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Subject:Re: Mouseless Internet Navigation (RSI concerns) From:Matt Ion <soundy -at- SOUNDY -dot- ML -dot- ORG> Date:Thu, 20 Aug 1998 22:52:55 -0800
On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 12:10:06 -0400, Lisa Comeau wrote:
>I am about to run an Internet Access/Web Search course in which two of the students have special needs. (One due to RSI, and the other due to a "disability")
>
>Voice Recognition software is out of the question, and I'm not even sure it would work in this case.
Not knowing "why" you've ruled out voice recognition, I'd like to point
out that it IS POSSIBLE, at least if the software is properly written
to support it.
For example, IBM OS/2 Warp v4 comes with VoiceType Dictation included
(note that it uses SPEECH recognition, not VOICE recognition, meaning
that special training to individual users' voices is not necessary), as
well as a fully voice-enabled version of IBM's now-orphaned browser,
WebExplorer. Just about anyone with a clear speaking voice could sit
down at a Warp 4 machine and give the command "Launch WebExplorer" and
have it start up, without spending hours training the system to his
voice. A URL could then be dictated, and links within that URL gone to
with simple voice commands such as "Jump to Table of Contents", where
"Table of Contents" is the underlined link.
Most software should be able to support voice control by navigating
menus (you might have to tell Netscape "Bookmarks menu, Search Engines,
Yahoo", for example), while software that is fully voice-enabled would
recognize a command like "Jump to ...." to know that it's supposed to
go to the specified site or link.
In any case, from a technological standpoint, voice-controlled web
browsing is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Your friend and mine,
Matt
<All standard disclaimers apply>
"Reality is in alpha test on protoype hardware."
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