[DECtalk] DECTalk 5.0?

Corine Bickley corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu
Wed Oct 6 07:17:17 EDT 2010 

Hi Alex,
You're absolutely right. I worked on that demo system in 2003. But then
support was dropped. 2003 is when many of us who were working on DECtalk
were also dropped by Fonix. :(
Corine

On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 6:49 PM, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com> wrote:

> Not to keep bumping the thread, but apparently there was a dt 5 demo
> for Windows on Fonix's site back in like '03, after long hours of
> scouring the maze of pages on teh Internet and finding an old mailing
> list post about it.  I've given up for now and am just making some
> Dectalk ringtones with 4.3.
>
> Peace
> Alex
>
> On 9/13/10, Johnny Lam <johnnybrl at gmail.com> wrote:
> > hmm, Pitty, I wouldn't mind hearing the Dectalk 5.0 to see what it
> sounded
> > like, singing and talking and stuff.
> > But ah well, too bad. Would've been cool to see what it sounded like when
> > playing with the red dwarf files.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Alex H." <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
> > To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 10:46 AM
> > Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECTalk 5.0?
> >
> >
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> So far with DECTalk 5.0, no dice. No response. Nothing. Apparently
> >> Fonix is a dead company/doesn't care about its legacy products. I sent
> >> a few different emails and got zilch.
> >>
> >> Ah well. Fear not though, the DECTalk synth is still alive and singing
> >> on my machines!
> >>
> >> Alex
> >>
> >> On 8/25/10, Johnny Lam <johnnybrl at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> Cool Alex. I wish you loads of luck getting hold of Dectalk 5.0. I
> myself
> >>> wouldn't mind messing around with Dectalk 5.0 if I had it. True, it
> might
> >>> not sound as good as the older ones, but I like the sound more than I
> >>> like
> >>> Eloquence. However, I can live with eloquence if there is no other
> >>> choice.
> >>> lol. Anyway, good luck. Who knows, maybe someday they will have a SAPI
> >>> version of Dectalk for us Dectalk fans.
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: "Alex H." <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
> >>> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> >>> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 4:50 PM
> >>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECTalk 5.0?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Hey all,
> >>>>
> >>>> I've just contacted Fonix to see if they still got the old DECTalk 5
> >>>> demos laying around, and if I can snag a copy of it. I'm hopeful and
> >>>> although I've heard DT 5.0 isn't the best of the DECTalk versions, I
> >>>> still wanna play with it and see what it's like. This way I can
> >>>> determine which version of DECTalk I enjoy most and will write DECTalk
> >>>> files with. Right now I enjoy 4.3 and 4.64 the most, they sound the
> >>>> most classic. 4.61 is a pretty bad joke and 4.4 is all around great.
> >>>> I'll keep y'all posted with any updates I get.
> >>>>
> >>>> Alex
> >>>>
> >>>> On 8/25/10, Corine Bickley <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu> wrote:
> >>>>> Thank you, Raymond - very useful feedback! I'm a member of an
> >>>>> Acoustical
> >>>>> Society standards committee on intelligibility of text-to-speech
> >>>>> systems,
> >>>>> and we are particularly interested in the opinions of users at high
> >>>>> speeds.
> >>>>> Is it ok if I pass along your comments to other members of the
> >>>>> committee?
> >>>>> They are all experts in TTS with many years experience (including Sue
> >>>>> Hertz
> >>>>> who developed Eloquence :) - she'd love to read you supportive
> comments
> >>>>> about her system).
> >>>>> corine
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 12:43 PM, Raymond Grote
> >>>>> <musicalman1 at comcast.net>wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>  Hi,
> >>>>>> I'm not sure if I can answer your question, but I personally don't
> >>>>>> like
> >>>>>> Dectalk at high speeds. I use Eloquence most of the time, at speeds
> of
> >>>>>> between 65 and 85 percent, 65 for reading text and 85 for just
> >>>>>> navigating
> >>>>>> around and listening to short things like short IM messages on
> skype.
