Amazon Allow Removal of Text-To-Speech Function
Posted by rbwatson1 on March 18, 2009
Publishers and authors can now disable the text-to-speech (TTS) function of a new e-book reader, after its manufacturer Amazon has bowed to requests from the Authors Guild, an American organisation which represents writers’ interests.
The Kindle 2, recently released in the US (though with no immediate plans for a European release), is marketed as a ‘wireless reading device’, which allows users to read downloaded books, magazines, newspapers and blogs. Until now, any text downloaded to the device could also be read using the TTS function. Though the function is not marketed as an accessibility feature (and although the Kindle 2 requires sight to navigate it effectively), it has proved valuable for visually impaired users.
Speaking to E-Access Bulletin, Richard Orme, Head of Accessibility at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said: “We want manufacturers to make sure that text-to-speech is available for all people who have a legitimate print disability. It is essential for people using speech readers that they can access content which hasn’t been blocked. Synthetic speech is not the equivalent to speech by a human. We refute that strongly.”The Authors Guild objected to the TTS function in February, claiming that it effectively turned the Kindle into an audiobook device, even though no audio royalties were being paid.
Amazon have now allowed the feature to be disabled if a text’s publisher or author wishes to do so. The company told E-Access Bulletin: “We believe that most authors will decide that leaving text-to-speech enabled on their titles is in their commercial interests, and will choose accordingly. So Kindle 2 will still provide an innovative option for handicapped customers.”
In a statement, The Authors Guild says their objection to the audio function is solely a royalties issue, and that they support accessible technology: “[Some people] suggest that challenging Amazon’s use of this software challenges accessibility to the visually impaired. It doesn’t: Kindle 2 isn’t designed for such use. The Guild continues to support efforts to make works truly accessible to the visually impaired.”
Amazon Allow Removal of Text-To-Speech Function
Tristan Parker
Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:21:45 GMT
