metalmouth upgrade in the pipeline

We now have the opportunity to upgrade the metalmouth extension!

In order to ensure that any upgrade is in line with what our current users use, need or don't need we need to ask for their feedback.

So, our initial step will be to include a 'report issue' function and a 'request feature' function in the metalmouth interface - to make it as simple as possible to listen to our users.

We are also wanting to apply more rigorous testing to the off-screen model and control functions. So, acceptance tests will now be documented in Gherkin, and automated through a new 'metalmouth driver' external app. This will also enable regression testing.

Assistive technologies - baseline web support?

A big question I've often wondered about is "what baseline level of support for HTML / HTML5 / WAI-ARIA / CSS items is needed in order to consider Project metalmouth a useful assistive technology (AT) for web content?"

With an even bigger question "does such a baseline already exist, and if not would it be something other web content orientated screen-readers / voice browsers would be interested to explore / sign up to?"

1st Beta Version (V2.0.0) released!!!

Project metalmouth's first beta version of its metalmouth voice browser extension is now available for download - V2.0.0. It brings with it Chrome tab support, as well as many many performance enhancements. Work has also been started on adding new elements and WAI ARIA items to the off-screen model.

V2.0.0 is also the first version of the metalmouth extension to have had to pass though multiple usecases before release - to inject a level of quality assurance. With over 2000 users it is now more essential than ever that this upgrade, and all subsequent upgrades, perform in the intended way.

We now need as much feedback from users and user groups as possible - please help us develop metalmouth into something truly useful...

Version 1.7 is here at last! Now with voice commands!

There have been three significant under-the-hood changes to the metalmouth extension - culminating in the new 1.7 release.

Firstly, the adoption of Google's implementation of the HTML Speech Input API into the Project metalmouth extension now allows certain function to be operated by voice commands! With greater exploitation of speech recognition planned in future releases - making metalmouth a true voice-browser...

Secondly, as the marvellous folks at Google have continued to improve their Chrome based text-to-speech engine chrome.tts it was the right time to re-integrate it into this extension. This has now been done... An options page has also been introduced, which will allow a user to fine-tune aspects of the text-to-speech engine, along with other metalmouth features in the pipe-line.

Thirdly, Google's awesome Closure Library has been embraced with a corresponding change to architecture - full use can now start to be made of Google's Closure Compiler. We can say that already the extension is 50% lighter (only 100K all in!), and it should be faster and more robust.

Feedback from users has to date been a little light. As always any feedback, on what you love, like or how to make the extension better, would be gratefully received.

The focus is now on SUPPORT - support for WAI-ARIA items and more HTML5 elements... It would, however, be really useful if there was a minimum level of support for WAI-ARIA and HTML5 that this project could strive to implement in order to feel justified to call metalmouth an assistive technology... any suggestions would be wonderful???

Version 1.6.0 (Major Upgrade)

Version 1.6.0 has just been released. A new method for moving around the page means that the code could be reduced by a quarter - with massively improved performance!

A number of control panel buttons have been removed as they proved unnecessary. Now a user can just arrow up and down to read the previous or next item, click the space bar to start and stop reading, use the right arrow to go back to the page top and the left arrow to cycle through the page headers - simple!

Take a look at the user guide for more details...

Visitors up...

After 10 days of being in the accessibility category nearly 4000 people have looked at the extension. Wow!!!

Project metalmouth featured in Accessibility category on the Chrome Web Store!

Hooray!!! Nearly 300 visitors looked at the Project metalmouth extension on its first day of being featured in the Accessibility category on the Chrome Web Store.