IBM Software Reads Web Pages to the Blind

IBM's new "Home Page Reader" software for blind Web surfers uses a speech
synthesizer to read text and describe graphics found on an HTML-built Web
page. The synthesizer will say things such as, "There's a picture of a person
on bicycle." The software costs $149. (New York Times 4 Feb 99) 

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IBM Ships Browser for the Blind 

Tuned for HTML pages, the $149 Home Page Reader uses Navigator and IBM
ViaVoice. 

by Nancy Weil, IDG News Service 
February 3, 1999, 1:47 p.m. PT 

A new talking Web browser designed for people who are visually impaired and
who understand English is available now from IBM, the company said Wednesday. 

Home Page Reader software costs $149 and is the second version of the talking
browser from the company. A Japanese version came out last year and was
developed with assistance from Chieko Asakawa, a researcher at IBM's Tokyo
Research Laboratory who is blind, IBM said. Additional versions in other
languages are expected later this year. 

The software relies on IBM's ViaVoice Outloud United States English
text-to-speech technology and Netscape Navigator. The software recognizes
HTML tags so that it can translate text, graphics, tables, and text in column
format and data fields. 

A keypad lets blind and visually impaired users surf the Internet, and the
software has a fast-forward function and integrated e-mail. 

The talking browser runs on Windows 95, 98, and NT. It requires 32MB of
memory for Windows 95 or 98 and 64MB for Windows NT. It also needs 7MB of
hard disk space with an extra 10MB if Netscape Navigator is being installed.
The minimum processor requirement is a 150-MHz Pentium MMX or equivalent. The
package can be ordered in the US by calling 800/426-7630.  

http://www.austin.ibm.com/sns/hpr.html