Due to audible using a propriotary codek and rockbocx being an open source project, it is ne-impossible for rockbox to ever support audible, sorry
tj ----- Original Message ----- From: "Amanda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PC audio discussion list. " <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:57 AM Subject: RE: Article: Audio Menus for iPods > Is it still the case that Rockbox will not work with books downloaded from > audible.com? > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thomas (TJ) Olsen > Sent: Tuesday, 15 May 2007 1:26 PM > To: PC audio discussion list. > Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods > > > Hi > well while we've not yet heard of the ipodder, we would like to inform you > that you do not need to wait for this (most likely pricey) add on for an > ipod to navigate one while totally blind. rockbox.org provides a similar, > but much more advanced system of navigating many models of mp3 players > using > a voiced user interface. I very highly recommend looking in to it. I use > it > flawlessly to use my ihp 120. > > tj > > tj > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Price" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "PC audio discussion list. " <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 10:16 PM > Subject: Re: Article: Audio Menus for iPods > > >> Hello Steeve, >> I just red your posting about the talking ipodder. >> I've always wanted an eyepodder, but I didn't thank that it would work >> for >> me because of the fact that I'm blind. >> If they pull this earpodder off, I will be the first in line at Cirket >> City >> to get one. >> I hope this talking eye/earpodder will be avillable soon. >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Steve Pattison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "Access-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "PC Audio" >> <[email protected]> >> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 9:34 PM >> Subject: Fwd: Article: Audio Menus for iPods >> >> >>> >>>>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>From: David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> I thought this was very interesting ... >>> >>> Dave >>> >>> Technology Review >>> Tuesday, May 08, 2007 >>> >>> Audio Menus for iPods >>> >>> By Kate Greene >>> >>> Download an MP3 version of this story >>> http://www.audiodizer.com/technologyreview/infotech/download.aspx?id=18 >>> >>> 703 Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu >>> options >>> instead of looking at them. >>> >>> Clicking through the menu on your iPod demands a significant >>> amount of >>> visual attention, which can be a hassle (while jogging) and even >>> dangerous >>> (while driving). But engineers at the University of Toronto and >>> Microsoft >>> Research are working on software that could make it possible to >>> navigate >>> the menus of gadgets that use circular touch pads, like the iPod, >>> without >>> looking at them--only audio cues would be used. >>> >>> The researchers have designed an auditory menu technique--called >>> earPod--that provides audio feedback when a person drags his or >>> her finger >>> around the touch pad. Although it's not ready to replace the >>> expansive >>> menus on real iPods, the results are encouraging, says Patrick >>> Baudisch, a >>> research scientist at Microsoft Research, in Seattle, who worked >>> on the >>> project. >>> >>> LINK: >>> http://www.patrickbaudisch.com/ >>> >>> Within 30 minutes of beginning to use the technology, people can >>> navigate >>> two levels of earPod menus faster than traditional visual menus, >>> and just >>> as accurately. >>> >>> "Requiring constant visual attention while using a PC is >>> reasonable," >>> says >>> Baudisch, "but if you're using an iPod on the road, [constant >>> visual >>> attention] is unreasonable." In addition to giving people back >>> their eyes, >>> he says, audio menus could help gadgets save battery life by not >>> wasting >>> energy on a screen, and they could add functions to the >>> screen-free >>> devices such as the iPod shuffle. >>> >>> The idea of using audio menus isn't new. Auditory interfaces can, >>> after >>> all, be found in touch-tone phone menus and in various assisted >>> technologies for seeing-impaired users. But historically, handheld >>> >>> consumer gadgets haven't widely used audio menus. There are a few >>> reasons >>> for this, says Bruce Walker, professor in the school of psychology >>> and >>> college of computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. >>> >>> LINK: >>> http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/~walkerb/ >>> >>> One reason, he says, is that audio hardware and software have >>> been >>> resource intensive, requiring significant amounts of computation >>> and >>> energy. In addition, audio software has been difficult to >>> program. >>> >>> But computing power is becoming cheaper, and there is an >>> increasing >>> need >>> to find different ways to interact with handheld devices, says >>> Walker. >>> Within the past 10 years, he says, the ubiquity of mobile devices >>> with >>> small displays "has made us all visually impaired." Currently >>> there are >>> only a handful of researchers who are systematically looking at >>> ways to >>> make better audio interfaces for various devices, but Walker >>> expects the >>> ranks to grow in the coming years. >>> >>> This