Because development of text to speech voices has traditionally been driven by call centers, companies have generally gone for the most standard, non-accented speakers they can find. I suppose it makes sense, if you are doing a nationwide call-in center, you don't want your automated voices sounding like they are from Boston or Georgia, you want just a plain vanilla American. And that is what you get with most US English voices. We've been able to get some variety with great British voices like Audrey and Australian Karen. AT&T and Nuance have added Indian accented voices, and the first South African voice is on the way, but there still aren't a lot of choices.
I'm not sure traditional businesses are driving demand for more variety, but online uses and general consumers are always looking for more personality in voices. I've heard requests for everything from southern red-neck to inner-city black kid, and about everything in between. Nothing to offer in those areas yet, although it will come, but it did prod me into this interesting experiment. I took all of the non-english speaking voices we offer and gave them a shot at a paragraph of English text. In some cases the results were terrible, in some cases tolerable, a few cases funny, and with a few of them, they were fantastic. Listen to all the results at the NextUp.com Accents Page.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Text to Speech with accents
TTS with Online Study Sites
Recently had a teacher email me about using TextAloud with her students on StudyIsland. I knew I had hear of the site, but just couldn't place where, until I realized it was the same site my 5th grade daughter uses for some of her school studies. So, with the help of my 10 year old, we check out how TextAloud could make StudyIsland and other online sites like it talk. Turns out, it is really neat.
Many of the new products out there for students are done in HTML as online sites instead of the older traditional method of writing windows programs to provide the functionality. This has a lot of advantages:
- Works with any type of computer the student may have
- Allows for quick updates of the content without new downloads
- Makes management of users and licenses much easier
Because the content can be viewd and answered directly in Internet Explorer, TextAloud's built-in toolbar for IE makes listening to the text a snap. One of TextAloud's IE toolbar options, available with the little arrow just to the right of the speak button, is speak from cursor. With this option selected, a student simply double-clicks the first word in a question, then clicks the play button, and TextAloud will speak the question, highlighting each word as it is spoken. This listening while looking at each word as spoken, combined with TextAloud's ability to speak slower of faster to fit a students needs brings amazing capability to StudyIsland's great content.
Screenshot of this process in action is below:
A free trial version of TextAloud is available at
http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud
Site licenses and volume discounts are available to schools.
Remembering Ananova
Found this great article yesterday talking about Ananova. We were already doing TTS in 2000 when she hit, and it was a great sign that text to speech would be going mainstream. Hasn't gone as mainstream as we thought, but still making strides.
New talking heads on the block
She was an absolute hit on the web in 2000. On April 19, 2000 she spoke the famous first words: "Hello world. Here is the news. And this time it's personal." It was Ananova, the synthetic figurehead of the British Press Association, performing as a woman newscaster, who reads the personal selection of news items to a web user 24/7. Her designers Digital Animation described her as 28 years old, 1.75 meters tall, pleasant and intelligent.
Her appearance sparked excitement. She was a technological milestone; computer-simulated animation, syntetic voice. She was an embodied agent. The speech system was the speech synthesis using rVoice from Rhetorical Systems, now Nuance Communications. This generated quite some interest. It looked like the text-to-speech industry was about to break through. Around the time of Ananova’s launch I was in Cambridge (UK) at the BT laboratory, where they demonstrated text-to-speech applications for mobiles. Funny enough the applications have never become real commercial services.
For the press world she was the symbol of innovation: personal news delivered by a personality. Besides services like personal news services on internet, the mobile world showed interest. A combination of personal news and mobile would deliver a new service. Just imagine: every morning the personal news selection is downloaded to the mobile phone; you start driving, a pretty person appears on the screen of the mobile and starts reading your personal selection of news items.
It only lasted two months before the mobile company Orange picked Ananova up for 126 million euro. In 2002 they started a news services for their mobile subscribers, but this was just a text service. They kept Ananova alive till 2004, but never did implement the technology behind it for a mobile news service. In 2004 the company discontinued the animated service on the web with the announcement that “Ananova video is currently under development. Come back soon to check the latest.” Three years later nothing has happened and the announcement is still on the page. By now Ananova is out of sync with the web and never transformed the delivery of news. Rest of the Story...
Was able to dig up 2 neat youtube clips related here, one of the original Ananova, and one of news coverage around her debut...
Reworking school lessons for accessibility
Interesting article from Education Week this week talks about initiative to legally require new coursework designed for schools have accessibility designed into them to support text to speech and other tools needed by the impaired.
‘Universal Design’ Concept Pushed for Education
The same design principles that brought Braille panels to public elevators and curb cuts to city sidewalks should be imported to the classroom and used to transform lessons and textbooks, says a coalition of education groups.
Called “universal design for learning,” the philosophy advocates creating lessons and classroom materials that are flexible enough to accommodate different learning styles.
The coalition has drafted language it wants to have included in federal education law. A requirement for states to “develop a comprehensive plan to address the implementation of universal design for learning” is in the draft bill for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act released in August by the House Education and Labor Committee.
Universal design for learning, or UDL, is also supported in a reauthorization measure sponsored by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn. and co-sponsored by Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Mary L. Landrieu, D-La. Much of the Senate bill includes language taken verbatim from the coalition’s materials.
According to the tenets of UDL, lessons should be designed with accessibility in mind, instead of retrofitting existing materials in an attempt to accommodate students with learning differences. While the early days of UDL focused on helping students with disabilities, supporters say it has benefits for any student, including those who are learning English, gifted students, or students who simply learn better through methods other than a teacher’s lecture.
Sometimes, accommodating different learning styles can be achieved through the use of technology. For instance, computer devices can “read” a book aloud to a student who is blind.
Point of Agreement
However, low-tech methods can be valid applications of UDL as well. An example of a simple application is allowing a student to create a poster that visually depicts the main ideas in a classroom reading assignment, rather than asking the student to write a book report, if he or she has difficulty with written language. Developing alternate methods for students to show they’ve mastered a concept is an integral part of UDL.
Support for the concept has linked several education and disability-rights organizations, even those that have been in disagreement over other aspects of the No Child Left Behind law. Some groups call for softening or eliminating some of the sanctions imposed on schools when students in any of various subgroups, including students with disabilities, do not make adequate yearly progress under the law. Other groups fear that removing such sanctions would mean students with disabilities might not get access to rigorous instruction.
But 28 organizations have put aside those differences and come together in support of UDL, including the National Education Association, the National School Boards Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, and a host of groups that work to help children with specific disabilities.
“I don’t see how it can fail to be compelling,” said RickiSabia, the associate director of the national-policy center of the National Down Syndrome Society, in New York City, and one of the main drivers behind including UDL language in the reauthorized federal school law. “There’s only one thing in NCLB that we’re all in agreement on.”
The school boards’ association supports UDL because it can help all students, said Reginald M. Felton, the director of federal relations for the Alexandria, Va.-based group.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
TextAloud Helps Pilot to Soar in Studies
Pilot Finishes 18 Months of Military Study in Just 9 Months Using Text to Speech
Clemmons, NC and The Woodlands, TX (PRWEB) October 23, 2007 -- As a United States Air Force pilot, Tom Schwarzkopf balances a busy schedule between flying, teaching, and family, a demanding enough task on its own. But until recently, Tom also had to fit learning and memorization time into the mix, during his study of advanced military doctrine at Air Command and Staff College. Luckily, he discovered Text to Speech software TextAloud from NextUp Technologies (http://www.Nextup.com), and the program was such an efficient tool that he directly credits TextAloud as the reason he was able to finish eighteen months of advanced military studies in just nine. Affordably priced at just $29.95, TextAloud is a Text to Speech program that installs in seconds, and converts text into spoken audio files for listening on a PC, Laptop, or MP3 player or other portable device. "The amount of retention I gained, as well as the amount of time I saved overall," Tom comments, "was unbelievable."
Tom first started using TextAloud three years ago when he was enrolled in Air Command and Staff College. "The study material was complex, mind-numbingly boring and incredibly immense, and with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of repeated acronyms to remember. It's easy to let your mind wander when you're reading that kind of thing visually." Instead, Tom looked for a better solution, and found one in TextAloud.
He found the program after doing a search on the Internet for text readers and chose TextAloud because of the program's wide assortment of available Premium voices. "I particularly liked the AT&T Natural Voices (TM) 'Crystal' voice, as it was a soft female voice without the typical computer persona." With TextAloud installed in minutes to his laptop, and Crystal to read to him, Tom dove into his studies, and was delighted to discover an almost immediate increase in his retention and understanding of even the most complex material.
He soon created a learning routine that worked for him, finding that reading his material while listening to it read aloud was the quickest way to comprehension and retention. "I would sit down in front of the computer in a comfortable chair, put on my earphones, open a lesson on the computer, and open the book at the same time. While following along in my book, I would listen to the words as they were being read to me by TextAloud." The speed at which TextAloud reads the text can be easily adjusted to fit the user's comfort zone, an advantage Tom used constantly. "I set the program's reading speed at the fastest level that I could still comfortably comprehend." Working this way vastly increased the efficiency of his study time. "Comprehension markedly improves when the material you study is backed up in your brain by more than one sensory input," he comments. "I was able to visually 'see' and hear the material all at once, learning and retaining more in far less time." He also liked having the ability to integrate the use of TextAloud into other programs such as Office and Explorer, as well.
Soon, Tom was even able to use the program to overcome another of his hurdles in military study -- the huge numbers of repeated acronyms present in the material. "I discovered that TextAloud can be easily configured to read the expanded versions of the acronyms every time," he comments, "so once I did this, I was able to reinforce my understanding of the material even further."
His new study methods also helped Tom to immerse himself in his learning without the constant household distractions of kids, pets, telephone, and more. A family man with three kids, two dogs, and a cat, Tom's exuberant surroundings could occasionally present challenges for someone seeking a little quiet study time. "I could put on my earphones and literally isolate myself from the outside world. Before using TextAloud, I was reading seven pages of material per hour with questionable retention. After introducing TextAloud into my study routine, I was able to complete seventeen pages of material every hour with clearly improved retention. I'm a firm believer in using TextAloud as a tool to improve the retention of facts and the efficiency of time." Using his new study approach, Tom finished eighteen months of advanced military study in just nine months.
