RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Thanks. I'll wait eagerly for the menus then. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of David Tanner Sent: Friday, 18 May 2007 1:55 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods I would assume so, since I just got RockBox on my IPOD last week, and I see no menu choice for Audible books. But, in I-Tunes there was a menu choice for Audible. I would guess you could download Net Library books and read them with RockBox, but I bet there will be a problem getting back to where you left off last time. I doubt that there is any kind of way to place a bookmark for where you left off. - Original Message - From: Amanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 2:57 AM Subject: RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from : audible.com? : : -Original Message- : From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen : Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM : To: PC audio discussion list. : Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : Hi : well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you : that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an : ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, : but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using : a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it : flawlessly to use my ihp 120. : : tj : : tj : - Original Message - : From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM : Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : Hello Steeve, : I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. : I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for : me because of the fact that I'm blind. : If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket : City : to get one. : I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. : - Original Message - : From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM : Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] : : I thought this was very interesting ... : : Dave : : Technology Review : Tuesday, May 08, 2007 : : Audio Menus for iPods : : By Kate Greene : : Download an MP3 version of this story : http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 : : 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu : options : instead of looking at them. : : Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant : amount of : visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even : dangerous : (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and : Microsoft : Research are working on software that could make it possible to : navigate : the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, : without : looking at them--only audio cues would be used. : : The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called : earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or : her finger : around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the : expansive : menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick : Baudisch, a : research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked : on the : project. : : LINK: : http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ : : Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can : navigate : two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, : and just : as accurately. : : Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is : reasonable, : says : Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant : visual : attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back : their eyes, : he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not : wasting : energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the : screen-free : devices such as the iPod shuffle. : : The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, : after : all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted : technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld : : consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few : reasons : for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology : and : college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. : : LINK: : http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ : : One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have : been : resource intensive, requiring significant
RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from audible.com? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hi well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it flawlessly to use my ihp 120. tj tj - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hello Steeve, I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for me because of the fact that I'm blind. If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City to get one. I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. - Original Message - From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random assortment of categories: clothing, fish, instrument, color, and four others. The next level contained eight examples of these items. The iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes music, extras, settings, and then lower menus that include playlists, artists, and albums, for instance
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Due to audible using a propriotary codek and rockbocx being an open source project, it is ne-impossible for rockbox to ever support audible, sorry tj - Original Message - From: Amanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:57 AM Subject: RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from audible.com? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hi well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it flawlessly to use my ihp 120. tj tj - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hello Steeve, I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for me because of the fact that I'm blind. If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City to get one. I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. - Original Message - From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
I would assume so, since I just got RockBox on my IPOD last week, and I see no menu choice for Audible books. But, in I-Tunes there was a menu choice for Audible. I would guess you could download Net Library books and read them with RockBox, but I bet there will be a problem getting back to where you left off last time. I doubt that there is any kind of way to place a bookmark for where you left off. - Original Message - From: Amanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 2:57 AM Subject: RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from : audible.com? : : -Original Message- : From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen : Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM : To: PC audio discussion list. : Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : Hi : well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you : that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an : ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, : but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using : a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it : flawlessly to use my ihp 120. : : tj : : tj : - Original Message - : From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM : Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : Hello Steeve, : I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. : I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for : me because of the fact that I'm blind. : If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket : City : to get one. : I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. : - Original Message - : From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM : Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] : : I thought this was very interesting ... : : Dave : : Technology Review : Tuesday, May 08, 2007 : : Audio Menus for iPods : : By Kate Greene : : Download an MP3 version of this story : http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 : : 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu : options : instead of looking at them. : : Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant : amount of : visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even : dangerous : (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and : Microsoft : Research are working on software that could make it possible to : navigate : the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, : without : looking at them--only audio cues would be used. : : The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called : earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or : her finger : around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the : expansive : menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick : Baudisch, a : research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked : on the : project. : : LINK: : http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ : : Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can : navigate : two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, : and just : as accurately. : : Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is : reasonable, : says : Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant : visual : attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back : their eyes, : he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not : wasting : energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the : screen-free : devices such as the iPod shuffle. : : The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, : after : all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted : technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld : : consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few : reasons : for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology : and : college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. : : LINK: : http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ : : One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have : been : resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation : and : energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to : program. : : But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an : increasing : need : to find different ways to interact with handheld devices
RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
David, is your Ipod a Video Ipod Stephen A. Guerra Assistive Technology Specialist Independent Living Aids Products for Your Active Independent Life! 200 Robbins Lane Jericho, NY 11753 (OFF) (516) 937-1848-x313 Fax: (516) 937-3906 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: http://www.independentliving.com http://www.soundbytes.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Tanner Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 11:43 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Well, I'll tell you what. After using the RockBox software on my IPOD for 4 days I would say that the day of the talking IPod is here. If you can use the speech on a PC you can definately use the speech that RockBox gives you to access your IPOD. The improvements in the software, and in the ease of installation in the past year have made it a quite reasonable solution for making IPOD accessible to the blind user. - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : Hello Steeve, : I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. : I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for : me because of the fact that I'm blind. : If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City : to get one. : I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. : - Original Message - : From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM : Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] : : I thought this was very interesting ... : : Dave : : Technology Review : Tuesday, May 08, 2007 : : Audio Menus for iPods : : By Kate Greene : : Download an MP3 version of this story : http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 : : 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu : options : instead of looking at them. : : Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant : amount of : visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even : dangerous : (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and : Microsoft : Research are working on software that could make it possible to : navigate : the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, : without : looking at them--only audio cues would be used. : : The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called : earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or : her finger : around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the : expansive : menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick : Baudisch, a : research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked : on the : project. : : LINK: : http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ : : Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can : navigate : two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, : and just : as accurately. : : Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is : reasonable, : says : Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant : visual : attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back : their eyes, : he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not : wasting : energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the : screen-free : devices such as the iPod shuffle. : : The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, : after : all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted : technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld : : consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few : reasons : for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology : and : college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. : : LINK: : http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ : : One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have : been : resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation : and : energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to : program. : : But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an : increasing : need : to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says : Walker. : Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices : with : small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently : there are : only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at : ways to : make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker : expects the : ranks to grow in the coming years. : : This first earPod prototype has a two
RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
I'd totally agree with the statements about Rockbox...I've been using it on a 30GB iPod Video since February, and over all, it works great and is pretty accessible. I would have rather gone with the 80GB iPod, but at the time, Rockbox didn't support it...Not sure if that's changed. -- Visit me on Myspace! http://www.myspace.com/wesderby -- Original message -- From: Stephen Guerra [EMAIL PROTECTED] David, is your Ipod a Video Ipod Stephen A. Guerra Assistive Technology Specialist Independent Living Aids Products for Your Active Independent Life! 200 Robbins Lane Jericho, NY 11753 (OFF) (516) 937-1848-x313 Fax: (516) 937-3906 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: http://www.independentliving.com http://www.soundbytes.com -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Tanner Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 11:43 PM To: PC audio discussion list. Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Well, I'll tell you what. After using the RockBox software on my IPOD for 4 days I would say that the day of the talking IPod is here. If you can use the speech on a PC you can definately use the speech that RockBox gives you to access your IPOD. The improvements in the software, and in the ease of installation in the past year have made it a quite reasonable solution for making IPOD accessible to the blind user. - Original Message - From: John Price To: PC audio discussion list. Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : Hello Steeve, : I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. : I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for : me because of the fact that I'm blind. : If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City : to get one. : I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. : - Original Message - : From: Steve Pattison : To: Access-L ; PC Audio : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM : Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] : : I thought this was very interesting ... : : Dave : : Technology Review : Tuesday, May 08, 2007 : : Audio Menus for iPods : : By Kate Greene : : Download an MP3 version of this story : http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 : : 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu : options : instead of looking at them. : : Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant : amount of : visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even : dangerous : (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and : Microsoft : Research are working on software that could make it possible to : navigate : the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, : without : looking at them--only audio cues would be used. : : The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called : earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or : her finger : around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the : expansive : menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick : Baudisch, a : research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked : on the : project. : : LINK: : http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ : : Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can : navigate : two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, : and just : as accurately. : : Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is : reasonable, : says : Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant : visual : attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back : their eyes, : he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not : wasting : energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the : screen-free : devices such as the iPod shuffle. : : The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, : after : all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted : technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld : : consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few : reasons : for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology : and : college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. : : LINK: : http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ : : One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have : been : resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation : and : energy. In addition, audio
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
HellO! Why not use one of the cell phones out there with talks or mobilespeak. Or as i, use the milestone 311. /Anders. - Original Message - From: Thomas (TJ) Olsen To: PC audio discussion list. Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 5:25 AM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hi well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it flawlessly to use my ihp 120. tj tj - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hello Steeve, I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for me because of the fact that I'm blind. If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City to get one. I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. - Original Message - From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random assortment of categories: clothing, fish
Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random assortment of categories: clothing, fish, instrument, color, and four others. The next level contained eight examples of these items. The iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes music, extras, settings, and then lower menus that include playlists, artists, and albums, for instance. The earPod approach could be extended to read off a limited number of names of artists and songs as well. EarPod was designed specifically for gadgets with circular touch pads, says Baudisch. The circular touch pad is evenly divided into eight sectors: it's cut like pieces of a pie, with each menu item associated with each piece. When a person touches the dial of an earPod-equipped gadget, the audio menu responds with a prerecorded human voice. If a person puts his or her finger at 12 o'clock on the touch pad, the voice might say Color, indicating that the finger is on the color sector. When the finger crosses one of these invisible sector lines, the user hears a clicking sound. As a finger moves, a new menu item is announced. To select an item and go to the next menu level, the user lifts his or her finger and hears a camera-shutter sound, which indicates that an item has been chosen. Because the touch pad is divided into portions, says Baudisch, people can easily learn where menu items are and quickly jump to certain items without having to scroll through a list, as with an iPod. Another feature of earPod, he says, is that a user doesn't need to wait until a menu item is read before moving on to another. When a finger moves to a new sector, the audio is interrupted and the new item is announced. In the earPod usability study, conducted by Shengdong Zhao, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, and project lead, the researchers found that people who had no experience using either an iPod or an earPod-equipped device used the
