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Sun Dial Users Guide
Please read the following material carefully for a complete explanation of the Sun Dial system. If you would like a copy of the instructions in another format, you can request Braille, large print, computer diskette, email or cassette, by contacting Sun Sounds at 480.774.8300.
Section 1 Introduction and Overview
Section 2 Using the Telephone Keypad
2.1 Telephone Keypad Layout
2.2 The First Menu
2.3 Navigating with the Telephone Keypad
2.4 Special Function Keys
Section 3 Web Based Newspapers and Browsing the World Wide Web
3.1. Web Based Newspapers
3.2 Reading the News
3.3. Browsing Other Web Pages
Section 4 Using Your Telephone to Listen to Newspapers, Shopping and Other Real Audio Information Read by Sun Sounds Volunteers
4.1. Daily Newspapers
4.2 Grocery Ads and Other Real Audio Services
4.3. Sun Sounds Radio Reading Service Live!
Section 5 Contact Information
Section 1:
Sun Dial is a telephone based information access service provided by Sun Sounds of Arizona. Development of the service was made possible with generous assistance from the Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration, St. Lukes Charitable Health Trust, the Arizona Department of Library Archives and Public Records and
Sun Dial is divided into two types of services. One type consists of newspapers, magazines and other publications read by Sun Sounds volunteers. The other type of service consists of newspapers and other information sources and Real Audio services from the internet and World Wide Web, and is presented to you using a speech synthesizer. All you need to access Sun Dial is a touch-tone phone.
Sun Dial is a dynamic growing service. This guide will acquaint you with the various options and planned options within the service, but materials and options will change as we improve and augment the system and as the service grows.
When you signed up for Sun Dial, you were provided with a special access telephone number. This number is for your use only. It should not be shared with other people, and should be kept handy in a safe place.
If you at any time have problems using the system, or you get confused by the key commands, please contact us at 480.774.8300 for assistance. This system was developed by Sun Sounds of Arizona with you in mind, so let us know how we can help you use the system better.
Section 2:
In this section, we will discuss how you use the touch-tone telephone keypad to control and use Sun Dial. You have been provided with a “Keypad Command Summary” at the back of this users guide. You may want to keep the summary near the phone for your reference.
If you have your touch-tone phone set for the old- fashioned pulse digital system, rather than tones, you must switch the phone to tones once you have reached Sun Dial. If you are unsure how your phone is set, then pick up your phone, and press a key. If you hear a tone it is set correctly. If you hear a series of clicks instead of a tone, then your phone is set for pulse digital. There is a switch located on the telephone to change the setting.
Section 2.1
If you have used a touchtone phone enough to already know all the keys and where they are located, then you can skip over this section and go to Section 2.2. If you are more accustomed to a rotary-dial phone, or aren’t sure of all twelve of the touch-tone keys, then continue reading this section.
The basic touch-tone telephone keypad is laid out in four rows of three keys each. We will start from the top-left of the keypad.
* The first row of keys from left to right is: 1, 2, 3.
* The second row of keys contains 4, 5, 6 from left to right.
* The third row of keys is 7, 8, 9.
* The fourth row of keys contains *, 0, and # from left to right.
Many phones have a fourth column of keys for special features of the phone, or sometimes a row of keys above and below the basic key-pad. This can be confusing. However, usually, the number 5 key has a dot in the middle of it, or on the lower edge of it. This marker can help you orient yourself on the keypad. For our purposes, the number 5 key, with the dot on it, will be the center of our control panel.
(1) (2) (3)
(4) (5) (6)
(7) (8) (9)
(*) (0) (#)
Note the telephone keypad is set up differently from a calculator number pad, or computer number pad.
Section 2.2
When you call Sun Dial, you will be presented with several different choices. The menu will be spoken, listing the choices you can make, though if you already know your choice when you call, you can press the proper key at any time. These choices are as follows:
* You may choose to listen to the daily newspapers read by Sun Sounds volunteers by pressing the number 1.
* To listen to shopping and grocery advertisements, read by Sun Sounds volunteers, and other special pre-recorded or live programs, press the number 2.
