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text-to-speech

Xbox Party Chat gets text-to-speech and speech-to-text

Microsoft has introduced a number of new features to its Xbox Party Chat system.

The new accessibility features, which will initially be available to those signed up to the Xbox Insiders programme, starting May 13, specifically bring speech-to-text transcription and text-to-speech synthesis to Microsoft’s system-wide Xbox Party Chat.

The former coverts all words spoken by members of a party chat into adjustable text, overlaid on gameplay, while the latter reads out any text chat in a synthetic voice. read more

Naughty Dog Makes PlayStation Game Accessible

Naughty Dog has said that The Last of Us Part II is the most ambitious game it has ever made, and the studio has also noted it is the most accessible game it has made.

The PlayStation 4 game coming on June 19 has more than 60 settings that are meant to help all people play the game, including those who have low vision or are blind. Matthew Gallant, lead systems designer at Naughty Dog, said in a blog post that from the very beginning of development the goal was to ensure that as many fans as possible have an opportunity to experience the game. read more

Google Announces New Accessibility Features from I/O 2019

Google announced a few new accessibility features that should make smartphones and Google services even easier to use.
Google Lens text-to-speech
While demoing Google Lens for Google Go, the search app for entry-level devices, Google revealed that the app will be able to read any text aloud and even translate it into the user’s native language. The code needed for the feature supposedly measures 100KB, so the feature can be included in very cheap smartphones. Google gave a practical example of what that might mean for people who struggle to read: read more

Minecraft Update Includes Pandas, UI Screen Reader and a Text-To-Speech System

After being added to Xbox Game Pass, Minecraft fans have more to shout about this month as the game has received it’s long awaiting “Village and Pillage” update.

Version 1.14 brings with it a host of new features and animals, including adorable panda’s (and bamboo to accompany them), cartography, pillagers and crossbows. The pillagers have different professions, so expect to see butchers, shepherds and clerics inhabiting the world the next time you load into the game.

As well as the above there is fletching tables, a composter, foxes, junction blocks and ravagers, which are giant armoured bulls.
Players can also find wandering traders who travel across the landscape with a llama in tow, selling their wares. read more

Go Search App Now Reads the Web Out Loud

Google has launched a new feature for its lightweight Go search app: text-to-speech reading for websites.

The tool is designed to make the web feel more accessible for users in developing countries, says Google, reading any site aloud at the touch of a button. Impressively, it’s powered by the company’s AI but lightweight enough to use over a 2G connection — an important feature for markets where bandwidth comes at a premium.

Go launched last year in India and Indonesia as part of a growing suite of Google products meant to capture the “next billion” internet users. As the tech giant noted in an accompanying blog post, India already has the second largest population of internet users in the world, with 40 million new users coming online each year. That’s a lot of potential growth. read more

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