Microsoft announced Monday that it is bringing live captioning to two of its biggest products, PowerPoint and Skype . Timed to coincide with the U.S. International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the move will make it easier for users who are hearing impaired or speak different languages to communicate.
The feature provides simple real-time captions while you speak.
Of course, Microsoft is not the only company that works or provides accessibility features for its consumers.
Apple's iOS allows individual users to adjust playback and subtitles, and also provides the ability to listen to content for those with visual impairments. There is also a guided control feature that allows parents or caregivers to ensure that individuals with autism or attention‑deficit issues stay focused on the task they are performing by disabling the Home button, as well as portions of the screen to limit other access points.
The Microsoft accessibility team is led by Jenny Lay-Flurrie, head of the company's accessibility service and someone who understands how important these features are for certain users. As a person who was almost deaf her whole life, Lay-Flurrie also has the ability to benefit from captioning, which comes in PowerPoint and Skype.
According to the World Health Organization, about 1 billion people in the world have some form of disability. And unfortunately, using a computer or smartphone is not easy for many of them.
With the addition of real-time subtitles, Microsoft will be able to open PowerPoint and Skype for people with hearing impairments.
Except for people with hearing problems, the caption feature will also benefit those who work with individuals who speak different languages, thanks to real‑time translations.
But there are millions of other users worldwide who have disabilities that are not related to their hearing. That's why, as Lay‑Flurrie states, the company continues to work on additional capabilities that will allow a larger number of people to use their devices without issue.
According to Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft ensures it incorporates accessibility features whenever it creates a new product. Currently it includes technologies such as high-contrast settings and a magnifier for people with vision problems, as well as the company's recent Xbox Accessibility Controller, not to mention that it is working on accessibility and ALS mobility technologies.
Microsoft says it will continue to develop new caption and translation features for PowerPoint, which will support 12 spoken languages and more than 60 languages with captioning capability at startup. On the other hand, Skype will support translation for 20 languages.
Updates for the services will be released for PowerPoint in early 2019, while the translation capability for Skype is available from Monday, December 3.