* You can listen to the live broadcast of Sun Sounds radio reading service by pressing the number 3.
* If you would rather read newspapers from the World Wide Web, then press number 4. You will be immediately connected to a menu from which you can select the web sites of many different newspapers both national and local. All of these materials will be read to you using synthesized speech.
* Sun Sounds of
* If you would like to browse the Sun Sounds radio reading service program guide, and have it read to you using synthesized speech, press number 6.
* Sun Sounds is committed to making available to you as much useful information as possible. For this reason, you can visit the Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration web page, which contains information on blindness and visual impairment, as well as links to many other blindness related organizations by pressing 7.
* Sun Sounds of
Once you have made your selection, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, you will be logged into the Sun Dial system. Be patient and don’t press any keys, there may be a slight delay while your selection is prepared. Either the system will begin reading your selection automatically, or you will be prompted for additional action when everything is ready to go. Once this happens, you then use your telephone keypad to control the system. You will be able to speed up or slow down the reading, and jump from article to article. The keys that accomplish this will be described fully in the following sections.
Section 2.3
Once you have logged into the Sun Dial system by making an initial selection from the starting menu, the telephone keypad becomes a powerful navigation tool, which enables you to move around freely in the system. Instead of viewing the keys as mere numbers, try to think of the keys as representing a direction you will move within the system. Keys one through nine make up a square, which you will use to navigate. The bottom row of keys, *, 0, and #, are special function keys which we will describe later.
To move around on the page you are reading, imagine that the telephone keypad keys 2, 4, 6, 8, are like arrows pointing in the direction you want to go. Remember the number 5 key has a dot on it and is in the middle of the square.
* If you do not press a key, the system will proceed to read the entire web page to you from top to bottom.
* Key number 1, at the top left of the keypad, will always take you to the top left of the page you are reading.
* Pressing 2, the key directly above the 5, on the keypad, moves you up the page.
* Pressing 8, directly below the 5, moves you down the page.
* Pressing 4, which is to the left of the 5, takes you back to the previous web page.
* Pressing 6, which is to the right of the 5, takes you forward and follows a link to the next article or web page. It’s kind of like turning the pages of a book.
* Pressing 7, on the lower left side of the square, will immediately take you back to the Sun Dial starting web page.
* Pressing 5, which is the one with the dot on it in the middle of the keypad, stops the reading until you press another key.
* When listening to recorded articles, pressing 3, on the top right of the keypad, will take you back sixty seconds.
* Pressing 9, on the bottom right of the keypad, will take you forward sixty seconds in pre-recorded reading.
Note: The 3 key and the 9 key only work on recorded articles; they have no effect on the synthesized voice.
Remember, if you get lost at any time, you can always return to the top of the web page by pressing 1, or, you can return to the Sun Dial starting page by pressing 7. This takes you immediately back to the starting page in Sun Dial. From that point you can go anywhere in the system.
Section 2.4
A few keys have been set aside for special purposes and have no effect on navigating within the system. These are the * key on the lower left of the keypad, the # key on the lower right of the keypad, and the 0 key in the middle of the bottom row.
* The 0 key is to get help at any time. Pressing “ 0 “ will immediately remind you of what each key does in Sun Dial. When the help message is finished, you will be right where you left off. You can interrupt the help message at any time by pressing another key.
* When you are done reading and browsing for that session, you will need to tell Sun Dial you are done. To do this, press the # key on the lower right of the keypad. This will interrupt anything you are doing, and wish you good-by. Pressing the # key is better than just hanging up. If you just hang up, the system will take a while to realize you are not there. As this can delay the system being used by another caller, we ask that you always press the # key and wait for the good-bye message before you hang up.
The * key, on the lower left of the keypad, is to be used in combination with other keys for special functions.
* If you wish to speed up the reading of the synthesized voice press the * key followed by 44.
* To slow down the reading speed of the synthesized voice, press *77.
* To jump to the very end of a web page document, press * 88.
Note: A complete keypad summary is provided at the back of this Users Guide. The commands are listed in both numerical order, and in command order for your reference.