> >>>>>> As for how fast this is, I don't really know. But I do know that
> >>>>>> dectalk
> >>>>>> just doesn't sound good at those speeds, it starts to sounds all
> >>>>>> garbled
> >>>>>> and
> >>>>>> all the words and syllables start to run together, making it
> difficult
> >>>>>> for
> >>>>>> me to understand. Eloquence doesn't have this problem.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>  ----- Original Message -----
> >>>>>> *From:* Corine Bickley <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu>
> >>>>>>  *To:* DECtalk Discussions <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> >>>>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 24, 2010 7:18 AM
> >>>>>> *Subject:* Re: [DECtalk] DECTalk 5.0?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>   Hi Alex,
> >>>>>> I am particularly interested in knowing who uses DECtalk for screen
> >>>>>> readers
> >>>>>> because I'm part of an Acoustical Society's standards committee on
> >>>>>> intelligibility of text-to-speech systems. We have a particular
> >>>>>> interest
> >>>>>> in
> >>>>>> knowing what users of high-speed synthesized speech think, and can
> >>>>>> understand, as most of us on the committee only have experience
> >>>>>> listening
> >>>>>> to
> >>>>>> synthesized speech at conversational speeds. What's your preferred
> >>>>>> speed?
> >>>>>> Might you be willing to advise our committee?
> >>>>>> thanks for considering - corine
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 7:21 PM, Alex H.
> >>>>>> <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Hi Corine,
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I use DECTalk mostly on the Windows platform, and when I convert to
> >>>>>>> Linux I'll probably use it as well. I'm a screen reader user, and
> use
> >>>>>>> DECTalk Access32 with JAWS and Window-Eyes. For NVDA (my primary
> >>>>>>> screenreader), there's no supported DECTalk, which is why a SAPI
> >>>>>>> version would be really great.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> My cell phone is a Windows Mobile phone, and I currently use Mobile
> >>>>>>> Speak for Windows Mobile and Fonix Dectalk 4.6.3 that's bundled
> with
> >>>>>>> Mobile Speak. So in short, I use DECTalk quite a bit.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I also use DECTalk demos to write songs and gingles, plays, etc.
> >>>>>>> It's
> >>>>>>> really quite amusing having a synthesizer that can do so much.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> When I can swing it, I'll look into buying a DECTalk USb and then
> >>>>>>> I'll
> >>>>>>> have my favorite speech in a hardware synthesizer. I know, I'm a
> bit
> >>>>>>> crazy about DECTalk! :)
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Alex
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On 8/23/10, Corine Bickley <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu> wrote:
> >>>>>>> > Hi Alex -
> >>>>>>> > I worked with Snoopi at Fonix (and before that at Force), and I'm
> >>>>>>> interested
> >>>>>>> > to know how you use DECtalk - for what purposes and on what
> >>>>>>> > platforms?
> >>>>>>> > corine bickley
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> > On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 1:49 PM, Alex H.
> >>>>>>> > <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
> >>>>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> >> Hi,
> >>>>>>> >>
> >>>>>>> >> Best of luck to you with the CD's and DECTalk. I hope DECTalk
> >>>>>>> >> doesn't
> >>>>>>> >> go by the wayside, it's a great synth and I use it almost
> >>>>>>> >> everyday,
> >>>>>>> >> on
> >>>>>>> >> my phone and my laptops. I'm planning on getting the DECTalk USB
> >>>>>>> >> but
> >>>>>>> >> have yet to find a used one.
> >>>>>>> >>
> >>>>>>> >> Alex
> >>>>>>> >>
> >>>>>>> >> On 8/23/10, Dectalk at aol.com <Dectalk at aol.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>> >> > I don't work with Fonix any more so I can't really  say.  My
> >>>>>>> >> > personal
> >>>>>>> >> > opinion is just ask.  I know a sapi5 is possible, I  just
> don't
> >>>>>>> >> > know
> >>>>>>> if
> >>>>>>> >> they
> >>>>>>> >> > ever
> >>>>>>> >> > did one.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > BUT, let me tell you what my plans are.  I'm  finally on
> >>>>>>> >> > facebook
> >>>>>>> where
> >>>>>>> >> > more people are getting to know me and my music.   At the end
> of
> >>>>>>> >> September
> >>>>>>> >> > I'm
> >>>>>>> >> > releasing my very first holiday CD.  I'm hoping  it does well.
