Actually, some things do talk well with the api but you run into other snags. The problem with screen readers is that they are patches on patches. If the api such as the one mac has put into their os can be robust enough and is coded for as you say, it works out to be a much more functional solution. I think we'll go further with voice over than we've gone with other talking adventures. I'm not convinced that a screen reader is a better approach based on my 14 years or so of experience working with them and learning how they work and what their limitations are. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Travis Siegel" <tsiegel@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup at braille.uwo.ca> Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2004 10:05 PM Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Fwd: mac spoken interface (fwd) API stands for Application Programming Interface. Microsoft has one of these too, but ask yourself, how many programs talk right out of the box that weren't specifically designed for it? Zero, that's how many. Apple has gone one step farther than MS did, and actually integrated their speech api into the os directly, but still, if programs don't call the api, they won't talk. That's why I call it an API, and not a screen reader as such. If it were a real screen reader, it would read things regardless of how they were coded. Of course, it wouldn't do a very good job with some things, and a fairly decent one with others, but it would still work. With Apple, if you don't code for the api at all, then it won't talk at all. (as evidenced by the terminal window that doesn't talk at all, because Apple hasn't done anything with the non-graphical c9omponents of their os) Apple is calling it a screen reader, and to some degree it is, but it's a screen reader that won't make a single peep if the application doesn't do things properly. that's why I call it an API instead. Apple's marketing department doesn't agree with me, but I think it's a very important distinction to be made as speech api doesn't say the os talks, where as screen reader built-in sets a level of expectation that Apple and their vendors aren't ready to accomodate. _______________________________________________ Speakup mailing list Speakup at braille.uwo.ca http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