Section 3:
The Internet, and the World Wide Web, which is a part of the Internet, contain millions of pages of information. These information pages are generically called “Web Pages.” Nowadays, almost every organization which must interact with the public has its own information web pages. In the past a person had to have a computer and special telecommunications equipment to read these web pages. But now, you too can browse the wealth of news and information available on the World Wide Web by using your touch-tone phone.
Using your special access phone number, call the Sun Dial system, and you will have the opportunity to browse the World Wide Web and visit the web pages of many different newspapers and service organizations.
The first page that you will come to when you go to a particular organization’s web site is called the “home page.” For example, Sun Sounds has a home page, and from that page you can browse, or go to many other web pages with information of interest to Sun Sounds listeners, volunteers and supporters.
After you reach a web page of interest, Sun Dial will automatically begin reading it to you. If you have never heard a page from the web read to you before, it might take some getting used to. But don’t worry, we’ll examine how to work with the web in the sections below.
Every web page consists of items called elements, links and images. Elements consist of text you may want to read. Images are graphic pictures. Links are used to connect the page you are on to other web pages.
If you are reading web based newspapers, or pages from the World Wide Web, pressing 1 will take you to the top of the page and begin reading. As the synthesized voice reads to you, you will hear the word “link” when you pass a link. A link is an item which can transport you instantly to another article or another web page. To follow a link, press number 6 (the go forward key) on your keypad.
Often as you listen to a web page being read, you will hear the voice say, “image”. This means it has run across a picture. As most web pages are designed for sighted users, they often have many pictures.
Elements are the paragraphs and articles of information you will read. Often you must wade through a lot of images and links to get to the first text element. We have provided you with a shortcut though. Just press the number 8 (the down key) on the keypad to jump down to the first block of text.
Section 3.1
Once you reach the Sun Dial system, you will hear the menu of options. Select the number 4 on the starting menu to open up the world of Web based newspapers. You will then be taken to a web page from which you can select either national or local newspapers.
Sun Dial will begin reading this web page of newspaper options to you automatically. When you hear Sun Dial say “link, National Newspapers,” press the number 6, (to the right of the 5 key) on your phone pad, and you will then hear the list of national newspapers supported by Sun Dial. You may then choose one of the following newspapers:
* The New York Times
* The Wall Street Journal
* The
* The
* The
* The Christian Science Monitor
* Others will be added.
Each of these newspaper titles is a link to that newspaper’s web pages. For instance, when you hear Sun Dial say “link, The Wall Street Journal,” pressing the number 6 on your phone pad will take you there. If you want to hear the list read again, then remember that you can press 1 (at the top left of the keypad) to go back to the top of any web page, or 2, (the up key directly above the 5) to move back up the page an element at a time.
If instead you would prefer to hear a local newspaper, you have many choices. Nearly every local newspaper in Arizona maintains a web site. So, if you pick the “Local Newspapers,” selection, you will be presented with a very long list of both daily and weekly newspapers from all over Arizona. The list is too long to print here, but it includes the Arizona Daily Star, the Arizona Republic, the New Times, and newspapers from small communities such as Kingman, Yuma, Prescott, and many more. Each newspaper title will have the word “link” in front of it, so you only need to press the number 6 on your phone pad to go to that particular newspaper.
Section 3.2
Every newspaper sets up its web pages a little differently, so there is no way to learn about your favorite paper except to visit it until you are familiar with it. It is common though for there to be many pictures which Sun Dial will represent to you by saying “image.” You can ignore these.
Most newspaper web pages have a whole list of links near the top of the page which can take you quickly to other parts of the newspaper. The Sun Dial voice will say the word “link” before reading each link. Selecting a link by pressing the number 6 will take you to a new page. Unfortunately, you will hear the same long list of links at the top of each new page. This can be frustrating and tedious, so we have built in a way to jump down past the list and get to the text quickly by pressing 8, (the down key) on the telephone keypad.