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Hello Steeve, I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for me because of the fact that I'm blind. If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City to get one. I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. - Original Message - From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random assortment of categories: clothing, fish, instrument, color, and four others. The next level contained eight examples of these items. The iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes music, extras, settings, and then lower menus that include playlists, artists, and albums, for instance. The earPod approach could be extended to read off a limited number of names of artists and songs as well. EarPod was designed specifically for gadgets with circular touch pads, says Baudisch. The circular touch pad is evenly divided into eight sectors: it's cut like pieces of a pie, with each menu item associated with each piece. When a person touches the dial of an earPod-equipped gadget, the audio menu responds with a prerecorded human voice. If a person puts his or her finger at 12 o'clock on the touch pad, the voice might say Color, indicating that the finger is on the color sector. When the finger crosses one of these invisible sector lines, the user hears a clicking sound. As a finger moves, a new menu item is announced. To select an item and go to the next menu level, the user lifts his or her finger and hears a camera-shutter sound, which indicates that an item has been chosen
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Hi well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players using a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use it flawlessly to use my ihp 120. tj tj - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods Hello Steeve, I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for me because of the fact that I'm blind. If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City to get one. I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. - Original Message - From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I thought this was very interesting ... Dave Technology Review Tuesday, May 08, 2007 Audio Menus for iPods By Kate Greene Download an MP3 version of this story http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them. Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant amount of visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even dangerous (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and Microsoft Research are working on software that could make it possible to navigate the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, without looking at them--only audio cues would be used. The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or her finger around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the expansive menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick Baudisch, a research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked on the project. LINK: http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can navigate two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, and just as accurately. Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is reasonable, says Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant visual attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back their eyes, he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not wasting energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the screen-free devices such as the iPod shuffle. The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, after all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few reasons for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology and college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. LINK: http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have been resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation and energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to program. But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an increasing need to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says Walker. Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices with small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently there are only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at ways to make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker expects the ranks to grow in the coming years. This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 items per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use the system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random assortment of categories: clothing, fish, instrument, color, and four others. The next level contained eight examples of these items. The iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes music, extras, settings, and then lower menus that include playlists, artists, and albums, for instance. The earPod approach could be extended to read off a limited number of names of artists and songs as well. EarPod was designed specifically for gadgets with circular touch pads, says Baudisch. The circular touch pad is evenly divided into eight sectors: it's cut like pieces of a pie
Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods
Well, I'll tell you what. After using the RockBox software on my IPOD for 4 days I would say that the day of the talking IPod is here. If you can use the speech on a PC you can definately use the speech that RockBox gives you to access your IPOD. The improvements in the software, and in the ease of installation in the past year have made it a quite reasonable solution for making IPOD accessible to the blind user. - Original Message - From: John Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PC audio discussion list. pc-audio@pc-audio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:16 PM Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : Hello Steeve, : I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. : I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work for : me because of the fact that I'm blind. : If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket City : to get one. : I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. : - Original Message - : From: Steve Pattison [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To: Access-L [EMAIL PROTECTED]; PC Audio Pc-audio@pc-audio.org : Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM : Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods : : : : To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] : From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] : : I thought this was very interesting ... : : Dave : : Technology Review : Tuesday, May 08, 2007 : : Audio Menus for iPods : : By Kate Greene : : Download an MP3 version of this story : http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 : : 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu : options : instead of looking at them. : : Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant : amount of : visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even : dangerous : (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and : Microsoft : Research are working on software that could make it possible to : navigate : the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, : without : looking at them--only audio cues would be used. : : The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called : earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or : her finger : around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the : expansive : menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick : Baudisch, a : research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked : on the : project. : : LINK: : http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ : : Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can : navigate : two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, : and just : as accurately. : : Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is : reasonable, : says : Baudisch, but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant : visual : attention] is unreasonable. In addition to giving people back : their eyes, : he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not : wasting : energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the : screen-free : devices such as the iPod shuffle. : : The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, : after : all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted : technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld : : consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few : reasons : for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology : and : college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. : : LINK: : http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ : : One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have : been : resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation : and : energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to : program. : : But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an : increasing : need : to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says : Walker. : Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices : with : small displays has made us all visually impaired. Currently : there are : only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at : ways to : make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker : expects the : ranks to grow in the coming years. : : This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 : items : per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use : the : system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random : : assortment of categories: clothing, fish, instrument, : color, and : four others. The next level contained eight examples of these : items. The : iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes : music, : extras, settings, and then lower menus that include : playlists, : artists, and albums, for instance. The earPod approach could : be : extended
