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This is a brief demonstration of a digital talking book, or DTB, reader, called ReadHear.
ReadHear is made by gh
and is available for both Macintosh and Windows computers.
It reads aloud the text of a properly formatted DTB,
as well as image descriptions if the author has supplied them.
The DTB format, created by the DAISY Consortium, was designed for use by people with print disabilities.
It allows authors to create books
that contain text as well as pre-recorded or text-to-speech audio,
in addition to advanced navigation features.
A DTB reader can be a stand-alone hardware device
or it can be software running on a desktop or laptop computer,
or on a mobile device.
DTB readers can be configured to read at any speed.
Users can configure DTB readers to provide navigation through the book
using pages, headings, paragraphs, sentences or words.
This means, for example, that if you set the DTB reader to navigate by headings,
each time you press the right arrow key
the reader's focus will jump from one heading to the next.
On the screen you can see a few paragraphs of text along with two images.
As ReadHear reads the book aloud,
you'll see the corresponding text highlighted in red,
with elements such as full sentences highlighted in blue.
The author of the book has supplied the images with long descriptions,
delivered using the prodnote element.
The prodnote element, also called producer's note,
is code within the DTB that is commonly used to convey image descriptions.
These image descriptions may or may not be visible,
depending on the DTB device in use.
ReadHear does not display prodnote descriptions but will read them aloud.
When ReadHear encounters an image on the page,
it draws a box around it while it reads the description.
The image descriptions can be as long as necessary to deliver sufficient information to the user.
For more information about image descriptions in DTBs and other electronic publications,
please visit the DIAGRAM Center's Web site at http://www.diagramcenter.org.
The next voice you hear will be ReadHear reading the contents of a DTB.
ReadHear: Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
It is nicknamed the red planet for the reddish color dust in its atmosphere
and the red-brown sand on its surface.
Of all the planets, Mars is most like Earth.
For example, the 25-degree tilt of Mars on its axis is only two degrees greater than that of Earth.
A day on Mars is only 41 minutes longer than an Earth day.
While Mars does take 322 days longer to orbit the sun than Earth, Mars has four seasons.
During these seasons, temperatures may range from -90 degrees celsius to 0 degrees celsius.
Like Earth, Mars has many varied surface features.
These features include deep canyons, large volcanoes and large craters.
Unlike Earth, Mars has two irregularly shaped moons: Phobos and Deimos.
Review: In what ways does Mars resemble Earth?
Like Earth, Mars has many varied landform features
including deep canyons, large volcanoes and large craters.
This image shows the Mars rover
as it approaches a large rock on the surface of Mars.
The rover has a rectangular frame with three sets of wheels
to carry it across the planet's varied rocky terrain and landforms.
The surface of Mars in this image is sandy with many rocks scattered across it.
A movie shows the rover in motion
as it encounters rocks and other objects on the surface.
This image shows a view of Mars from space.
Figure 7.35: Because of its color, Mars is often called the red planet.
The toy-like Mars rover traveled to Mars and sent back pictures of the planet's surface.