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Roger Federer can now guide you on Waze in three languages
Roger Federer is the first celebrity voice on Waze to give directions in no less than three languages (French, German and English).
Video game voice actors push for standardized contracts
In the midst of a protracted squabble, the union representing voice actors has come up with a contract for low-budget indie game developers. SAG-AFTRA is promoting a new agreement for titles under $250,000 that would limit difficult vocal sessions (presumably involving yelling or other vocal gymnastics) to two hours. Actors would also be paid double for such work, and collect residuals above the normal rate ($825.50 for four hours) for games that sell 500,000 units or more.
Google adds screen reader support to Docs, Sheets and Slides apps
Google's Docs, Sheets and Slides apps aren't easy to use on a phone's small screen at all, but this set of updates could make things just a bit more convenient for both iOS and Android users. Documents now come with real-time spell check, spreadsheets are now able to hide rows and columns, and presentations can lump similar shapes together. Even better, they all now work with Android TalkBack and iOS VoiceOver -- screen readers that will make the apps friendlier to the visually impaired -- though those who only need just a bit of help reading on a small screen can use the magnification tool instead. Finally, if you're using an iPhone or an iPad, you can start using your fingerprint to unlock the apps if you want to make sure no nosy workmate can get into your files. The updates are now rolling out for both mobile platforms and are now available on Google Play and iTunes. [image credit: shutterstock]
San Francisco airport beacons help the blind get around using their phones
San Francisco International is about to make life decidedly easier for blind and visually impaired travelers. The airport has teamed up with Indoo.rs to unveil a Bluetooth beacon system that will help these passengers find their way through Terminal 2 using only their phone. When users walk past one of the 500 transmitters, their devices will announce nearby points of interest; they can find flight gates, ATMs, information desks and power outlets without asking for help. An early version of the necessary app also has a directory for sighted visitors.
Destiny beta changes Dinklage's voice after criticism
When Peter Dinklage, aka Tyrion Lannister, was announced as the voice of Destiny's voice-in-your-head companion, Ghost, fans went nuts. That is, until they heard the lines in the game's alpha build. Many complained that the Game of Thrones star wasn't giving the role his best effort, and a bit of a meme even formed from some particularly lackluster lines in the game's trailer. But now, it seems Bungie listened to players and added a bit of effect to Dinklage's voice to spice things up a bit. The studio even went so far as to remove the now-internet-famous line, "That wizard came from the moon." Take a listen to the voiceover comparisons in the CVG video after the break to decide for yourself: did the mechanization of the audio improve things? Heck, it supposedly works for Britney Spears, right?
A legendary chat with Wrathion VA Aaron Phillips
One of the more intriguing new characters to come out of Cataclysm was Wrathion, who took a curious journey through the Badlands as an egg and emerged with dubious intentions during the rogue legendary quest chain. Since then, Wrathion has led many a player of every class on a merry chase across the wilds of Pandaria in a legendary quest meant not just for rogues, but for all. Wrathion's motives have always been a little unclear, and whether he's working on the side of good, or with slightly more evil intentions, has been up for debate since his first appearance. But Wrathion simply wouldn't be Wrathion without the voice that brought him to life as a sometimes petulant, sometimes angry, and sometimes touchingly desperate whelp with an apparent plan to save the world. Whether casually ordering Fahrad to break a pair of legs, pleading with Chi-Ji, or throwing the temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums in his temporary home, the voice of Wrathion has been just as distinctive as the character itself. So how does one bring life to such a strange character? We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to ask Wrathion's voice actor himself. Aaron Phillips may be immediately recognizable for Wrathion, but his works far exceed the vocal stylings of one angsty dragon -- and you may be surprised to note that you've likely heard him in a variety of places.