first earPod prototype has a two-level menu hierarchy with 8 >>> items >>> per category, for a total of 64 items. To test how well people use >>> the >>> system, the researchers assigned to the first menu level a random >>> >>> assortment of categories: "clothing," "fish," "instrument," >>> "color," and >>> four others. The next level contained eight examples of these >>> items. The >>> iPod analogy would be found in the opening menu, which includes >>> "music," >>> "extras," "settings," and then lower menus that include >>> "playlists," >>> "artists," and "albums," for instance. The earPod approach could >>> be >>> extended to read off a limited number of names of artists and >>> songs as >>> well. >>> >>> EarPod was designed specifically for gadgets with circular touch >>> pads, >>> says Baudisch. The circular touch pad is evenly divided into eight >>> >>> sectors: it's cut like pieces of a pie, with each menu item >>> associated >>> with each piece. When a person touches the dial of an >>> earPod-equipped >>> gadget, the audio menu responds with a prerecorded human voice. If >>> a >>> person puts his or her finger at 12 o'clock on the touch pad, the >>> voice >>> might say "Color," indicating that the finger is on the color >>> sector. When >>> the finger crosses one of these invisible sector lines, the user >>> hears a >>> clicking sound. As a finger moves, a new menu item is announced. >>> To select >>> an item and go to the next menu level, the user lifts his or her >>> finger >>> and hears a "camera-shutter" sound, which indicates that an item >>> has been >>> chosen. >>> >>> Because the touch pad is divided into portions, says Baudisch, >>> people >>> can >>> easily learn where menu items are and quickly jump to certain >>> items >>> without having to scroll through a list, as with an iPod. Another >>> feature >>> of earPod, he says, is that a user doesn't need to wait until a >>> menu item >>> is read before moving on to another. When a finger moves to a new >>> sector, >>> the audio is interrupted and the new item is announced. >>> >>> In the earPod usability study, conducted by Shengdong Zhao, a >>> doctoral >>> student at the University of Toronto, and project lead, the >>> researchers >>> found that people who had no experience using either an iPod or an >>> >>> earPod-equipped device used the devices with equal accuracy. >>> EarPod was >>> 92.1 percent accurate, while the visual system was 93.9 percent >>> accurate, >>> but the difference was not statistically significant. It took >>> people >>> longer to grow accustomed to earPod, but with experience, users' >>> performance on the audio menu became faster. After 30 minutes of >>> training >>> on both devices, subjects could navigate two levels of menu with >>> earPod in >>> 2.1 seconds as opposed to 2.5 seconds with the visual menu. >>> >>> Georgia Tech's Walker is impressed with the earPod approach and >>> results. >>> "My overall impression is that this is great ... It was >>> inevitable: trying >>> to look at how to take an interface that is purely visual on the >>> iPod and >>> turn it into an interface that's purely auditory, because, after >>> all, the >>> iPod's an auditory device. Why should a person have to pull their >>> player >>> out while they're jogging to look at it?" >>> >>> Currently, however, earPod could not be a complete replacement for >>> an >>> iPod >>> menu, Walker notes. One reason is that earPod doesn't lend itself >>> to menu >>> flexibility. Once a person learns the position of the menu items, >>> he or >>> she might become frustrated if those positions need to change due >>> to a >>> software update or added playlist. In particular, the approach >>> would not >>> work well for menus such as mobile-phone address books, Walker >>> says. >>> >>> In addition, adds Baudisch, because the circular track pad is >>> divided >>> into >>> sectors, there are a limited number of menu items that a person >>> can >>> access. If there are 8 sectors, each with 8 menu items, then there >>> are >>> only 64 total items accessible on the device, and this wouldn't be >>> good >>> enough for iPods that hold hundreds of playlists and thousands of >>> songs. >>> However, Baudisch suspects that future prototypes will provide >>> ways to get >>> around the problem. He and his team are exploring how people >>> respond to >>> faster audio output (speeding up the recorded voice) and how >>> people use >>> audio and visual cues simultaneously. Developing an >>> all-encompassing >>> interface for eyes-free operations on auditory devices is still a >>> future >>> project, he says. >>> >>> http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18703/ >>> >>> >>> Regards Steve >>> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> Skype: steve1963 >>> MSN Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> >>> Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... >>> http://www.pc-audio.org >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> >>> -- >>> No virus found in this incoming message. >>> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >>> Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.7.0/803 - Release Date: 5/13/2007 >>> 12:17 PM >>> >>> >> >> >> >> Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... >> http://www.pc-audio.org >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> > > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