"TextAloud allowed me to graduate from school very quickly. These schools were prerequisites to better jobs, promotions and better pay." He now recommends his approaches to others, including his children, and now even has students of his own. "I'm now an educator of sorts myself, an instructor pilot, and recommend my study techniques with TextAloud to others whenever I can. It took away the 'pain' of going to school, and significantly reduced the amount of time I've spent slouched over a book. It can do so for others, as well. TextAloud is an outstanding tool."
About TextAloud
Highly useful for writers, business people, students and people from all walks of life -- TextAloud has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN, and more. Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows (R) 98, NT, 2000, XP and Vista. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via http://www.NextUp.com
There's something funny about Text To Speech
Very clever use of Text To Speech and Oddcast avatars at Comedy Central. Check out Robot Jeff Foxworthy.
http://www.comedycentral.com/events/comedianconstructor/index.jhtml/?mid=23857606
Friday, October 19, 2007
Classmate Reader
Many schools use TextAloud to help with this, but this device, although much more expensive, I'm sure has some neat uses.
HumanWare is proud to introduce a revolutionary device for students with reading difficulties for grades K-12. The ClassMate Reader is a tool to help students in and out of the classroom improve reading comprehension, increase reading speed and develop strong vocabulary. This tool is indispensable for students who need to refer back to previously recorded notes, tests or chapter summaries, as well as for anytime, anywhere learning.
The ClassMate Reader is a unique, portable and lightweight system about the size of a portable gaming system with a large LCD screen. Students can listen to the audio version of their textbooks and study materials, while following the highlighted text on screen. This portable system is ideal for students in any learning setting, including the classroom, resource room, library, extended learning programs and at home. The system promotes phonetic recognition and fluency and will significantly boost the support of teachers who work with students who are dyslexic.
The ClassMate Reader has several features only found on more expansive PC-based software solutions such as text-to-speech, highlighting, dictionary, text and vocal notes and audio book navigation. It can be part of the teacher's strategy to build students' independence in the learning process and enhance their confidence and self esteem. The system's design was carefully crafted to engage students and dispel the notion that assistive devices are unappealing.
Scientific studies have demonstrated the advantages of a multi-modal based reading approach (audio and visual) for dyslexic students. With the simultaneous use of text and audio, students will improve their reading comprehension which is conducive to improve academic achievement and higher test scores. The ClassMate Reader can be used as an accommodation when administering tests, eliminating the necessity for the teacher to read the exam to students.
The ClassMate's study features are built to assist in retrieving information through the use of text notes, highlighting, bookmarks and voice notes. The ClassMate Reader can play various electronic book formats starting with the new NIMAS (National Instructional Material Accessible Standard) format, including DAISY, Bookshare.org, Audible.com, text, wav, MP3 and audio files. The player also provides integrated text-to-speech for reading books in text format, such as those from Bookshare.org. It uses a removable SD flash memory card or USB memory stick to store books and electronic texts. It can easily transfer files from a PC with its standard USB connection.
Brenda McBride, Product Manager for HumanWare said, "We developed the ClassMate Reader from input of students with learning disabilities and their supportive networks around the country. Taking their needs into account, we better understood the features and tools they require to be successful readers and lifelong learners. I am especially excited about our built-in dictionary to help students instantly look up words with vocal output."
The ClassMate offers all of the most advanced DAISY functions, as well as navigation capabilities for any book or textbook. Students will appreciate the ClassMate Reader for quickly and effectively consulting their school books, making voice notes, study and practice and recording their teacher during class.
The ClassMate will be available for purchase online in the U.S. at http://www.humanware.com/ or from Don Johnston Incorporated at http://www.donjohnston.com/ (800-999-4660) in late autumn 2007 at an affordable price of $439. In early 2008, The ClassMate Reader will become available in other countries around the world.
About HumanWare
HumanWare (http://www.humanware.com/) is the global leader in assistive technologies for the print disabled. HumanWare provides products to people who are blind and have low vision and students with learning disabilities. HumanWare offers a collection of innovative products include BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for the blind in education, business and for personal use; the Victor Reader product line, the world's leading digital audiobook players, and SmartView Xtend, the first fully modular and upgradeable CCTV-based video magnifier.
About Don Johnston Incorporated
Don Johnston Incorporated (http://www.donjohnston.com/) empowers educators with supplemental instruction and intervention solutions to help struggling learners build core literacy skills with confidence. Since 1980, Don Johnston has partnered with literacy authors, psychologists, teachers, researchers, administrators, scientists and organizations to serve the needs of struggling learners. Thousands of students have now become independent readers, writers and thinkers with the use of Don Johnston's assistive technologies and tools, implementation materials and a variety of multiple instructional approaches, including audio and computer books to engage and motivate struggling readers.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Weird TTS gadget
| Strange gadgets |
| Kyle Campbell Tuesday, October 16, 2007 |
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| Verballs |
With technology getting better and better everyday there are so many gadgets. Some of them are really cool and different, while some are just plain weird and strange. Well TEENage stumbled on a few really strange gadgets, but while they may be weird, they are very cool and get the job done.
Flying alarm clock
This gadget will start to fly around the room making a buzzing sound like a mosquito. This then means you have to get up and find it to turn it off. If you think hitting the snooze button will get rid of it, you're wrong, it's going to take flight again. So you will have to get out of bed again and go look for it. Now if you're a heavy sleeper eventually it will run out of power, which means it will drop on your head, making you wake up. As funny and weird as it is, it somehow gets the job done.
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| USB Hotplate/4-Port Hub |
MUS2 Mouse
This is a cordless wonder, and a change of design from the normal, boring computer mouse. Its cursor-like shape will definitely help separate it from the pack. It has a range of 2m; a resolution of 800 dpi; a frame refresh speed of 2300 fps, and a handy battery power indicator housed in the mouse handle to warn you when the battery is running low.
Though it looks weird, it's made for smooth easy handling with its suede-like texture. It uses two AAA rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries. This will definitely have people gawking at your computer station!
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| Flying alarm clock |
USB Hotplate/4-Port Hub
This device keeps your drink warm and toasty via your PC, and has enough space to plug in your camera, your two jump drives, and charge your tech-savvy phone. It plugs straight into your PC's USB port to create a heated coaster for your cup or mug. Now your coffee doesn't have to go cold while you're studying at your desktop.
As previously mentioned this hot plate is also a 4-port USB hub, meaning you won't have to disconnect anything vital to plug in something else, allowing you to use more USB-powered devices at the same time. Also forget the loving relationship you had with your kettle, you won't be seeing much of each other anymore. Get cozy with a bigger mug and keep on drinking warmer for longer.
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| MUS2 Mouse |
Verballs
Talking into an old-fashioned mic is so 20th century. Make your VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) experience more interesting with this wonderfully-decorative peripheral.
Make calls using your favourite Internet calling software like Skype and be alerted everytime you have a call by the little monster's waving hands and flashing horns. If that doesn't do enough for you, to make you feel like you're actually talking to your device; since its mouth actually moves in unison with the person's voice, don't be alarmed-this feature is easily turned off.
Coupled with its mp3 playing and downloadable ringtone capabilities, the Verballs also work with text to speech software. These funny little creatures are sure to make lively any conversation.
Microsofts unified communications plan
Microsoft Aims to Master Unified Communications with Office Communications Server 2007
Over the past few years, spurred on by what they view as a $45 billion opportunity by 2010, Microsoft has been incrementally ramping up the unified communications capabilities of its Office Communications Server (OCS) and Office Communicator products. With the release of OCS 2007 and Office Communicator 2007, Microsoft is attempting to bring the kind of unified communications (UC) and unified messaging functionality — not to mention comprehensivePBX 
and phone system compatibility/interoperability — that the telecom industry was reaching for way back in the early and mid-1990s, when Applied Voice Technology (AVT, now called Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, orAVST ( News - Alert)) debuted perhaps the first unified messaging system, CallXPress Desktop for Windows, which remained the flagship computer telephony software for many years. Even back in 1993, CallXPress was a message-management, call-handling system with unified messaging capabilities encompassing voice, fax and email (in 1995, Version 3.0 could let you view your voicemail and listen to your email via text-to-speech). 
At the same time (1993) over at Intel (News - Alert), Herman D’Hooge and his group were doing the first formulation of TAPI (Telephony Applications Programming Interface), which started out as a “PBX-on-a-card” with the secret codename of a famous steam-powered South African locomotive called the Mikado. Rumor has it that some Intel TAPI alumni still have their mint-condition burgundy rugby shirts emblazoned with a steam locomotive and “Mikado” on it.
Yes, TAPI began at Intel, where D'Hooge spec'd out a somewhat simplistic but workable API
. Applications were based on this API and the service providers were written for the Mikado hardware, long before Microsoft gently suggested that Intel didn’t belong in the system APIs business. Later development was done jointly by Microsoft and Intel, and then just Microsoft. The first publicly available version, TAPI 1.3 (an add-on for Windows 3.1), was released in 1994. TAPI originally offered only first-party (desktop) call control, but attained third-party (server-directed) call control in Version 3.0. In retrospect, they should have perhaps adopted CAPI, an ISDN API, or CSTA (Computer Supported Telephony Application) published by ECMA (European Computer Manufacturer's Association) which was in any case reworked into TSAPI (Telephone Services Application Programming Interface) a third-party call control API published jointly by Novell andAT&T ( News - Alert). The TSAPI SDK included a Lucent-developed PBX emulation to help testing without having to own a PBX. Needless to say, it emulated the AT&T G3 – in the mid-1990s some Europeans jokingly referred to TSAPI as a CSTA translator for AT&T equipment.Back in 1995, Yours Truly wrote in the (now defunct) Computer Telephony magazine, “Simply put, Telephony Services for NetWare, version 2.0 by Novell integrates your NetWare Network Operating System (NOS) capabilities with those of a PBX. A Computer Telephony Integration (CTI
) link is established between the PBX and a NetWare file server, through which a logical connection/association is made between a workstation phone and a PC. . . The PBX-NetWare server link gives an application the capabilities of the PBX, so long as it is written to the standard of the Novell/AT&T Telephony Services Applications Programming Interface. These capabilities include conference calling, speed dialing, ‘screen pop’ database retrieval based on Caller ID or other incoming call information, and ‘unified messaging’ which is based on a ‘universal mailbox’ holding voice mail, e-mail and faxes on NetWare LANs. The call control can be end-point first-party in nature (at the desktop) or third-party point (LAN/PBX).”Also in 1995, AnswerSoft's AnswerSoft Phone LAN software appeared . It was a workgroup product with many features, including first and third-party call control, screen pops and unified messaging. A user could speed-dial to somebody out of a directory and conference in another party. AnswerSoft's Sixth Sense program let you set up rules that triggered other applications, access databases and do screen pops under designated circumstances. It could be configured to grab an incoming phone number via Caller ID, launch the ACT! contact manager, then do a screen pop detailing the caller.
