
> 
> But what about color/colour?  It is short, but also has different
> numbers of letters in the two incarnations.
> 
> 
> I suppose at this stage we just want tags, any tags, for the shows
> that have none.  But this topic bears thinking about as the body of
> published work grows.
> 
> 
> bjb
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Site unavailable again

[Mike Ray]

Not responding again.


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when
there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery


https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Different width in same column on one LO Calc sheet?

[Mike Ray]

Hello

I'm tearing my hair out here.

I think there is a bug in LibreOffice Calc when merging cells.

I want to merge several cells horizontally. I get the option to either
merge and centre, or just merge, when I would think the text should be
left justified unless I've specifically said right justify it.

But if I select merge rather than centre and merge, when I go back into
the menu centre and merge is ticked.

And, because I can't see, I convert the sheet to pdf and then:

pdftotext -layout -htmlmeta sheet.pdf

And looking at the resulting html file, all the texts in merged groups
start in different columns, suggesting it is definitely centred.

Is there a way to have different column widths in the same column in
different parts of the sheet?

I want the A column ten centimetres wide in the first 10 rows, and then
I want column A 4 centimetres wide, and column B 10 centimetres wide
from the eleventh row.

Anybody got any ideas?

The accessibility of LibreOffice is getting worse.

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Disclaimer: It wasn't me, you didn't see me, you can't prove a thing.

https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Site unavailable again

[Mike Ray]

It's not responding again.

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Disclaimer: It wasn't me, you didn't see me, you can't prove a thing.

https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Slow downloads again

[Mike Ray]

In excess of 45 minutes for Klaatu's 40 minute cast dated today.



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Disclaimer: It wasn't me, you didn't see me, you can't prove a thing.

https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Slow downloads again

[Mike Ray]

Hello

It took me over an hour to download last night's community news.

I know the community news is usually a long one but the download time is
longer than it should be, and has been for several weeks.

I guess insomnia means I may be alone in pressing the download button
when the clock ticks past 01:00 daylight saving time here in the UK so
others may not have noticed.

I am guessing somebody is grabbing the whole lot each night.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Disclaimer: It wasn't me, you didn't see me, you can't prove a thing.

https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Slow Downloads

[Mike Ray]

Kevin and all

I have exactly the same.

Every night when the clock ticks around for time for the next HPR
podcast it downloads very, very slowly.  I had just about decided it was
probably a combination of my sister and her kids sucking up all my
bandwidth with netflix and spottify.  But it seems it isn't just me.

Mike


On 30/06/2017 13:48, Kevin O'Brien wrote:
> Is anyone else having problems with extremely slow downloads from hpr? I am
> getting speeds that remind me of dial-up BBS days, but only on this podcast.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> Hpr mailing list
> Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Disclaimer: It wasn't me, you didn't see me, you can't prove a thing.

https://cromarty.github.io/
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/
http://www.raspberryvi.org/



___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Frank Delaney

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks

Some time ago I was introduced to the excellent podcast 'Re:Joyce' by
Frank Delaney, by one of the HPR multitude.

I subscribed to the podcast and have enjoyed many episodes of the
excellent and very satisfying deconstruction of Ulysses.

I stopped getting weekly episodes since 15th February and I went to
investigate today.

Sad to say Frank Delaney has passed away.

A tribute can be found on:

http://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/

Thanks for the podcast Frank, and encouragement to try, once yet again,
to get all the way through Ulysses without stalling.  But, when I do
start again, this time, for you, I won't stumble.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Beef jerky

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks

A request for a show...

I think it was operat0r who did a show about small hacks and one that he
did was how to dry out silica gel crystals in the oven.

In the show he made a passing reference to 'jerky', by which I guess he
was talking about using the silica gel crystals to dry out strips of
beef into beef jerky.  This is something we don't have here in the UK,
but I have tasted what I think is the same thing in South Africa, where
they call it 'biltong' I believe.

How about a show about how to actually make beef jerky?  How to do it,
how long does it take etc.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"You are much more likely to be treated by an EU migrant in a hospital
than to be standing behind one in the queue"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Scotch tape, biros, Hoovers and Xerox machines

[Mike Ray]

Hello Spaceman,

Have you ever said 'Scotch tape' when you've been using Sellotape or a
sticky clear tape of some other brand?

