Announcing Emacspeak-11.0 (Aster).

           Announcing Emacspeak-11.0 (Aster).
           --------------------------------------

For Immediate Release:

Mountain View, Calif.,  (November 29, 1999)
    Emacspeak-2000: Opening Doors To A Windows-Free 2000.
    --Zero cost of ownership makes priceless software affordable!

Emacspeak is a fully functional audio desktop that provides
complete eyes-free access to all major 32 and 64 bit
operating environments.  By seamlessly blending all aspects
of the Internet such as Web-surfing and electronic messaging
into the audio desktop, Emacspeak enables speech access to
local and remote information with a consistent and
well-integrated user interface.  With support for the freely
downloadable IBM ViaVoice Outloud speech synthesis engine,
Emacspeak now turns Linux into the first zero-cost Internet
access solution for blind and visually impaired users.

Code Name Note:
---------------

After 10 years of loyal service, Aster Labrador retired
from active duty as a guide-dog on November 28, 1999.  She
has agreed to stay on as Emacspeak's press contact for the
immediate future.  This release is code named Aster in
honour of her unflagging service over these last 10 years.


Emacspeak At The Bazaar:
------------------------

The speech-enabling approach as implemented in Emacspeak and
its relevance to speech-enabling the Linux desktop will be
presented at ``The Bazaar --The Technology Of Cooperation''
at the Jacob Javits Center, New York, December 15, 1999.

Major Enhancements:
-------------------

0) Support for IBM ViaVoice Outloud (beta) for Linux.
1) Further enhancements to single-click web-search.
2) Enhanced auditory icons using midi synthesis.
3) Single click access to desktop audio utilities  including 
   A) Mixer (aumix) support for setting mixer values
   b) CD player support via cdplay
   c) MP3 support via mpg123
4) Speech-enabled RPM browser.
5) Speech-enabled gnuplot support.

--and a lot more than will fit in this margin.

See the NEWS file for additional details.  The Emacspeak
source distribution now includes a structured FAQ list
designed to introduce new and old users to the Emacspeak
environment.

Opening Doors To A Windows-Free 2000:
-------------------------------------

Emacspeak is now (voluntarily) bundled with all major Linux
distributions.  Extensive studies have shown that users
consider Emacspeak to be absolutely priceless.  Thanks to
this wide-spread user demand, the present version is being
made available at the same zero cost as earlier releases.

At the same time, Emacspeak-2000 continues to innovate in
the area of speech interaction and carries forward the
well-established Open Source tradition of introducing user
interface features that eventually show up in commercial
user environments.  On this theme, when recently challenged
by a proponent of a crash-prone but well-marketed windowing
system with the assertion "Emacs is a system from the 70's",
the creator of Emacspeak expressed surprize at the unusual
candor manifest in the assertion that it would take popular
idiot-proof interfaces until the year 2070 to catch up to
where the Emacspeak audio desktop is today. Upon hearing
this, the said proponent of the crash-prone system turned
blue in the face (screen), crashed to the floor and refused
to get booted (ever again).

Industry experts welcomed this refreshing breath of Courage
Certainty and Clarity (CCC) at a time when users are reeling
from the Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) unleashed by
complex software systems backed by even more convoluted
press releases.

Independent Test Results:
-------------------------

Independent test results have proven that unlike some modern
software, Emacspeak can be easily uninstalled without
adversely affecting the continued performance of the
computer.  These same tests also revealed that once
uninstalled, the user stopped functioning altogether.

Speaking with Aster Labrador this morning, the creator
of Emacspeak pointed out that these results once again
emphasize the user-centric design of Emacspeak; "It is
the user --and not the computer-- that stops
functioning when Emacspeak is uninstalled!".

Note from Aster: (UnDoctored Videos  Inc. is currently looking for
volunteers to star in a video demonstrating such complete
user failure).

History:
--------
 
Emacspeak-11.0 --code named Aster-- goes the final step in
making Linux a zero-cost Internet access solution for blind
and visually impaired users.  Emacspeak-10.0 --(AKA
Emacspeak-2000) code named WonderDog-- was the last in a
series of award-winning software releases designed to make
eyes-free computing a productive and pleasurable experience.
Emacspeak-9.0 --(AKA Emacspeak 99) code named BlackLab--
continued to innovate in the areas of speech interaction and
interactive accessibility.  Emacspeak-8.0 --(AKA
Emacspeak-98++) code named BlackDog-- was a major upgrade to
the speech output extension to Emacs.

Emacspeak-95 (code named Illinois) was released as
Open Source on the Internet in May 1995 as the first
complete speech interface to UNIX workstations.  The
subsequent release, Emacspeak-96 (code named Egypt) made
available in May 1996 provided significant enhancements to
the interface. Emacspeak-97 (Tennessee) went further in
providing a true audio desktop.  Emacspeak-98 integrated
Internetworking into all aspects of the audio desktop to
provide the first fully interactive speech-enabled WebTop.

Obtaining Emacspeak:
--------------------

Visit Emacspeak at http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman --You
can also pick up emacspeak via anonymous ftp from
ftp://ftp.cs.cornell.edu/pub/raman/emacspeak/.  You can
subscribe to the emacspeak mailing list
<emacspeak@cs.vassar.edu> by sending mail to the request
address <emacspeak-request@cs.vassar.edu>.

About Emacspeak:
---------------
        
Based at Cornell (NY) <http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman>
--home to Auditory User Interfaces (AUI) on the WWW--
Emacspeak is mirrored world-wide by an international netwrok
of software archives and voluntarily bundled with all major Linux
distributions on CDROM.  On Monday, April 12, 1999,
Emacspeak became part of the Permanent Research Collection
on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National
Museum of American History.

The Emacspeak mailing list is archived at
<http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~priestdo/emacspeak/> --thanks to
Greg Priest-Dorman.

About This Release:
-------------------

This press release is certified to be Y2K compliant.
More importantly,  the software described is W2K free.

Press/Analyst Contact:  Aster Labrador
              http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/aster/aster.gif

Windows-Free (WF)  is a favorite  battle-cry of 
The League Against Forced Fenestration (LAFF);
--see   http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f3800/msjudgex.htm
for details on  the ill-effects of Forced Fenestration.

CopyWrite  )C( Aster Labrador. All Writes Reserved.
WonderDog (DM),BlackDog (DM) and Labrador (DM) are Registered Dogmarks of Aster Labrador.
All other dogs belong to their respective owners.

-- 
Best Regards,
--raman

      
Email:  raman@cs.cornell.edu
WWW:    http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/             
PGP:    http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/raman.asc

Received on Monday, 29 November 1999 13:30:45 UTC