> >>>>>>> >> > I
> >>>>>>> have 2
> >>>>>>> >> > Churches that are letting me sell it, a CEO might  buy some
> for
> >>>>>>> >> > his
> >>>>>>> >> company,
> >>>>>>> >> > and I'm hoping for a big sale.  You can't count  on anything,
> >>>>>>> >> > but
> >>>>>>> >> > I'm
> >>>>>>> >> > hoping.
> >>>>>>> >> > Blake Roberts and I are giving this our best  shot.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > One of the things I want to get is the Dectalk Kit,  and I
> >>>>>>> >> > believe
> >>>>>>> >> > it
> >>>>>>> >> sells
> >>>>>>> >> > for $1000.00.  That kit will let me create a Dectalk  sapi 5
> >>>>>>> >> > version.
> >>>>>>>  I
> >>>>>>> >> > think I can get the 4.0 kit version but I'm not  sure.  I want
> >>>>>>> >> > the
> >>>>>>> >> > oldest
> >>>>>>> >> > version I can get because the new versions  suck!
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > Dectalk is going away because of lake of  interest.  But
> because
> >>>>>>> >> > of
> >>>>>>> my
> >>>>>>> >> > music, there will always be disabled people  who want to get
> >>>>>>> >> > into
> >>>>>>> >> singing.
> >>>>>>> >> > Plus
> >>>>>>> >> > if device companies ever want  Dectalk,  I'll be able to pay
> the
> >>>>>>> >> royalties
> >>>>>>> >> > through this Dectalk kit and  sell the sapi 5 that I create
> with
> >>>>>>> >> > the
> >>>>>>> >> > kit.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > If my September release doesn't generate enough  orders, I'm
> >>>>>>> >> > hoping
> >>>>>>> it
> >>>>>>> >> will
> >>>>>>> >> > generate a new generation of interest because I'm  planning on
> >>>>>>> another
> >>>>>>> >> > CD
> >>>>>>> >> > release next March.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > My dilemma is, I need a new van because my van is on  it's
> last
> >>>>>>> >> > legs.
> >>>>>>> >> > So
> >>>>>>> >> > sadly the van needs to have priority.  But I'm  hoping to book
> a
> >>>>>>> >> > concert,
> >>>>>>> >> > and
> >>>>>>> >> > if I can do that, I should be fine.  I have  750 friends on
> >>>>>>> >> > facebook
> >>>>>>> and
> >>>>>>> >> > growing, so I'm hoping for some  interest.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > So Dectalk is not gone yet.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > SNOOPI BOTTEN
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > In a message dated 8/23/2010 1:27:10 A.M. Eastern Daylight
> Time,
> >>>>>>> >> > linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com writes:
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > Hi  Snoopi,
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > Thanks for the info on Dectalk 5.0. I guess I really don't
> need
> >>>>>>> >> > it,
> >>>>>>> I
> >>>>>>> >> > got four other demos plus FonixTalk. Do you think I'd have any
> >>>>>>> >> > luck
> >>>>>>> >> > contacting Fonix and requesting the demos?
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > @johnnybrl, I  believe that FonixTalk works with the SAPI5
> >>>>>>> >> > engine
> >>>>>>> >> > but
> >>>>>>> >> > it needs to be  purchased. It is mentioned in the SDK and
> >>>>>>> >> > FonixTalk
> >>>>>>> >> > pages on their site  though. I wish DecTalk had a SAPI
> version,
> >>>>>>> >> > and
> >>>>>>> >> > direct access to the speech  parameters.
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > Alex
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> > On 8/20/10, Ryan Chou  <rc4896153 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>> >> >> wait what is phonix talk and could  someone please send me a
> >>>>>>> >> >> demo?
> >>>>>>> >> >>
> >>>>>>> >> >> On 8/20/10, Dectalk at aol.com  <Dectalk at aol.com> wrote:
> >>>>>>> >> >>> As far as I know, Dectalk 5.0 was  only a beta  version.  I
> >>>>>>> >> >>> have
> >>>>>>> >> >>> it
> >>>>>>> >> > because
> >>>>>>> >> >>> I worked for  Fonix, but I can't give it  out.  My version
> >>>>>>> >> >>> SUCKS!
> >>>>>>> >> It's
> >>>>>>> >> >>> just
> >>>>>>> >> >>> slightly hard to understand.   If  they fixed it, it needed
> >>>>>>> >> >>> it!
> >>>>>>>  But I
> >>>>>>> >> >>> would
> >>>>>>> >> >>> never  ever buy it or use it  because they changed a
> phonetic
> >>>>>>> >> >>> code
> >>>>>>> and
> >>>>>>> >> > did
> >>>>>>> >> >>> a
> >>>>>>> >> >>> few other  changes.
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> SNOOPI  BOTTEN
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> In a message dated 8/20/2010  4:07:50 A.M. Eastern Daylight
> >>>>>>> >> >>> Time,
> >>>>>>> >> >>> johnnybrl at gmail.com  writes:
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> Hi Alex,  Yes I think I've seen that  fonix has made a
> Dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>> 5.0
> >>>>>>> a
> >>>>>>> >> few
> >>>>>>> >> >>> years
> >>>>>>> >> >>> ago,  if  my memory is correct. However, I couldn't find
> where
> >>>>>>> >> >>> you
> >>>>>>> can
> >>>>>>> >> >>>  download a  demo version of it anywhere.
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> But Yeah  hopefully somebody managed to get  a demo copy
> >>>>>>>  somewhere.
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> BTW, I sort of like the fonix talk6  voices,  almost like
> the
> >>>>>>> >> >>> fonix
> >>>>>>> >> > dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>> 4.6.4. And you can  also create wave files in  the program
> >>>>>>> >> >>> too.
> >>>>>>> >> >>> And I was also  wondering, is there a version of fonix talk
> >>>>>>> >> >>> that
> >>>>>>> you
> >>>>>>> >> > could
> >>>>>>> >> >>>  use in windows like a Sapi5 engine? Was maybe thinking
>  about
> >>>>>>> getting
> >>>>>>> >> > it
> >>>>>>> >> >>> to
> >>>>>>> >> >>> use it with NVDA or Jaws.
> >>>>>>> >> >>> -----  Original Message  -----
> >>>>>>> >> >>> From: "Alex H."  <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> To:   <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> >>>>>>> >> >>> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010  9:29  PM
> >>>>>>> >> >>> Subject: [DECtalk] DECTalk  5.0?
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> Hey  all,
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>  Been doing some research, aparently  Fonix made a Dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> 5.0
> >>>>>>> before
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>  they started their  FonixTalk synthesizer.
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> Just wondering if anybody's  got  the demo of DECTalk 5.0?
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> Can't
> >>>>>>> find
> >>>>>>> >> it
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> anywhere  :(
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>  Thx.
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>  Alex
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>   _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> >> >>>> DECtalk  mailing  list
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>  DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> >> >>>>   http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>  _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> >> >>> DECtalk  mailing  list
> >>>>>>> >> >>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> >> >>>  http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>>
> >>>>>>> >> >>  _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> >> >> DECtalk mailing  list
> >>>>>>> >> >> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> >> >>  http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >>
> >>>>>>> >> > _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> >> > DECtalk  mailing  list
> >>>>>>> >> > DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> >> > http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> >
> >>>>>>> >> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> >> DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>>>> >> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> >> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>> >>
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>  ------------------------------
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>>>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> DECtalk mailing list
> >>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> DECtalk mailing list
> >>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> DECtalk mailing list
> >> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> >> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >
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