If you checked the sending information for tha message, you would see that I CCed accessibility, along with the other messages I and others have sent them in the past.
Regards Justin On Aug 25, 2009, at 12:49 PM, Scott Howell wrote: > > And as I keep saying, make your concerns known. It's one thing to > state your feelings here, but quite another in stating them to Apple. > If enough people really want this and write to Apple, then there is a > very good chance it will appear on the right radar screens. There is > a number of features that ended up in Snow Leopard as a direct result > of people making their wishes known. So, send your suggestion to > accessibil...@apple.com > and keep reminding them from time to time. If you think about it, > this is how many features find their ways into many products. > On Aug 25, 2009, at 3:22 PM, Justin Harford wrote: > >> >> I've been thinking more about this other language synthesizers issue. >> I wonder how hard it would be for apple to include by default the >> voices that it uses for the iPhone on the installation CD of its >> operating system. That way, a blind person could manage bios and >> system installation in multiple languages no problem. And they would >> be low quality voices right? So they wouldn't take that much extra >> space. Then there could be some way by which we only put certain >> languages on the hard drive through installation. So maybe, if I >> install my OS in Spanish, the CD will automatically only install the >> Spanish synthesizers. Or maybe, it could install all synthesizers by >> default. This would be nice for public computers, but if individuals >> wanted the extra space, they could opt to not install those >> synthesizers as they would opt to not install the extra language >> localizations. >> >> Maybe I might offer another perspective on this. On no screen reader >> has there been offered a high quality voice like Alex. In a way, >> apple are already stomping on the shoes of Acapela Group slightly by >> offering an american synthesizer which far out does anything their >> american voices could dish out. I think that standing behind apple >> in >> not including other language synthesizers in Mac OS X because of fear >> of hurting Acapela is a silly notion as it places the interests of >> business before the consumer, but let's discuss that anyway since it >> is a concern. Usually the place of a company like Acapela would be >> supplying high quality speech synthesis, which it does very well, and >> the place of the company that produces the screen reader would be to >> just provide synthesis. Freedom scientific have offered foreign >> language with eloquence for a number of years now at no extra cost, >> and of course the same goes for all screen readers using ESpeak. The >> idea is that you get to listen to stuff read in the language of your >> choice, though it might not be the highest of quality. If you want >> high quality, you go to a company like Assistive Wear and buy the >> high >> quality Acapela voices. In a way, I would almost say that apple >> would >> have done better to have implemented the iPhone synthesis along side >> Fred and the other English voices, in stead of producing Alex, but >> that's neither here nor there. >> >> The bottom line is that Apple is a company which, by its actions, >> seems to aim to serve an international customer base. It has been >> possible for many years for a person in France, Germany, or Japan or >> where ever else to install and use the Mac OS in their native >> language. I think that Apple has demonstrated that it understands >> very well the importance of including a world market in its computer >> revolution. In 2005, they demonstrated that they also understood the >> importance of including people who use their computers by alternative >> means. I remember an article from Apple to the developers a few >> years >> back, which characterized the last 20 years in these terms… in the >> 90s >> we were working on internationalizing computers so that people of >> different nationalities could use them, then came the new millennium >> where the new challenge has been working on making computers usable >> by >> people of different physical/sensory ability. One of the first >> things >> I noticed about my iPhone is that the accessibility menu is just down >> from international. >> >> It seems like then, apple understand accessibility and international >> as two facets of a single goal, to make their computers usable by as >> many people as possible. They should understand that accessibility >> and international are practically the same thing because there are >> people with disabilities all over the world, not just in the United >> States. So yes, apple surely understand this, then there must be >> some >> reason as was already suggested for why they insist on not >> implementing foreign language synthesizers. In conclusion, I think >> it >> would be nice that they should include low quality foreign language >> synthesis in their OS, or if not that, at least they should give us a >> straight forward explanation of why they refuse to do so. At least >> this way, myself and others needn't be left so dumbfounded at the >> fact >> that they would include such clever integration of foreign speech >> synthesis and localization in their iPhone, and not in their >> computers. It really just doesn't make since. >> >> Regards >> Justin Harford >> On Aug 25, 2009, at 10:50 AM, Scott Howell wrote: >> >>> >>> I think those voices were included for other reasons and happen to >>> work with VO. Of course Bells for example serves no purpose for >>> users >>> really, but I suspect they are again there for other purposes. Of >>> course you could always suggest to Apple they remove those voices if >>> no one really has a use for them and replace with other voices, >>> which >>> support other languages. >>> On Aug 25, 2009, at 10:16 AM, william lomas wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> hi all I know bad news, bells etc. are commical voices but aren't >>>> they a waste of space in the OS, really? >>>> Thoughts? >>>> Will >>> >>> >>>> >> >> >>> > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
