discussions about SpeakOn, a third party application designed for blind users which has a last.fm player. This group is also a forum to discuss issues effecting the accessibility of last.fm especially but not exclusively for blind and visually impaired users.
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This group is part of the last.fm group ring.
Click the random.html link above to see a random group in the ring.
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http://www.a-technic.net/speakon.htm
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is a free program that runs on your PC and is a speech enabled environment containing applications for listening to various media. It is primarily, but not exclusively intended for the blind community. SpeakOn has been developed for people who are comfortable using computers. It does not require a screenreader or magnifier; it does not have a visual interface and in fact does not require a screen at all. You communicate with SpeakOn using a numerical keypad or the standard keyboard and SpeakOn responds with it’s own speech. You can use SpeakOn with any voice on your Windows machine, this includes Microsoft Sam 5.0 which is by default shipped with Windows XP, L&H Michael and Michelle 5.0 which are shipped with Win 2000 and Office XP, and Microsoft Anna which is shipped with Vista. With a low cost external USB slimline numerical keypad, you can operate SpeakOn with one hand from the comfort of your armchair.
Among many other things, it includes a Last.fm radio application. All SpeakOn's applications operate in exactly the same way. Once the interface is mastered, it offers a quick and easy access to all its features. SpeakOn’s last.fm application comes automatically bundled with several station lists which include an eclectic mix of global tag stations. It also allows you to quicly add and play the similar artist and fan stations of your favorite artists right from the application. You can love, skip, and ban tracks just like in the official last.fm application. SpeakOn can also be made to speak the artist, album, and track name of the current playing track.
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"Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality. For example, when a site is coded with semantically meaningful HTML, with textual equivalents provided for images and with links named meaningfully, this helps blind users using text-to-speech software and/or text-to-Braille hardware. When text and images are large and/or enlargeable, it is easier for users with poor sight to read and understand the content. When links are underlined (or otherwise differentiated) as well as coloured, this ensures that color blind users will be able to notice them. When clickable links and areas are large, this helps users who cannot control a mouse with precision. When pages are coded so that users can navigate by means of the keyboard alone, or a single switch access device alone, this helps users who cannot use a mouse or even a standard keyboard. When videos are closed captioned or a sign language version is available, deaf and hard of hearing users can understand the video. When flashing effects are avoided or made optional, users prone to seizures caused by these effects are not put at risk. And when content is written in plain language and illustrated with instructional diagrams and animations, users with dyslexia and learning difficulties are better able to understand the content. When sites are correctly built and maintained, all of these users can be accommodated while not impacting on the usability of the site for non-disabled users."
From the Wikipedia article
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Last.fm has, in the past been an extremely accessible site, and staff have been responsive to issues that have come up. They have even included the SpeakOn player in the last.fm build. The native last.fm software player has never been accessible to screen readers, but SpeakOn and other 3rd party players more than make up for this.
The new website, however, with it's increased reliance on
Ajax controls, has created some accessibility issues that need to be addressed. This is why I have decided to expand the scope of this group and invite all who have an interest in making and keeping last.fm more accessible to join us, listeners, artists, staff and moderators alike.
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Window Eyes
Jaws for Windows
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WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind
www.webaim.org
the Web Accessibility Initiative
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The law itself:
Some articles from reputable sources:
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/uk-website-legal-requirements.shtml
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/accessuk/
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_legalcase.hcsp-
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I have recently learned of two projects that can help screen reader users by adding things like alt-text and landmarks using metadata to sites that is viewed through plugins we can install, one is for Firefox 3, and the other is a script for the Jaws screen reader that works with IE7.
First the Jaws application:
the Social Accessibility Project
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"The Social Accessibility Project is a service whose goal is to make Web pages more accessible to people with disabilities. The service gathers users' input and uses the power of the open community while not changing any existing content.This pilot service focuses on users of screen readers. Users encountering Web access problems anywhere at any time can immediately report problems to the Social Accessibility server. volunteers (called supporters) can be quickly notified and can easily respond by creating and publishing the e requested accessibility metadata, which will help other users who encounter the same problems. Users themselves are also allowed to improve accessibility of pages by sharing landmarks on a page. Site owners can learn about methods for future accessibility renovations based on the volunteers' external metadata."
I just started using it, the community is not large, but hopefully it will grow. You will need to get an IBM ID to register for the service.
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The Firefox application is maybe not for everyone as it requires Firefox 3. Firefox 3 has lots of bugs and issues, so if you don't already have it working on your system I wouldn't recommend it, but if you are lucky enough to be able to use FF3 successfully you should check out
web visum
Community driven tagging and page enhancements.
Automated and instant CAPTCHA image solving, sign up to web sites and make forum
posts and blog comments without asking for help!
Built in helper functions for easier page navigation and less confusion.
Numerous under the hood page tweaks designed to help screen reader users.
Visually Impaired users benefit from features such as high contrast page viewing,
link and focus highlighting, and more.
It is only available for the Firefox 3 browser.
I wish I could use it, but ff3 crashes and won't start on my system. It sounds like a great tool though.
