What the client is actually sending in the new version

Another one ?

I mean a non-Linden produced one.

hee hee

Unless I'm mistaken, you can't currently feed the text (chat, IMs, etc) to an external text to speech reader, so that would be one enhancement. Another enhancement would be to allow MU*ish commands like "look" that would scan for nearby objects and relay back their positions and names/descriptions (if set). This could probably be done with scripting, but again, since the results go into a form that can't be captured for read, it does no good.

I don't know if the present client can take speech-to-text input. I suppose if the stt program was configured as a keyboard shim it might work. Typing blind is more possible than reading off the CRT, anyway.

I don't know if this next feature would be helpful or not, but one could also set the client so when you move the mouse (or use a touchscreen or tablet) to move a cursor over an object, you get a "ping" that would change in volume or tone or something to tell you how far away it is. Or a special client could

None of this would quite capture the complexity of the visual space in SL, but I think it would help open up access. Right now the whole system is pretty inaccessable to those with severe visual impairments. And some people might choose to build areas that would work especially well for a non-visual client, allowing visual and non-visual players to interact more easily.

More support for alternate input devices might help, too, but probably most assistive devices are configured to act like mice anyway.

neko

A non graphical client sounds more like a simple IM software, why don´t use MSN messenger instead of Secondlife then?

I can´t see the benefit of someone that can´t see playing a game that is basically graphical, if it´s for expanding the friendlist, MSN does it for less hardware...

Or would the graphic to speech say: "You see a hairless girl with 150x250 pixel eyes and 50,255,50 eye color wearing 56 long tortured prim attached to the head" lol wouldnt work.

Now features for people that have trouble typing or using mouse would be a good feature.

This is far off topic, I guess, but here is a link to some information on tactile monitors for use by the blind.

http://www.abtim.com/home__e_/usage/usage.htm





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I am thinking now of force feedback powergloves.

They would sense the position of your hands and fingers and do something - vibrate or something - to inform you when you touch the boundary between the air and an object.

Perhaps it depends on what you believe SL is. If SL is only " a game that is basically graphical," then you're right, there's no point in the visually impaired connecting to it. If SL is also a community tool or an alternative general content format/location to the Web, the answer might be different.

SuezanneC, I like the idea of the force feedback powerglove a lot-- even for users with regular vision. It would be cool as an input device, too -- I can imagine using it to build....

neko