Problem:
Creating multimedia applications that are accessible to all users can involve specialized tools that are hard to use. iShell is one of the easiest authoring applications to use, but it lacks text-to-speech capability.
Solution:
Zebra Spot Design created a plug-in for iShell that provided text-to-speech functionality, and advanced keyboard navigation. Users can set the program to speak entire paragraphs, or speak sentence by sentence, word by word, or letter by letter. Users can pause and restart narration, and move backwards and forwards through it. The keyboard navigation options provide an easy way to allow users to navigate through an entire multimedia project using the Tab and Enter keys. For more information, please visit the ZebraSpeak page.
Technical mumbo-jumbo:
The ZebraSpeak plugin was programmed in Key and C, using SpeechKit (Windows) and Plain Talk (Macintosh).
Problem:
The base install of iShell can be extremely powerful, but some tasks are still impossible without some added functionality.
Solution:
Zebra Spot Design produced a set of utilities in the Zebra Tools plugin, which provide functionality such as: password fields, pull-down menus, zoom boxes and project maps. For a more complete list, please visit the ZebraTools page.
Technical mumbo-jumbo:
The ZebraTools plugin was programmed in Key and C.
