I've had a request from a reader, Eric, which I am honored to fulfill: That I post a general call for assistance in his work to enable speech recognition software for Windows to also operate on Linux. This would extremely helpful to our disabled community members who are very dependent on speech recognition software for their access to the Internet. Below is his explanation and appeal. PLEASE pass this on to anyone (or any blog) you feel might be interested in it. You can post responses to the comments section here (which will be read by Eric) and/or contact him directly at esj@harvee.org
THE OPEN SOURCE SPEECH RECOGNITION INITIATIVE
Today, the only really good speech recognition environment is NaturallySpeaking. The authoritative version runs on Windows and there is a port to MacOS 10 by a small company in New Hampshire. Both of these systems have the same problems. They only work with a limited number of applications, and only through great difficulty will they work with remote applications (i.e. Linux applications on another machine). On the political front the primary problem is that both platforms are not open and rather monopolistic in their business philosophies. As result, the Open Source Speech Recognition Initiative was formed. It's a nonprofit organization whose mission is making speech recognition work on Linux.
We recognized early on that doing a port was financially and politically unfeasible. We would always lag behind the current system and would end up having to put together an entire support organization to handle the questions from users. Instead, we decided to go a more practical route which was using Wine and run the native Windows version. We got lucky. At the same time, a small number of people on the Wine project took an interest in supporting NaturallySpeaking and today we have a system which mostly works but can only dictate to applications within the Wine context. This is where our next set of volunteers can help.
There are three levels of functionality that would be useful to disabled speech recognition users on Linux. They are listed in order of importance because each one provides a foundation for the next. The first is fundamental in that you can't do anything without it. The second is a significant uptick in terms of ease of use and application interaction. The third is also very useful but it is not as big a jump in usability (I think) as the first two.
The fundamental need is for basic keystroke injection and context recognition (executable name and taskbar). This would give us the equivalent of what we have today (i.e. natural text) for most applications. We should be able to dictate text and correct it. We should be able to use macro programming environments such as Vocola to implement commands for driving remote applications through keystrokes. This step is the most important one because it would have been able to transition from a split Windows/Linux environment to a Wine+Linux environment. This is not to say it shouldn't operate in a Windows/Linux split environment, because some people need that, but this is the first step to ditching Windows.
The second level is a modification of the dictation box concept. In NaturallySpeaking, dictation box brings up a window and puts into it whatever the application has selected. If there is nothing selected, then the dictation box is empty. In this box, the user can add more text or use Select and Say functionality to edit the text. On completion, the user transfers the text back to the application. The main failings of the current dictation box is that it assumes plaintext, cutting and pasting is handled using Windows APIs os ctrl-c/ctrl-v, which we all know from the dog's breakfast of X11 cutting and pasting, won't work. Another annoyance is that after transferring, the dictation box goes away.
An ideal dictation box would allow cutting and pasting etc. as needed but also allow application-specific cut and paste sequences as well as possibly application-specific plug-ins for presentation and reformatting for reinjection. Don't really know if this last item is needed, but based on what I've seen with the existing dictation box, there are strong hints it might be.
The third level functionality requires a much deeper set of tendrils into the accessibility interfaces and their applications. It would move the same type of functionality found in a dictation box into the applications itself. Enabling Select-and-Say in the application would be a major task and benefit from a usability standpoint.
We need help. It's not easy to write code by voice at the best of times and, quite frankly, some of the environments are downright hostile to speech driven programming. We need some basic tools so that we can start bootstrapping ourselves the rest of the way up. We need help with someone fixing VR mode for Emacs because its current method of identifying Windows for dictation is flawed. We need help getting characters from NaturallySpeaking in Windows or Wine over to Linux. We need help getting over the initial couple of humps.
