Intel’s E-E book Reader For the Blind Is Superior, However Will Publishers Accuse It of Stealing?
{!! $img_subtitle !!}
Intel threw its hat into the e-reader ring right this moment with the discharge of the Intel Reader–which, not like another reader, is constructed particularly for the blind. With an onboard digital camera, Intel’s machine can convert textual content from any web page photographed by a consumer into audio, which is learn aloud via headphones. Which is able to absolutely upset somebody, someplace.
The Intel reader is designed for the 55 million folks within the U.S. alone that undergo from some sort of vision-related ailment that impairs their studying. And on high of the photograph textual content recognition function, a separate content material seize station can convert giant quantities of textual content, even a complete ebook, into audio for simpler consumption.
And therein lies the snag: publishing corporations have expressed distaste previously for any machine that takes copyrighted printed phrase and converts it into audio–see the current dispute over Kindle 2’s capability to learn its books aloud, which was supposed to be used by the blind.
The blind have been studying e-books since earlier than they had been cool, utilizing laptop software program that reads the books aloud or enlarges the textual content to a readable dimension. In response to piracy, many e-book sellers construct DRM code into their e-books, making the digital variations arduous to duplicate. That DRM software program typically retains third-party software program, equivalent to text-to-speech packages, from accessing the digital textual content and translating it to audio.
Whereas the rising recognition of audiobooks has mitigated this drawback considerably (and created a recent income stream for publishers), publishers aren’t thrilled with any machine that cuts into mentioned income stream. The losers in all this can doubtless be, after all, visually impaired folks, who simply can’t appear to avoid digital-rights-related controversies within the e-reader house.
It’s too dangerous actually, as a result of the Intel Reader–although a contact on the dear facet at $1,500 if we might say so–is a extremely good thought. Fifty-five million folks within the U.S. reside life with various levels of drawback that may very well be alleviated by this sort of know-how. Nonetheless, within the ongoing battle between bleeding edge know-how and archaic mental property legislation, the latter has a fairly good observe report to this point.
Intel
