Paul.Bergeron@f8.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Bergeron) (09/20/90)
Index Number: 10540
I am new to this net, and just wanted to say hi. I just fininshed reading
a couple of hundred posts from here off line, and feel that I might really
enjoy being here. Now, for a little about my self. I live in New Orleans,
and have been deaf since i was 13. I had spinal menningitis that caused
my nerve deafness. I have been calling boards for the past year, and rea-
lly enjoy being able to communicate with people besides just my deaf
friends. I have noticed quite a few posts here asking about voice
synthsis software for various computers. I don't know about software for
other computers, but my AMIGA has it built in. So if anyone is looking to
buy a new computer, I suggest they consider an Amiga.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!8!Paul.Bergeron
Internet: Paul.Bergeron@f8.n396.z1.fidonet.orgMarda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.org (Marda Anderson) (09/20/90)
Index Number: 10552
HI, Paul. Nice to have you on the echo. There is another echo on the
backbone which you might enjoy. It is called "Silent talk" and covers
topics of interest to the deaf community. There are some of us hearing
people in it as well. If your sysop doesn't carry it, you might ask him
too. It's not a terribly high volume echo. A loot of people from this
echo are there as well. As for teh amiga, yes, it is a neat computer
especially for graphics and such stuff. I've heard its voice and it's a
good quality one. But you still need to get software to be able to read
the screen. Chip Orange has written a screen reader for the amiga called
"Speakeasy". It allows full access to the screen using an amiga 500 as
the synthesizer. I've heard it's very good.
Well, hope to be hearing more from you via this echo and hope you can get
into silent talk too. Nice talking to you and happy bbsing.
marda
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!393!9!Marda.Anderson
Internet: Marda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.orgPaul.Bergeron@f27.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Bergeron) (09/27/90)
Index Number: 10654
-> Thanks for the information about the Amiga computer. I am not sure how
-> the off line reader works, but the way every body here is talking, it
-> must be very use ful.
Yes Julie, it does seem to be very useful to some people. I just
received a disk in a computer magazine that has a spelling tutor. It is
like a spelling bee where the Amiga pronounces a word, and then you have
to spell it correctly. It also seems that the Amiga could help people
with speaking disorders. I am sure that there are lots of programs out
there that could be a help for lot's of people.
The voice synthesis also has sprun up some really neat hack programs.
Since the amiga is Multi-tasking, and can run many programs at the same
time. Some of the hacks are very small and run in the backround of
other programs. One really funny one makes hewing sounds everytime you
put a disk into a drive. That should get some funny looks from visiting
friends. There is also another one that says "Thank you" everytime you
answer one of the system messages. The possibilities are limitless.
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!27!Paul.Bergeron
Internet: Paul.Bergeron@f27.n396.z1.fidonet.orgMarda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.org (Marda Anderson) (09/27/90)
Index Number: 10656
Hi, Julie. Actually, most synthesizers and screen reading software have
the ability to let you choose how much punctuation is spoken. I have
different configurations in different programs. When I'm in wordperfect,
for instance, I like to have more things spoken than when I'm reading a
bulletin board. Of course, you can miss things if you reduce the amount
of punctuation, especially things like those smiley faces some people
like to make. But you can always go into screen review and have things
spelled out if you need to. Now, is that more than you ever wanted to
know about speech synthesizers? (grin)
marda
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!393!9!Marda.Anderson
Internet: Marda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.orgMarda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.org (Marda Anderson) (10/03/90)
Index Number: 10792
There are several programs available for Braille translation. The most
widely used for textbook transcription is the Duxbury Braille Translation
Program from Duxbury Systems, inc., in Littleton Massachusetts. Duxbury
is very versatile since it has supplements for the Nemeth Code for math
and scientific notation and for various foreign languages. There are
versions for ibm and mac. It's one of the more expensive programs, but
it is a very powerful program and handles just about anything when it
comes to formatting. If you're looking for something where you'll be
doing a high volume of translation I'd recommend that one. There are
several very good translation programs which are less expensive
(Duxbury's basic price is $495 with $195 for each supplement.)
and if you're looking for something for personal use I'd recommend
Turbobraille from Kansys inc. If you're interested in that one, leave a
message here to David Andrews or netmail him at 115/778 or 129/89. It
sounds to me like Duxbury is probably what you're looking for though.
Good luck.
marda
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!393!9!Marda.Anderson
Internet: Marda.Anderson@f9.n393.z1.fidonet.orgPaul.Bergeron@f27.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Bergeron) (10/03/90)
Index Number: 10827
-> The spelling tutor program sounds really neat. I wonder if they make
-> those for the commodore or the IBM compat. computers?
Do you have a Commodore 64 computer? There is a Program called SAM
(software assisted mouth). It is in the pd now, and allows the
Commodore 64 to talk. There are many programs available in the public
doman that can use SAM. You could also write your own programs. I have
a program that works with it that teaches children the alphabet. It
loads a picture of an pple, and says "A makes the AA sound in apple."
then loads in another pic and goes on. I don't havethe picture files
though. All you have to do is load up SAM, and then put a line like.
10 SAY "Hello, my name is Sam"
When you run the program, it will say it. Very simple, and it works
pretty good. There is also a program that comes with it called "SAY"
that lets you type in any words, or sentence and says it for you.
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Internet: Paul.Bergeron@f27.n396.z1.fidonet.orgera@ncar.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold) (10/19/90)
Index Number: 11200 In article <14660@bunker.UUCP> Paul.Bergeron@f27.n396.z1.fidonet.org writes: |Index Number: 10827 | |-> The spelling tutor program sounds really neat. I wonder if they make |-> those for the commodore or the IBM compat. computers? | |Do you have a Commodore 64 computer? There is a Program called SAM |(software assisted mouth). It is in the pd now, and allows the |Commodore 64 to talk. There are many programs available in the public |doman that can use SAM. You could also write your own programs. I have |a program that works with it that teaches children the alphabet. It |loads a picture of an pple, and says "A makes the AA sound in apple." |then loads in another pic and goes on. I don't havethe picture files |though. All you have to do is load up SAM, and then put a line like. | |10 SAY "Hello, my name is Sam" | |When you run the program, it will say it. Very simple, and it works |pretty good. There is also a program that comes with it called "SAY" |that lets you type in any words, or sentence and says it for you. I might point out that the Computer Foundation for Handicapped Children (c/o Don Peterson, 2645 E. Southern #a326, Tempe, AZ 85282; 602-831-3519) collects SAM and a lot of other programs for the C64 (as well as stuff for Apple II and IBMs). So you might send a copy of your program to Don and request his catalog, there's still some life left in those old C64s ... -- Ed Arnold * NCAR * POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 * 303-497-1253(voice) 303-497-1137(fax) * era@ncar.ucar.edu [128.117.64.4] * era@ncario.BITNET era@ncar.UUCP * Edward.Arnold@f809.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG