Discussion, talk and tips
https://forum.puppylinux.com/
Hello
Has anyone any advice or experience for a program to read emails for a visually impaired person. Needs to be text to speech and simple.
Help appreciated.
Thanks
number77
Interesting....so I started looking around....might try a Chrome browser extension called Balabolka.
I am going to research this a bit to find a simple text to voice reader that can do email that a Puppy Linux can run.
This one is for Windows and has a free version -> https://www.naturalreaders.com/software.html
@number77 This one for Linux looks like a candidate -> https://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festival/
Downloads -> https://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/fest ... nload.html
this is in the Ubuntu/Debian repo's -> eSpeak which might be a useful option to try out.
I could attempt a compile of Festival..........
rockedge wrote: ↑Thu Jul 04, 2024 3:40 pmInteresting....so I started looking around....might try a Chrome browser extension called Balabolka.
I am going to research this a bit to find a simple text to voice reader that can do email that a Puppy Linux can run.
This one is for Windows and has a free version -> https://www.naturalreaders.com/software.html
@number77 This one for Linux looks like a candidate -> https://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/festival/
Downloads -> https://www.cstr.ed.ac.uk/projects/fest ... nload.html
this is in the Ubuntu/Debian repo's -> eSpeak which might be a useful option to try out.
rockedge thanks for your reply, any help would be good.
At the moment she has win10, cant see the incessant notices and upgrades. Far too complicated and overkill so she is talking of getting rid of the laptop and so loosing ability to get emails.
My xenial64 starts on power on and could start into thunderbird without anything to read at all and have only one email address. Then comes text to speech and I am out of my depth. It needs to be simple as she is old or preferably automatic.
I am looking to compile binaries of eSpeak and if possible Festival. Both programs I think can be used via command line so can be used through Bash scripts to read with voice the emails.
I believe this all can be automated down to simple one click with a PERL or Python program if not shell scripts, that will retrieve the emails and begin to read them and generate a voice
rockedge wrote: ↑Thu Jul 04, 2024 7:11 pmI am looking to compile binaries of eSpeak and if possible Festival. Both programs I think can be used via command line so can be used through Bash scripts to read with voice the emails.
I believe this all can be automated down to simple one click with a PERL or Python program if not shell scripts, that will retrieve the emails and begin to read them and generate a voice
That would be good.
@number77
Just offering an option for consideration.
I don't know your geographical location, so this is for Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), England.
Search returns this result
A program to read emails for a visually impaired person. Needs to be text to speech and simple for Windows 10
Sources
speechify.com favicon
freedomscientific.com faviconFor a visually impaired person looking for a simple text-to-speech program to read emails on Windows 10, JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is an excellent option. Here's why it's well-suited for this purpose:
Text-to-speech functionality: JAWS is a screen reader that converts text to speech, allowing visually impaired users to hear their emails read aloud
Simplicity: While JAWS is powerful, it's designed to be user-friendly for visually impaired individuals. It offers basic training in DAISY format to help users get started easily
Email compatibility: JAWS works well with popular email applications and can read documents, emails, websites, and apps
Windows 10 support: JAWS is fully compatible with Windows 10, making it an ideal choice for the specified operating system
Navigation features: The software allows users to easily navigate with a mouse or keyboard shortcuts, which can be particularly helpful when managing emails
Web form support: JAWS enables users to fill out web forms with ease, which is useful for composing and replying to emails
Additional features: JAWS includes OCR capabilities for reading inaccessible PDFs or image files, which can be helpful for email attachments
While there are other options available, such as the built-in Narrator in Windows 10 or third-party apps, JAWS stands out for its comprehensive features and specific focus on providing a complete screen reading experience. It offers a straightforward solution for visually impaired individuals who need a reliable and easy-to-use tool for accessing their email content through text-to-speech technology on Windows 10. For those looking for a free alternative, the default Mail app on Windows 10 can be used in conjunction with a screen reader like NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access), which is a free and open-source option that provides similar functionality to JAWS
.
