Porting of "Talking Directory" to Linux

[Hans Zoebelein <zocki goldfish cube net>]

Dear blinux subscriber,

some days ago I found an announcement for a new version of
"TALKING DIRECTORY 2.0". This is a talking user shell for blind people.
The announcement sounds promising (read the attachment).

Unfortunately TALKING DIRECTORY is written for DOS.  
So I asked the Jamal Mazrui, if he would like to port his 
stuff to Linux.  He wants to do it and he sent me this mail:


   Date: 09 Jan 97 06:57:16 EST
   From: Jamal Mazrui <74444 1076 CompuServe COM>
   To: Hans Zoebelein <zocki goldfish cube net>
   Subject: Talking Directory 2.0 an

   Thanks for your suggestion.  I would like to port it if possible.  It's 
   written in the Clipper 5.2 programming language.  I've heard that there
   is a Unix compiler for it called Flagship.  I don't know if it would
   support all the libraries I use under DOS.  I'll try to find out.

   Feel free to forward this message to the Linux list to see if anyone
   has knowledge and interest in helping me port Talking Directory.

   Cheers,
   Jamal

So if you want to contribute or know how to handle the 
Flagship database stuff, please contact Jamal Mazrui directly 
at <74444 1076 CompuServe COM> and offer your company on the 
way from meagre DOS to fertile LINUX ;) 


Thank you for your support
Hans 

Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 22:02:43 -0500
From: Jamal Mazrui <empower smarty smart net>
To: BLIND-L UAFSYSB UARK EDU
Subject: Announcing Talking Directory 2.0


Access Success
1400 East-West Highway, #427
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone:  (301) 589-8899
Email:  74444 1076 compuserve com

Contact:  Jamal Mazrui


  POWERFUL TOOL FOR BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED COMPUTER USERS
                         RELEASED TODAY


     January 4, 1997-- Access Success today announced release of
an entirely new version of Talking Directory, one of the most
powerful tools for blind and visually impaired computer users
since the screen reader.  "The new 2.0 RELEASE of TD is a major
reworking of the original software and is loaded with new
features," said Jamal Mazrui, the product's developer.
     "It's difficult to classify Talking Directory into a single
product category," said Mazrui, "it's so versatile."  The basic
product is a DOS-based shell for file, directory, and program
management that is fully accessible to a blind or visually
impaired user.  Mazrui noted that "Virtually all other DOS shells
are highly visually oriented and are awkward, if not impractical,
to use when you can't see the computer screen or control a
mouse."  Talking Directory solves this problem and enables anyone
who uses speech synthesis or refreshable Braille for screen
access to take full charge of her/his computer's disk contents.

     With Talking Directory, the user is able to cursor through
automatically sorted directories, file name by file name,
examining, manipulating, or descriptively labeling each file.
All standard DOS commands, such as COPY, DEL, REN, MOVE, and MD,
are accessible from TD with single keystrokes, allowing users to
copy, delete, rename, and move files and manipulate directories
effortlessly.  Beginning with only a single keystroke, files in
ASCII text, Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Lotus Ami, HTML,
or ZIP formats can be viewed, searched, bookmarked for future
reference, or blocked and copied.  TD will also convert the
content of almost any DOS or Windows word-processing file into
ASCII text.
     Talking Directory's many other easily used features include:
searching a directory or an entire disk for a designated "key"
word or phrase, describing file contents automatically,
formatting floppy disks, archiving and unarchiving files,
stamping file times and dates, and determining both file size (in
bytes) and maximum line length (in characters).  TD provides
single-key launching of ten user-designated "favorite"
applications; and it gives direct access to the DOS prompt for
single commands or command sequences.  Moreover, TD, which will
run in protected mode or on a network, may be used easily and
effectively from within either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 as a DOS
application.

     Don Barrett, an experienced user of Talking Directory's many
features, says "One of the problems I run into as a speech writer
is that I collect a lot of information in little bits and pieces,
scattered throughout numerous little files.  TD's
file-description capability has made a huge difference in helping
me to manage this material, and to put it into some cohesive
order."  Barrett adds that "The wonderful thing about a program
like TD is that it was written to Manipulate information
according to the way your mind wants to process it, the way we
need it and can best utilize it, one orderly piece of information
at a time."
     Jim Ansley, a psychologist and management consultant,
reports that his favorite new feature in Talking Directory is the
four-in-one calculator.  The calculator feature does four
distinct types of calculations--arithmetic, calendar, financial,
and phone.  "The financial calculator is incredibly useful for
computing interest payments and investment returns," Ansley said,
"and the phone feature should really appeal to anyone who has
ever attempted to convert a 'vanity' phone number into dialable
digits in a hurry."
     Bonnie O'Day, a disability-policy researcher who describes
herself as "non techy," especially likes the easy-to-use
calendar-calculator feature.  This utility enables the user to
determine the date of any day and the day and week of any date,
even into the 21st century.  "This is very helpful for scheduling
appointments and quickly locating holidays and anniversaries,"
O'Day said.

     Trial copies of the new Talking Directory can be downloaded
from the Empowerment Zone web site (http://ourworld.compuserve.co
m/homepages/jamal), and registered copies can be purchased via
credit card through Ferguson Enterprises (phone 605/546-2366,
fax 605/546-2212, or email fergent fergusonenterprises com).
Registered copies are $70, and an upgrade for Registered users of
earlier TD releases is $20.  Introductory prices of $55 and $15,
respectively, are available until January 31, 1997.  Both new and
upgrade purchasers will receive a complimentary copy of PERFECTO,
a sophisticated macro that corrects common formatting errors in
documents prepared with the WordPerfect 5.1 word processor.

"Access Success," as Mazrui describes it, "embodies a commitment
to developing technology that empowers people with disabilities
in their lives and work."  Mazrui, who himself is blind, founded
Access Success in 1988 when he placed his first accessible
product, the Contact Tracking System, on the market.  He
subsequently developed Zip, Faxit, and the initial version of
Talking Directory.  Mazrui is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard
Universities and currently works as a legislative analyst for the
federal government.