Wow! Pushing back the inky darkness!
Guys,
Greetings from cobh, Ireland.
I sourced this blog on Brian Hartgen training site.
This mainly deals with the issue of OCR and how we have moved quickly
forward to overcome the enormous difficulty in reading them or even
deciphering them?
As you know Brian is one of the top experienced Jaws trainers in the
business of helping all of us folk who cannot see.
I love his passion and his personal drive.
Yet, on this same story I am lagging behind as I am on Jaws 2023, but will
have an SMA very soon.
Oh, yes, I myself do not personally bother with popular blogging sites.
This goes for X or any other micro site.
I did a Mastodon course a year or two ago, but I still find it too
convoluted and essentially difficult and I hate spending most of my day in
front of the computer.
Besides, we still have the whole of the world-wide web to scour?
Oh, yes, I do use Brians scripts for Zoom and for MS Teams and soon he
will have a new set for WhatsApp?
Do enjoy:
Latest Brian Blog Site
Here we go:
The March update of JAWS contains considerable new enhancements to the
Picture Smart functions. In my view this is one of the very best feature
enhancements within JAWS for some time. The system uses both Gemini and Chat
GPT services so as to provide descriptions of images from web sites, files
or perhaps a screen-shot of an application.
You don't need a special account to use it. You can just enjoy it.
I have been using this for a few weeks now. Here are some practical use
cases I frequently work through.
1. I am a very heavy user of X/Twitter as it contains a great deal of
content in which I am interested and keeps me up-to-date with events. Many
posts on X contain images. I am easily able to focus on the image and get an
excellent description in return.
It also works very well on social media sites where, for example, a user has
scanned in a page from a TV listings magazine of long ago as the text is
rendered correctly.
For anyone who has my JAWS scripts for X/Twitter, an update will be
available shortly where you can press a keystroke to more easily obtain a
description of an image relating to the post.
The script will identify if there is an image for the post and if so will
scan it and present you with the results. If there is no image for that
post, JAWS will let you know. If you don't have the scripts, you can still
use the function of course by using the keystrokes listed here.
Here is a description of an image from X:
The image is a collage of four photos of the Swedish pop group ABBA.
The first photo shows the group in a recording studio, with Benny Andersson,
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, and Agnetha Fältskog all standing around
a microphone.
The second photo shows the group in a more candid moment, with Björn and
Agnetha sitting on a couch and Benny and Anni-Frid standing behind them.
The third photo shows the group at a press conference, with all four members
sitting at a table and answering questions from reporters.
The fourth photo shows the group at an awards ceremony, with all four
members holding awards.
The Chat GPT output gives more descriptions of the outfits they are waring.
2. In order to prepare videos for upload to my wife's YouTube channel, I use
a program called Handbreak. When the video is loaded into Handbreak, I can
do a quick scan of the window. If it gives me a good description of the
video then I know the visual appeal is of a high standard. I can also carry
out the same action when the video is uploaded to YouTube and this gives me
confidence since I know it has been uploaded correctly and is looking good.
Descriptions are like this:
The image shows an indoor setting with two individuals. On the left, there
is a woman who appears to be smiling and has short, light-colored hair. She
is wearing a bright red top and is seated on a dark-coloured couch. The
woman has her head slightly tilted and is laughing or speaking. She is
holding a
baby with both hands.
The baby, on the right side of the image, is lying on a cushion or support
that is partially visible. The baby appears relaxed and is dressed in a
white
onesie with various animal prints on it. The onesie has full sleeves, and
the baby's left hand is resting on the onesie, showing only the fingers. The
baby has a pale complexion and eyes partially closed, possibly sleeping or
resting comfortably.
3. We have a large library of pictures taken over the years and scanning
these and obtaining descriptions brings back memories.
In the image, you see a person dressed elegantly in a red outfit with a
tiara on their head, indicating a festive or formal occasion. This
individual is
wearing jewelry like earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet, all showing a
glittering appearance. They seem to be biting into a piece of red and white
dessert,
possibly red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting or a similarly styled
cupcake, given the size and how it's held.
In the background, you can see a table laid out with drinks, such as wine
and champagne, and it seems there is a gathering or celebration taking
place.
There's another person visible in the background, sitting at the table,
looking towards the camera with a glass in front of them. The room has a
warm and
joyous atmosphere, with a vibrant red wall that adds to the festive
ambiance. The setting appears to be a home dining area, indicated by the
presence of
bookshelves and domestic furnishings.
Useful tips:
By default, JAWS will just give you a brief description of the image. You
need to activate the More Results link to obtain description from both
services.
The Gemini summary is presented initially because the response time is
faster and you may just want a brief picture description.
The list of keystrokes is:
JAWS Key+Space then P then:
C for control.
F for file, to be used in File Explorer as an example.
W for window.
S for screen.
It is important to note that when using this feature with social media
sites, when the analysis is retrieved the Results Viewer does not always
gain focus. This is a concern. You need to ALT+Tab over to it and possibly
press Down Arrow afterwards for the description to read. It does not always
happen but it frequently can.
Apart from Picture Smart, the function to list the running applications,
JAWS Key+F10, has a new enhancement. Find the name of an application which
is running and press Delete. The application is closed. A nice enhancement
to that tool.
Brian Hartgen
Hartgen Consultancy.
Our usual opening Hours are 9 AM to 5 PM UK time, Monday to Friday.
Telephone (in the UK) 02921-051325.
Telephone (in the United States of America) 239-256-77Garth Long