Web site for JAWS (England, costly):
https://shop.rnib.org.uk/jaws-screen-re ... me-edition
.
Web site for NVDA (Australian, free)
Hope this helps.
Disclaimer:
I do not work for or have any affiliation to either RNIB or JAWS in any way shape or form.
@number77 / all :-
Guys, are we not forgetting something here? I don't know the specifics of the situation, but would a visually-impaired person not have issues with booting a normal computer anyway?
They're going to have problems enough with getting the machine up-and-running.....and that's before they even get around to trying to launch any additional "assistive" software. This would need to be a kind of combined hardware AND software approach, surely; be able to power-on the machine by voice command, followed by doing everything else via voice..?
I don't know if anybody's ever attempted a software equivalent to Braille.....which is essentially 'reading' patterns of raised dots by touch with the finger-tips. Braille is still the most effective method for those with sight "issues", but I can't see how you could replace the physical raised dots with a software equivalent. I don't see how it could be done...
One possible approach could be to do all this in the browser. There's several text-to-speech browser extensions around, and AFAIK, all e-mail providers offer a web interface these days, since the overwhelming majority of accounts are using IMAP; not many folks use POP3 these days. One issue remains, though; all of these extensions rely on the text to be read being "highlighted" first. I don't know how you could automate that function via voice in a browser... This stuff ain't quite as simple as it first appears, because we who have good vision take so many things for granted (like the ability to highlight a chunk of text).
Not much help, perhaps, but.......food for thought? 
Mike. 
@number77 Have you set her Windows 10 "Accessibility" options? I know it's popular to bash Microsoft, but to be honest,
they do a pretty decent job of providing tools for all types of disabilities, and Narrarator is part of those settings as well as visual aids. These are in
the Settings application. Also, MS Edge has a text to speach capability built-in...in the URL bar, towards the right end, is a capitol letter A with a double
line audio symbol. A click/tap on that will read the displayed web page.
Not playing devils advocate or anything, just wanted to point out what is already possibly available to her.
Wiz
Microsoft win probably best at this.
I tried simple, long time ago: https://oldforum.puppylinux.com/viewtop ... 79#p172879
I was using speech-dispatcher, espeak, and yasr, and more...
But really, if Linux solution then you should check out "Orca" and also "Newton"
https://userbase.kde.org/Accessibility/Plasma
https://blogs.gnome.org/a11y/2024/06/18 ... y-project/
Accessibility is probably the pinnacle of Hard to Do...
As alternative: I think almost everybody has cellphone, just use "talkback" from google.
mikewalsh wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:27 am@number77 / all :-
Guys, are we not forgetting something here? I don't know the specifics of the situation, but would a visually-impaired person not have issues with booting a normal computer anyway?
They're going to have problems enough with getting the machine up-and-running.....and that's before they even get around to trying to launch any additional "assistive" software. This would need to be a kind of combined hardware AND software approach, surely; be able to power-on the machine by voice command, followed by doing everything else via voice..?
I don't know if anybody's ever attempted a software equivalent to Braille.....which is essentially 'reading' patterns of raised dots by touch with the finger-tips. Braille is still the most effective method for those with sight "issues", but I can't see how you could replace the physical raised dots with a software equivalent. I don't see how it could be done...
One possible approach could be to do all this in the browser. There's several text-to-speech browser extensions around, and AFAIK, all e-mail providers offer a web interface these days, since the overwhelming majority of accounts are using IMAP; not many folks use POP3 these days. One issue remains, though; all of these extensions rely on the text to be read being "highlighted" first. I don't know how you could automate that function via voice in a browser... This stuff ain't quite as simple as it first appears, because we who have good vision take so many things for granted (like the ability to highlight a chunk of text).
Not much help, perhaps, but.......food for thought?
Mike.
Thats one of the problems, she is struggling with her win10 anyway and it has been modified and added to by numerous agencies and I am no expert on win10 and it boggles me. Needs to be simple.
