Announce: speechd-el 2.0 released

[Milan Zamazal]

speechd-el 2.0 released
=======================

The Free(b)soft project is pleased to announce speechd-el 2.0.

* What is speechd-el?

  speechd-el is an Emacs client to Speech Dispatcher and BrlTTY (and
  possibly other alternative output devices), providing a complex speech
  and Braille interface to Emacs, focused especially on (but not limited
  to) the blind and visually impaired users.  It allows the user to work
  with Emacs without looking on the screen, listening to speech output
  produced by the speech synthesizers supported in Speech Dispatcher and
  watching Braille output on Braille displays supported by BrlTTY.

  Key speechd-el features are:
  
  - Automated reading of most Emacs messages and actions, without
    necessity to customize each particular Emacs function to make it
    speak.

  - Most built-in and external Emacs packages can produce speech and
    Braille output immediately, without any special support.
    
  - Almost no change of the standard Emacs behavior, no interference
    with user settings.
  
  - Highly configurable.

  - Full cooperation with Speech Dispatcher.

  - Braille output and input support.

  - Mechanism for adding backends for other alternative output devices.

  - Small code size.

  - Free Software, distributed under the GPL.

  The speechd-el package contains an Elisp libraries for communication
  with Speech Dispatcher and BrlTTY, allowing you to write your own
  Emacs speech and Braille output extensions and your own Emacs
  interfaces to Speech Dispatcher and BrlTTY.

  speechd-el design is completely different from the design of
  Emacspeak, another speech output package for Emacs.  Though both
  speechd-el and Emacspeak serve a similar purpose, they differ in
  their approach to the problem they address.

* What is new in the 2.0 version?

  This is a major release.  The primary change is separation and
  modularization of the output mechanism.  From the user's point of view
  the main result of this change is support of Braille output and input,
  similar to the speech output interface.  So now you can use speechd-el
  with both Speech Dispatcher and BrlTTY.

* Where to get it?
  
  You can get the distribution tarball of the released version from
  http://www.freebsoft.org/pub/projects/speechd-el/speechd-el-2.0.tar.gz .

  The home page of the project is http://www.freebsoft.org/speechd-el .
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