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See what countries have visited this group:
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Active Discussions
 eeffllaattuunn commented on
“changing language” (2) March 2011 |
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“browsing for specific tracks” December 2009 |
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kb7clx commented on
“The Sandbox” (7) March 2009 |
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html-man commented on
“Well-behaved Web Applications, wonderful blog entry I just found.” (1) February 2009 |
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kb7clx commented on
“new to last.fm” (1) January 2009 |
Recent Journals
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ALBUMS FOR FREE
by MorrisTheFucker |
25 Apr 2010
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by MorrisTheFucker |
19 Feb 2010
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INTERVIEW TO THE VITAMIN B12
by MorrisTheFucker |
24 Dec 2009
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Weekly Top Artists
Shoutbox
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Headbanger62695 -
kb7clx Hi all, check out this video on Youtube, it's a song about Web accessibility guidelines with a rapping screen reader. Geek music at it's finest, educational and funny too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IWBT4Tk3t0 The video is captioned in case you can't understand the synthesized speech. Click the arrow in the bottom right corner of the player. A button with the letters "CC" (Closed Captioning) will appear. Select it. That's how captioning works on YouTube.
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kb7clx
Bring back the free last.fm http://blog.last.fm/2009/03/24/lastfm-radio-announcement Hello all, I've just found out from last.fm's official blog that all users outside the US, UK and Germany will have to subscribe to listen to last.fm radio after March 30 pass it on, tell your friends and the leaders of groups you are in, because this information is not common knowledge yet and doesn't seem to be published anywhere else yet. Hola a todos. ya descubrí que apartir del 30 de Marzo, todos que viven fuera de los EEUU, el Reino Unido y Alemánia vana a tener que subscribirse para escuchar la rádio de last.fm. Díganlo para todos sus amigos, y los líderes de todos los grupos en que sean miembros, porque esta notícia solamente está publicada en el blog de last.fm y no es bien conocida entre la maioría de los usuários. http://blog.last.fm/2009/03/24/lastfm-radio-announcement
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kb7clx
Oopse I almost forgot to tell you, it's working again. We got a response from a staff member in the forums and they fixed it. It was a server side problem, well it usually is.
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lionsworld
Um. Is anybody else as of today having problems getting SpeakOn to work on last.fm?
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kb7clx
New official public release, please read http://www.last.fm/group/SpeakOn/forum/87311/_/389456
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dionysis82 Hello everybody!
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marshmellow_man -
SirAlecHendrix my respect for shawn. i learned he doesn't only cultivate traditional and ethnic music on last.fm but is a 'warrior' for accessability, too. all the best for this honorable project.
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Pixieguts great project and best wishes on last.fm restoring this function :-)
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kb7clx
Woohoo!!! Forum reply tracker is back! To get to your forum 'reply tracker', click on the link for 'number of posts' up near the top of your user page for sighted folks, screen readers look for the word (posts) with a number in front. and follow the link to the reply tracker at the top. Screen readers look for (reply tracker). - Vaya! (Mis respuestas) de los foros han vuelto! Para lograr a su sección de (Mis respuestas), basta clicar en el número de "mensajes" (de blog) acerca del topo de tu página de perfil usuário, y siga el enlace a (mis respuestas) acerca del topo de aquella página. Opa! O rastreador de respostas já voltou! Pra achar o rastreador, basta fazer clique no link do número de posts perto do topo da página. Então siga o link ao rastreador de respostas perto do topo daquela página. Do, bonega! La respondspurilo revenas! Por atingi vian respondspurilon eblas klaki la legilon per la numero da viaj blogmesaĝoj apud la turbo de la paĝo. Poste, postiru el respondspurillegilo.
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kb7clx
Yes SpeakOn is an awesome program! Are you also on the mailing list? You're only the second screen reader user I've ever met from Japan, so I would have some questions for you. I have a friend from Brazil who really wants to learn Japanese, but he's running into some problems.
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debugon
Hi, I just joined this group today. I really enjoy using SpeakOn with my Windows Vista computer. It works well and I am happy that I can meet new songs from around the world everyday.
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kb7clx
New update to SpeakOn player with bug fixes, please read http://www.last.fm/group/SpeakOn/forum/87311/_/389456
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kb7clx
There is a new official release of the SpeakOn application. Please check http://www.last.fm/group/SpeakOn/forum/87311/_/389456 for more information.
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kb7clx
Charts! :D Cool charts at that!
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kb7clx
Group radio finally works. Woot!
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MariAnge Shawn, I don't understand the SpeakOn's avatar. Seems to be a very dark image with a laptop?
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kb7clx
Welcome to the group. The forum is open.
Newest Members (34)
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maddalena70
November 2011
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veraset
October 2011
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Hughphoria6
January 2011
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lader0
November 2010
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CruizinEB
November 2010
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snyde1
October 2010
Recent Activity
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maddalena70 joined this group. November 2011
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veraset joined this group. October 2011
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Hughphoria6 joined this group. January 2011
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lader0 joined this group. November 2010
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CruizinEB joined this group. November 2010
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snyde1 joined this group. October 2010
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MorrisTheFucker added the article ALBUMS FOR FREE to this group. April 2010
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MorrisTheFucker added the article Stalemar on 'Everything but The Kitchen Sink' to this group. March 2010
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pork_scratchers joined this group. February 2010
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Starry1086 left this group. January 2010