Can you explain a bit more. She has a smart phone, as a phone and is wanting to get a tablet because of the size of screen.
She is on apple, another system I have never used.
iPhones/iPads have very good accessibility. Talkback on Android is ok but a bit 'noisy' - too much info and can be irritating.
Have a look here https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/i ... 2e4367/ios
@mikewalsh - Refreshable Braille displays can be connected to PCs (and there are stand alone devices too). Cost an absolute fortune, and you have to learn Braille first, which is a bit of a hurdle. A monkey could learn grade 1 Braille by sight in no time, but reading by touch is a something else.
It is not hard to turn on a PC/laptop. Just press the button!
JAWS and NVDA are good but may be overkill, and would need a bit of setting up so they don't speak every single keystroke and notification - she would soon lose the will to live.
As Wiz57 suggests, go for the built-in options first - larger fonts, icons, cursor etc, and lose the wallpaper (so the icons show up better). Control key with '-' and '=' is a handy quick zoom method in a browser window (or mouse wheel and Ctrl).
But having said all that crap, if she is only interested in emails, then the tablet is probably the easiest option.
@Keef :-
That all sounds like a good start, mate.
Interesting that @rockedge should have mentioned Balabolka earlier. It's originally a Windows app, but I've found the portable version (from PortableApps.com) runs beautifully under my AppImage-based WINE-portable builds. It works well, too, though I can't see quite how you could use it to read e-mails easily.
If Erik's found a browser-based extension for Balabolka, that might do the job, since most mail providers have web-interfaces nowadays.
Mike. 
@number77
A lot of blind person use cellphone for communication.
This is the video link, how she listen (100% speed speech) to the text massages/news and respond/reply to her fans.
I will mention it is probably most difficult in linux. Easier in windows or android. I got text to speech working in Waydroid and in PrimeOS (android 11). Yea lot easier in android. In linux from thread I participated in on old forum, we finally decided the easiest way was with Balabolka (for windows) run in WINE. You also had to run another old program to give it some voices to work with. Think called TTSReader. Yea kinda sad to recommend old windows programs in WINE being maybe the easiest.
Here is the thread: https://oldforum.puppylinux.com/viewtop ... 6#p1029536
On Waydroid/PrimeOS, didnt have the Google voice installed so I used an alternative called RH Voice. There is supposed to be a linux version RHVoice SOMEWHERE though I never found it. I basically used RH Voice in conjunction with a free epub reader called Librera. Dealing with the devil in form of Google and Microsoft probably the easiest. Online Google stuff to read any text entered. Maybe some browser extensions to do the same. But going to be online and tied to Google.
Big difference between visually impaired and totally blind. In latter case a gui is not only irrelevant but a nuisance. Keystroke or voice control only is more practical for a totally blind user, and for simple reading of emails, keyboard control should be fine. Trouble is that most email services nowadays are gui web based for most people, so forces finding ways to get to relevant email and scraping its content. Pity, because otherwise relatively simple to acheive email reading. Edbrowse was great for that, but had an interface that most people found difficult to learn. I used that in my long ago foksyfeyer system, but have myself now also forgotten the relevant keystrokes.
One thing not obvious to those who can 'see' is that learning tons of keystroke combinations is pretty much essential for a blind user, and morefundamental is the fact that communication in the world of the blind is very much serial, meaning letter by letter input/output (albeit read out as words). Main point being that it is not point and click oriented.
Less visual impairment results in a different scenario however.
I may resurrect foksyfeyer in simplified form, but most useful only for fully blind scenario since keyboard sequencies required to control it.
Not exactly what you asked for, but I thought I'd mention screen magnifiers. There are several which can be installed into Bookworm via synaptic: kmag, magnus, vmg, xzoom. Don't know which of those may require libs synaptic thought were built-into your OS. And as you have not specified which Puppy, haven't searched for what's available under other Puppys.