Voiceover actor Matt Mercer on working in games and comics, plus the "Vezax voice"
Halion the Twilight Destroyer. General Vezax. Ka'roz the Locust. You know Matt Mercer already -- he's the voice booming in your head in Ulduar, during the Siege Orgrimmar, in the nooks and crannies of Azeroth. The phenomenally popular video game and anime voiceover actor is known for -- well, let me just slide you a link to his Wikipedia page and let you delight in discovering his stamp on one of your own favorite comics, anime or video games from Sinbad to Resident Evil 6. Behind that panoply of voices is a WoW player and fan whose GM, actress Michele Morrow, describes as a wonderfully down-to-earth and nice guy. "Every now and then, we'll have his boss [that he voiced in game] come along, and so we yell at him ... to do the voices," she recounted last week here at WoW Insider. "He's fantastic; you'll love him."
iOS 7 is making life more difficult for blind Arabic speakers
When it comes to accessibility options, Apple's iPhone has traditionally done a rather good job of being as all-inclusive as possible. For blind Arab iPhone owners, iOS 7 changed that, and now they are begging Apple to change it back. For the visually impaired, the iPhone's (and iPad's) VoiceOver feature is a godsend. Using gesture controls, blind users can navigate their devices the same as anyone else, relying on a built-in voice to tell them exactly what they are doing. It's a system that has worked well for many iOS generations now, but with the upgrade to iOS 7, something happened to the familiar "Majed" voice that Arabic speakers were used to: it disappeared. In its place is "Tariq," a different -- and by many accounts, inferior -- voice that appears to be not only a lower quality, but also quite buggy. The new Arabic VoiceOver option frequently adds random syllables to words, making it difficult to comprehend, and also has a nasty habit of leaving spaces out between words. Mohammed AlWahhabi (his blog, in Arabic, here), an Arab iPhone user that originally pointed out this glaring problem to me noted that, at times, the voice assistant will speak an entire sentence as though it were one long word, with no pauses whatsoever. Then there's the issue of the "Enhanced Quality" option that iOS offers for the various languages VoiceOver covers. The vast majority of the high-quality language options take up more than 250 MB (all the way up to 340 MB for German) of on-device storage, producing extremely clear dialogue. Toggling this option for Arabic takes up less than 60 MB. After listening to a handful of sentences, it is apparent that the voice, even in its highest quality, isn't close to ideal. No amount of tweaking to the VoiceOver speed or quality options seems to help much, and users desperate for their iPhones to return to normal have even taken to YouTube to voice their displeasure with Tariq. "We hope that you find suitable solution either by improving the current voice [Tariq] or by retrieving the former voice [Majed]," reads part of a lengthy plea on the video site, listing names and offering testimonials on how broken the new VoiceOver option seems to be. AlWahhabi told me that after contacting Apple multiple times for a solution, he was told that if enough individuals take issue with the change, it may be addressed. I am neither blind, nor do I speak Arabic, but this seems to be an issue that deserves to be corrected sooner rather than later, as I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to have a device become practically unusable thanks to a software update.
Dragon's Crown narration DLC pipes up Aug. 6, free for a month
When Dragon's Crown launches on August 6, some DLC will let you swap out the stock narration for a mouthpiece centered on one of the game's classes: Amazon, Dwarf, Elf, Fighter, Sorceress, and Wizard. The DLC will be a free download at first and cost $1.99 after the first month. Dragon's Crown is a side-scrolling action game that sports multiplayer elements and a controversial art style. It's currently in development at Vanillaware for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
Kindle iOS app adds new features for visually impaired
The Kindle iOS app (free) was updated to version 3.7 today, bringing with it a handful of new features to make life easier for blind and visually impaired customers and to anyone who wants to review a book or read recommendations for similar books. To help the visually impaired navigate their Kindle libraries, the Kindle app now supplies directions via VoiceOver. Once VoiceOver is enabled for the entire device through the Settings app, Kindle not only provides verbal directions for each button and control on the screen, but also helps in terms of reading the books as well. Sliding a finger down or up a page reads the text one line at a time. The "Go To" menu now accesses the powerful "Before you go..." page, very useful when you've finished reading a book and want to leave a review. Reviews can be made and submitted from within the Kindle app and you can share the fact that you've finished a book with friends via Twitter, Facebook, or E-mail. Tapping on a cover image for a recommended book gives readers a choice to add that book to their wish list, get an email about the book, or download a sample of it.