Have you ever said 'Biro' to refer to a ball point pen of another brand?

Do you ever say Hoover when you really mean 'vacuum cleaner'?

Do you say 'Xerox' when you mean photocpier, possibly made by Canon or
some make other than Xerox?

I suspect the answer to at least one of those questions is a resounding
yes.  Especially when Xerox is so common a term on the left side of the
puddle.

If so you're a c***.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Explicit tag and some podcast players

[Mike Ray]

Hello.

Not every method of grabbing a podcast allow the listener to 'see' the
explicit tag before listening to the cast.

Personally I use either downcast on an iPhone (half reading this will
switch off at the name iPhone), or a Plextalk Pocket Daisy Book reader.
Niether of these methods allow me to 'see' the tag.

I don't care how many times somebody swears.  But if you do it more than
about three times I switch off because I want to learn something, not to
be patronized or talked down to by a foul mouthed moron who needs to use
such words to get across their point.

I was going to suggest the 'explicit' tag should be renamed 'Profanity'
but I still wouldn't see it, and if I did and it said 'yes' I'd delete
the cast and go and listen to somebody with an IQ in treble figures.

I suspect the profane tirade on the subject of not saying GNU/Linux had
the podcaster hunting around for several days before he could come up
with something to get so irate about.  Not even RMS gets so falsely hot
under the collar.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Spaceman

[Mike Ray]

On 13/12/2016 18:58, Dave Lee wrote:
> I have to disagree with this to a point.
> 
> I think that having an explicit tag for the odd contextual swear word is
> fine, and I may want to listen to those episodes, so I'm not going to
> filter out episodes on the basis of the explicit tag.  However, having just
> listened to the episode in question, I would not want to listen to
> gratuitous swearing for the sake of swearing, or - in this case - name
> calling.
> 
> The language doesn't bother me, but the (and I think this term was used in
> the episode comments) _aggressive_ nature of the language used - e.g.
> "you're a political f---wit", and the very offensive use of the term
> "retard".
> 
> I do believe that spaceman was making a really good point, but I think it
> ended up being diluted by the tone used.
> 
> On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 6:50 PM x1101  wrote:
> 
>> I concur, HPR is a network for people to express themselves, and while I
>> strongly believe in a censorship-free HPR, that doesn’t mean that we have
>> the right to force someone to listen to explicit material if they do not
>> wish to. This ‘explicit’ tag gives people a piece of information to make
>> that choice for themselves. I know that I will always tag my shows as
>> ‘explicit’, because I don’t keep track of my language. While I appreciate
>> that there are other things that folks might find offensive outside of
>> technically explicit language, its a good start.
>>
>> Keep the vulgarity, keep the tag, and let us all decide for ourselves what
>> we want to produce and what we want to listen to.
>>
>> /x1101

I'm not offended by bad language.  Too many people troll the internet
and social media in particular just looking for something to be offended
by so that they can get what they think is their fifteen minutes of fame
thanks to lazy journalists who just think they can make a few bucks by
knowing how to copy and paste.

But when almost every word begins with 'f' and ends either with 'uck' or
'ucking' it just gets boring and the content is diluted to the point
where I press the delete button.

I would have thought there were far more suitable subjects than whether
to say 'Linux' or 'GNU/Linux' that deserve such a tirade, like systemd
taking over the world for example.

Let's have less f***ing and more hacking.

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HPR Community News - *today* on 2016-07-30T18:00:00Z

[Mike Ray]

Dave,

Take a look at Date::Calc

Everything you need is in there.



On 30/07/2016 19:16, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 30/07/16 19:01, Kevin Wisher wrote:
>> Someone surely can figure out a way to schedule this message to be sent
>> automatically?? :)
> 
> You'd think so. However, although I generate the thing in a script I
> haven't worked out how to make it release on the Monday before the
> Saturday before the first Monday of the next month :-)
> 
> Sounds easy eh? It probably is, and I should just get on and do it!
> 
> In fact, I should probably do a show about it ...
> 
> Dave
> 


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Libre Office Calc - closing the docked styles dialog with the keyboard

[Mike Ray]

On 11/05/2016 04:07, Venant wrote:
> I am not being much of a help here today... I did not read fully the previous 
> mails... you seem to have the same idea as to what may be happening... sorry 
> to waste your time.
> 
> 

I think I may have done it.  I found some keyboard shortcuts and
pressing F6 cycles through open windows (shift F6 backwards).  And one
is the dialog I was looking for and there was an 'undock' button.  So I
think either I have managed to do it or at least I can now get to it.

