INC NEWS - Durham Launches Speech-Enabled Web Site Feature

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy C. Blalock

Senior Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov> 

 

For Immediate Release:  July 30, 2008

 

Durham Launches New Speech-Enabled Feature For Web Site

"Browsealoud" Software Allows User to Have Content Read Out Loud

 

Durham, N.C. - Web site users who have difficulty reading online can now
more easily access the City of Durham's Web site thanks to new software
technology that reads Web text out loud.

 

Browesaloud, a new technology offered by Texthelp Systems, is now
available for download from the City's Web site.  When enabled by the
user, it reads Web text out loud, making content more readily available
to people with learning disabilities and vision problems, as well as
those for whom English is a second language.

 

According to Stacey Poston, acting ADA coordinator with the City's
Department of General Services, Browsealoud is free for Web visitors to
download and utilize, with links from the City's Web site and
step-by-step instructions for users of PCs and Apple computers. "We want
to increase resident interaction with City government and offering
Browsealoud is part of our continuing effort to provide open and
accessible government for all of our residents," Poston said.   "This
new service will hopefully be very valuable to some of our residents
with disabilities who may not be able to acquire this type of service on
their own."



The City will pay an annual fee of $1,800 to provide the software on its
Web site.  Users of the Browsealoud program can have the text read in
several languages, such as English, Spanish, Dutch, French, German,
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian. Users may also choose
a male or female voice and as the text is read, the words are
highlighted on the page.  

 

To download the software, Web visitors should visit the City's Web site
at www.durhamnc.gov/accessibility/accessibility.cfm, click on the orange
Browsealoud button on the right hand side of the page and follow the
prompts. 

 

For more information about this new software or any accessibility
offerings provided by the City, contact Poston at (919) 560-4197,
extension 254 (voice), (919) 560-4809 (TTY), or via e-mail at 
Stacey.Poston at durhamnc.gov.

 

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