Sound familiar?
In those days “unified messaging” was based on circuit-switched technology that was expensive and worked about 80 percent of the time. Today, withIP
, cheap broadband, and a better sense of how to program for telecom, unified communications is about to achieve the “killer app” status touted on a yearly basis in every telecom magazine of the 1990s.Microsoft’s great achievement with Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007 is to take ideas and functions that have been kicking around for 15 years and make them ubiquitous (to the point of incorporating them into their existing collaborative suites), inexpensive and easy-to-use. NowVoIP
, presence, instant messaging and conferencing will come together in the Office Communicator 2007 unified communications client, joined somewhere along the way by Office Live Meeting 2007 hosted conferencing and the RoundTable videoconferencing system.As Ernie Wallerstein, the President of Zeacom (www.zeacom.com), recently told me, “The release of OCS brings increased market attention on UC solutions. Zeacom has been deploying UC solutions for over ten years. Until now, we have been deploying these solutions for advanced-thinking organizations. With Microsoft’s entry into the UC market and the buzz that will be created, we believe the vision of our existing customers and our product direction will be validated.”
Consultant and industry pundit Marc Robins, Founder and Chief Evangelism Office of the Robins Consulting Group (www.rcgconsult.com) “Several months ago I wrote about how we were going to see more of this type of VoIP integration with common PC-based desktop applications. We’ve seen this type of integration coming for a long time. The real power behind this announcement is the promise that this type of integration can be disseminated to every desktop, laptop and ultimately mobile devices. We’ve seen the PC, a computer platform, emerge as a communications center for most workers today. The hard, desktop phone has migrated and evolved into the softphone interface, and now the softphone interface is being completely integrated and ‘submerged’ in existing applications. It’s all being blended into one whole piece of communications fabric, for lack of a better analogy.”
“We’re moving along the continuum that started way back when in the CTI (News - Alert) days,” says Robins. “And now, with the computing horsepower that exists, the standardization of IP as the protocol of choice in terms of communications, we’ve now got the foundation for this to really propagate everywhere. It’s a wonderful thing. The value that Microsoft brings to the table is that they’re really the 800-pound gorilla, especially in the PC desktop computing space. So Microsoft is in a position to really make this happen in a very big way. One day all PBXs will interoperate with the Microsoft communications platform, and we’ll see what happens on the mobile side.”
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Popular Novelist Finds Romance in Text to Speech
For Writer Carolyn Jewel, NextUp's TextAloud Provides an Essential Finishing Touch to the Novel-Writing Process
View a PDF file for this press release
CLEMMONS, NC and PETALUMA, CA - California native Carolyn Jewel is the successful author of such historical and paranormal romance titles as Shards of Crimson, A Darker Crimson, The Spare, Lord Ruin, and Magellan's Witch (upcoming in 2008 from Grand Central Publishing). She is also a fan of Text to Speech, and chooses the TextAloud program near the end of the writing process as one of her most important proofing tools. Easy, affordable, and a breeze to use, TextAloud is a Text to Speech program from NextUp Technologies (http://www.NextUp.com) that converts text into spoken audio files for listening on a PC (or a wide variety of popular portable devices).
"At various times during the process of writing a novel, I use TextAloud to read my chapters to me," she comments. "This allows me to catch typos my eye has missed, or to find places where I need to tighten or clarify the language and dialogue." As she's listening, Carolyn keeps her chapter open in her word processing program at the same time, so that she can pause TextAloud's read-through in order to make instant edits. It's now become an essential part of her process for finishing each one of her books.
"Lots of writers recommend literally reading one's work aloud because it's a great way to catch clunky phrases and repetitive bits," says Carolyn. "I tried that once, but it's pretty hard on the voice, and it still doesn't solve the issue of your eyes and brain conspiring to 'fix' typos for you." She adds, "What I really wanted was for someone else to do all that reading! So, I tried out three or four text readers, and TextAloud proved to be the easiest to use, not to mention the most stable."
For the highest-quality listening experience, Carolyn purchased Premium voices, choosing as her favorites AT&T Natural Voices™ Mike and Crystal as the perfect solution. "Using the program is pretty simple. I copy and paste a chapter right into TextAloud, keeping my word processing file open to make fixes right away, and then put on my headphones. TextAloud doesn't miss those typos, and I'm able to fix them right away -- same with confusing phrases or other awkwardness."
A busy and successful novelist currently under contract for four more titles, Jewel is now working on her next historical romance, titled Scandal (for Berkley Books, with a tentative release date set for December 2008). "In the next month or so, I'll be at a point where I'll have Scandal read back to me as well," she comments.
