Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!wtm
From: campbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Artic 3.00
Message-ID: <17287@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 31 Jan 91 03:15:10 GMT
References: <17179@bunker.UUCP>
Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Reply-To: campbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell)
Distribution: misc
Lines: 37
Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 13274

Re: Artic 3.00.

Well, I have 3.01.  As far as your comment about prompts not being
spoken, I haven't used it in that mode, at least not on anything but DOS
programs (up to now mostly command.com :-)), but there is a setting that
controls how long it waits after data arrives until it speaks when there
is no end of line.

Artic 2.10 has a problem (at least at 1200 baud) with responding to
remote full-screen applications that many other speech programs have, or
at least used to.  You issue a cursor command which causes your terminal
emulator to send a cursor command to the remote program.  The remote
program then sends a command back to the terminal that causes the cursor
to move.  Unfortunately, the Artic software doesn't know that this is
going on and thinks that the cursor has been moved before it has,
causing it to say the character before the cursor moves.  I saw a timing
adjustment the name of which made me hopeful that it might fix this.

The bad news, at least so far: Artic 3.01 on my machine (HP Vectra
Classic (A+), a 286 AT compatible) won't work with PIBTERM, EZ-READER,
or **TrueScan**!!  It locks up and the only thing that will restart the
system is cycling the power.  (There is a reset sequence involving
SYSREQ that I don't remember which is supposed to be more effective than
CTRL-ALT-DELETE that I obviously haven't tried).  I called Artic and
they said there would be a maintenance release to fix a problem that
causes many communications programs not to work.  This release is also
supposed to contain the macro system.  I forgot to ask when they
expect this release to be out.

I think I like the new features, although I am still in the in-between
stage where it seems clumsy, especially since I have two versions of the
program on my system and am switching between them frequently.

--
Gary Campbell