Popular major newspapers like the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal may become very busy as millions of people attempt to reach and read their web pages. If you try to reach the New York Times for instance, at a peak time, say 9:00 A.M. EST, you may find you can’t get in, or the page may load very slowly. This is a web traffic problem, and Sun Dial has no control over this problem.
There are commonly many images and links representing different sections of the newspaper and particular articles. When you are scanning a large newspaper like the Chicago Tribune, it can take quite a while for the Sun Dial voice to work down through all fifty or more links located at the top of each page. Once you have heard the link you want to follow, press the number 6. You will hear the same list begin again. You are not lost, the new page has the same images and links as the one you just left. So, once the new page is loaded, press 8 (the down key) to skip down past all the images and links to the article.
If you made a mistake, and need to go back, you can press the number 2 to move up the page an element at a time, or the number 1 to go back to the top of the page, or the number 4 to go back to the previous page.
You will probably find that navigating newspapers takes a bit of practice, but once you master it, you will have a tremendous wealth of news and information available right at your finger tips any place, any time.
If you want to go back and select a different newspaper, pressing 7 will take you back to the Sun Dial beginning page.
When you have finished using Sun Dial, pressing the # key, also called the pound key, to the right of the 0 key, will log you off the system. It is important that you press “pound” before you hang up so the system knows you are done, and can reset itself for the next user.
If you get stuck, or confused, call us at 480.774.8300, and we’ll give you a hand.
There is a lot of information on the World Wide Web which is not in newspapers. It is amazing what one can learn by just exploring. The Sun Dial system has made this both possible and easy for you.
When you first log in to Sun Dial, selecting option 5, 6, 7, or 8 will get you to the World Wide Web. You will find that no matter where you start, with some patience, you can navigate to almost anywhere else on the web.
Pressing number 5 takes you immediately to the Sun Sounds of Arizona web pages. Here you can read about all aspects of Sun Sounds activities and programs. Look around, you might learn there is more to Sun Sounds than you thought.
From there, you can select an option called “resource links,” and you will be presented with a list of links to organizations like the Braille and Talking Book Service, the American Council of the Blind, the Public Library, and the National Federation of the Blind. You can even visit other radio reading services by following the International Association of Audio Information Services link.
When you log in to Sun Dial, pressing option 7 will take you directly to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) web page. Virtually every service for blind and disabled people can be reached from this web page including government web pages.
When you are browsing any of these web pages, the telephone keys work the same way as when you were reading newspapers.
* The 1 key takes you to the top of the page.
* The 2 key moves up the page one element at a time.
* The 4 key takes you back to the previous web page.
* The 5 key stops the reading until you press another key.
* The 6 key follows a link to a new web page.
* The 7 key takes you back to the Sun Dial starting page.
* Pressing 8 jumps down past links and images to the next block of text.
* Pressing * followed by 88 takes you to the end of the current web page document.
* Pressing 0 gets you help.
* Pressing pound, to the right of the 0 key, logs you off the system.
Section 4:
Using Your Telephone to Listen to Real Audio Newspapers, Shopping and Other Information Read by Sun Sounds Volunteers
Many people find that listening for long periods to a synthetic voice is tiring, or just not very pleasant. If you are one of these, then you will prefer listening to the human side of Sun Dial. Volunteer readers from all over Arizona record newspapers, shopping information and grocery ads, and many other kinds of material in the Sun Sounds studios. Much of this material, though not all of it, is read over the Sun Sounds radio reading service. The reading and other information, read by the excellent volunteer readers at Sun Sounds, is indexed and stored in the Sun Dial system for your use.
When you call Sun Dial using your special access phone number, you can listen to materials read or spoken by real people by selecting options 1, 2, or 3 from the start menu.
Section 4.1
When you call Sun Dial, selecting option 1 from the menu will take you immediately to a web page menu of daily newspapers. All of these newspapers are recorded in Sun Sounds studios by volunteer readers. They are indexed and broken down so that you can choose what section of the newspaper you wish to read, and move easily from article to article. The newspapers are updated daily.
Newspapers available in Sun Dial include:
* The Arizona Republic
* The Arizona Daily Star
* The Tucson Citizen
* The Mesa Tribune
* USA Today
Once you have been taken to the particular newspaper you have chosen, then you navigate within the newspaper as described in earlier sections. (See Section 2.)