Text to Speech can be a surprisingly strong tool for writers like Jewel, and even more so for writers working with unusual words and character names. "Several of my titles included some characters with unusual names (my hero in A Darker Crimson was a vampire named Tiberiu Korzha, for example) so I used the voice editor to tweak the pronunciation of his name as well as some others," comments Carolyn. "That way, the names fit with how I imagined they'd be spoken." She adds, "The most important thing is that TextAloud reads exactly what I wrote, mistakes and all, and that I can pause the reading to insert missing words or to fix typos. Hearing the work read aloud keeps me from supplying meaning that isn't really there."
Carolyn runs TextAloud on her laptop, a Dell Inspiron 8150, and her favorite aspect of the program is how unintimidating and easy to use it is, no matter what the level of expertise. "When I'm on deadline, I don't have time to fuss with figuring out how to do something," she comments. "I just need to be able to do it, preferably without wasting time that I should be spending finishing the book."
Carolyn is already at work on several titles to come, and TextAloud will be a part of that. "Having my work read back to me is a truly valuable tool."
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
TextAloud Scrabble Press Release
TextAloud Helps Scrabble Champ Spell V-I-C-T-O-R-Y
View a PDF file for this press release
CLEMMONS, NC and OXFORD, ENGLAND - David S. is a retired U.K. computer programmer and successful tournament Scrabble™ player who has recently discovered Text to Speech program TextAloud as one of the secrets to his success. An easy and budget-friendly software program from NextUp Technologies (www.NextUp.com), TextAloud converts text into spoken audio files for listening on a PC or portable device. The program has proven popular with a rich and varied assortment of users worldwide - users like David, who found their own unique value in the program.
David, a United Kingdom user who lives not far from Oxford, likes to prepare for matches by listening to words and Scrabble practices via sound files, while he's out walking or driving in the car. Now, thanks to TextAloud, he can create those sound files more easily than ever, and using his favorite voice (AT&T Natural Voices™ "Audrey," complete with familiar British accent).
The standout aspects of TextAloud for David include the program's quick and easy interface, its ability to import text by cut-and-paste as well as by file, and (most of all) its ability to direct the text's spoken output to a sound file for downloading to an MP3 player. "My favorite aspect by far is the ease and speed with which one can generate MP3 files." He adds, "I also really like the fact that TextAloud's simple interface is supported by a powerful pronunciation editor that lets you 'tune' your chosen voice or voices for greater accuracy." He also appreciates the way the program allows users the option of having the words literally spelled out for them where necessary. "It's an important feature in my case, where the text I want to record for Scrabble purposes tends to include a lot of words that are sometimes very weird, indeed."
Before discovering TextAloud, David had long been in the habit of improvising his own Scrabble practice sound files by recording to cassette and then converting from cassette to MP3 file on the computer. "One day I thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice if there was a decent not-too-expensive bit of software that let one create MP3 files very quickly from an imported text file of the kind that I could easily generate from my Scrabble database, such that I could generate an endless variety of supplementary files?'" he commented. "After all, the quality wouldn't have to be perfect as long as the words were clear and reasonably recognizable."
David was pessimistic about his chance for success, but after a quick online search, he discovered TextAloud, and was pleasantly surprised at the level of accuracy available from the program on everyday vocabulary. "This, coupled with the potential for dealing with quite way-out vocabulary with a little effort on the Pronunciation Editor front, quickly made me see the possibilities," adds David. "I took it from there, receiving extremely prompt and helpful support from the team at NextUp when I had a few queries at the start on how to achieve certain effects with Pronunciation Editor."
He's now a faithful user, and continues to do well in tournaments. "TextAloud certainly helps me stay in practice!" he says. "My own usage needs typically involve fairly short single files, however my requirements, though simple, are also very demanding due to the nature of the vocabulary, and I make heavy use of some of the more sophisticated things you can do with Pronunciation Editor."
David uses TextAloud on his desktop PC and then transfers them to his MP3 player, a Nomad Zen. He chose his AT&T Natural Voices™ premium voice "Audrey" after sampling the assortment of voices available for preview at the NextUp website. "I tried quite a few before I thought, 'That's the one'," he adds.
"The way I use TextAloud is somewhat specialized and requires a fair amount of computer literacy, but of course it is the strength of a software package that it can serve many types of requirements and appeal to many different types of users. I wholly recommend the software for those seeking an enjoyable and realistic Text to Speech experience."
About TextAloud
TextAloud has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN, and more. Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows (R) 98, NT, 2000, XP and VISTA. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via http://www.nextup.com/purchase.html.NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices (TM), NeoSpeech (R), Nuance (R), Acapela (R) and Cepstral (R) for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include US English, UK English, Indian Accent English, Scottish Accent English, French, Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Castilian (European) Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, and Arabic.
About NextUp.com
NextUp.com, a division of NextUp Technologies, LLC, provides award-winning Text to Speech software for consumers, business customers, educators, and those with visual or vocal impairment, or learning disabilities.
