Accessible Test
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- Book Port
APH Speech Environment(Continued) Purpose To develop a reusable foundation for current talking software from APH Project Staff Larry Skutchan, Project Leader Rob Meredith, Programmer Keith Creasy, Programmer Background APH develops talking software that runs under current and future versions of Windows. While each completed title is different, they also have much in common, especially with respect to access issues. The APH Speech Environment (ASE) provides the following common services to all the programs under development:
ASE is a program module that provides these core services. While it will not be a stand-alone product, it is included as part of most APH software developed for Windows and could be provided to other Accessible software manufactures in an effort to meet the 508 regulations referring to government procurement of electronic tools. During the first few years of APH software development, standard services were enough to meet the needs of the software under development. For example, providing access and speech to common Windows controls and menus, a means of controlling speech parameters and voice selections, a means of stopping the speech on request, a way of repeating the information, and precise punctuation pronunciation control were once enough to meet the needs of the applications under development at APH. As more titles gain popularity, ASE's capabilities must expand to meet the needs of the new software. In APH's first three titles, for example, the software was all written in C or C++ programming languages, and none of the packages required the ability to echo keyboard input, although each provided this functionality. Neither did the titles have much need for braille output. ASE's role has already expanded with the introduction of a user registration mechanism. These algorithms let the application query registration information and inform the application as to whether it is running as a demo or as a full version. They also provide a user interface that describes the limitation built into the demonstration version of the calling application and offers the user the ability to enter a key that he may obtain from APH customer support over the phone or electronically. Once the customer enters that key, the application is converted from a demo into a fully registered version of that program. Now, as APH develops under different programming languages and with the need to provide these technologies to other companies that wish to license APH's software, the flexibility of ASE's interface was improved. The first version of ASE was packaged as a standard Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL). This is an extremely efficient means of passing large amounts of information from one component to another. Unfortunately, this technique is feasible to use only with the C programming language. As ASE's capabilities expand and the demands on it from client software expands, ASE required moving to the Component Object Model architecture. About 80% of ASE's functions have been converted to this architecture, and several educational software products are already taking advantage of ASE's new interface and capabilities. Work during FY 2009 Corrected some minor bugs. Work planned for FY 2010
Book Port(Continued support) Purpose To provide a hardware tool for reading electronic books in a means convenient to the student and professional Project Staff Larry Skutchan, Project Leader Steve Gomas, Project Consultant Rob Meredith, Programmer Keith Creasy, Programmer Mario Eiland, Programmer Rosanne Hoffmann, Research/Project Assistant
In FY 2000, APH began distributing a device that uses synthesized speech in a portable, convenient housing to let the user read electronic books without having to stay near the computer. While this device, the Road Runner, is no longer available, its popularity and utility were unsurpassed, especially for those students and professionals who had large amounts of material to read. Research staff began planning enhancements to the device and its interface. So, when its unavailability became apparent, staff began design on a new device that addressed the shortcomings of Road Runner while building increased functionality and flexibility for the future. These new issues included: increased, removable storage media, incremental deletes, more file types, better navigation and review, and a simplified interface. The unit needed to be able to accommodate memos, so the number of keys was increased to allow braille input for making annotations. The unit also needed to be able to play digitized audio so that it may play Digital Talking Books. As the years of software improvements continued, the hardware components became obsolete and difficult to purchase. A new model was needed that included features such as:
As design for the next generation of hardware failed, staff began looking for an alternative means of providing the capabilities Book Port offered. Work during FY 2009 Updated support for bookshare.org Daisy titles as file specifications evolved. Work planned for FY 2010 See the write-up for Book Wizard Plus for the description of the hardware replacement. We will continue to provide software support and upgrades for this product. Yüklə 1,48 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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