Thanks for reading. -- Eric
Saturday, May 17, 2008
OPEN SOURCE SPEECH RECOGNITION INITIATIVE: AN APPEAL FOR HELP
I've had a request from a reader, Eric, which I am honored to fulfill: That I post a general call for assistance in his work to enable speech recognition software for Windows to also operate on Linux. This would extremely helpful to our disabled community members who are very dependent on speech recognition software for their access to the Internet. Below is his explanation and appeal. PLEASE pass this on to anyone (or any blog) you feel might be interested in it. You can post responses to the comments section here (which will be read by Eric) and/or contact him directly at esj@harvee.org
GINNY BATES: I BRING SORROW
Here's the next segment of my novel-in-progress, Ginny Bates. Begins after my post of yesterday -- a brief respite to ya'll from the cliffhanger.
If you are already a familiar reader, begin below. If you need background, check the links in the sidebar on the right, fifth item down, to get caught up.
May 2012
Myra slid the chain free and stepped back. Allie came in and walked around the motel room, hands still in her pockets. She looked at Myra's laptop on the table, the neat row of new books along the windowsill, and the bags of Reece's Cups and Funyums on a chair. Myra wished the grapes and baby carrots she'd been snacking on last night were on display instead of back in the cooler. Allie stopped by the marine hardware arrangement on the dresser and an expression of bewilderment crossed her face. She pulled out a hand to open the top drawer, taking note of Myra's clothes, underwear, socks in tidy array before she shut the drawer slowly. She walked over to the trash can, full of plastic Coke bottles. Then she sat down on the foot of the bed, leaned her hands onto her knees, and burst into sobs.
It was worse than if she had yelled at Myra, or taken a punch. Much worse. After a stunned moment, Myra crossed to Allie and sat beside her. Allie didn't pull away from her, but her body language didn't welcome Myra in, either. After a couple of minutes, Myra heard a muffled phone ringing. She stood, thinking somehow her cell in the drawer had come on, but Allie pulled a phone from her pocket and answered it, choking back tears.
GINNY BATES: ISLAND AND FERRIES
(Aerial view of Anacortes and Fidalgo Island, Washington)
Here's the next segment of my novel-in-progress, Ginny Bates. Begins after my post of May 14th.
If you are already a familiar reader, begin below. If you need background, check the links in the sidebar on the right, fifth item down, to get caught up.
Early May 2012
When it came time for Gillam to return to Olympia, riding with Carly, he looked pale and was tight around the eyes. He stood in a long hug with Myra, and her chest ached at what he faced. When they tried to pull away, they discovered that Beebo, in the carrier Gillam was holding, had reached through the grill and snagged Myra's pants with a claw. She bent down to disengage him gently and whispered "You look after him. Don't worry, we'll all be together this summer."
Margie and Frances also left on Sunday, hoping to beat holiday traffic. Margie said quietly to Ginny that they could use a day alone. Ginny wanted to ask more, but they were interrupted and the opportunity never returned.
Friday, May 16, 2008
JAMESTOWN, POCAHONTAS, AND THE NEXT 400 YEARS
(Village of Jamestown, on the James River, Virginia, c. 1615)
"I have noticed that as soon as you have soldiers the story is called history. Before their arrival it is called myth, folktale, legend, fairy tale, oral poetry, ethnography. After the soldiers arrive, it is called history." -- Paula Gunn Allen, Ph.D.
Two days ago was the 401st anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, which led to, well, the United States. Jamestown looms large in my personal narrative and psyche because I'm a direct descendant of one of the second wave of settlers there, Captain James Davis -- who was one of the folks jumping at the chance to introduce African slavery to this continent. A legacy to contend with.
There's an excellent article (complete with excellent links) about Jamestown up at the wonderful blog The Edge of the American West. Excellent, that is, until the end when the author tries to introduce some whimsy by including a clip of Disney's Pocahontas. Despite his having earlier repudiated this myth, it's not enough to make up for that crap being referenced at all. Instead, I recommend you read Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat by Paula Gunn Allen, Ph.D.. Allen is a Laguna poet, critic, essayist, novelist, short-story writer, educator, editor, lesbian-feminist, and one of the founders of Native American studies in this country. The review of the Pocahontas biography at Harper Collins states:
"In striking contrast to conventional accounts, Pocahontas is a bold and daring biography that attempts to tell the extraordinary story of the beloved Indian maiden from the Native American perspective. Drawing from sources often overlooked by Western historians, Dr. Paula Gunn Allen offers remarkable new insights into the adventurous life and sacred role of this foremost American heroine.
(Sedgeford portrait of Pocahontas and her son, Thomas Rolfe)
"We have all heard about the love-struck Pocahontas saving the dashing Captain John Smith from execution by the Chief of the Powhatans, but what if the whole event was a staged ritual of his death as a foreigner and his rebirth as an adopted member of the Powhatan Nation? Settlers at Jamestown report a young, cartwheeling Pocahontas frequently at their fort, but could the innocent-looking visitor actually have been a spy -- reporting back to her elders what she saw there? Was Pocahontas willingly kidnapped by the British settlers in exchange for corn and other ransom from her tribe, or was this a part of her more elaborate plan? We have been taught that this amazing woman was later baptized a Christian and married in the church at Jamestown, yet she helped her husband, John Rolfe, grow and export tobacco -- a powerful, indigenous herb to which the Native Americans attributed shamanic powers. Finally, the 'Indian Princess,' now known as Lady Rebecca Rolfe, traveled to England for an audience with King James I and Queen Anne. Was this a publicity stunt orchestrated by the English backers of the Virginia colony, or was Pocahontas fulfilling her role as a 'Beloved Woman,' an honor designated to a female of great spiritual power who was to be trained from birth in the diplomatic and political ways of her tribe?
"Pocahontas became an extraordinary ambassador, forming groundbreaking relations between the Indians, the American colonists, and the British. Dr. Gunn Allen convincingly argues that through all of this, Pocahontas fulfilled a crucial and essential role in the birth of a New World. This stunning portrait presents the fascinating, untold story of one of the most romantic and beloved figures in American history, and reveals why so many have revered Pocahontas as the female counterpart to George Washington, the true 'Mother of Our Nation.'"
I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Allen speak a few years ago, after this book came out. She was able to draw on the oral tradition and tribal memory of the people who are Pocahontas' descendants, which revealed that these people believed in 400 year cycles of development and change. They understood they were approaching the end of one era, and were about to see extreme transformation into another era. This is a large part of the reason why the first white settlers at Jamestown were not killed immediately: The native peoples waited to see if these newcomers were the bringers of change, in which case there was no point in trying to delay it. Their acceptance of and eventual assistance to such catharsis stands in contrast to our own cultural approach to unsolicited or unwelcome change.
However, Dr. Allen pointed out that day, we're entering the watershed between the past 400 years (set in motion at Jamestown) and what will come next: Something that may well mean our disappearance as a culture. Who among us will play Pocahontas' role of gracefully ushering in the new world?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
GINNY BATES: NOTHING YOU CAN SAY WILL TEAR ME AWAY FROM MY DYKE
(Photo of a 1920's gay and lesbian marriage in San Francisco, from family photos of Rodney Karr -- not sure if this event was serious or humorous)
Here's a special edition section of my novel-in-progress, Ginny Bates, to honor this particular day. It would occur chronically between the previously published posts labeled "Entropy" and "Cell Division". If you are already a familiar reader, begin below. If you need background, check the links in the sidebar on the right, fifth item down, to get caught up.
15 May 2008
When Myra got up, Ginny handed her a bowl of just-baked granola and said "It passed."
"No kidding? I mean, no further appeals?" Myra couldn't believe it.
"Well, I'm sure the wingnuts will get a state constitutional amendment on the ballot as soon as they can, but Ah-Nold has said he'll oppose it. For what that's worth."
Ginny and Myra stared at each other. Myra said softly "This means Allie and Edwina -- they're officially married."