In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NewsAloud™ is a talking personal "news agent" that finds the stories users want, and then reads them aloud or to portable audio files. WeatherAloud™ is a weather application that lets users select and listen to personalized weather forecasts, while StocksAloud™ reads stock updates and related news headlines aloud for specific companies of interest. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that allows people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate with others. Most recently, NextUp introduced a new text reader, AbleReader, available with the AT&T Natural Voices (TM) for use on Mac computers. Information on AbleReader is available at http://www.AbleReader.com.NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices (TM), NeoSpeech (R), Nuance (R), Acapela (R) and Cepstral (R) for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include U.S. English, U.K. English, Indian Accent English, Scottish Accent English, French, Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Castilian (European) Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish and Arabic.
Location Based TTS in museums
I spotted this story in the Oracle Europe newsletter this week, concerning an RFID pilot at the Museo delle Origini (Museum of the Origins of Man) in Rome that allows visitors to access in-depth multimedia information about each exhibit simply by walking near it. If you associated this with Wavetrend partner ISIS' application you can see what a big impact RFID is having in this vertical.
The Museum has implemented technology from Oracle and Intel to create an environment it calls Wi-Art, in which information about its exhibits is automatically transferred to visitors' handheld PDAs as they approach. Relevant information is stored in an RFID tag attached to each exhibit, and is automatically displayed on the screen of a PDA equipped with an RFID tag reader when the PDA comes into range. Text-to-speech technology allows information to be 'spoken' to visitors with impaired vision.
The information ranges from descriptive text profiles to audio and video clips, and uses data that had been previously compiled by the museum and stored in an Oracle database. The new system allows the museum to make more of that information accessible to visitors than had been available previously, enhancing the quality and educational capacity of each museum visit. It also improves the accuracy of the classification process of archaeological finds.
The system was developed by the RFID Lab at the University of La Sapienza in Rome, which also houses the museum itself. The lab has been investigating practical applications of RFID since 2004, and now functions as a design, testing and prototyping centre where organizations can build and try out new RFID-based systems. Both the RFID Lab and the museum believe that technology applications of this kind are necessary to address increasing demand for more educational, entertaining and interactive museum experiences.
Wavetrend partner ISIS has some 40 odd installations around the world using RFID to track and trace collections when they are moved and also to protect them when in situ. Art security is now a major issue, and so ISIS has worked with one of the world's leading galleries to develop a wireless, real-time, automated tracking, audit and art alarm system specifically for the art market - Aspects ARTS. The application works during the day when intruder alarm systems have been deactivated. Tags are attached to works of art and are in constant radio communication with sensors located out of sight in the protected areas. The tags have different functionality depending on the piece and its location. For instance, tags for art on display contain vibration sensors—if a piece is moved without authorisation a "real-time" gallery alarm is generated in the Aspects ARTS software, giving security controllers specific user-configurable information about the incident as it happens. The software can be programmed to trigger any number of 3rd party devices via the ISIS I/O unit, such as CCTV, audio-visual alarms, alpha-numeric pagers, door control or off-site monitoring. Full Story...
NovelMaker and TextAloud
Neat article on new startup NovelMaker.com and how they are using TextAloud.
NovelMaker.com - Network for Literary Pursuits
NovelMaker is a social network for the literary set. Unrecognized authors, struggling poets, readers, editors, and critics even are invited to take part in this ‘first truly interactive [lettered] community’. The first thing that catches the eye is the rather desperately in the need of a make over site design. It’s not fresh enough, having the feel of a well worn, musty book. But you can’t judge a book by its cover, now can you? The social features, and the possibility for exposure, structured criticism and interesting reads, makes up for the lack of aesthetic panache. Members of the site may upload their manuscripts, adjusting the settings to private or public. Publicly available works may receive critiques, comments, ratings, and reviews. Manuscripts are kept on site for a year, unless you advise otherwise. If your book or tome happens to be picked up by a publisher you’re contractually bound to give NovelMaker 1% of the gross revenue from the sale of your literary creation. You can also self publish using the site’s tools. Some books have been recorded using TextAloud, so you can listen to them if that’s your thing. To read and upload works, registration is required.
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Can TTS Save newspapers?
Newspapers have really struggled in the internet age, with entire generations completely abandoning the process of reading the daily paper. Now, the Washington Times is turning to TTS to go after ears to replace those missing eyeballs.
Visit any story on their site and look to the bottom for the Click-2-Listen link.
More info from their site about the service:
Click-2-Listen Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I download the article and listen to it later?
- What media players does Click-2-Listen support?
- Does Click-2-Listen work on both a PC and a Macintosh?
- What Internet browsers are supported by Click-2-Listen?
- Do I have to download any software for Click-2-Listen?
- Do you put any software on my computer without telling me?
- Why are some words mispronounced?
- Why don't I hear anything when I click on the Click-2-Listen icon?
- Why do certain articles not have a Click-2-Listen icon?
- Can I get updates or subscribe to certain types of articles?
- Why are there advertisements on the audio files?
- Can I forward an audio story to a friend or colleague?
- How do I put an article onto my iPod?
1.Can I download the article and listen to it later? Yes you can. Simply press the download button (looks like a diskette) on the player at any time while the article is playing. It will prompt you for a location to save the downloaded .mp3 file. If you save it to your music folder, it will likely be automatically loaded onto your MP3 player. 2. What media players does Click-2-Listen support?
