There are now a number of iPod products ranging in price and complexity. But how easy can they be managed by visually impaired people?
Rockbox is a voluntary and extremely worthwhile project which provides a spoken alternative interface for navigating portable media devices. Once Rockbox is installed onto a player, it can speak all menu items of its interface, it can spell folder and individual track names, and it can be customised to speak folder or track titles either through synthetic speech or even using pre-recorded human speech.
Furthermore, you could potentially walk into a high street store, purchase a player, return home with it and have it talking within minutes!
It should be borne in mind that Rockbox is a completely self-contained interface for working with portable media devices. It does not use the firmware as provided as part of the individual player on which it resides. So in the context of the iPod, it is not necessary to use the iTunes proprietary software in order to transfer music onto the device. This is advantageous since files can be placed onto the iPod using Windows Explorer, and the visually impaired person can then manipulate them easily on the iPod.
The disadvantage is that Rockbox will only play certain file types. These however are the most popular including MP3, which seems to have been universally adopted as a popular file format in which to encode material, especially music. File types supported are Flac, OGG, MP3 and Wav. However, books from Audible are unable to be played, together with tracks purchased from sites such as the iTunes Music Store. A person can easily switch back to the conventional iPod firmware at any time in order to play material of this nature, although oral feedback will of course not be heard when navigating the iPod when this is done.
Rockbox for the iPod Port is freely downloadable but it is currently in beta form.
At the present time, you will need experience of installing and configuring computer-related programs in order to install Rockbox onto an iPod. Having said that, excellent documentation exists which walks you through this process and it can be achieved with no sighted assistance.
Rockbox can be installed onto many iPod products, including the iPod Mini first and second generation, iPod Fourth Generation, iPod Colour/Photo, the iPod Nano first generation and the iPod Photo at this time, not the iPod Shuffle as discussed below. The Nano first generation is available in three releases: 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB, while other iPod products mentioned in this paragraph range in storage capacity from 1 GB through to at least 60 GB. However this list of supported iPods is by no means exhaustive and it is suggested you refer to the definitive list contained in the links section below.
From an accessibility standpoint, it may be worth your while looking at the various iPod products prior to purchase as the hardware is not always easy for a blind person to use. Much of the functionality centres around a wheel which is touch sensitive. The iPod Nano however has an ability for a "click" sound to be heard through the headphones and/or its own internal speaker as and when you navigate the menu system, however this functionality was removed from hearing it through the headphones within the iPod Video. For specific points concerning the iPod Nano, please visit the Nano page.
Probably the easiest iPod product to use is the iPod Shuffle. This is a single directory unit, meaning that a visually impaired person can easily move forward and backward through the tracks.
On the top surface close to the headphone socket is a ring. When pressed up and down, this changes the volume level, left and right moves through tracks
or within a track, pressing it in the centre is play and stop.
On the back there is a slide switch which moves between on, off and shuffle play, hence its name.
In other words, the tracks are played in a random order.
With a battery life of 12 hours, this is an excellent and very accessible product to
purchase.
The second generation iPod Shuffle units are constructed differently, and contain two additional switches. The switch nearest to the bottom of the unit is On/Off and the other switches between Normal (otherwise known as Ordered) and shuffle play.
The iPod Shuffle is available as a 1 GB edition (£79( approximately. First generation Shuffles were available in 512 MB and 1 GB models.
If you do not want to install Rockbox on a compatible iPod product, or you have chosen to purchase an iPod Shuffle, you may need to use the iTunes software from Apple in order to transfer material onto the chosen device.
Many people feel that from a screen-reading perspective, iTunes is one of the most difficult pieces of software to use. This is because it uses non-standard
windows controls to display and manage items, and so screen reading technology does not stand a chance of reading the screen contents. Even the application's menu
bar is inaccessible and if you were to use the "TAB" key or the arrow keys to move around the application, you would not receive any speech feedback.
Because of the initial frustration I experienced when purchasing an iPod, I
wrote some JAWS scripts for iTunes. These are now sold principally by
T&T Consultancy Ltd under the name of J-Tunes. The JAWS
scripts make much of iTunes accessible. You can listen
to an audio demonstration/tutorial on the use of the iTunes Accessible
Interface by activating the appropriate link below.
The JAWS scripts can be purchased for thirty-five pounds within the United Kingdom from T&T Consultancy Ltd, or from within the United States from Next Generation Technologies. Note that the pricing from Next Generation Technologies may differ from the price offered within the United Kingdom. You can visit the web site for either company by activating the link towards the end of this page.
Please note that the latest release of the scripts is version 3.1 which functions with many JAWS releases upwards of 6.0. The latest release of iTunes is recommended. Only one program is now required to download for all JAWS versions supported.
Anapod Explorer allows you to use your iPod like a drive within Windows Explorer. This means that you can copy and paste songs you may have stored on your computer onto your iPod. Anapod is available for many of the iPod models including the iPod Shuffle, Nano and Video.
Anapod Explorer will now even function with tracks purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Once the tracks have been purchased using iTunes, they can be copied to the iPod using Anapod Explorer.
In respect of content from Audible, Anapod will allow you to copy books onto your iPod Shuffle using format four which is the highest quality Audible have to offer.
If you use Anapod Explorer with a second generation iPod Shuffle, the Shuffle loses the ability to play AAC files, protected or unprotected. It also loses the ability to keep your place within Audible files.
Anapod Explorer for the iPod Shuffle costs 20 US Dollars or (25 Dollars for a product which works with all iPods except the Shuffle) or you can pay 30 US Dollars for a version of the product which works on all iPods.
In summary, this is an excellent program allowing you to copy music and spoken word material to your iPod. It does not give you the ability to play songs or indeed take advantage of some of the other functions which iTunes can offer to you, however it does have some interesting and useful features of its own which are certainly worth exploring from the site given below. A demonstration of how Anapod works is also available from this page.
Many visually impaired people including myself have purchased Anapod Explorer and like it a lot.
The Rebuild Tool, available as a free download from the Internet, allows a person to use their iPod as a drive within Windows Explorer. It has the ability to maintain a database of MP3 files on your iPod Shuffle so that they can be easily managed. Here is how it works.
Anna Dresner writes books for the National Braille Press in the United States. She has written a book entitled "The iPod Experience", which focuses upon her journey of purchasing an iPod through to installing and using iTunes. This book is well worth the read and Anna has been especially encouraging and helpful in testing the iTunes JAWS scripts.
The official web site of Apple's iTunes software
Download the latest release of J-Tunes.
The J-Tunes scripts for iTunes and JAWS from T&T Consultancy Ltd
J-Tunes from Next Generation Technologies
An audio demonstration of many features of the iTunes JAWS scripts
The iTunes version 6 Window-Eyes set files documentation
The iTunes version 6 Window-Eyes set files
Anapod Explorer from
Redchair Software
Listen to a review of Anapod Explorer produced for Blind Cool Tech by Jamie Pauls
Frequently Asked Questions about Rockbox and the iPod Port
Definitive list of supported iPods onto which Rockbox can be installed
Documentation for Installing Rockbox on your iPod products
Please note that there are various manuals for different iPod products. The above page takes you to a list of them. Section 2 of the User Guide relates to installation.
Download voice files for Rockbox in order to make your iPod player speak.
Learn how to allow Rockbox automatically to speak folder and file names
A review of iPods from "Access World", published by the American Foundation of the Blind
"The iPod Experience" by Anna Dresner from the National Braille Press in the United States
Visit Anna Dresner's Blog containing updated news items which follow the publication of her various books.
Listen to Anna Dresner from the National Braille Press and I talking about iPods and iTunes
Listen to a discussion about using Rockbox on the iPod Video 30 GB model from Blind Cool Tech
Accessible World Rockbox presentation
The iLounge, containing useful hints and tips concerning iPods and iTunes