Blind Fedi, do you know of any accessible platform for hosting realtime trivia/quizzes? I was asked by someone who wants to organize trivia nights mainly for blind people over Zoom and have no experience with such services. The participation process is more important in terms of having to be accessible because the organizer will be sighted. Boosts appreciated #a11y #accessibility
@cachondo Huh I didn’t think of that, but the simplest solutions are the best. It wouldn’t be super flashy but worst case I’m pretty sure it would do what they want. :)
When you visit somewhere exotic, is there a standard souvenir that you try to buy, to remind you of that place? Stickers, lapel pins, spoons, beer mats, tea towels, postcard books?
For me it's dictionaries. This turned out to be not so wise a choice when I visited six European countries in 2015.
I made it a tradition to pick up a Christmas ornament whenever we travel, and try very hard to make sure it’s made locally. If no local Xmas ornaments are to be found, I buy something that can work as an ornament.
It’s surprising and disappointing how many souvenir shops have Xmas ornaments that are themed to the location, but then I check the label and it’s made in China. 😑
@KydiaMusic I always try to buy from someone that is actively making what they are selling. It’s more authentic and supporting people that need the money.
MIT licensed document extraction Python library from the Deep Search team at IBM, who released [Docling v2](https://ds4sd.github.io/docling/v2/#changes-in-docling-v2) on October 16th. Here's the [Docling Technical Report](https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.
How does the Markdown output from Docling compare with the HTML that you've gotten out of Gemini for PDF documents? Does Docling do a good job of recognizing headings, lists, etc.?
I must not trust polls. Polls are the mind-killer. Polls are the little-deaths that bring both false hope and false doom. I will ignore the polls. I will permit them to pass over me and through me. And when they have gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see their path. Where the polls have gone there will be nothing. Only votes will remain.
Wouldn't it be great if screen reader vendors like @freedomscientific or @NVAccess could somehow offer ElevenLabs voices for their products, even if it meant users paying for an optional subscription. That would be truly amazing. Would something like this require an AI PC?
I'd be happy getting Microsoft Aria working with JAWS for a start. Is there anything at all we no-smartphone neanderthols cando with 11labs in Windows?
If not a specific AIPC, then certainly a more powerful one. My one experience with an AI PC left a bad taste in my mouth because so many apps have not been updated to work with arm processors.
That would be interesting, but wouldn't it be easier just to allow for 11 Labs to allow the voice to be exported to a format that can already be supported?
I'd love this possibility, provided the voices could be responsive enough. I use Vocalizer Nathan for JAWS and all of my iToys; enjoy having that consistency across all of my devices. Nathan is one of the better options available for both windows and Apple stuff, at least to my ears, but he's definitely got some pronunciation quirks that seemingly can't be fixed by pronunciation editors. So yes, if something more realistic and pleasant became available, I'd be interested for sure.
At one point in "The hero of ages" by Brandon Sanderson, Vin "says Lately I feel like my life is a book written in a language I don't know how to read." Oh God, how I feel this one.
@cublanco Not quite ready. trying to finish rereading everything before release day. I'm expecting quite a lot of cosmere crossover in Wind and truth. I know what you mean about kal. I really identify with Renarin.
I had completely forgotten just how incredibly beautiful the end of "The hero of ages" was. Sanderson is going to have a storming hard time ever topping that! Wow!
I am blown away by the ElevenLabs reader. It lacks many of the capabilities of Voice Dream Reader but for reading text files it's absolutely amazing. There are definite ways in which this app could be improved but as a basic text reader it's phenomenal.
Well that would be OK too, but I mean if the 11 labs reader integrated directly with book share, I could just get rid of Voice Dream, because I have other apps for playing audio.
For any of you lucky devils who got to play with Windows 3.1 what was it like? I wanna play with it but the last time I tried to install a virtual machine I couldn’t get speech working.
You'll definitely need a very early screen reader version to use Win3.1. For JAWS, I believe you'll need v1.0 or v2.0 as I think V3 dropped support for Win3.1. It was usable but I didn't really enjoy using it. It wasn't until Windows 95 came out when I really began enjoying using Windows.
@DavidGoldfield I don’t intend on using it for anything serious, mainly because it just flat up probably couldn’t do it. I’m just a nerd and I want something to poke around with. I was thinking virtual machine that way if I blow it up. I just blow it up and I can rebuild it in like three clicks.
I recently completed the #DoctorWho novel "The Time Travelers" by Simon Guerrier. It's an original first Doctr novel with Ian, Barbara and Susan as the companions, likely taking place after the TV episode "Planet of Giants." I absolutely loved this book for several reasons. First, it's a fact that many Doctor Who episodes of this era were simpler compared to many of the newer stories. I've always wanted to see a story with the first Doctor that was a bit more complex than what we got in the TV series and this book definitely does this, with time travel paradoxes being the central theme and how changes to history can create alternate timelines. One of the things that has always annoyed me about Doctor Who, whether we're talking about the TV series, audio dramas or the books, is that no matter how interesting the plot is when the story starts out it more often than not winds up being about some alien being or race intent on taking over the planet/galaxy,universe, etc. You have such a broad canvas to work with, a series about an alien who can travel anywhere in time and space, and it often deals with yet another alien invasion. Don't get me wrong; I love a good Dalek or Cybermen story as much as any Whovian and I'm not saying this concept should be done away with. However, the stories which don't deal with an alien invasion are always memorable and refreshing to me and "the Time Travelers" is one such book, without a single menacing alien anywhere to be found. There are exceptions with references to a certain alien race taking up residence on a portion of Earth in an alternate timeline but this is hardly dealt with and I somehow missed it during my reading of the novel. We also have a tasteful and reallistic exploration of Ian and Barbara's relationship, something which was not explored on the TV series but which was definitely acknowledged on a Big Finish audio. There's also a brief exploration of the fact that Susan is an alien and a certain aspect of her alien nature is briefly explored. This book, along with listening to some of the missing first Doctor TV stories, has given me a renewed appreciation of the original Doctor, along with the original companions. Parts of the book did confuse me and, on occasion, I would pause and say, "OK, so what just happened?" However, that's OK; it was nice to have such weird and complex action dealing with alternate timelines in a first Doctor novel and I still highly recommend this book. I wish we had more first Doctor stories like this one.
The most recent Jerry Rig Everything video is deep, profound, poignant and worth a watch. Americans, vote. Please, just vote. youtu.be/nZftVjs-JdY?si=9mqKyU…
Life is short - why make it harder? The USA is the *only* wealthy country in the world who does not have a form of Universal healthcare. Why get rid of what ...
Perhaps it's a certain day, but I feel like capitulating as far as Meta glasses go. I mean, as a toy, they are fine., but I still can do so much more with my phone, and what's more important, get a higher quality feedback than what I get from Meta's AI. Oh yeah, the glasses are still cool for recording and listening to the music. Let's hope Apple will soon come up with their own... :)
@tink @JonathanMosen Leonie, I think it really dependss on the use case. How often do you travel on your own? I think the audio quality is quite nice for such a tiny form factor. You can take videos up to three minutes long with stereo audio as part of them. Meta AI is rather underwhelming, at least for my taste. I don't know why it is so. Perhaps Meta is saving resources given the wide use of glasses. (1/2)
Of course, the integration with Insta, FB and Whatsapp may be important if you use these services. You cannot use Siri, etc. I'd say you should consider ordering them and trying out for yourself though. You can always return them. (2/2)
@JonathanMosen Thanks a lot. I stand corrected. I just don’t know why it did not occur to me to try Siri with the glasses on. I was just pulling out my phone every time I wanted to interact with Siri. O well, live and learn! Thanks a lot!
@JonathanMosen That only works if your phone itself is listening and can hear you. In many cases, that won't be true; e.g. phone in pocket or bag. It is possible for Bluetooth headsets to invoke Siri themselves, but the Meta glasses don't seem to have a way to do that. I suspect that may be deliberate in order to drive traffic to the Meta assistant.
@JonathanMosen Fascinating. Normally the wake word doesn't work if the iPhone's proximity sensor senses something. I guess it doesn't when it's in your pocket? It does here, heh.
@JonathanMosen Ah. Do you have Settings -> Accessibility -> Siri -> Always listen for Siri turned on by any chance? I don't. Turning that on might help this.
@jcsteh @JonathanMosen Does the iPhone in pocket working with Siri have anything to do with hearing aids? They might act as headphones or something similar to having AirPods in.
@JonathanMosen @chinakow @jcsteh I tried summoning Siri from my phone in the pocket (without glasses on my face) and was not successful. However, when I put the glasses on, Siri seems to respond when the phone is in the proximity. Hmmm, interesting.
@JonathanMosen @chinakow Heh, and earlier today I couldn't even get Siri to work with the glasses on even while physically holding the button on my phone, yet that has worked previously. 😕
@JonathanMosen @chinakow I just love how all of this tech works so reliably together. It's like these mega companies all get along swimmingly and the most important thing to them is that things work delightfully for users, regardless of walled gardens. Oh wait... sorry, must have been in an alternate universe there for a sec.
@JonathanMosen @jcsteh Still, Jonathan helped me in understanding that I can actually rely on Siri hearing me while in the pocket. As long as it works… :)
@JonathanMosen Right, unless you're like me and your phone thinks it's covered when it's in your pocket, in which case you'll need to flip that option I mentioned.
