What a wonderful product for enhancing life for visually impaired individuals. As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been helping an 85-year-old who can barely see. For years his life has been limited to things that he couldn't see. Tough when you want to work on a computer (search issues, read news, read books, look at pictures, etc. I have posted about Microsoft Magnifier (free) which now allows him to zoom in areas of his diaplay screen to see it. This was only step 1 of brightening his life.
The text-speech product from NaturalReaders.com - NaturalReader -- is gold. Today we used it to read a Kindle eBook. There are two ways do do this (assuming you have already downloaded a book from Amazon OR borrowed for free from your local Library as it in Kindle Format and delivered by Amazon.
1. First read about NaturalReader at its site NaturalReaders.com. You may think it has to be purchased becasue it discusses mostly the Subscription Plans Plus, Premium. The different plans depend on the voices you want (See post 1161). That post tells you about the FREE voices (NOT a default) that can be used unlimited, versus the PLUS and PREMIUM voices which cut you off fter 5 minutes, number of characters/month, etc. So, use a FREE voice as instructed in post 1161. Even if you download the software instead of opting to use the website translation, your limits remain the same for text-to-speech! Also, you will have to pay for the software and again for upgrades. No need for this.
2. Now that NaturalReader is available (requires a FREE registration and login, get the Chrome or Edge Extension. Sorry if you use a different Browser. You want to use one of these two to allow you to use NaturalReader to read anything and everything loaded into Chrome. For example, any site can be read for you AND if you let browaser open the .PDF files you haveon you system it will be read. As a matter of fact, you can read most everything available to you outside the browser too, like a WORD document. You always have an option to go to NaturalReaders.com and then upload a file to have it read to you. But, I am limiting thsi post to Kindle eBooks only.
3. Optoin 1: Get the free Kindle App from Amazon -- check your App Store of preference and install on your PC. Open it and your Library will populate with books you obtained via Amazon and be displayed. Click on the book of choice and scroll to where you want to begin (closing the book and restarting pickup where you left off). Now being test-to-read using keyboard chortcut Ctrl-T. Use thsi also to pause and begin again. Only other shortcut is Ctrl-W to close the book.
4. Iption 2 which I like better: Option 3 does not allow you to do modifications of voice, read speed, etc. when using it hat way. So, better is to open https://read.amazon.com/kindle-library. Up comes the Library with your books. Now like Options1, pick the desired book and open it.
5. Now it you PINNED the Naturalreader extension onto you browser (do so! how? manage extensions and PIN it works for Chrome) ian icon, large capital blue "N" will be on top tight. Click it to tell it to put the pop-up Player and settings manager up on the display. FIRST, change the voice by clicking on the circled voice and choose a FREE one (one of 3-4 at bottom of list...David is my favorite). compress/expand the size of the popup (arrows) will allow expansion that gives you access to settings where you can set the speee of narration. Play with the settings as desired. Only necessary ones to start is setting to FREE voice and speed. I found a whie ago that the Free voice selectionhad to be reset thsi time! So, remember to check it first. No problem though. If you get the tiemout, chenge it then to FREE one.
6. Now about the Kindle settings available. If you move mouse to top icons to monage the Kindle book itself appears. For example Aa allows changing text size. Play!
PLAY is the key word. I am taking my notes re how I need to use both the Kindle browaer version AND the NaturalReader. I just want to alert my followers that thsi product is superb. Worth your time.
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