AxsJAX: a talking translation bot using google IM: bringing web-2.0 applications to life

ABSTRACT

Web-2.0 applications turn static Web documents into dynamic user interfaces. They epitomize the final realization of the vision "The Document Is The Interface!". This transition from static Web pages to interactive Web applications also requires the introduction of a fresh set of innovations to how such applications are accessed in conjunction with adaptive technologies.

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) breathes life into static Web pages. ARIA live regions helps bring such interaction to life when used in conjunction with adaptive technologies such as screenreaders and self-voicing browsers. This paper introduces the motivation behind live regions in ARIA, and describes how this support can be used to enhance the user interaction provided by Google Talk --- an instant-messaging client that is integrated into the GMail Web interface. We describe the interaction model as it is surfaced to the end-user, and show how the introduction of live regions makes all aspects of the resulting UI usable with adaptive technologies.

Web-2.0 applications---especially mashups---excel at creating end-user solutions that are greater than the sum of their individual building blocks. We demonstrate this by bringing together Google Talk, Live Regions and Natural Language translation by demonstrating a multi-lingual talking translation interface that is the result of speech-enabling these applications using the Google AxsJAX framework.

REFERENCES

• 1: M. D. Center. AJAX: WAI ARIA Live Regions. 2007.
• 2: WAI Protocols and Formats Group. ARIA---Access To Rich Internet Applications Overview. Technical report, W3C, 2006. See http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.
• 3: T. V. Raman, Emacspeak—direct speech access, Proceedings of the second annual ACM conference on Assistive technologies, p.32-36, April 11-12, 1996, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada [doi>10.1145/228347.228354]
• 4: T. V. Raman, Auditory User Interfaces: Toward the Speaking Computer, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, 1997
• 5: R. Schwerdtfeger et al. Roadmap for Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA Roadmap). World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation Working Draft, 2006.
• 6: Peter Thiessen , Charles Chen, Ajax live regions: chat as a case example, Proceedings of the 2007 international cross-disciplinary conference on Web accessibility (W4A), May 07-08, 2007, Banff, Canada [doi>10.1145/1243441.1243450]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.4 Systems and Software

          Nouns: World Wide Web (WWW)

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.6 Programming Environments
          Subjects: Integrated environments

  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.7 DOCUMENT AND TEXT PROCESSING
      I.7.2 Document Preparation

General Terms:
Design, Management, Theory