Richard:
I don't think you should diss keynote speech that
much because the eloquence speech isn't exactly
something to rave about. Personally i love
keynote for its responsiveness and clear
pronunciation as i have found some words hard to
figure out with eloquence. I did try using
eloquence when i got my mpower in october, but
apart from being quieter and slower than keynote i
found the voice unrealistic and it made the
speaker crackle.
Having used supernova and window eyes i've found
that keynote always wins, and i just wish they'd
make a screen reader with keynote speech that's as
good as window eyes.
Thanks, louise.
ps: feel free to diss me if y'all want.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Ring"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "Braillenote List"
<[email protected]
Date sent: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 13:42:07 -0600
Subject: RE: [Braillenote] reflections on
elequence1,keynote gold and speaking with an
accent or dialect
Greetings:
It is not possible in the words of a mere mortal
to describe how much I
loathe Keynote Gold speech. I cannot wax
eloquently enough on this
subject. However, being for the most part a
rational human being I
realize that these are purely subjective
thoughts. Music, art, food,
and speech synthesizers are truly things that we
do not agree on, and
why should we?
Frankly Keynote Gold sounds to me like an angry
insect with its mouth
full! It sounds as if it is lying under a
pillow.
Now, this does not mean that Eloquence doesn't
have its issues,
especially when it comes to the Braillenote. I
have used all of the
major note taking devices on the market. The
Braillenote mPower is the
only such device on which Eloquence stutters.
Often when I am showing a
student how to become accustomed to the Braille
note's keyboard, I will
have that student type with the keyboard voice set
to spell. Eloquence
cannot even come close to keeping up with what is
being typed. This is
quite frustrating for new students. Since many of
my students are not
competent enough in Braille to take advantage of
that media, they must
rely on speech. And, I will tell you this. I
have never found one
student who prefers Keynote Gold over Eloquence.
But, I am confident
that one day, I shall!
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of kathleen
shelton
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 1:05 PM
To: Braillenote List
Subject: [Braillenote] reflections on
elequence1,keynote gold and
speaking with an accent or dialect
I purchased the voicenote thinking that I would
prefer the
Eloquence after using it with JAWS but now
exclusively work with
Keynote. Eloquence is piercing to my ear.
Keynote is soothing
and just goes right into my brain. Years ago I
preferred the
Artic voice over the supposedly human sounding
decktalk. There
is something creepy with a synthesizer trying to
sound human!
Keynote has done a passible job with various
dialects. By which
I mean that it was not distracting to me to read
book characters
speaking with scottish, or Cockney dialects. I
did use the
pronunciation dictionary for just a few words and
names which was
easy! u for utility, p for pronunciation
dictionary, a to add
word follow prompts. It would be fun to be able
to switch to a
different dialect such as Irish, Scottish or
British all within
the English version.
Another problem with Eloquence is that it will
speak French for
no reason. Whats with that?
Question: are the rates of speed equal for each
voice? I mean, do
you get the same words per minute for each number
chosen.
Eloquence sounds faster and maybe more jarring.
Have there been studies on this stuff? One voice
which sounds
terrible to me is that of the bookport. Where is
that Artic
voice? I think it was the 263 chip. That's all.
Thanks for
listening.
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