Thanks.

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Libre Office Calc - closing the docked styles dialog with the keyboard

[Mike Ray]

On 10/05/2016 10:47, Curtis Adkins wrote:
> 
> 
> On 05/10/2016 03:41 AM, Mike Ray wrote:
>> Hello folks.
>>
>> I have recently changed my Windows (sharp intake of breath) PC and as a
>> consequence have updated to Libre Office 5.1.1.3.
>>
>> I think the styles dialog must be open and docked somewhere because
>> pressing F11 has no effect.
>>
>> Of course since I can't see I can't use the mouse to get to this dialog.
>>
>> Does anybody know how to close it if it is open, and whether it needs to
>> be undocked so that it takes focus when I next open if with F11?
>>
>> I can find nothing about closing it online.  I am assuming I can't do
>> this until it has focus.
>>
>> Mike
>>
> Mike,
> 
> I am running 5.0.6.2 so I am not sure if it's exactly the same. This
> newer version of Writer has a "sidebar" where the styles and properties
> are.  However, F11 does allow me to show and hide the styles.  I can
> undock the sidebar and F11 still opens and closes the sidebar.  I am
> wondering if hitting F11 shows the Properties or something and not the
> styles.
> 
> It might be working but not giving any indication that it is working. 
> That is of course a guess.
> 
> 
> Curtis
> 

It's annoying when things change and are moved around from one version
to another.  At least good old Debian is stuck in the comfortable and
familiar past.

I will have to troll the net and see if I can find the keyboard commands
to get the dialog to take focus because currently pressing F11 does
nothing audibole.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Libre Office Calc - closing the docked styles dialog with the keyboard

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks.

I have recently changed my Windows (sharp intake of breath) PC and as a
consequence have updated to Libre Office 5.1.1.3.

I think the styles dialog must be open and docked somewhere because
pressing F11 has no effect.

Of course since I can't see I can't use the mouse to get to this dialog.

Does anybody know how to close it if it is open, and whether it needs to
be undocked so that it takes focus when I next open if with F11?

I can find nothing about closing it online.  I am assuming I can't do
this until it has focus.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Proposed New Series

[Mike Ray]

On 22/04/2016 10:42, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 22/04/16 08:41, Mike Ray wrote:
>>
>> On the subject of series...
>>
>> I've enjoyed Klaatu's recent shows on a couple of XML parsers for Python
>> in the 'Little bit of Python' series.
>>
>> I use something called 'pyoo' to generate quite complex Libre Office
>> spreadsheets and thought of doing a show for this series.
>>
>> Do series have owners?  In other words will Klaatu be upset if I make a
>> show and put it in the series 'A Little bit of Python'?
> 
> There are series which are "owned" but I think this is an historical
> feature or relates to time-dependent shows. I have tried to make sure
> that any series I have suggested or caused to come into existence are
> open to all, and I know that has been the trend lately.
> 
> This particular one was originally closed (I think) but is now open to
> all, so go ahead. Sounds like a great topic.
> 
> If you examine http://hackerpublicradio.org/series.php the title, show
> count and description are there for all existing series.
> 
> To be honest, I think the whole series thing needs to be reviewed and
> rationalised a bit. I'd like to make it clearer what each series is
> about, whether it's open for additions or not (e.g. SELF Talks 2009:
> probably not), maybe something about the date range of the episodes in
> it, and other stuff.
> 
> Oh, and we have discussed allowing shows to be members of multiple
> series - something that the database design can't cater for now. That's
> just crazy talk though :-)
> 
> Dave
> 

Shows belonging to multiple series?  Sounds like a job for a
many-to-many relationship.  Don't let Mr. Fallon code this one ;-)

Mike




-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Proposed New Series

[Mike Ray]

On 21/04/2016 19:10, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 21/04/16 18:37, Frank Bell wrote:
>> First, I have to say that the drop-down list for selecting a series when
>> submitting episode is a nice piece of work.  Like many good ideas, once
>> someone else thinks of it, it just seems obvious.
>>
>> Given that a some HPR contributors seem to like hacking the kitchen, I
>> submit that a cooking or recipe category is worth considering.
>>
>> Thanks.
> 
> Great idea.
> 
> Over the past few months I have been joining unattached shows to
> existing series and creating a few new series based on a really
> simplistic script that counts word occurrences in titles. It totally
> misses cooking and recipe shows because it's so unsophisticated. It
> should probably pay attention to tags too, but there are so many shows
> that don't have any.
> 
> It has found a few links. For example, there are currently 9 shows
> referring to the Raspberry Pi that could be a series.
> 
> Anyway, to your point: there seem to be at least 7 shows with a cooking
> theme.
> 
> Dave
> 


On the subject of series...

I've enjoyed Klaatu's recent shows on a couple of XML parsers for Python
in the 'Little bit of Python' series.

I use something called 'pyoo' to generate quite complex Libre Office
spreadsheets and thought of doing a show for this series.

Do series have owners?  In other words will Klaatu be upset if I make a
show and put it in the series 'A Little bit of Python'?

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] HTML notes accessibility pointer

[Mike Ray]

On 06/04/2016 16:09, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 06/04/16 13:45, Mike Ray wrote:
>> Hello folks.
>>
>> I just wanted to point out a little thing about how to make HTML show
>> notes more accessible to blind folks like me.
>>
>> When you're linking to something in your notes, like the previous
>> episode in your series, please consider the method most screen-reader
>> users use to navigate between links.
>>
>> All of the readers I have come across have a navigation key dedicated to
>> stepping through varieties of landmarks in an HTML page.  For example
>> the 'l' key to jump from link to link or the 'h' key to jump between
>> headers.
>>
>> So, when using the keypress method of jumping from one link to the next
>> it is very poor practice to, for example, make only the word 'here' a
>> link in the middle of a sentence like 'Find the notes for episode N here'.
>>
>> If there are multiple links on a page of that kind then repeated presses
>> of 'l' will just make the screen-reader say 'here, here, here, here,
>> here' as you go from link to link.
>>
>> So, we then have to look at the surrounding text to identify what the
>> link is.
>>
>> Likewise, if your notes contain the actual text 'http:// ... etc ... '
>> after words which say what it is, we just get a Web address and it's not
>> always obvious what it is.
>>
>> Better to make the whole of the 'find episode 1 of galvanic frogs leg
>> spasm here' a hyperlink.
>>
>> Here endeth the lesson on the third Wednesday after muck spreading.
> 
> Thanks Mike, that's very informative.
> 
> I use Markdown for my notes (which I process with Pandoc, which give me
> a few extra features). I generate links in the text by using references
> such as:
> 
>   In the [last episode][2] we looked at
> 
> This refers to reference 2 which is defined as:
> 
> [2]: http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1986 "Introduction to sed -
> part 2"
> 
> The result is that the hyperlink is the text "last episode" but there's
> also a title attribute of "Introduction to sed - part 2".
> 
> I had assumed that that generated the most informative result.
> 
> I also use what has come to be the HPR standard of making lists and a
> link section where the hyperlink is the URL itself, preceded by text
> explaining what it is.
> 
> I'm slightly dismayed to find that this is not ideal. I even have
> scripts that generate it!
> 
> By the way, how did you know I was planning an episode about galvanic
> frog's leg spasms?
> 
> Dave
> 

'Galvanic frogs leg spasm' is a phrase that appears in 'Count Zero',
book 2 of William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy.  I have just got into the
habit of using it when I need a chunk of meaningless text.

I love markdown and use the reference style links all the time.

I've also just started using 'kramdown' which is markdown plus a lovely
table syntax.  It's written in Ruby.

I used one of your sed tricks this morning...sed -ne '/^xxx/,$p'.  Very
handy.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] HTML notes accessibility pointer

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks.

I just wanted to point out a little thing about how to make HTML show
notes more accessible to blind folks like me.

When you're linking to something in your notes, like the previous
episode in your series, please consider the method most screen-reader
users use to navigate between links.

All of the readers I have come across have a navigation key dedicated to
stepping through varieties of landmarks in an HTML page.  For example
the 'l' key to jump from link to link or the 'h' key to jump between
headers.

So, when using the keypress method of jumping from one link to the next
it is very poor practice to, for example, make only the word 'here' a
link in the middle of a sentence like 'Find the notes for episode N here'.

If there are multiple links on a page of that kind then repeated presses
of 'l' will just make the screen-reader say 'here, here, here, here,
here' as you go from link to link.

So, we then have to look at the surrounding text to identify what the
link is.

Likewise, if your notes contain the actual text 'http:// ... etc ... '
after words which say what it is, we just get a Web address and it's not
always obvious what it is.

Better to make the whole of the 'find episode 1 of galvanic frogs leg
spasm here' a hyperlink.

Here endeth the lesson on the third Wednesday after muck spreading.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] FOSDEM Send in your questions

[Mike Ray]

On 22/01/2016 11:40, Ken Fallon wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I'll be interviewing these people https://fosdem.org/2016/stands/
> 
> Any questions that you would like asked ?
> 
> 
> 

Can you still use it with your eyes closed and the screen-reader
switched on?  In other words, did the developer of XYZ pay any attention
to accessibility at all?



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Community News (Completely Off-Topic)

[Mike Ray]

Right, because I got home to a load of HPR comm news emails in this
thread and because I'm too lazy to read them all (but not too lazy to
write show notes in markdown), I've removed the thread and I'm
top-posting.  Sorry Dave.  And in case anybody said the same stuff in
earlier replies in this thread, sorry again.

What IS the problem with markdown?  Somebody mentioned having to 'learn
another mark-up language'.  What's to learn?

* Links work as you write them
* These asterisk make a list

- as do
- these dashes

# this is a level one heading

# level two, etc

Job done

Where's the fire?

What some would like is some kind of magic fairy who lives in their
computer who writes the notes for their five minute show for them.

I know this is going to be very, very inflammatory, but here goes...if
you can't be arsed to write reasonable show notes, don't podcast.

At least write some AWESOME links in your AWESOME show notes and be like
totally AWESOME, grrr

Moaning Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] A Question about Shownotes - Javascript WYSIWYG

[Mike Ray]

On 30/11/2015 10:26, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2015-11-28 21:20, Frank Bell wrote:
>> I note that in my recent episode #1910 about Qmmp, the links to 
>> screenshots in my shownotes were turned into embedded images.  I'd
>> be happy to include any future links to screenshots as embedded
>> images ("src="), if that would be easier for everyone.   It makes
>> no nevermind to me.
> 
>> I recall a discussion about shownotes in a recent Community News 
>> regarding the pros and cons of using a markdown language.  I'm not 
>> particularly interested in learning a markdown language for my own 
>> purposes, but, if a nice template were provided, I'd be happy to
>> learn how to use it.
> 
> 
> Hi Frank,
> 
> It works like this.
> 
> We will accept any shows with or without show notes.
> 
> If hosts don't provide show notes then Dave, myself, or some other
> volunteer will add them. We much prefer having show notes for reasons
> outlined here:
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/request_a_slot.php#show_notes
> 
> Adding embedded images was trivial to do so don't worry about it.
> 
> Right now the jury is still out on the "best" show note format. Stay
> tuned to the Community News Shows for more information on how we are
> doing.
> 
> 


At this point I am going to bite my tongue very hard and say nothing
obvious about embedded images in show notes.

Obviously sighted folks want to see screen-shots etc., that's fine, but
if images are of text on a terminal window to illustrate how to
configure something, then they are to be avoided.

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Getting In New Contributors

[Mike Ray]

On 15/09/2015 13:59, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2015-09-15 14:44, Kevin Wisher wrote:
>> Promotion & PR for new hosts??
> 
> Promoting HPR, and getting new hosts from out side the community is an
> on going effort. However the problem I want to address in this thread
> is how to get our existing subscriber base to contribute shows.
> 
> 

I wouldn't want to hear the intro get any longer, with additional bits
of 'encouragement'.  Each contributor should probably make the point
that it is a community resource that badly needs contributors.