@jcsteh @JonathanMosen Yep, Jamie, I guess I need to stand back and correct myself again. LOL I just took my iPhone father away from where I could not hear me and, sure enough, the Siri wake up words no longer worked. Meta stuff still worked as before. This sort of makes sense since the glasses were not tuned to understand Siri commands.
I travel a lot on my own, so the ability to use AIRA/WhatsApp for video calls using the glasses is the main appeal. You're right though, experimenting with a pair would be the best way to answer the question 😊
@Lottie @tink @JonathanMosen Ah, that’s a good point, but also a matter of taste. I wish there were not as big but a bit more stylish, like, say, some high-end Italian brands! lOL Having said that, Ray-ban is definitely a good compromise, especially considering the amazing tech built-in.
The Five Faces of Doctor Who, the multi-Doctor repeat season was broadcast 40 years ago today, on 2 November 1981. This fondly remembered run of repeats gave many fans the chance to enjoy stories from past Doctor’s that they’d never seen before for the first time! #DoctorWho
@DavidGoldfield IKWYM, it still baffles me why they've never repeated the show on a regular basis, they seem to with just about everything else these days.
I have just downloaded the Reader from ElevenLabs. If you want a way to listen to audiobooks, get this app! Unlike Voice Dream Reader, I can't actually read what's on the screen with my Braille Display, but I love the voices and the way it reads. It is extremely accessible also.
I've wanted to try the ElevenLabs Reader app for a while but after reading your post I decided to finally download it. I am very, very impressed. Thanks for reminding me about it. It's not perfect but for reading text and Epub files it's an improvement over Voice Dream Reader.
@DavidGoldfield @technocounselor Have they improved VoiceOver accessibility? I was quite disappointed with that aspect when it was first released. On being free, based on a survey they sent me the other day, it looks like they are preparing to introduce a paid tier.
I am thinking of using github.com/keithamus/csslex as a base and going from there to learn more about CSS internals, but I admit I am Afraid of Doing Code Crimes and would like encouragment ha ha
not with that library in particular, but in librsvg I use a rust-based css lexer and parse properties with that. Writing the parsers is fun, a bit tricky sometimes. I do steal code from Servo from time to time. Happy to talk about it.
Oh the non believers among you re my toot about Woollybutt St!! I had to walk 5km there and back this . morning to bring you this .... It even has its own dedicated bus stop (@welshpixie)
He may be starting with lanes in Toronto, but all communities are at risk, including Ottawa. We need to stand up for everyone who uses these lanes, benefits from the cyclists shopping along the routes, and all those who will be too afraid to ride because of the increased danger. See you there! #ottbike #biketooter
Shall the historic anglophones ALSO sue the province of Québec AND the city of Montréal, etc. to translate ALL its websites and provincial and municipal documents into English?
MONTREAL — A Quebec civil rights group is suing the office of the registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada because of the high court’s refusal to translate its historic decisions into French.
To pull a Bezos: to sell oneself out to someone only to be kicked in the teeth by them.
Couldn’t have happened to a smarter person. Like literally, almost anyone paying attention with a modicum of intelligence would have known acquiescence would earn them nothing but scorn.
It was a difficult day for Montreal metro users on Nov. 1 with service only being restored in the early morning of Nov. 2.There were multiple delays including the green line being at a standstill for 20-hours.
Stone-built Snake Bridge on the Macclesfield Canal in England.
The ‘Snake Bridge’ or 'Roving Bridge' is a bridge over a canal constructed to allow a horse towing a boat to cross the canal when the towpath changes sides, without having to be unhitched from the boat.
If you think a cast iron skillet is the same as any other, science has proven you wrong.
In a blind taste-test, diners were able to instantly identify which meal was prepared in cast iron cookware, due to the distinctive way the cooks wouldn’t shut up about how big a difference cast iron makes.
Sixteen years since I was on the FLOSS Weekly podcast last, I will join them again on Tuesday for a new recording. I know, a little annoying that I shall keep showing up there all the time.
Trump Media Outsourced Jobs to #Mexico Even as #Trump Pushes “America First” ==
On the campaign trail, #DonaldTrump threatened businesses that send jobs south of the border, while his own company that runs the Truth Social platform outsourced coding jobs to workers in Mexico, outraging some staff members.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump threatened businesses that send jobs south of the border, while his own company that runs the Truth Social platform outsourced coding jobs to workers in Mexico, outraging some staff members.
Lenny Bruce and George Carlin were hauled away in handcuffs by the police for performances far less obscene than the ones Donald Trump is now enacting nightly before live audiences.
[Correction: I’m told that, although Carlin was arrested, no handcuffs were involved.]
Sean Randall
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