Fonix Corporation (www.fonix.com) has developed a device called SpeakThis that will allow any website to be available in the spoken word to its consumers. This is not a program that has to be downloaded or installed; instead it uses automatically generated HTML codes that can be pasted into any website.

This application can help all websites comply with the Federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This Act requires that all electronic and information technology developed maintained, or used by the Federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. In other words, this device can help those who are unable to see text on a website, still be able to use its content, giving equal access to all.

SpeakThis allows the website owner to control the characteristics of the voice that speaks on their site once it is set up, including whether it is a male or female voice, its pitch, and its speed. It allows some text to be spoken using one voice and other parts of it to be spoken by another one. The application also allows for changes in the website by updating the spoken word content when changes are made to the text of a website.

The application also supports languages other than English including Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. It also supports keyboard shortcuts which make the website more accessible to everyone.

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