[nabs-l] Frustrated with Bookshare!

[Mike Freeman]

Courtney:

You probably won't find one as the majority of people have moved on to what
they perceive as more human-sounding (and thus, presumably, intelligible)
synthesizers or speech systems. However, be advised that Access Solutions
(the maker of the DECtalk USB speech synthesizer) has just come out with a
TrippleTalk (which sounds much like DoubleTalk) USb synthesizer. Contact
Mike Cozzolino for more details. You could then use this with a netbook
machine of some sort.

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Courtney Stover
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2013 4:52 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Frustrated with Bookshare!

Hi all:

Let me see if I can clarify a bit of what's going on here, at least to the
best of my understanding.

Bookshare has recently instituted their own "web reader"  This feature
allows you to read books through the web without ever having to download
them to a computer hard drive.  Unfortunately, this feature only works with
Google Chrome, which, I'm presuming, is where Joshua's frustration comes
from.

Joshua: there are two things you need to be aware of.

First and foremost, the method everyone on this list has advocated
(downloading the file type known as Daisy Text and then reading the XML file
in Internet Explorer works beautifully with Jaws 10, and I would know, since
I had this version until very recently.)  If you need further help, the tech
support people are astoundingly helpful.
They do not contact patrons during the weekend, which is why they may not
have contacted you before now.

Secondly, they are working to make the Web Reader accessible with other
browsers.  However, Chrome is one of the most innovative, with
ever-expanding functionality and excellent security.  Firefox has frequent
updates, which makes it difficult for Bookshare engineering to keep the
software compatible, and Internet Explorer's security issues are a concern
for the staff when making the Reader compatible with it.

There are two other points which I would like to address.  If I cause
offense, I apologize profusely, but I believe these things need to be
stated.

Firstly: there are Demo versions of Jaws.  While I do not advocate this as a
permanent solution, it is an excellent temporary one while financial ducks
are put in a row.  It does require you to restart the computer every forty
minutes, but the advantages are absolutely worth it.  I know we don't often
realize how far behind software we actually are until we get such upgrades.
However, upgrading your Jaws (even in demo temporarily) would virtually
eliminate the myriad of technological problems you have brought to this
list.

Secondly: Joshua, please be clearer in your E-mails.  I realize there is
immense frustration in technology that is not working properly (my
hours-long battle with Learning Ally's Read Here player today makes me
particularly sympathetic to your plight), but E-mails which do not clearly
define your problem serve no one.  If you had clearly explained that you
were attempting to use a new feature called the Web Reader which only worked
in Chrome, and you needed alternative solutions, much of the confusion I
sensed underlying many of the messages in this topic could have been
averted.

I'll address one final point and then close.  I agree wholeheartedly with
Mike and Caiti.  I am one of those under 40 who has none of the players Mike
named (partially due to finances, but mostly due to vastly preferring
DoubleTalk, the synthesizer used on the original Book Port when it comes to
text files, rather than the more "human"
voices utilized by many of these players, which are so unbearably grating
for me that I am incapable of concentrating on the information being
presented.)  However, when I do need to read Daisy files, I take advantage
of the many Pc-based options or find a way to convert them in to text.  And
I always try and keep my software up to date, even if that means using
Demos.  We are disadvantaged enough as it is without hampering ourselves by
being unwilling to innovate.
Again, I hope at least some of what I have said is helpful, and that I have
not given offense.
Warmest Regards,
Courtney
P.S.: If anyone could suggest a Daisy player with a synthesizer similar to
DoubleTalk, I would be immensely grateful; I live in fear of the day my
BookPort dies.

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