Voice operated reader?

calvin-c · 10-27-2013, 02:36 PM

Is there an ereader, or software, that can respond to voice commands? My wife likes to read while exercising but lately she's developed vertigo so she doesn't like taking either of her hands off the grips without stopping the treadmill-and stopping to turn each page just doesn't work in terms of exercise. A timed page turning isn't desirable as each page takes a different amount of time to read. So I'm thinking a reader that responds to a voice command would be best-if one exists.

Thanks.

susan_cassidy · 10-27-2013, 05:22 PM

The only thing I can suggest is to get a Kindle with text-to-speech, and set the timing to be the longest it would take her to read a page, and turn the volume all the way down.

fjtorres · 10-27-2013, 06:05 PM

Voice commands in Windows would get you there.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...ch-recognition
Not sure about phones or tablets. It used to be doable in with Voice Commander in the WindowsMobile days.
Look into the Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet; it runs Win8.1 for Intel so it should be doable on the desktop side running Win7 apps.

calvin-c · 10-27-2013, 06:31 PM

Thanks. Speech recognition might work. I was able to set it up on my laptop & it worked with the Calibre viewer-once I figured out that 'Scroll Down' was the command meaning 'Next Page'. Now I'll need to set it up on hers, build a shelf to hold the laptop, then see whether or not she likes reading on it. She doesn't like reading ebooks generally but might do so while exercising. Thanks.

HarryT · 10-28-2013, 05:52 AM

Has she tried audiobooks? I find them ideal for that type of environment.

carpetmojo · 10-28-2013, 07:59 AM

Audiobooks definitely the best solution - easier to lose yourself in the book with a soothing/dramatic voice in your ear, so the pain of the exercise doesn't seem quite so bad............

DiapDealer · 10-28-2013, 08:49 AM

Not to be a downer here, but "just use audiobooks" is not the miracle solution that many seem to want it to be. Mainly because listening is not reading. I'm not suggesting that one is inferior to the other or anything like that, only that it shouldn't be assumed that one is easily interchangeable with the other for everyone.

I've tried and tried to avail myself of the handiness of audiobooks on the treadmill. I can't do it. It doesn't work. Listening to a narration just doesn't fire the right synapses in my brain that reading a narration does (or something like that). An audiobook invariably become nothing more than a buzzing in my ear that I find I'm not paying attention to anymore; and finding my way back to the point where I stopped "listening" to an audiobook is a maddening experience. I want to read the book on my treadmill ... and but for the page turns, I'm quite successful at it.

Now, I can touch the screen to turn pages without the worries of vertigo like the OP has to contend with, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't buy the first affordable remote page-turner I could just hold in my hand and click from time to time, should it ever appear on the market.

And besides... ask yourself... do you truly believe in this day and age (and on a board dedicated to reading with the latest technological devices/advances), that audiobooks just never occurred to someone until you brought it up?

HarryT · 10-28-2013, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And besides... ask yourself... do you truly believe in this day and age (and on a board dedicated to reading with the latest technological devices/advances), that audiobooks just never occurred to someone until you brought it up?

I've learned that it's unwise to make assumptions - which I why I asked the question.

mrmikel · 10-28-2013, 09:35 AM

This is not a direct answer to the question, but alternative.

I encountered the same sort of difficulties and since it was just a distraction anyway, I went with old time radio broadcasts. They are only 15, 30 or 60 minutes, so there is a complete story in that time. They have actors portraying the different roles, so not so much of the droning voice feeling.

I have a text to speech program which I use on my computer, and the voice is pleasant and the pronunciation usually quite good, but it would take about 9 hours to get through one of my favorite novels by John Buchan. Hence the alternative.

calvin-c · 10-28-2013, 11:17 AM

OTR would work for me because I like them-but my wife doesn't. At least none that I've found so far. (She likes romances.) I'll keep trying for those but standard audiobooks just don't work for either of us. Much the same reason as DiapDealer said. Unlike DD though I don't mind them being suggested-you never know what obvious ideas I've overlooked. That isn't one of them in this case, but it could have been.

mrmikel · 10-28-2013, 11:37 AM

There is a large collection at archive.org of OTR. You just have to get used to a 9 hour book being condensed is all.

HarryT · 10-28-2013, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmikel

This is not a direct answer to the question, but alternative.

I encountered the same sort of difficulties and since it was just a distraction anyway, I went with old time radio broadcasts. They are only 15, 30 or 60 minutes, so there is a complete story in that time. They have actors portraying the different roles, so not so much of the droning voice feeling.

No reason to stick to "old time" radio. Radio drama is alive and well on the BBC, and (unlike BBC TV) can be downloaded from anywhere in the world.

DiapDealer · 10-28-2013, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Unlike DD though I don't mind them being suggested-you never know what obvious ideas I've overlooked. That isn't one of them in this case, but it could have been.

Oh, I don't really mind the suggestion. I've just never really cared for the assumption that reading and listening are universally interchangeable activities that scratch all the same itches. That's all.

Carry on.

5thWiggle · 10-28-2013, 12:41 PM

How about a tablet and a bluetooth presentation "clicker" or a Muku Labs Shuttr. The clicker can be attached to the treadmill's handle with a velcro strap, and she'll just have to move a finger. Many of the reader app on Android (and probably iOS) can be set to change pages via the volume keys or arrow keys from a bt keyboard.

speakingtohe · 10-28-2013, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Not to be a downer here, but "just use audiobooks" is not the miracle solution that many seem to want it to be. Mainly because listening is not reading. I'm not suggesting that one is inferior to the other or anything like that, only that it shouldn't be assumed that one is easily interchangeable with the other for everyone.

