A computer-based entertainment center for the visually impaired and the elderly?

Question

Do it yourself

Hello!
Some time ago, it was necessary to find a device for playing audio books,
which would be both easy to use for an elderly person (although a little earlier he had mastered the basics of Internet surfing), inexpensive (spread more than 9000 r for a tiflo player, in which the filling is essentially an ordinary player for 1000 r, does not smile.At the same time, the existing models have a bunch of jambs), with the possibility of expanding the functionality.
There was an idea to make a similar complex based on a PC, since it already exists.
A simple programmable keyboard is connected to the computer - from a cash register - it has few buttons, everything is programmed, it costs quite a bit.
Speakers and internet are also connected.
The program starts when the computer starts (if something freezes, it will start after the reset), listens to the keyboard,
when pressed, it gives a sound accompaniment corresponding to the button and mode (such as “You have selected the audiobook mode”).
It is required to implement a clear navigation through the books, with the sound of their titles.
It would also be nice to have access to a list of Internet radio stations (there are many, many with news, etc.). Podcasts and audio blogs are also welcome.
Functional expansion - in question - reading rss feeds of newspapers, gods, etc. With the help of some external voice-synthesizing program.
Minor functions - sounding the weather, time, temperature.
On a good note, if you connect the gsm modem to the comport, you can make a phone call from the program, with the phone book being voiced.
And, finally, a very promising feature is an audio notebook, a kind of structured notebook for, say, audio memoirs.
The interface to all this should be simple so that a person can start using it as quickly as possible.
Oh yes - the computer platform allows you to quickly access the computer remotely in case of problems, or, for example, upload new links to rss.
So, the question is - has anyone come across the implementation of this?
Are there any ideas how best to implement?
I recently saw an article about an electric guide here, maybe this is close to the topic.
Personally, I plan to start trying to at least play books by writing a program in (start cursing) delphi\lazarus, managing winamp events so as not to bother with the mp3 decoder.
If there are people interested in creating a useful, complete product?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, I can not advise anything sensible, except for a good synthesizer, which I use to listen to books: tiflo.info/rhvoice/
It perfectly pronounces any text that you give it as input, with almost no delay.

Answer 2

See also the modules of the event sound systems. The leader is JAWS.

Answer 3

Hmm... To be honest... Can I suggest Linux?
However, if there is no work experience, it’s better not to =)
There are similar ideas in my head, but you need to think about execution.