When you reach the particular newspaper you have selected, the Sun Dial system will immediately begin reading to you the sections of the newspaper which are available. The sections available may differ a bit from newspaper to newspaper. The Sun Dial synthesized voice will say the word “link” before the title of each of these newspaper sections. This means that if you select one of these links by pressing the 6 key, you will be taken straight to that particular section of the newspaper by-passing all the articles in between. Don’t forget, the 6 key is the follow link key and is located to the immediate right of the five key with the dot on it
Within each newspaper section is a list of “Articles.” Some of these are specifically titled such as “Ann Landers” but in the case of Front Page news articles, they are merely numbered. For instance, the Front Page section of the Arizona Republic would read as follows:
Section A, Front Page News
Link Article 1
Link Article 2
Link Article 3
Etc.
Though, to this point, you have been hearing the Sun Dial synthesized voice, once you select a specific article, you will hear a recording of a Sun Sounds volunteer reading the article to you. Selecting Article 1 will take you to the lead article in the newspaper. If you do not want to hear the whole article, but want to move to the next article, just press the “down” key, number 8 on the telephone keypad, and the system will immediately stop playing article 1, and will jump to Article 2.
As all of the articles recorded in this part of the Sun Dial system are read by real live human beings, you will find listening for long periods much easier and more pleasant. Even so, you still control how you listen. If you want to skim ahead in the recorded article, pressing the 9 key will move you 60 seconds ahead. If you missed something in the article pressing the 3 key will skip you back 60 seconds. This is kind of like using fast forward and rewind.
To summarize, you can jump from article, to article, or jump around within a particular article once you have been taken to the section you want:
* Pressing 2 will take you to the previous article.
* Pressing 8 will take you to the next article.
* Pressing the 3 key will take you back 60 seconds in the current article.
* Pressing 9 will take you forward 60 seconds in the current article.
* 0 will get you help.
· To hang up press the pound key.
4.2
When you use your special access phone number to call Sun Dial, select option 2 from the start menu, and you will go to the catch all area of Sun Dial. This menu page contains several different types of Real Audio services and recordings. Some of these programs are live and some are pre-recorded.
When listening to a pre-recorded program, the 3 key will back up 60 seconds in the reading, and the 9 key will go forward in the reading 60 seconds, like fast forward and rewind.
When listening to a live stream, you are actually listening to the same broadcast that listeners are hearing on the radio. The 3 key and the 9 key do not work while listening to live streams.
Some of the services available within this part of Sun Dial are as follows:
* A C B Radio Live; a web based radio information station operated by the American Council of the Blind
* R I S; the Radio Information Service of
* The Kansas Audio Reader; a radio reading service located in
* Grocery Ads; both daily and weekly ads recorded by Sun Sounds volunteers for the
New Real Audio services and pre-recorded programs from Sun Sounds will be added to this area regularly. So, visit often to see what’s new.
Remember, you can move up and down the list of programs within this area by using the up and down keys, 2 and 8, on your telephone keypad. Press 6 to select a particular program. Pressing 0 will get you some help, and pressing # will end your call.
4.3
Sun Sounds Radio Reading Service Live!
Sun Dial is such a flexible system, you can even choose to listen to the actual live broadcast of Sun Sounds radio reading service.
When you use your special access phone number, selecting option 3 from the start menu will connect you to the live broadcast of Sun Sounds Radio Reading Service. No longer must you miss your favorite program when you are not near your Sun Sounds radio.
Pressing any key while the broadcast is playing will stop the broadcast, and place you on the Sun Dial Home Page. You may continue to browse the web, or press pound to end the call.
Section 5
Sun Dial is a free subscription service of Sun Sounds of
We encourage you to be in touch with us.
Sun Sounds of
2323
Phone: 480.774.8300 (
Phone: 520-296-2400 (
Phone: 928-779-1775 (
Web Address: http://sunsounds.org
Email: bill.pasco@riomail.maricopa.edu
(revised: