digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Blind Can Surf the Internet From Any computer, Anywhere

uwnews.org — New software, called WebAnywhere, launched today lets blind and visually impaired people surf the Web on the go. The tool developed at the University of Washington turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer with speakers or headphone connections.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • cosmikdebris, on 06/25/2008, -0/+18The free program and both audio and video demonstrations are at http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu
    • noahhoward, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Seems like it's got a long way to go but it is a very interesting concept. I'm wondering what sort of impact it will have on 508 compliance laws.
      • serif69, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2It shouldn't affect them at all. There are already rules for accessibility on the web (WCAG, ADA, etc), and WebAnywhere follows that formatting by default. It also handles non-compliant sites pretty well too. Bottom line: if you're already in compliance, it should work flawlessly.
  • coolmel, on 06/25/2008, -2/+4very cool. this software would be cool for mobile platforms, such as the iPhone.
    • mossblaser, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Yeh - cos the iphone with *no* tactile feedback is a brilliant idea.
  • pigglesnout, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Why do all developers have the same voice in demonstration videos?
    • helpfulcorn, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0It reminds me of those old 1940s and prior Radio and TV broadcasts where everyone has the same exact voice, especially reporters.
  • errorunknown, on 06/26/2008, -2/+21Does it describe porn videos?
  • cliquot, on 06/26/2008, -9/+0That's really good news for blind people :)

    http://freedomspark.blogspot.com/
  • xsquirrel378x, on 06/26/2008, -8/+3Dont do it!
    Blind people are malicious crackers!
    Dont you remember all the deaf phone phreaks from the 80s and 90s?
    The internet is not ready for more people with impediments at this time.
  • snoogit, on 06/26/2008, -11/+1Blind people are some of the biggest buttholes you'll ever meet. I don't know if its years of denial, or subsisting on government assistance, but I've never seen a bigger group of people who have the biggest sense of entitlement ever.
    • staeiou, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1If so, why is it you who are getting dugg down?
    • UTKevdawg, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2That is the biggest load of ***** I have ever heard. My mom is blind and while living in Atlanta, Ga commuted everyday from the suburbs into downtown Atlanta where she would then walk a mile to her job.
      You damn ignorant slob. She never asked anything of anybody. She was gracious when someone would politely help by grabbing a door or helping her out but she did not ask a damn thing of anyone and is actually more upset that she moved to a small town where jobs are not as plentiful for her.
  • ursername180, on 06/26/2008, -0/+14It'd be a bit embarrassing if they stumbled upon a porn site.

    "FREE SEX NUDE GIRLS FREE NUDE HOT MASTURBATION VIDEOS!"
  • MemoryDump, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3this is very cool. accessibility is a huge deal where I work and I know such tools will be extremely useful.
  • Eezyville, on 06/26/2008, -5/+3But can it run Crysis?
  • CurlyMike139125, on 06/26/2008, -3/+1After reading just the title, I had to check the link to see if it was from the Onion.
  • ISurfTooMuch, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5I'm wondering if they would release the software to Webmasters for inclusion on their sites. For example, a library might like to run its own copy in-house to improve access times for local content. Universities may want to do the same. And companies with intranets would certainly want an in internal copy, as they may not want to let an outside service have access to internal content.

    And, if this gets used, it could put a strain on the U. of Washington's servers.

    And I'm not an OSS zealot, but having this available under some sort of open source license could encourage some interesting development.
    • ISurfTooMuch, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Guess I should have read all the way down their site. Looks like the answer to both questions above is "yes". The software is available and open source.
  • Kirizan, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7I wonder how long till someone is sitting at a coffee shop, listining to the computer next to him read a 4chan message board...
    • akifbayram, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1Why would a blind man be on 4chan?
      • Kirizan, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Maybe it will discribe the pictures too?
    • serif69, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5"Hur-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr-arr."

      "See dash see dash see dash see dash combo brah-eeker."
    • forceuser, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1tidus.jpg
  • eigenweasel, on 06/26/2008, -1/+7The title lead me to expect that blind people are capable of acting as WiMAX routers.
  • smithricher, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Very cool!!Good news
  • serif69, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I sure like being inside this fancy computer.
  • BOFH2, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3I worked with a guy who used JAWS. That program would announce each link on a web page. He wanted to set his web page up to earthlink but it never stopped announcing links. I hope they have improved the voices on there also. It was'nt much better then Wargames "Would you like to play a game?"
  • MariettaMama, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0I first thought ok, so what is Dragon Dictate for, but it only listens, it doesnt read. Very altruistic of the researcher. Brava!
  • Sidzilla, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Now I don't have to quit playing with myself... If I go blind it's no big deal!
  • OSuX, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Sam
  • Vodd9, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1At least, THEY aren't gonna get corrupted by 4chan.
    ...
    :(
  • willywong, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1I wonder if blind people realise Stephen Hawking is a real person and not just their screen reader.
    • mossblaser, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Yes - stephen hawking's vocal system is slow-humanspeed and low quality based on old hardware. If you have every used a screen reader, you need to have it set extremely fast to make any use of things (most times people not farmiliar with such systems cannot understand what is being said as it is too fast).
  • GreatSunJester, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Potentially a great idea -- a normal blind person (yes, there are!) goes into a web cafe, library or other public computer area and can use the internet without installing anything on those machines. Full power screen readers are expensive (JAWS, WindowEyes) and free screenreaders, while getting there, leave a bit to be desired. In LINUX, ORCA is coming along very nicely as a screen reader/magnifier. On the Windows front, NVDA is growing fast and can be run from an external drive without installing anything on the machine.
    • Exact0, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1My sister in completely blind. She has JAWS, and once she learned most of the keyboard shortcuts she was browsing and doing most of the stuff I do on the web. And she's pretty damn fast. She has the voice set on the fastest setting, and keyboardshortcuts like a maniac. I can't tell what's going on, and the voice is unreconizeable to me.

      She has another cool little machine, can't remember it's name right now. It's pretty much like a scrolling LED except with braille. As it reads text on the screen it raises little dots on a touch pad. Most blind people I've met can read braille at a pretty comparable speed to normal readers, so It's a pretty nifty gadget.
    • thefinger, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1Sorry but Orca is a piece of crap. It ranks right down there with Festival. I know because I've tried both.
  • kd1s, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I'm just curious, how will it deal with porn.
  • pezholio, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Looks brilliant. Now all we need is for all web developers to start taking accessibility seriously and then we'll be set (yes, I'm looking at you Amazon)
  • Pricebreak, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0Great, now they too can experience the thrills of pop up adds and spamming. Awesome!
  • zaii7, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3YOU HAVE JUST BEEN CHOSEN TO RECEIVE 2 IPOD NANOS!
  • thefinger, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1Been using readplease on win9x and xp, going on eight years now. Among the free apps, I find it's the most discernable. I hope this new puppy can do better.
  • GreatSunJester, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1I am learning to script JAWS and can do basic navigation with it. She has my respect if she has mastered it!

    Orca is not too bad, and it is under fairly heavy development. Festival is just text to speech, not a full screen reader.... none of the free voices sound super good at this time, the commercial ones have them beat hands down. However they are far better than whatever the original Sound Blaster shipped with usung Doctor Sbytzo or whatever it was.... I remember that damned parrot...

    I work with JAWS, MAGic, ZoomText, WindowEyes, NVDA and ORCA in varying capacities.
  • mrugur, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1or how do it :( http://video-monitor.blogspot.com/2008/06/tvnywher ...
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.