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listening to DAISY files on a MAC

Are there any Mac users out there who have successfully listened to a DAISY file? Does it require special software or a download? What program did it play in?  As far as I understand, the audio should play through iTunes, but what if the borrower wants to access the text? I've discussed Olearia as an option.  Has anyone tried it out?

Thanks!

Seeing as no one else has posted a helpful reply yet, I'll post what little I know:

  • Not all the DAISY books in NNELS come with the text file. Some are audio-only.
  • Where there is a text file, I have not had any luck loading the file in Olearia. I've tried several times in the past, and again now. It may be that I'm using the program incorrectly, but one of its advantages is straight-forward design, so I don't think I'm missing anything. Not sure what the incompatibility is there.
  • Many people use screen-readers, particularly Apple's built-in Voiceover commands and other accessibility features, to read text files on a Mac. I have a friend who is dyslexic and his computer reads the text out loud to him while he uses the cursor to highlight the important parts.

Apologies for the late reply.

To play the audio files, you do not need special software. You can simply load the mp3 files into any music program. However, it will not have the same level of navigation. If the user is used to DAISY functionality, then I would definitely suggest for them to install DAISY software.

The DAISY consortium has a list of DAISY playback software if you would like other options. I have used Emerson on a Mac and works just fine for me. However, I have not tried to use it with any assistive software or devices. Emerson does not allow loading of the text file unfortunately.

If the text is included with the DAISY, it will usually be called "contents.html". This file can be loaded separately in any browser. However, the file is usually only present in synthesized DAISY, not live narrated DAISY.

We are beginning to include a separate PDF or e-text download when available. If a user would like a text file and it is not included in a DAISY, they can request it and we can see if it possible for us for provide it.