German court issues stay in Samsung's VoiceOver suit against Apple
Hello there, it's Friday and time for your regularly scheduled update on the continuing courtroom hijinks between Samsung and Apple! Today we bring word via FOSS Patents that a German court has stayed one of the approximately 200 million cases (give or take a few) brought by the former against the latter. This one involves a Samsung patent covering the translation on onscreen text to voice, or, as Apple terms it, VoiceOver. Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court is putting the brakes on the case, citing the fact that the patent in question is currently having its validity examined by a different German court. In fact, Samsung has already had to narrow down its claims against Apple vis-à-vis the patent, as it is so very broad. As FOSS Patents points out, this lawsuit is a particularly sticky one for Samsung, as it is essentially seeking to prevent Apple from providing a feature that specifically helps the blind and those with impaired vision. We imagine the court that's currently reviewing the patent all this is based on is taking a long, hard look at that very fact and it will factor heavily in whatever decision is ultimately made. [Via AllThingsD]
Resident Evil 6 getting Japanese voiceover as DLC
Capcom is working on DLC for Resident Evil 6 featuring Japanese voiceovers for its audience in the country, Siliconera translates from Famitsu. Resident Evil 6, like many other Capcom games, has English voiceovers only, even in the Japanese version.Not that the game has suffered in Japan for a lack of native voice acting – Resident Evil 6 for PS3 is Japan's No. 5 game of 2012, selling 828,000 copies nationally last year. Capcom shipped 3.7 million copies of Resident Evil 6 worldwide in the first half of fiscal 2013, nicely padding its overall revenue for the period, though it wasn't even close to hitting our personal "best of 2012" list.
Shazam for iOS gets a new UI, shares our lack of music knowledge with Google+
Some Shazam users run the app to discover new music; for us, it's an all-too-frequent admission that we're out of touch with the kids' music these days. We can at least take comfort in the 5.5 update for iOS giving us a friendlier interface for catching up on our culture. Along with a new listening screen that reacts to the tunes, there's bigger album artwork as well as automatic resubmissions if the connection gets sketchy. Those of us unafraid to reveal our tastes in music can also share to Google+, and listeners with visual impairments now just have to double-tap to start sampling tracks whenever VoiceOver is turned on. We have yet to see a matching Android update, but any iPhone or iPod touch owner who can live with a little musical humility can hit the source for the new release.
Nook app packs new features on iOS and Android, makes UK debut
Barnes & Noble's Nook app has reached version 3.3 on iOS and Android, bringing a handful of new features in tow. Headlining the iOS update are screen magnification and support for Apple's VoiceOver feature, which can assist the blind and visually impaired by reading content aloud. The app has also been gussied up for the iPhone 5's additional screen real estate. Both Android and iOS flavors of the application pack language support for French, Italian, German, Spanish and British English -- and indeed they've now cozied up to the Nook's UK storefront following the arrival of the latest hardware in that land a few days back. If you're fixing to download the spruced up app, Barnes & Noble recommends syncing your library before making the leap.
The Daily Grind: What MMO trend could you do without?
I'm something of an immersion nut when it comes to MMOs (and gaming in general), but strangely I'm not a fan of voice-acting. I don't know whether it's the fact that I enjoyed games long before voice-acting was even possible or if it's just annoyance at the fact that VO takes precious budget dollars away from actual game functionality. Whatever the reason, I simply don't dig it. What about you, dear readers? What current MMO trend could you do without? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Firefox 16 final launches with Reader on Android, VoiceOver on Macs and web app support
Mozilla knows how to keep on the fast track. Just weeks after the Firefox 16 beta first showed, the finished version is ready and waiting. Surprises are few if you were an early adopter, although the update still has some welcome changes for the right audiences. Mozilla is most keen to talk about preliminary web app support for the Mozilla Marketplace, but you'll also find device-specific additions like a Reader Mode for the Android flock and VoiceOver support automatically switched on for Macs. More responsive JavaScript and on-by-default Opus audio playback give existing surfers extra reasons to upgrade. Firefox 16 is immediately available through all the usual channels, so hit the relevant source link if you're ready to live on the not-quite-bleeding edge.
Firefox 16 beta arrives with web app hooks, Reader Mode for Android and VoiceOver for Macs
Firefox 15 is barely fresh off the vine, and we're already looking at a beta version 16 for both desktop platforms and Android. Mozilla's test release builds in the first support for web apps that play nicely with the Mozilla Marketplace; as long as titles have a slight amount of extra formatting, they can slot into Firefox without hiccups. More treats exist if you're running certain platforms: the Android crowd receives a Safari-style Reader Mode that strips out the fluff from pages, while Mac users see the once test-only VoiceOver support flipped on by default to improve accessibility. Even developers get a little something special through a quick-access toolbar and more readily accessible CSS4 scripting. If any of this sounds tempting, there's a pair of source links waiting for your attention.