I've tried and tried to avail myself of the handiness of audiobooks on the treadmill. I can't do it. It doesn't work. Listening to a narration just doesn't fire the right synapses in my brain that reading a narration does (or something like that). An audiobook invariably become nothing more than a buzzing in my ear that I find I'm not paying attention to anymore; and finding my way back to the point where I stopped "listening" to an audiobook is a maddening experience. I want to read the book on my treadmill ... and but for the page turns, I'm quite successful at it.

Now, I can touch the screen to turn pages without the worries of vertigo like the OP has to contend with, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't buy the first affordable remote page-turner I could just hold in my hand and click from time to time, should it ever appear on the market.

I am mostly the same. I tend to lose focus on an audiobook. Still for exercise it is not that bad as I go into sort of a daydream and that makes the exercise go faster.

I do find it frustrating trying to find my place again. Perhaps because I have a cheap mp3 player?

Helen

10-27-2013, 02:36 PM	#1
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	Voice operated reader? Is there an ereader, or software, that can respond to voice commands? My wife likes to read while exercising but lately she's developed vertigo so she doesn't like taking either of her hands off the grips without stopping the treadmill-and stopping to turn each page just doesn't work in terms of exercise. A timed page turning isn't desirable as each page takes a different amount of time to read. So I'm thinking a reader that responds to a voice command would be best-if one exists. Thanks.

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10-27-2013, 05:22 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	The only thing I can suggest is to get a Kindle with text-to-speech, and set the timing to be the longest it would take her to read a page, and turn the volume all the way down.

10-27-2013, 06:05 PM	#3
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	Voice commands in Windows would get you there. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...ch-recognition Not sure about phones or tablets. It used to be doable in with Voice Commander in the WindowsMobile days. Look into the Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet; it runs Win8.1 for Intel so it should be doable on the desktop side running Win7 apps.

10-27-2013, 06:31 PM	#4
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	Thanks. Speech recognition might work. I was able to set it up on my laptop & it worked with the Calibre viewer-once I figured out that 'Scroll Down' was the command meaning 'Next Page'. Now I'll need to set it up on hers, build a shelf to hold the laptop, then see whether or not she likes reading on it. She doesn't like reading ebooks generally but might do so while exercising. Thanks.

10-28-2013, 05:52 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Has she tried audiobooks? I find them ideal for that type of environment.

10-28-2013, 07:59 AM	#6
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Audiobooks definitely the best solution - easier to lose yourself in the book with a soothing/dramatic voice in your ear, so the pain of the exercise doesn't seem quite so bad............

10-28-2013, 08:49 AM	#7
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,568 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Not to be a downer here, but "just use audiobooks" is not the miracle solution that many seem to want it to be. Mainly because listening is not reading. I'm not suggesting that one is inferior to the other or anything like that, only that it shouldn't be assumed that one is easily interchangeable with the other for everyone. I've tried and tried to avail myself of the handiness of audiobooks on the treadmill. I can't do it. It doesn't work. Listening to a narration just doesn't fire the right synapses in my brain that reading a narration does (or something like that). An audiobook invariably become nothing more than a buzzing in my ear that I find I'm not paying attention to anymore; and finding my way back to the point where I stopped "listening" to an audiobook is a maddening experience. I want to read the book on my treadmill ... and but for the page turns, I'm quite successful at it. Now, I can touch the screen to turn pages without the worries of vertigo like the OP has to contend with, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't buy the first affordable remote page-turner I could just hold in my hand and click from time to time, should it ever appear on the market. And besides... ask yourself... do you truly believe in this day and age (and on a board dedicated to reading with the latest technological devices/advances), that audiobooks just never occurred to someone until you brought it up?

10-28-2013, 09:35 AM	#9
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	This is not a direct answer to the question, but alternative. I encountered the same sort of difficulties and since it was just a distraction anyway, I went with old time radio broadcasts. They are only 15, 30 or 60 minutes, so there is a complete story in that time. They have actors portraying the different roles, so not so much of the droning voice feeling. I have a text to speech program which I use on my computer, and the voice is pleasant and the pronunciation usually quite good, but it would take about 9 hours to get through one of my favorite novels by John Buchan. Hence the alternative.

10-28-2013, 11:17 AM	#10
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	OTR would work for me because I like them-but my wife doesn't. At least none that I've found so far. (She likes romances.) I'll keep trying for those but standard audiobooks just don't work for either of us. Much the same reason as DiapDealer said. Unlike DD though I don't mind them being suggested-you never know what obvious ideas I've overlooked. That isn't one of them in this case, but it could have been.

10-28-2013, 11:37 AM	#11
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	There is a large collection at archive.org of OTR. You just have to get used to a 9 hour book being condensed is all.

10-28-2013, 12:41 PM	#14
5thWiggle Benevolent Evil Lord Posts: 1,704 Karma: 48339466 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Evil Canada (We all have goatees!) Device: Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Note, iPad Mini, PocketEdge(retired)	How about a tablet and a bluetooth presentation "clicker" or a Muku Labs Shuttr. The clicker can be attached to the treadmill's handle with a velcro strap, and she'll just have to move a finger. Many of the reader app on Android (and probably iOS) can be set to change pages via the volume keys or arrow keys from a bt keyboard.

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