The Optimiser

14 March 2005

Your personal source of Internet news

New Opera browser includes voice features

The latest version of the Opera internet browser, due for official release at the end of next month, claims to be "the most accessible browser on the market".

Opera 8.0 can be controlled by voice command and will read pages aloud. The browser can also magnify text by up to 10 times, users can create "style sheets" that will enable them to view pages with the colours and fonts they prefer and make pages fit the screen width.

The voice features, based on IBM technology, are currently only available in the Windows version and the voice recognition function is only available in English, BBC News reports. The browser is not yet able to operate well with screen reader software often used by blind people and the accessibility features are more likely to appeal to those with some residual vision.

"Our mission was always to provide the best internet experience for everyone," said Opera spokeswoman, Berit Hanson. "So we would obviously not want to exclude disabled computer users."

Ms Hanson added that the new features were a step in making human-computer interaction more natural and people unable to access a keyboard would also benefit from the hands-free experience.

Opera does have to be "trained" to recognise an individual voice and around 50 voice commands are available. Users wear a headset which incorporates a microphone.

Opera is free to download but a paid-for version comes without an ad banner and with extra support.

28 January 2005

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