When you listen to an article, you don't need a media player. Click-2-Listen opens its own player right on your desktop. When you download an article to listen later, any device that can play an mp3 formatted file will work. This includes Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer, Quicktime and more. Of course you can also copy the downloaded file to your iPod or mp3 player.3. Does Click-2-Listen work on both a PC and a Macintosh?Yes. You should be able to listen on either a PC or a Mac. You should be able to download onto either as well. 4.What Internet browsers are supported by Click-2-Listen? Click-2-Listen should work correctly with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Mozilla, and Netscape. 5.Do I have to download any software for Click-2-Listen? No you should not have to download any software. Click-2-Listen uses Adobe/Macromedia's “Flash” as the foundation for its audio player. (Most video and audio players on the Internet use Flash) Flash is more than likely already on your computer. If it is not, your computer may ask you to download Flash. You must download Flash Version 8 or higher from Adobe's/Macromedia for Click-2-Listen to work.
Important Note for Firefox Users: Firefox requires you to install Flash 9. Please click here to link to the Flash Support Page to download Flash 9 for Firefox.
6. Do you put any software on my computer without telling me? No, we do not put any software on your computer. 7.Why are some words mispronounced? Converting English text to speech is very complex. While there are many English grammar and pronunciation rules, there are also thousands of exceptions. There are also many proper names and abbreviations that act as exceptions as well.Click-2-Listen uses Newsworthy, Inc.'s “Professional Text-to-Speech” technology, the most advanced technology available today. We continue to improve the technology and add new exceptions and rules every day.If we have “mangled” a specific article, phrase, proper name, or words, please let us know. We will try to fix the problems for future articles. Send us the title of the article and the date it was published and the issues you found via our “Feedback” link. You can help us improve the product and service. Thank you. 8.Why don't I hear anything when I click on the Click-2-Listen icon? First, make sure the Click-2-Listen player is running. In some rare circumstances you might have to click on the Clisk-2-Listen “Loading” image or the Click-2-Listen player to get the browser to “activate” Click-2-Listen.Second, make sure the volume on you computer and the Click-2-Listen player is turned up. Make sure the mute buttons on your computer and the Click-2-Listen player are not enabled. If that does not work, trying playing an .mp3 file with iTunes or Windows Media Player.If you are able to play other .MP3 files via iTunes or Windows Media Player yet Click-2-Listen is not playing an article, please send us some feedback (here). 9. Why do certain articles not have a Click-2-Listen icon? There can be a couple of reasons an article may not have a Click-2-Listen icon associated with it.First, if the article was just posted on the web site, we may not have converted it to audio yet. Try refreshing the web page or come back to this article in a few minutes and try again.Second, we don't convert ALL articles. Some articles do not translate well to audio. If the article you are interested in is primarily made up of “tables” of numbers, pictures, or does not have much text, we may not convert it.If you feel an article should have been translated and it has not, send us some . Please include the title of the article and date it was published. We will investigate. 10. Can I get updates or subscribe to certain types of articles? You cannot get specific articles sent to you at this time. But you will soon be able to subscribe to specific GCN Podcasts. Once you subscribe, new articles are sent to you throughout the day. GCN Podcasts are coming soon. 11.Why are there advertisements on the audio files? The conversion of our articles to high quality audio is very expensive. Revenue from advertisers offsets this expense and lets us bring these important news articles to you in audio format at no cost to you. 12.Can I forward an audio story to a friend or colleague? Yes and please do. You must first download the article to your computer and then email the downloaded MP3 file. Or you can send a link to the page that has the article on it and have them listen or download it themselves. 13. How do I put an article onto my iPod? If you have iTunes configured properly, you can automatically put articles on our iPod. You must download the article .mp3 file to your music folder, one of the folders specified in your Music Library or your iTunes Music folder. To see if you have the correct iTunes configuration:
- Connect your iPod to your computer
- From inside iTunes select Edit menu function and select Preferences…
- Select the iPod tab.
- Verify that the option “Automatically update all songs and playlists” is selected. Please note, when this option is selected, all music and audio files from your Music Library are automatically put on your iPod.
Free TTS reminder call
Interesting service, WakerUpper.com
About Wakerupper
Wakerupper is an experimental service that aims to make telephone alerting as easy and inexpensive as possible. In one easy step, on one simple web page, Wakerupper enables users in the United States and Canada to schedule telephone reminder calls. No more need to pay a wakeup call service up to 6 dollars to arrange a one-time wakeup call. Just enter the number of the phone you would like to be called on, the time you want to receive the call, your email address, and an optional 140-character reminder message and you will receive a call from Wakerupper at the time you have specified--completely free of charge.
Use Wakerupper to...
Set a wake-up call at a specific time Remind yourself of important events Remember to take medication on time Escape from a boring date or meeting Remind child or spouse to do chores Tell someone that you love them
...and a whole lot more!
And it's free. Wakerupper doesn’t charge you a thing for basic telephone alert calls. Regular phone charges may apply, based on your telephone service provider.
Note: Wakerupper is still in its experimental stage and is under heavy development. It may not be available at all times and may not work