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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I am pleased to see that we’re
finally beginning to offer some of our literature as online audio. Yet there is
one problem: the inability to find a speech of interest within these large
documents. I recognize that if we’re going to allow better access, some way
needs to be done to find an individual article within these larger documents. I
have a few ideas on what can be done about this, based on what I’ve seen in the
general audio book market. I want to list the pros and cons of what I’ve seen
and get the group’s ideas.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Option 1: User Downloads Large
Segments: This is what’s being used now for the two books on the site: Walking
Alone and Marching Together and the book on Dr. Jernigan.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pros: Each part is a single file,
making it somewhat easier to download.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Cons: Can’t find an individual
speech or article. For instance, I may want to discuss a speech or article with
others, but unless I was able to find it and set a bookmark, I’d not be able to
do so.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Option 2: Split the material into
small files. I’ve seen this approach used by at least one audio book company
when offering their titles for download.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pros: Easier to find an
individual speech of interest. For instance, I may wish to find a speech by Dr.
Jernigan that I want to discuss with others, and for the discussion, I could use
it apart from the larger book.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Cons: More files to download,
manage and organize.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Option 3: Zip File. Whichever
option we go with, use of a zip archive could work. I know that we’re doing this
for each issue of the Monitor.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pros: Whether the archive is a
book like Walking Alone or one of the kernel books, the whole thing can be
downloaded at once.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">This way, if I was to download
the material, I could set it to download, go do something else, and only check
back periodically. Dial-up users could get the download started before they go
to bed, but those who are broadband users would be able to work on it while
doing something else.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Cons: Not everyone knows how to
unzip archive files.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Option 4: DAISY</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There’s been a great deal of
interest in DAISY access, and I’m surprised we’ve not explored this option, at
least, to the extent that we could.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Pros: Parts don’t need to be
split up into small files, thus the whole thing could be packaged as a zip file
for download. Markup could be done by someone who knows about DAISY.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Cons: Even though DAISY players
are becoming more common, they’re not in the mainstream. Many in the blind
community still don’t have these players.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2>What do
others think of these comments? Thanks.</FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>