Hi, How would one go about deleting all the other voices other than Alex? > On Feb 9, 2015, at 7:31 AM, Jonathan Mosen <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi everyone, like Dave, I have found no difference in the way Alex sounds in > Yosemite versus Mavericks, but I agree responsiveness is excellent and this > makes me want to give it yet another go. > I've been lucky for some reason as I've not been affected by any lag issues > since Yosemite. Well, at least, no new lag issues. The issue with activities > and Vocalizer voices is very frustrating and has caused me to delete them all. > My preferred voice is compact Daniel, which I can crank up to 100% and still > find him intelligible. Next best thing to Eloquence, which would be my dream > for VoiceOver. > I find Alex is quite good at slow speed, but too much is strung together for > it to be intelligible to me at very fast speeds. I also find that Alex > mispronounces an awful lot. > But speech is indeed highly subjective, so it's great that there is a wide > range of options to suit our preferences. > > Jonathan Mosen > Mosen Consulting > Blindness technology eBooks, tutorials and training > http://Mosen.org <http://mosen.org/> >> On 10/02/2015, at 4:10 am, Erik Heil <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> Hi, >> Verry interesting to look at all your replies. On the subject of delayed >> responses using software speech, one has to consider the possibility that >> Apple may in fact employ private API's that are non-published, and therefore >> are undocumented. Remember that Apple controls the entire software stack, >> so they would have access to proprietary software optimizations that could >> be non-published. Then again, it may be a case of less than standard >> hardware. We should run a memory profile analysis to see where any >> potential bottlenecks are. Mainly, what is the memory footprint used by the >> Alex voice specifically? Back to the API situation for a bit, and then I'll >> post this. We already know that the Alex voice is probably running as a >> part of a system-wide service. Perhaps the "private" API's (if, in fact >> their are any) may give the process higher resource utilization when its in >> active use. i.e. speaking text. This may account partially for the standards >> of responsiveness. >> >> On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 12:43 AM, Faisal ali <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> I really wish Apple would reduce the lag in some of the other voices as >> well. I’d love to be able to use Eva again. >> Also, I just stick to Alex and have done so for a while since he use to be >> the only voice who could read emojis >> >>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 9:16 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> >>> Yes, this is Yosemite. As I said in my original message, speech synthesis >>> is one of the most subjective things about accessibility software. For >>> instance, I'm in that crazy minority that love ESpeak and KeynoteGold. >>> <smile> >>>> On Feb 9, 2015, at 12:01 AM, Traci Duncan <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> >>>> I take it, this new Alex is in Yosimity only? I have consistently used >>>> Compact Samantha on my Mac. I have mostly found Alex difficult to >>>> understand after long periods of reading. He seems to blur his words >>>> together. I was using him on my iPad mini for a while, but ended up going >>>> back to trusty Compact Samantha. >>>> >>>> When I upgrade to Yosimity, maybe I’ll give Alex another whirl. :) >>>> >>>> Traci >>>> PS. Compact Samantha says OS X correctly. As in OS Ten. :) >>>> >>>> >>>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 7:27 PM, Devin Prater <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> I've had the studdering issue for a while now, but I'd always use Fred >>>>> and forget about it. >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>> >>>>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 9:04 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Thanks for the confirmation, everyone. I never thought I'd say it, but I >>>>>> plan on keeping Alex as my primary voice for the foreseeable future. Of >>>>>> course, that's assuming some genius doesn't port ESpeak over to the Mac. >>>>>> :) >>>>>> >>>>>> Odd that you're encountering suttering, Devin. Nuance voices would >>>>>> definitely stutter and lag, even in the latest Yosemite, but Alex has no >>>>>> such problems. In fact, VoiceOver with Alex is way more responsive, and >>>>>> I often feel like I have that immediate response the Mac has been >>>>>> lacking for so long. It used to be that a Windows screen reader had the >>>>>> immediacy down - hit a key, hear speech, no delays at all - but now the >>>>>> Mac is getting there too. Alex is the only voice to offer it, though; >>>>>> the Nuance voices I've tried still have a bit of lag to them in all >>>>>> situations, and can lag terribly every so often. >>>>>>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 9:56 PM, Devin Prater <[email protected] >>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The only thing I don't like is that Alex seems to studder and skip a >>>>>>> little on the mac, but he doesn't do that on the iPhone. So I use Fred >>>>>>> on the mac because of that. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 7:59 PM, Jessica Moss <[email protected] >>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> What words did you find he ran together? I use him as my default all >>>>>>>> the time, and only thing I've found that sounds really weird, is when >>>>>>>> you try to log in anywhere and go to the usual "remember me," >>>>>>>> checkbox, when he speaks the "remember me," he sounds like he either >>>>>>>> has his teeth clenched, or has something in his mouth, which always >>>>>>>> makes me cringe, and I've always thought it really weird that he >>>>>>>> sounds like that. >>>>>>>> On Feb 8, 2015, at 7:41 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected] >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Hi all, >>>>>>>>> First, yes, this is about a speech synthesizer, and will thus be very >>>>>>>>> subjective. I wanted to see, though, if anyone else might have come >>>>>>>>> to the same conclusion I have. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> I got a Mac in the days of Lion, and quickly switched to the >>>>>>>>> Vocalizer voices (Serena or Lee, mostly). When we got new ones in >>>>>>>>> Mavericks, I favored Ava, and she is still among the best voices I >>>>>>>>> know of, except a couple from Ivona. In testing things for Yosemite, >>>>>>>>> I kept switching from Ava to Alex, just to see if any problems were >>>>>>>>> being caused by the use of Nuance voices. I accidentally made a >>>>>>>>> startling discovery: Alex used to be pretty bad a few years ago, but >>>>>>>>> now, he's quite good. I've always liked the breathing thing, but Alex >>>>>>>>> would constantly run words together, mispronounce syllables, and have >>>>>>>>> other small problems that made him hard to understand, especially at >>>>>>>>> higher speeds. The more I use him in Yosemite, though, the more I >>>>>>>>> look for reasons to switch back to Ava, but the more those reasons >>>>>>>>> allude me. Ava misses the period after certain words, like "app", >>>>>>>>> Alex doesn't; Ava says "capital" before uppercase letters, although >>>>>>>>> that setting is disabled, and Alex doesn't; VoiceOver has delays when >>>>>>>>> opening the VO Utility or bringing up VO menus while using Nuance >>>>>>>>> voices, but with Alex, I find no such delays; and more. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> So, is it just me, or has Alex gotten way better? I don't mean >>>>>>>>> "better" in that VoiceOver runs faster while using Alex, although it >>>>>>>>> certainly does. I mean "better" in that, compared to a few years ago, >>>>>>>>> he's far clearer when speaking and makes far fewer mistakes. Maybe >>>>>>>>> I'm misremembering, or maybe I'm the only one to notice, since the >>>>>>>>> change was likely gradual and thus invisible to those who have used >>>>>>>>> Alex all along. Either way, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts, >>>>>>>>> and I'm more eager than ever to obtain a 64-bit iPhone so I can start >>>>>>>>> using Alex there as well. My only complaint about Alex is that he >>>>>>>>> doesn't speed up very well - sure, he can go crazy fast, but I find I >>>>>>>>> miss things at more than 70% speaking rate. Anyway, what do you all >>>>>>>>> think? If you haven't used Alex in a long time, give him another >>>>>>>>> chance. If you use him all the time, have you noticed anything? >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> Have a great day, >>>>>>>>> Alex Hall >>>>>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected] >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>>>>>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>> an email to [email protected] >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>>>>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to [email protected] >>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>>>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Have a great day, >>>>>> Alex Hall >>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an email to [email protected] >>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>> email to [email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to [email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Have a great day, >>> Alex Hall >>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >>> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries >> <http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google 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