I have a problem which is a barrier to me producing more shows, which I
suspect is also a barrier for those who have not yet contributed...

I have previously done shows about things like database design related
things, cross-compilation, Raspberry Pi related stuff.  And although I
have some other technical subjects lined up I always return to the same
thoughts, which are; with 16,000 subscribers there are always going to
be people listening who know far more than I do about the thing I'm
talking about.  I am sure this is also what makes it so difficult to
find speakers for the couple of LUGs I go to.

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] [SPAM] HPR Menus are not accessible

[Mike Ray]

On 09/09/2015 14:47, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2015-09-09 15:46, Carl D Hamann wrote:
>> One technique I've seen used on a couple sites that may work here: Put
>> the navigation section at or near the end of the html, then use the
>> CSS to position it to the top for regular browsers.
> 
> The position is not the problem. The CSS is.
> 
> 

However there would be a problem for blind folks if the navigation links
were at the bottom, assuming the CSS didn't work and place them at the top.

I'd also like to see a 'skip to navigation' and 'skip to content' link
of the kinds that sighted folks don't see but screen-readers hear.

Mike



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] [SPAM] HPR Menus are not accessible

[Mike Ray]

On 09/09/2015 12:34, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2015-09-09 11:29, Klaatu wrote:
>> What about an HTML side bar on the left of the site, listing links in 
> an
>> unordered list? 
> 
> We had a side bar on the original site layout, and this caused long
> pages looking off centre as you scrolled down past the menu.
> 
> The current system is using unordered lists, and it is the application
> of css that is causing the problem. The exact same html without the css
> added is what is been served from:
> http://hackerpublicradio.org/accessibility.php
> 
> If you use a screen reader on the current menu without css, then you
> need to use "skip to main content" or it reads each and every sub menu i
> tem.
> 
> Splitting it up so there is a old fashioned site map page
> (http://hackerpublicradio.org/accessibility.php) and then putting only
> the menu items that are needed on each page will reduce the amount of
> babble that the screen reader needs to go through.
> 

Ken,

Obviously I can only comment from the point of view of someone who can
see nothing at all, not even the Sun.

Screen-reader users read everything serially, top to bottom, with some
navigation keys to help.  But one thing to remember is that sometimes,
if the site is put together in a certain way, we will hear things that
are not visible on the site.

So for example if there are drop-down menus which appear either with a
mouse-click or hover, we might hear them anyway even when they are not
on screen.

I admit I'm not as familiar with HTML accessibility techniques as I
should be, the world of the web having moved on quite a lot since I was
sighted and doing web developement.

But if it would help I can probably find other sites that do similar
things and point you at them.

A note about verbosity...all the screen-readers I have used have various
adjustments that can be made to what is spoken.  If you haven't found
the Orca preferences on Trisquel then I think pressing either
"INSERT+SPACEBAR" or possibly "CAPS-LOCK+SPACEBAR" will bring up the
preferences dialog and you can make verbosity changes.

Mike





-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/

Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Git repository

[Mike Ray]

On 04/06/2015 15:18, Ken Fallon wrote:
> On 2015-06-04 14:52, Steve Engledow wrote:
>> Is there a good reason to not use their SaaS offering at gitlab.com?
> 
>> Steve
> 
> Well we were running it on a SaaS namely Gitorious and it shut down, as
> has Google Code, both have come and gone in HPR's life time. Then there
> is the shenanigans going on over at sourceforge. Not a fantastic track
> record for SaaS. That said, I would prefer not to maintain a project
> myself.
> 
> The clear winner for me at least is to use the gitlab instance run by
> anhonesthost.com. This way we get to use gitlab, and have support at a
> price that can't be bet (namely gratis), with excellent support (namely
> Josh).
> 
> Anyway it's Git so clone as often and in as many places as possible.
> 


I vote for that.  I've received excellent response times from Josh at
AHH, even when I do stupid stuff :-/

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Comment form and edit field accessibility

[Mike Ray]

On 02/06/2015 22:57, Dave Morriss wrote:
> On 02/06/15 11:01, Mike Ray wrote:
>> Name :
>> 
>>
>> The  is what does it.
> 
> Hi Mike,
> 
> I have implemented this change to the comment form in the live system. I
> don't think I broke anything along the way!
> 
> Dave
> 

Thanks Dave.  Accessibility in tiny steps :-)



-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Comment form and edit field accessibility

[Mike Ray]

Hello,

The edit fields in the comment form on the web site are totally silent
once a screen-reader has switched into focus mode.

