Ever Try TextSL?

[Randall Ahren]

Ever try TextSL? You can login into SL from your browser if you don't mind a text interface. Just go to http://www.textsl.org./

It seems to be based on an ajax build. It is intended for visually impaired people because it will read everything to you in a robotic voice. However, I do not understand how a visually impaired person is supposed to type in the commands. If they can't read the output, how can they type in the input? 

You can teleport around and chat with other avatars, but there seems to be no ability to send or receive IMs. It's a rather interesting experience. To navigate, you type describe and it tells you who are the avatars around you. You can type move to followed by the avatar name, and it moves you there.

Does anybody know of any more advanced text based SL clients? 

[Sonja Smedley]

When I tried it, it only wrote....Sorry we could not log you in...wrong name etc....!

But I typed in my correct name.:-(

[Knowl Paine]

They use Braille keyboards and my keyboard has raised texture on the F and J keys. Your's might to.

Never tried the text only, Peewee has mentioned it as a great back-up feature for Residents who cannot login at the maingrid.

The Windows I use has a Narrator program in accessories, it is an amusing program.

[Randall Ahren]

Perhaps you made the same mistake that I initially made. You have to type "login" then your user name followed by your password. From the instructions, it appears that you need only to input your user name, but it must be preceded by login followed by your username and password all on one line.

@Knowl: I stumbled across this because I was looking for something that would translate my voice to text so that I would not have to type, but this does the reverse. It translates text from everyone else to voice.

[Sonja Smedley]

OMG yes you were right and I forgot my password also....lol!

Well I tried it out but I did not like it.

No fun when I don´t see anything around me.:-)

[Perrie Juran]

Ummmm.......is your password being processed through a third party?  As I recall this was the problem LL had with Ajax.  Not that Ajax was 'evil,' but that there were security issues with it.

[Randall Ahren]

@Perrie, I agree. Could be some security issues. Probably best to use an alt.

@Sonja, yes you cannot see anything. It is text based, so to get an idea of your surroundings you have to type describe and it will inform you of surrounding objects and avatars. Thereafter you can type move to followed by the avatar name that you wish to chat with.

[Cerise Sorbet]

Yes, it appears at a glance to have the same login issue that the original ajaxlife had. The source is made available, so it could be set up on a local server.

I think that Radegast is probably the cream of the crop for text SL clients.  It has some screen reader capability, but I don't know how easy it is to use that way. It has full access to chat, Im, inventory, etc. It is extremely fast on reasonable hardware, comfortable on old junk. It does have some graphical capability -- you can see maps, land and people profile pictures, even individual objects including attachments.

On the chat type //help with the double slash to see a few features that are not on the menus.

[Randall Ahren]

I love it Cerise. It even has voice.

[Vulcan Viper]

I'd just like to note that there's no (more) website at www.textsl.org.

[LlazarusLlong]

Sounds like eating a toffee apple without taking the wrapper off.

Or is that an analogy for something completely different?