Re: Confusion with multilingual Macs
Hello Anne, I would like to thank you for responding so quickly to my questions. I went to the AssistiveWare site and was presented with many choices. Not wanting to place an order again, only to find out that I downloaded the wrong thing, I will ask you another question or two. By the way, we can take this off list if the content is boring to others. On the AssistiveWare site, I came across two different possibilities that might work. By the way, I purchased Ghost Reader a year ago when I got my Mac Book and haven't used it once, so your comments on how you use it might be helpful, provided I purchase the right software now. One link on the page is for Infovox iVox for US$ and Euro 99. The other link says: Infovox iVox Language Pack / additional language pack, additional Infovox iVox voices in one language of choice for 49.50 Euros for a single user license. Which one of these two should I purchase if I want German speech whenever I need it, not just in Ghost Reader? Why would one of these packages be fifty Euros more expensive than the other? I am thinking that I probably want to buy the more expensive package, don't I? Thanks so much, Anne, and best regards, Mike On 15,Jun,2010, at 5:50 PM, Anne Robertson wrote: Hello Michael, You need to go to the AssistiveWare site: www.assistiveware.com That is where you buy the German voices. You should also consider getting GhostReader at the same time for an extra €10 or whatever it is in dollars. Ghostreader is great for reading documents, and it allows you to jump forward and backward by paragraph. It will also run in the background while you work on another document. I use it this way when translating. I have GhostReader reading the original while I create the translation in a Pages document. Make sure you buy the full versions of the voices since GhostReader is also sold with versions that don't work with VoiceOver. Cheers, Anne On Jun 15, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Michael Busboom wrote: Hello everyone, I have received so much help from this list and in all honesty, I had hoped that after a year of owning a Mac, I'd be giving more than taking. I am enjoying my Mac and gaining more proficiency with it all the time, using it for the majority of my private things and integrating it into my work environment whenever possible. I recently accepted a job position in which I will be required to write in German extensively, something which I have thus far not done with the Mac. I need some assistance making my Mac speak German, and I have some specific questions for anyone who can help after I supply some background information. While at Sight City in May, I received a demo version of some fantastic German software. I believe that it was Infovox German. The German TTS also came bundled with an English voice as well. Unfortunately, for several reasons, the 30-day trial period expired before I had the opportunity to buy the software. When I tried to launch the German some 45 days after installing it, all I was told was that my trial period had expired. However, I was not given the name of the software, nor was I provided a link where I could go and purchase and install the unlocked version. A kind friend who wanted to assist me helped me find some German TTS's on an Acapella site but after making the purchase and going to the download link, it turned out that, although the TTS was a German voice named Sarah, this was a windows software package. The company refunded my money. I would very much like and need to unlock the software that is on my Mac because it works with Voice Over, and it really is quite good. Below is some of the correspondence I received from the company, but it still leaves me unclear as to precisely what I need to order to have Voice Over speaking German on my Mac. Kindest regards and if anyone can offer some assistance, please read on. Mike Michael Busboom wrote: Hi Beth, So just to make sure: If I order the German Cepstral voices, they will work with Voice Over? Is this correct? In all truthfulness, I am not even sure if I am interested in Ghost Reader. Although I have purchased it, I have never used it. However, I need to be able to use my Mac and write letters and answer e-mails in German; this is crucial! Kindest regards and thank you, Mike On 2010-06-14 17:30, Beth Thorpe wrote: Michael, We offer two Text to Speech options for use with mac. Both will include a language set of your choice. You can find details about these at: http://www.nextup.com/mac.html The GhostReader software will also allow you to add a 2nd language set for an additional $20.00 which may be attractive to you. The only problem I can foresee is that these voices will not work in other applications as you have noted as necessary. The Cepstral voices that I recommended earlier are, however, will work with
Confusion with multilingual Macs
Hello everyone, I have received so much help from this list and in all honesty, I had hoped that after a year of owning a Mac, I'd be giving more than taking. I am enjoying my Mac and gaining more proficiency with it all the time, using it for the majority of my private things and integrating it into my work environment whenever possible. I recently accepted a job position in which I will be required to write in German extensively, something which I have thus far not done with the Mac. I need some assistance making my Mac speak German, and I have some specific questions for anyone who can help after I supply some background information. While at Sight City in May, I received a demo version of some fantastic German software. I believe that it was Infovox German. The German TTS also came bundled with an English voice as well. Unfortunately, for several reasons, the 30-day trial period expired before I had the opportunity to buy the software. When I tried to launch the German some 45 days after installing it, all I was told was that my trial period had expired. However, I was not given the name of the software, nor was I provided a link where I could go and purchase and install the unlocked version. A kind friend who wanted to assist me helped me find some German TTS's on an Acapella site but after making the purchase and going to the download link, it turned out that, although the TTS was a German voice named Sarah, this was a windows software package. The company refunded my money. I would very much like and need to unlock the software that is on my Mac because it works with Voice Over, and it really is quite good. Below is some of the correspondence I received from the company, but it still leaves me unclear as to precisely what I need to order to have Voice Over speaking German on my Mac. Kindest regards and if anyone can offer some assistance, please read on. Mike Michael Busboom wrote: Hi Beth, So just to make sure: If I order the German Cepstral voices, they will work with Voice Over? Is this correct? In all truthfulness, I am not even sure if I am interested in Ghost Reader. Although I have purchased it, I have never used it. However, I need to be able to use my Mac and write letters and answer e-mails in German; this is crucial! Kindest regards and thank you, Mike On 2010-06-14 17:30, Beth Thorpe wrote: Michael, We offer two Text to Speech options for use with mac. Both will include a language set of your choice. You can find details about these at: http://www.nextup.com/mac.html The GhostReader software will also allow you to add a 2nd language set for an additional $20.00 which may be attractive to you. The only problem I can foresee is that these voices will not work in other applications as you have noted as necessary. The Cepstral voices that I recommended earlier are, however, will work with any application. Let me know if this does not answer your question completely. Regards, Beth Thorpe NextUp.com Listen and Learn Anywhere http://www.NextUp.com ** TextAloud - The world's most popular Text To Speech tool. http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/ Michael Busboom wrote: Dear Beth, Thank you for responding to me so quickly. In order not to make a similar mistake, I feel that I should be more specific and err on the side of being overly thorough than not being specific enough. I need the German voice in order to use Voice Over, the built-in screen reading software that comes with every Mac Book. It not only has to work in one specific program such as Ghost Reader; it should work in all programs where Voice Over renders the screen content accessible. One blind German person who uses the software told me that when I purchased the German TTS that worked with Voice Over, one very good English voice was also supplied as part of the download. Is this true? Since I do about 75% of my work in English, this wouldn't be a bad thing. Kindest regards from Vienna, Austria, Mike On 12,Jun,2010, at 1:45 AM, Beth Thorpe wrote: Michael, I do apologize if there was any confusion with your order. We do actually sell voices that will work with Mac. There is one good German voice, Katrin you may like. You will find these details at: http://www.nextup.com/Cepstral.html With regards to your current order, I will have that refunded. You will need to enter a new order if you find another voice that you prefer. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance. Regards, Beth Thorpe -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups MacVisionaries group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
Re: Confusion with multilingual Macs
Hello Michael, You need to go to the AssistiveWare site: www.assistiveware.com That is where you buy the German voices. You should also consider getting GhostReader at the same time for an extra €10 or whatever it is in dollars. Ghostreader is great for reading documents, and it allows you to jump forward and backward by paragraph. It will also run in the background while you work on another document. I use it this way when translating. I have GhostReader reading the original while I create the translation in a Pages document. Make sure you buy the full versions of the voices since GhostReader is also sold with versions that don't work with VoiceOver. Cheers, Anne On Jun 15, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Michael Busboom wrote: Hello everyone, I have received so much help from this list and in all honesty, I had hoped that after a year of owning a Mac, I'd be giving more than taking. I am enjoying my Mac and gaining more proficiency with it all the time, using it for the majority of my private things and integrating it into my work environment whenever possible. I recently accepted a job position in which I will be required to write in German extensively, something which I have thus far not done with the Mac. I need some assistance making my Mac speak German, and I have some specific questions for anyone who can help after I supply some background information. While at Sight City in May, I received a demo version of some fantastic German software. I believe that it was Infovox German. The German TTS also came bundled with an English voice as well. Unfortunately, for several reasons, the 30-day trial period expired before I had the opportunity to buy the software. When I tried to launch the German some 45 days after installing it, all I was told was that my trial period had expired. However, I was not given the name of the software, nor was I provided a link where I could go and purchase and install the unlocked version. A kind friend who wanted to assist me helped me find some German TTS's on an Acapella site but after making the purchase and going to the download link, it turned out that, although the TTS was a German voice named Sarah, this was a windows software package. The company refunded my money. I would very much like and need to unlock the software that is on my Mac because it works with Voice Over, and it really is quite good. Below is some of the correspondence I received from the company, but it still leaves me unclear as to precisely what I need to order to have Voice Over speaking German on my Mac. Kindest regards and if anyone can offer some assistance, please read on. Mike Michael Busboom wrote: Hi Beth, So just to make sure: If I order the German Cepstral voices, they will work with Voice Over? Is this correct? In all truthfulness, I am not even sure if I am interested in Ghost Reader. Although I have purchased it, I have never used it. However, I need to be able to use my Mac and write letters and answer e-mails in German; this is crucial! Kindest regards and thank you, Mike On 2010-06-14 17:30, Beth Thorpe wrote: Michael, We offer two Text to Speech options for use with mac. Both will include a language set of your choice. You can find details about these at: http://www.nextup.com/mac.html The GhostReader software will also allow you to add a 2nd language set for an additional $20.00 which may be attractive to you. The only problem I can foresee is that these voices will not work in other applications as you have noted as necessary. The Cepstral voices that I recommended earlier are, however, will work with any application. Let me know if this does not answer your question completely. Regards, Beth Thorpe NextUp.com Listen and Learn Anywhere http://www.NextUp.com ** TextAloud - The world's most popular Text To Speech tool. http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/ Michael Busboom wrote: Dear Beth, Thank you for responding to me so quickly. In order not to make a similar mistake, I feel that I should be more specific and err on the side of being overly thorough than not being specific enough. I need the German voice in order to use Voice Over, the built-in screen reading software that comes with every Mac Book. It not only has to work in one specific program such as Ghost Reader; it should work in all programs where Voice Over renders the screen content accessible. One blind German person who uses the software told me that when I purchased the German TTS that worked with Voice Over, one very good English voice was also supplied as part of the download. Is this true? Since I do about 75% of my work in English, this wouldn't be a bad thing. Kindest regards from Vienna, Austria, Mike On 12,Jun,2010, at 1:45 AM, Beth Thorpe wrote: Michael, I do apologize if there was any confusion with your order. We do actually sell voices that will