Tears stood in Ginny's eyes. "I didn't think it would matter to me this much, but it does."
LOLCATS WEEKLY ROUND-UP, 13 MAY 2008
Here's the weekly best of what I've gleaned from I Can Has Cheezburger efforts. I apologize for the two-day delay -- other posts took precedence this week. The huge storms last night did not affect me directly, except to prompt me to close down my computer connection. I have power and no downed trees in my immediate vicinity, so I'm lucky compared to the rest of central Austin.
As usual, those from little gator lead the pack.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
ALTRUISM IS STRONGER THAN COMPETITION
(Irena Sendler, 1943, after escape from Pawiak prison)
I have a couple of postings at other sites to recommend to you, especially if you want hope (not the slick packaged kind) and inspiration.
The first is the story of Irena Sendler, "credited with saving some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, some of them in baskets", who died last Monday at age 98. Ma Vie in KC (a sister lesbian blog) has a great photo of her. Other feminist blogs have been writing about her, and the Life In A Jar: Irena Sendler Project site has other ways to continue her work of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).
I've previously written about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising here at Zog Nit Keynmol.
(Sara Tucholsky got a lift from Central Washington's Liz Wallace, left, and Mallory Holtman. Photo by Blake Wolf.)
My second ardent recommendation is to view the video concerning Sara Tucholsky at Group News Blog. I'll copy in their New York Times excerpt identifying her:
Ms. Tucholsky plays softball for Western Oregon University, but in her high school and college careers, the 5-foot-2 player had never hit a home run. On the last Saturday in April, in a game against Central Washington University, she hit her first home run over the fence. But as she began to run the bases, a misstep resulted in a torn knee ligament and she couldn’t continue.
The umpire mistakenly ruled that a team member couldn’t run in her place or assist her around the bases. A member of the opposing team, first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Ms. Tucholsky run the bases. He said they could, and Ms. Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace carried her around the field as she gently tapped her uninjured leg on each base.
This means that the competing team who assisted her on her home run LOST their chance at the Division II NCAA championship. Go watch the video and hope each of these young women move on to assume positions of leadership in our world, because they are the best we could have.
GINNY BATES: DAYENU
Here's the next segment of my novel-in-progress, Ginny Bates. Begins right after my post of two days ago.
If you are already a familiar reader, begin below. If you need background, check the links in the sidebar on the right, fifth item down, to get caught up.
Spring Break 2012
By the time they finished going over Allie's drawings and ideas, it was 1:00 in the afternoon. Edwina said "I have a date with a friend, I need to go."
"Call me later, check in about how I'm getting home?" asked Allie as they kissed goodbye. Gillam said "I want to help with the painting, but I'm going to start a roast for dinner first. That big one in the freezer, it'll take four hours."
Allie borrowed an old T-shirt from Ginny and they went upstairs. After hauling the furniture from Margie's old bedroom into the hall, they lay down dropcloth and began taping windows.
"What color did ya'll settle on?" asked Allie, looking at the top of the paint cans.
"It's what I'd call a deep sky blue" answered Ginny. "For trim and the ceiling, titanium white with a hint of honeydew -- you won't see it, but you'll feel it. It will make a profound difference in how inviting this room is. The color Margie painted it always reminded me of upchuck from somebody who'd been eating raspberries and oysters."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
LESBIAN RADIO INTERVIEWS: LIZA COWAN, SHARON BRIDGFORTH, MARTHA NELL SMITH
(Liza Cowan, self-portrait with scarf, © 2008)
Merry Gangemi produces and hosts a weekly radio show, Woman-Stirred Radio, that broadcasts every Thursday, from 4-6 p.m. EST on WGDR 91.1 FM (Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont). Her next show, this Thursday, May 15, will feature our beloved Liza Cowan. If you go to the Woman-Stirred website at the correct time, you should be able to listen to it live-streamed by clicking on the link in the left-hand column. It's also available via the WGDR website above.
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