These days smartphones are smart enough to take over the processor-intensive task of turning images of text into text that can be voiced (for more on optical character recognition, see the Using Technology for Reading Guide). Smartphones also include a hardware camera, which means they have everything they need to become all-in-one “Reading Machines.”

1. Have Mac Read Text

Motoread: (iOS, Chrome, and Safari desktop extensions). I think of Motoread as a podcatcher for. Any Text to Voice is a powerful text-to-speech app to read out loud text on PC or phone, and save text to audio files.

We mentioned earlier in this guide that Google Goggles and Talking Goggles for Android and iOS can identify and recognize some text. Other apps, such as TextGrabber and Prizmo have been optimized to perform these tasks exclusively. These apps tend to be more than a little finicky, however. You have to have the text lined up perfectly square, and hold your phone absolutely still and at just the right distance from the page. Needless to say, these are not skills many individuals with visual impairments excel at.

Several years back, K-NFB Reading Technology Inc released a product called the KNFB Reader. This software package enabled users of certain Nokia feature phones running the Symbian operating system to snap a photo of a printed page, have it turned into text, and then have that text read aloud. The Symbian operating system has subsequently languished, but in the early fall of 2014 and to much fanfare, the company released a new version of the KNFB Reader for iOS

KNFB works on a range of Android devices, depending on processing speed and camera quality. KNFB works on iPhone 4s through 6s Plus, iPod touch 5 and 6, and on the iPadAir2. Technology changes quickly—check with the developer to make sure the app works with your specific device.

Read a review of the KNFB reader for iOS in the November 2014 issue of AccessWorld to learn more. To pique your interest, below are a few of the KNFB Reader’s blindness-aware features:

In Messages on your Mac, have text messages read out loud or ask Siri to read your text messages at any time. TTS Reader is an all-in-one Book Reader, TTS Reader, Text To Speech Reader, Out Loud Reader, Voice Reader. Read any book format out loud, using the TTS engine of your own choosing: EPUB, MOBI, TXT. Just keep in mind that Acrobat can only read digital text. It can’t read text in images. Getting Your Mac To Read Text Aloud. We don’t want to leave out Mac readers behind, so here’s the easiest built-in way to make your Mac speak text aloud. It’s part of the accessibility features and uses a hot-key to start and stop the voice from.

• The app uses the latest and most advanced text recognition, and it includes this software within the app. You do not have to wait while an image is uploaded to a company server and recognized there.
• KNFB Reader is extremely forgiving about target position. It will automatically straighten and/or rotate the target page for optimal recognition.
• The app’s interface is clean and simple, and it was designed from the ground up to work with the VoiceOver screen reader.
• The app offers an easy-to-access control to facilitate better positioning, with status messages such as: “Right bottom edges are visible; rotated 10 degrees counterclockwise.” Or, ideally, “All four edges are visible; rotated zero degrees clockwise.” You can also switch on Tilt Guidance which provides haptic (vibrating) feedback to help you position your device over the target text.

To read a piece of mail using the KNFB Reader, you would perform the following steps:

• Start the KNFB Reader app
• Place the first page of the letter, bill, or circular on a flat, well-lighted surface. The app will only read printed (not handwritten) text.
• Lay the iOS device (visit the KNFB Reader website for a current list of compatible devices) on top of the page’s center, then slowly raise it 9 to 12 inches.
• Perform a one finger double tap anywhere on the left side of the iPhone screen. You will hear a camera shutter sound, then, a few seconds later, the text will begin to speak.
• Change pages and repeat.

The KNFB Reader does a near perfect job recognizing a standard printed page. It also does a good job reading box and can labels. Many users even report success using the app to read Chinese fortune cookie fortunes.

Hello everyone,

I would like to introduce you to Talkie Video Player for Mac. This video player is just like most of the other players on the market except for the feature which reads subtitles. Currently, it supports all major video and subtitle formats.
The player uses all voices that are available on macOS.

Here is the official description:
Talkie Video Player is an easy to use media player with the special ability to read subtitles out loud. Enjoy your favorite videos and let the Talkie Video Player read subtitles to you.
The app is primarily designed for those who are visually impaired or blind, but can be used by anyone who would like to enjoy watching a video without needing to read subtitles.
Talkie video player lets you easily control the sound of the video and the voice volume, so listening to the video and the voice reading the subtitle can be customized to your liking.
- Support for over 40 premium voices in more than 30 languages.
- Ability to play over 50 media formats.
- Support for all major subtitle file types.

The application can be downloaded at the following URL:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1449853294

Have Mac Read Text

You can reach out to me at: adindeveloper@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @adincebic or even visit talkieplayer.com