Posted: 27th Jan, 2005 By: MarkJ
The next version of Opera, a well known commercial website browser, will include several voice and vision enhancements to aid surfers with disabilities. The next code is due towards the end of February:
The latest version of the net browser can be controlled by voice command and will read pages aloud. The voice features, based on IBM technology, are currently only available in the Windows version.
Opera can also magnify text by up to 10 times and users can create "style sheets", its developers say. This will enable them to view pages with colours and fonts that they prefer.
But the browser does not yet work well with screen reader software often used by blind people, so its accessibility features are more likely to appeal to those with some residual vision.The new features are likely to give Opera a good PR boost, which is much needed after losing ground to its free rival Firefox. More @
BBC News Online.