This means that tabbing to the next field does not speak what it is for.

This leads to folks like me needing to take the screen-reader out of
focus mode so I can read the label, and back into focus mode to input text.

Here's a fragment of html which would fix this, I hope this does not
screw up any email clients set to render html.  If it is, shame on you:

Name :


The  is what does it.

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] LibreOffice Calc cell style; background and 'no fill'

[Mike Ray]

On 28/05/2015 21:30, Mike Ray wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'm trying to setup some cell styles in LibreOffice 4.3.
> 
> I want a column heading to be shown in a 12pt font, bold, white on black.
> 
> I can set the font-size, the style to bold, the alignment to left, but
> on the 'background' tab of the styles dialog the 'fill' combo never
> retains what I select.
> 
> So, I go to the 'backgrounds' tab and select black, leave the foreground
> set to 'automatic' on the font-effects tab, which I think should mean
> the foreground automatically sets to white if the background is black,
> but the fill combo is always 'no fill' when I go back.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Mike
> 
> 

Actually I think it's a screen-reader issue.  Because:

1.  First time I set background I need to press down arrow once to hear
'black'.

2.  If I subsequently select 'modify' on that style and I go to the
'background' tab, I hear 'no fill mode set' or something like that BUT,
clicking down arrow once now says 'light red'.  So black is selected but
the screen-reader is saying 'no fill mode set' because there are no list
items that have positive focus until I move the bounce-bar (probably a
square with pretty colours for you light-slaves).

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] LibreOffice Calc cell style; background and 'no fill'

[Mike Ray]

Hello,

I'm trying to setup some cell styles in LibreOffice 4.3.

I want a column heading to be shown in a 12pt font, bold, white on black.

I can set the font-size, the style to bold, the alignment to left, but
on the 'background' tab of the styles dialog the 'fill' combo never
retains what I select.

So, I go to the 'backgrounds' tab and select black, leave the foreground
set to 'automatic' on the font-effects tab, which I think should mean
the foreground automatically sets to white if the background is black,
but the fill combo is always 'no fill' when I go back.

Any ideas?

Mike


-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

[Hpr] Adding new pre-formatted sheets to LibreOffice Calc

[Mike Ray]

Hello folks,

My word it's quiet on here.

Since I was all over Ahuka's tutorials like a rash a few weeks ago and
since I have developed a business imperative for using it, I have been
doing a lot of LibreOffice Calc.  A great departure for me since any
mention of words like 'equity', 'percentage' or 'investment' usually
make my brain freeze over and shut up like a clam.

I now have a question that either Kevin or somebody else might be able
to answer...

I have a template for a spreadsheet which has one sheet with
pre-formatted heading and column headings, as well as pre-formatted
styles for a number of columns.  I have taken the comments in the
tutorials about templates, which Kevin rightly hammers very hard into
our brains to heart.

What I want to be able to do is add a sheet and have it created with the
same pre-formatted cells as the first and original sheet on the template.

Is this possible and how do I do it?

Mike

-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org

Re: [Hpr] Call for Shows - this is not a drill

[Mike Ray]

>>>
>>
>> Nice! I knew I did the right thing when I shouted out to you in forthcoming 
>> episode on Cowsay! I also left Fridays open for you when choosing days for 
>> my shows. Looking forward to hearing em. 
>>
>> Jon
>>

After Ken's 'sox of silence' show I am very tempted to upload a show in
which I talk very slowly :-p






-- 
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK

"In the beginning there was Debian, and Ubuntu was without form, and void"

Eyes-free Linux:
http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/


___
Hpr mailing list
Hpr@hackerpublicradio.org
http://hackerpublicradio.org/mailman/listinfo/hpr_hackerpublicradio.org