Many people find that listening for long periods to a synthetic voice is tiring, or not very pleasant. If you are one of these people, then you will prefer listening to the human side of Sun Dial II. Volunteer readers from all over Arizona record newspapers, shopping information and grocery ads, and many other kinds of material in the Sun Sounds studios. Much of this programming, though not all of it, is read over the Sun Sounds radio reading service. The reading and other information, presented by the excellent volunteer readers at Sun Sounds, is indexed and stored in Sun Dial II for your use.
To hear audio programs, press 1 or say, "audio programs" when you call Sun Dial II.
When you call Sun Dial II, saying "audio programs," or pressing 1 from the Main Menu will take you to a web page listing of all available Audio Programs including daily newspapers. All of these newspapers are recorded in Sun Sounds' studios by volunteer readers. They are indexed and broken down so that you can choose what section of the newspaper you wish to hear, and move easily from article to article. The newspapers are updated daily.
Once you select a particular newspaper Crystal will immediately begin reading to you the sections of the newspaper which are available. The sections available may differ a bit from newspaper to newspaper. Crystal will say the word "link" before the title of each of these newspaper sections. This means that if you select one of these links by pressing the 6 key, or saying the word "link" you will be taken straight to that particular section of the newspaper by-passing all the articles in between.
Within each newspaper section is a list of "Articles." Some of these are specifically titled such as "Ann Landers" but in the case of Front Page news articles, they are merely numbered. For instance, the Front Page section of the Arizona Republic would read as follows:
Section A, Front Page News
Link Article 1
Link Article 2
Link Article 3
Etc.
Important Note: When an audio program is playing, you cannot give a voice command until you press a key to get the attention of Sun Dial II. This is to prevent you from accidentally interrupting an audio program by coughing or making other noises. Once an audio program is interrupted, if you resume, it will begin playing at the beginning of the program again.
As all of the articles recorded in this part of the Sun Dial II system are read by real live human beings, you will find listening for long periods much easier and more pleasant. Even so, you still control how you listen. If you want to go back to the beginning of the article press the 1 key. To stop the reading and leave the article press any key to get Crystals attention, and then say "go back" or press the 4 key.
When you call Sun Dial II, press 1 or say, "Audio Programs," from the Main menu, and you will go to the area of Sun Dial containing all available audio programs both those produced by Sun Sounds and those produced by other organizations. This menu page contains several different types of Audio services and recordings. Some of these programs are live and some are pre-recorded. When listening to a live program, you are actually listening to the same broadcast that listeners are hearing on the radio.
Remember, you can move up and down the list of programs within this area by using the up and down keys, 2 and 8, on your telephone keypad. Press 6 to select a particular program. Pressing 0 will get help, and pressing * will take you back to the Main Menu. Or, if you prefer, you can say "up, Down, Link, Help, "Main Menu," or Good bye."Sun Dial II is such a flexible system, you can even choose to listen to the actual live broadcast of the Sun Sounds radio service.
When you call, selecting option 1 from the Main menu or saying "Audio Programs" will take you to the Audio Programs page where you can connect to the live broadcast of either Sun Sounds in Phoenix or Tucson. No longer must you miss your favorite program when you are not near your Sun Sounds radio.
Pressing any key while the broadcast is playing will stop the broadcast. You will be asked for a command. Pressing the 4 key or saying "go back" will place you on the Sun Dial II Audio Programs page. You may continue to browse the web, or say "good bye" to end the call.
Sun Sounds of Arizona has become a comprehensive information access organization that serves many different constituents in all parts of the state. Whether you are a Sun Dial II user, a radio reading listener from Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, or the valley, volunteer, donor, or user of our web based services , there is material to help you within Sun Dial II. We have created a brand new information section called Listings and Updates which presents information to help you live your life, and also stay in touch with Sun Sounds more easily. To visit this section, from the main menu of Sun Dial II, press the 6 key or say "listings," or "updates."
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