A critical look at Guild Wars 2
Well, it's finally official: ArenaNet's golden child, Guild Wars 2, has launched, and I'm sure thousands upon thousands of you are too busy playing it to even read this article. On the other hand, it's an MMO launch, so a good chunk of you are bound to be locked out of the servers, unable to launch the client, or any number of other things, and if that's the case, then boy do I have an article for you. But first, allow me to don my flame retardant suit. In the hopes of lowering the deluge of angry emails I'm about to get, let me preface everything by saying this: Guild Wars 2 is a good game -- a great game, even. In fact, I love it. But every time I've had the audacity to mention anything even remotely critical about the title in in-game chat (my first mistake), I've been immediately pounced upon by rabid fans who seem to think that anyone who feels that the game could be better in some regard is a heretic who should just quit the game. So I'm going to do what any rational gamer with a death wish would: take a critical look at Guild Wars 2.
Mountain Lion 101: Updated high-quality voice synthesis
Most of the speech hubbub around Mountain Lion has centered on the OS's marquee Dictation feature, which happily accepts your spoken words as a substitute for typing them in. Dictation works in almost any text entry field, and it's surprisingly effective; Steve even dictated his entire post about Dictation. Speech-to-text is only one side of the coin; there's also text-to-speech. OS X Leopard introduced a single high-quality voice named Alex. "He" sounded so natural compared to the previous generation of Mac synth voices that it was a little bit disconcerting. Starting in OS X Lion, users were given the choice to install high-quality synthetic voices licensed from Nuance that supplemented or replaced the "classic" Mac voice options in scores of languages. These voices delivered uncanny quality while chewing up hefty amounts of disk space (upwards of 500 MB in some cases). As pointed out by AppleInsider, the enhanced speech voices have now been updated for Mountain Lion. Users who previously installed a custom voice should now see 2.0 versions of those voices available in the new Software Update zone (which appears at the top of the Updates area in the Mac App Store). If you've never experimented with the voice synth options in OS X, you can change the system voice in the Dictation & Speech system preference pane. Want to make your Mac speak? TextEdit (and most Cocoa-based editors) offers Speech options in the Edit menu or via a contextual menu. You can also pick a hotkey in the Dictation & Speech preference pane to speak any selected text in any application. The preference pane also allows you to turn on spoken alerts for notifications, speak the time or let you know when an app needs your attention, which I imagine would grow tiresome awfully quickly. OS X's voice synthesis skills are also put to full use with VoiceOver, the accessibility screenreader that assists visually impaired users. Sighted users may find it's worth experiencing VoiceOver once or twice, just to get a sense of the amount of engineering work that goes into making OS X a true accessible platform. To turn on the full screenreader interface with VoiceOver, you can use the Accessibility preference pane or just hit ⌘-F5. Automator and AppleScript both support speech output, and there's still the venerable say command-line tool which lets you specify a voice with the -v flag. If you're feeling particularly mischief-minded, remember that say will work on a remote machine via an ssh session. Watch as your officemate jumps clear out of his or her skin when you tell the MacBook Pro on the desk to say -v Trinoids Do not adjust your screen. You will be assimilated. The process is quick and painless, stand by. Fun for the whole family.
Mists of Pandaria beta: New warlock pets get their voice emotes
The level 75 talent option Grimoire of Supremacy grants the warlock more powerful minions, and now those minions have their own voice emotes for their actions. Every demon gets a few options for summoning, attacks, spellcasts if the demon casts, dismissing the demon, and a joke for idling or clicking on them. Wowhead compiled all the voice emotes into one video and have transcribed them all. Each demon's general personality is reflected through the voice emotes. We have the combustive fel imp, the slow but steady voidlord, the ravenous observer, the self-serving shivarra, and the brutal but loyal wrathguard. Fel imp: (spellcast) Yeah, it's fighting time! It's burning time! Let's heat things up! Voidlord: (dismiss) When I consume your world, my armies will save you for last. Observer: (joke) Did you see that, hehehe? Uh Uh Uh Uh. I see what you did there. Shivarra: (summon) How dare you summon me? I am not some trifling toy for you to call upon as you please. Wrathguard: (attack) By your orders! I live to be commanded. Since warlock pets are moving from a spec-based choice to a situational decision, master and minion personality compatibility means more than ever! It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
