From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Fri May 16 2003 - 13:08:31 MDT
Technology Review: TextAloud MP3
Rachel Quist
If you are like me, you have a long list of unread journal articles and despite
the best of intentions the list is not getting any smaller. So, when I read
about a new program, TextAloud MP3, that will transform written text into an MP3
spoken word file, I was intrigued and envisioned myself listening to a “journal
article on CD” during my commute. I gave it a try and here are the results.
TextAloud MP3 is small computer program available to Microsoft Windows users
that transforms text into spoken words. A document must be in the form of text
file (*.txt) or a small document can be copied and pasted into the program
itself.
The document can be listened to immediately or saved as a MP3 or WAV file.
TextAloud MP3 cannot convert MP3 files to an audio file readable by a typical
CD player but other readily available programs, such as Musicmatch Jukebox
(musicmatch.com), contain that capability.
In my experience, one of the most difficult tasks was obtaining a journal
article in a text format. There are plenty of articles available in an Adobe
Acrobat format (*.pdf) but it is a cumbersome process to convert those files
into text files, especially if photographs and extensive formatting exist.
Once that issue is solved then it only takes a few minutes to convert several
pages of text into an audio file. TextAloud MP3 uses the Microsoft computer
voices- Sam is the male voice and Mary is the female voice. An upgrade to more
natural sounding voices is also available for an extra charge. Overall,
TextAloud MP3 worked well and exactly as it was intended to. Some minor issues
I encountered included difficulty with acronyms and the lack of appropriate
pauses. TextAloud MP3 will only properly speak an acronym if it is in the
format “U P A C” rather than “UPAC” or “U.P.A.C.” Running a simple find and
replace function prior to running the text to speak program can easily solve
this problem. TextAloud MP3 also had difficulty pausing at appropriate
intervals. This problem can be solved by placing several empty lines of text
where appropriate pauses should exist, such as after the title or at the end
of a chapter. In summary, this technology is promising but the program did not
work as well as I had hoped for my intended purpose. Larger documents required
preliminary preparation and the lack of human voice inflections became somewhat
tedious. However, the program worked exactly as advertised by NextUp.com and
it was easy to download, install, and use. Best of all, I did not experience
any software conflicts or system crashes.
TextAloud MP3, version 1.408
Publisher: www.nextup.com
Direct Link: < http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/index.html >
File size: 4.37 mb
License: 30 day free trial; $24.95 to buy
Minimum requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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