[Nfb-science] Fwd Microsoft Word files to serve as talking books

[David Andrews]

>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <BlindNews at GeoffAndWen.com>
>To: <BlindNews at FreeLists.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 6:48 AM
>Subject: Microsoft Word files to serve as talking books
>
>
> > CNET News
> > Tuesday, November 13, 2007
> >
> > Microsoft Word files to serve as talking books
> >
> > By Elsa Wenzel
> >
> > Microsoft and open-source site SourceForge
>http://www.sourceforge.net/
> > will offer a free plug-in early next year that will convert
>Office 2007
> > files to the DAISY format that translates text to speech.
> >
> > The free tool will add a "Save as DAISY" option within Word 2007,
>2003 and
> > XP software. DAISY XML files can be read aloud by speech
>synthesizers,
> > paired with audio narration and used to create electronic
>Braille. Users
> > can navigate open-standard DAISY documents quickly by jumping
>between page
> > elements, such as headers and indexes.
> >
> > The DAISY Consortium of 70 nonprofits has aimed since 1996 to
>make all
> > published information available to people with visual impairments
>and
> > learning disabilities. The acronym stands for Digital Accessible
>
> > Information System.
> >
> > http://www.daisy.org/
> >
> > Digital narration serves computer users with visual impairments,
>people
> > with learning challenges like dyslexia, as well as those with
>Parkinsons
> > disease and other conditions that make it hard to type or hold a
>book.
> >
> > With the release of the Office 2007 suite in January, Microsoft
>shunned
> > the popular, XML-based Open Document Format for its own, new Open
>XML
> > format. The OOXML documents, which include Word files with the
>DOCX
> > extension, are easier to retrieve if corrupted than the older DOC
>files.
> >
> > Versions of Word prior to 2007 can open OOXML documents after a
>one-time
> > download of a free converter from Microsoft. However, critics
>gripe that
> > Microsoft's format change was unnecessary and clumsy. Microsoft
>maintains
> > that the new format enables greater flexibility, such as
>accessibility
> > features.
> >
> >
> > http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9815836-7.html?tag=nefd.blgs
> > BlindNews Mailing List
> > Subscribe: BlindNews-Request at FreeLists.org with "subscribe" as
>subject
> >
> > Unsubscribe: BlindNews-Request at FreeLists.org with "unsubscribe"
>as subject
> >
> > Moderator: BlindNews-Moderators at FreeLists.org
> >
> > Archive: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind
> >
> > RSS: http://GeoffAndWen.com/BlindNewsRSS.asp
> >
> > More information about RSS feeds will be published shortly.
> >