For people who are blind or who have difficulty reading, there are a variety of solutions for converting text to speech (TTS). This post is a follow-up to my brief look at Accessible Rich Media Players and TTS for Web Sites.
Screen readers are software programs that read out loud in a voice the text that appears on the computer screen.
Screen Readers For All Purposes
JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is the most popular. I have been using its professional version, since its inception many years ago, to test Web site accessibility. Windows Eyes, Zoom Text and System Access are its closest, commercial competitors.
Free alternatives include Thunder and NVDA, which is growing in popularity. Others are built into Windows (see Microsoft assistive technologies) and OS X (see VoiceOver, the well regarded screen reader that is part of Apple assistive technologies).
Screen Readers For The Web
WebAnywhere and FireVox, which is a Firefox extension, work only for the Web. Both are free.
- WebAIM Screen Reader Simulation provides a way to experience what it is like to use a screen reader.
- Fangs, a Firefox extension, is a screen reader emulator that recreates a Web page similar to how it would be read by screen reader.
Text-To-Speech Plug-ins for Web Sites
Many Web sites offer their visitors TTS capability. Visitors are required to download and install a software plug-in. Once that is done, visitors are able to listen to the text on any Web site that uses the same TTS technology. One popular example is BrowseAloud. Its costs, which are for the Web site owner, are not listed on its Web site. It does have a free trial. Another example is Speaks For Itself. It appears to be free, but it seems it has not been updated recently.
Miscellaneous, But Related
ClaroRead, PenFriend and EasyTutor have screen-reader functionality, but are intended more for helping people read and write.
There are also screen magnification programs such as Magic (commercial) and Virtual Magnifying Glass (free).