AUDIBLE MICROCOMPUTER INTERFACE FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED

THE BUILT-IN SPEECH SYNTHESIS CAPABILITIES OF THE COMING GENERATION OF PERSONAL COMPUTER HARDWARE RAISE NEW HOPES FORPROVIDING THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO PERSONAL, WORK, AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. PARADOXICALLY, SOFTWARE TRENDS TOWARD MORE POWERFUL "VISUAL"USER INTERFACES FOR FULLY SIGHTED USERS THREATEN TO FURTHER RESTRICT ACCESS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND PUSH THE LINKING OF VOICE OUTPUT TO STANDARD SOFTWARE FURTHER OUT OF REACH. CURRENT OPTIONS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE ARE (1) TO INVEST IN PREVIOUS-GENERATION MICROCOMPUTERS FOR VOICE SUPPORT IN LIMITED APPLICATIONS, OR (2) TO WAIT FOR CUSTOM-WRITTEN SOFTWARE FOR NEW MACHINES. AS OLDER COMPUTERS WILL BE PHASED OUT AND CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED WILL NEVER PROVIDE THE POWER, RANGE, AND VERSATILITY OF SOFTWARE FOR THE FULLY SIGHTED, NEITHER CHOICE IS ACCEPTABLE. THIS PROJECT OFFERS A THIRD OPTION INTHE FORM OF AN INEXPENSIVE OPERATING SYSTEM EXTENSION CALLEDOUTSPOKEN TM, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO ADD AUDIBLE CUES TO THE VISUAL INTERFACE OF ANY OFF-THE-SHELF SOFTWARE. THIS PRODUCT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO OPEN MODERN SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGYTO THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED.