more on captions for multimedia

With all the discussion lately about captioning and multimedia, I thought I'd re-run
last month's announcement about NCAM's caption/description application,
MAGpie.  MAGpie is still in beta, and we are still collecting comments and
suggestions from users.

If you are already using MAGpie, please forgive the redundancy and ignore this note.
If you want to try MAGpie, please follow the instructions below.  Also, if you are
*not* on the MAGpie beta test list, please send me a note and I will add your name.

Thanks.
Geoff Freed
Project Manager, Web Access Project
CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
WGBH Educational Foundation
geoff_freed@wgbh.org

======


MAGpie (v057 beta) is now available!

A beta version of the Media Access Generator (MAGpie), NCAM's 
captioning and audio-description software for digital multimedia, is now 
ready for downloading and testing. Funding for MAGpie comes from the
Trace Research and Development Center at the University of
Wisconsin, as part of its Information Technology Access
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center which itself is
funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

If you are using an ftp client, log on as follows:
server:  captionftp.wgbh.org
username:  magpie
password:  beta
directory:  magpie_beta

If you are using a browser, use the following web address:
ftp://magpie:beta@captionftp.wgbh.org/

In either case, download the following files:
1.  MAGINST057.ZIP
2.  README.TXT
3.  MAGMEDIA.ZIP
4.  MAGMEDIA.TXT
5.  MAGPIE.JCF
6.  MAGPIE.JFF

MAGINST057.ZIP contains the MAGpie software, including help files.  
MAGMEDIA.ZIP contains a demonstration presentation showing what a 
completed MAGpie captioning/audio description project looks like.  You 
can run MAGpie without downloading and installing MAGMEDIA.ZIP; 
however, you must install MAGpie before you can view the demo in 
MAGMEDIA.ZIP.

Please read the README.TXT file for installation instructions.  You can 
access the operating instructions from within MAGpie or by reading 
MAGHELP.DOC.  Please read the operating instructions before using 
MAGpie.  Finally, if you are using a screen reader, please
read the Accessibility Notes section at the bottom of this
e-mail message.

Please send all questions and comments to the MAGpie beta-test listserv:

magpiebeta@wgbh.org

By virtue of receiving this notice, you have been subscribed to this list.  
You must be subscribed in order to post and read comments on this list.  If 
you do not wish to be subscribed, or if someone you know wants to be 
added to the list, please send a note to geoff_freed@wgbh.org.

Please make sure to sign your name and e-mail address when writing 
to the listserv.

All replies and future beta-release announcements will be posted to this list.  
In order to ensure an accurate diagnosis of problems, it is very important 
that you give us the following information:
1.  Your name
2.  Make, model and speed of computer
3.  Operating system
4.  Version of Internet Explorer
5.  Version of Windows Media Player
6.  Screen reader name and version


*******************
Accessibility Notes
*******************
1) NCAM is still resolving screen-reader conflicts. MAGpie version 057 
contains some accessibility features but is not yet completely accessible.  If 
you are using a screen reader, please read the Accessibility Information 
section in MAGHELP.DOC after installing MAGpie.  MAGHELP.DOC 
will be installed to the same folder as the MAGpie application.  

2) If you are a JAWS user:
MAGPIE.JCF and MAGPIE.JFF (available from the FTP download site) 
are minimal files for using MAGpie under JAWS for Windows.  

- The .JFF (frame definition) file is known to work with JAWS version 3.3.  
It does not work with version 3.31. The frames defined in this file are
for voicing the various panels in the status bar (these are
triggered whenever data in those frames are changed) and timecode
(this mimics the timecode display on the player, which should be
minimized for proper screen reader behavior), which can be triggered
using Control-F9.

- The JCF (configuration) file reclasses some of the controls
for JAWS.

- Both the .JFF and .JCF files should be put in:

   xxx\JFWyyy\SETTINGS\ENU

where xxx is the path to your JAWS directory and yyy is the version
number (if any).  You must install these files prior to using MAGpie or you 
run the risk of not hearing any speech output when you run the software.

Further updates to these files are expected.

3) If you are a Window-Eyes user:
We have begun testing with Window-Eyes, but have not yet
developed the required configuration file sets.  We will announce
new file sets over the listserv.

4) If you are an experienced screen-reader user, the listserv welcomes
your comments and suggestions about how to make your specific screen
reader work better with MAGpie.


Thanks for trying MAGpie!
Geoff Freed
Project Manager, Web Access Project
CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
WGBH Educational Foundation
geoff_freed@wgbh.org

Received on Tuesday, 21 December 1999 14:54:15 UTC