Re: SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer
Ken and Richmond, Actually "Dragon Naturally Speaking" can be accessed using Apple Events and Applescript. Not a big library but some control is doable. Tom On Feb 8, 2006, at 3:34 PM, Mathewson wrote: My statement that RR leverages "any speech capabilities that may be present in the host operating system" is correct insofar as those speech capabilities are part of the OS itself (Macintosh speech has, as Norris points out, been present since maybe OS 7.5 - certainly Mac OS 8; and WIN XP has something similar - although it comes with only one 'silly voice' unlike Mac which comes with many 'really silly voices' - think 'Zarvox'! -). Norris is correct insofar as add-ons such as Dragon Naturally Speaking cannot be manipulated by RR. Thomas J McGrath III [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lazy River Software™ - http://www.lazyriversoftware.com Lazy River Metal Art™ - http://www.lazyriversoftware.com/metal.html Meeting Wear™ - http://www.cafepress.com/meetingwear Semantic Compaction Systems - http://www.minspeak.com SCIconics, LLC - http://www.sciconics.com/sciindex.html ___ use-revolution mailing list use-revolution@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
Re: SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer
On Feb 8, 2006, at 3:34 PM, Mathewson wrote: but, hey, how many real women say things like "Your hard disk is badly fragmented" in a voice that really means "lets hop in the sack for a quick one"?) You're just not moving in the right circles. Charles ___ use-revolution mailing list use-revolution@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer
Yes, Ken Norris is correct and I am slightly wrong:
My statement that RR leverages "any speech capabilities
that may be present in the host operating system" is
correct insofar as those speech capabilities are part of
the OS itself (Macintosh speech has, as Norris points out,
been present since maybe OS 7.5 - certainly Mac OS 8; and
WIN XP has something similar - although it comes with only
one 'silly voice' unlike Mac which comes with many 'really
silly voices' - think 'Zarvox'! -). Norris is correct
insofar as add-ons such as Dragon Naturally Speaking cannot
be manipulated by RR.
Quite honestly - the goofiness of most of the voices
('Agnes' the one designed - I assume - to give people with
vaguely paedophiliac tendencies a buzz, and 'Victoria', the
one to get heterosexual men all worked up - are about as
close as you get to real voices: but, hey, how many real
women say things like "Your hard disk is badly fragmented"
in a voice that really means "lets hop in the sack for a
quick one"?) offered by Macintosh means that:
1. They are virtually incomprehensible to non-native
speakers, and
2. They serve to distract the user from what the message
really is meant to convey.
For my thesis (see last posting) I used my voice - which is
no worse or no better than most people's - but has the
added edge that it is a real voice, not a MacinTalk squawk
that Apple are still palming off after about 8 years as the
latest thing.
I know that there are commercially available 'voices' that
integrate completely into the OS-native speech systems of
both Mac and Windows - I have no experience of them - I
sincerely hope that they are both realistic and worth the
money spent on them . . .
and there is the rub!
My "Let Me Read Spooky Stories To You.rev" stack uses the
inherent speech capabilities of Mac and Windows XP - I have
spent a tidy $500 dollars on authentic sounding voices for
my Mac; so my stack sounds just right running on my rig. So
I export my stack as a standalone and start marketing it at
vast expense . . . But the fancy voice on my rig does
(obviously) not go with my program. So, when Granny Mckay
pops my program on her Performa 5200 running Mac OS 8, she
hears 'Spooky Stories' read to her in a voice resembling
the town drunk!
And, as my real Granny (who, by the way, did not require a
computer with speech capabilities to get her point across)
would say in her unco coorse Arbroath accent - yer ae fou!
sincerely, Richmond Mathewson
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Re: SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer
Hi Richard, On Feb 8, 2006, at 10:00, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 13:16:30 -0500 From: "Mathewson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer As far as I understand things, RR does not have "strong speech capabilities"; what it does have is the ability to leverage any speech capabilities that may be present in the host operating system. How so? I'm very interested in SR (Speech Recognition), but I have never seen a Rev project that integrates well with, say, Dragon Naturally Speaking software. Also, there are so many different sound cards for PC's, it's hard to be sure anything will work. But, I should say I'm having a ball with SR in Mac's OS X, even with just the standard SR software that comes in it. I have programs that control onscreen cartoon robots (test modeling), and I regularly use it to call on the phone (e.g., one is simply "call mom", which automatically dials up my cheapo long distance service, then the number, through the modem ... works every time, so far). I'm having increased disability using regular controllers, so it's kinda self-serving, but it almost guarantees some practical usability. As for TTS (Text o Speech), I've already successfully used phonemes for increased inflection with a couple of OSX' standard voices to call my dog. She _does_ respond. But, that's all everyday Mac stuff which many of us have been using for lotsa years. All the best, Ken N. ___ use-revolution mailing list use-revolution@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
SpeechLab - Granny Mckay's steam-driven computer
As far as I understand things, RR does not have "strong speech capabilities"; what it does have is the ability to leverage any speech capabilities that may be present in the host operating system. My Masters thesis was an attempt to write an Agent-like GUI for people who knew nothing about computers to produce small, functional educational applications for content delivery and reinforcement. What is not stated in the text of the thesis (which, if you really feel the urge is currently available at the "Richmond's RR Rantings" Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondsrrr/ ) is that my first prototype came badly unstuck because I naively assumed that the PCs running various versions of MS Windows used in schools run by Fife Council (Scotland) all had speech capabilities. I had to swallow quite deeply and depend on embedded AIFF files: this also meant that, to ensure the whole jingbang was not glacially slow, I had to prune down the phrases used by the 'character' who fronted the GUI to a bare minimum. It would be incredible if RR had 'portable' speech capabilities - this would mean that one could stop worrying about how one's application is going to work for Granny McKay and her steam-driven computer! sincerely, Richmond Mathewson __ See Mathewson's software at: http://members.maclaunch.com/richmond/default.html ___ --- The Think Different Store http://www.thinkdifferentstore.com/ For All Your Mac Gear --- ___ use-revolution mailing list use-revolution@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
