[DECtalk] status of DECtalk SAPI from Enable Rehab

[Pitermach]

<blockquote>
then we
will offer that version for sale as an add-on to screen readers of the
user's choice. 
</blockquote>
does this mean, then, that you will develop some propriatary jaws/wineyes/nvda drivers or are you refering to making that one into sapi?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Corine Bickley" <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu>
To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2011 7:56 PM
Subject: [DECtalk] status of DECtalk SAPI from Enable Rehab


> Hello DECtalk friends,
> We at Enable, two former students of Dennis Klatt and his friend/mentor
> Prof. Ken Stevens, learned of an interest in a version of DECtalk that was
> SAPI compliant. Both of us had worked for short intervals with Force
> Computers and then Fonix to try to keep DECtalk alive commercially in 2000.
> However, our efforts were not appreciated at either company. We both were
> laid off. However, we stayed in touch with Ed Bruckert who has kept DECtalk
> alive for over 30 years. Ed was our manager at Force and then Fonix. Sadly,
> Ed is now legally blind and can only advise, not program. He helps with
> advice as he best as his memory allows.
> 
> Ed has explained that DECtalk has not made any money for many years. Enable
> will never make any money off of any version of DECtalk, but in honor of
> Dennis we'd like to keep DECtalk available. No other company else has any
> interest in doing so. After much negotiation, Ed was finally able to
> convince Fonix to let Enable license whatever old copies of DECtalk code
> that we could find. That cost alone is far more than any profit Enable will
> ever realize from sales of DECtalk. Also, Fonix owns any changes we make to
> DECtalk code. They, Fonix managers, are smart. You may conclude that we at
> Enable are stupid, at least naive, but please be assured that we are well
> intentioned and want to make DECtalk available to whoever wants it, if
> anyone does. It seems now that no one does, at least not any version that
> Fonix will let Enable have access to. However, I can rest easy in knowing
> that we tried. I'm sorry to all of you that we failed. We wish you well in
> continuing to use whatever versions of DECtalk you have access to. It's
> wonderful that those versions still exist - do enjoy them.
> 
> One of the old versions of DECtalk does work with at least some of the
> voices, such as Paul. That old version is now being evaluated by the
> Acoustical Society of America's Standards Committee for intelligibility of
> TTS systems for blind users. If that old version evaluates adequately (the
> first report will be presented this summer at an international conference by
> Drs. Ann Syrdal and Taniya Mishra), particularly at high speeds, then we
> will offer that version for sale as an add-on to screen readers of the
> user's choice. Both the Paul and Betty voices are being evaluated. If anyone
> on this listserv is interested in hearing the samples as well as the other
> synthesizers included in the evaluation, please access the site:
> http://dudley.research.att.com/tts/TESTS/TTSrateIntelligibility/html/index.h
> tml
> Sometimes this link is down because the ATT researchers are accessing the
> results. Please try later if it doesn't work when you first try it. Several
> kinds of TTS systems are included, each with a male and a female voice.
> You'll have to re-enter the site quite a few times to hear samples of all
> the different voices in all the different TTS systems. The presentation is
> randomized, so there's no way to know whether you will hear DECtalk or some
> other system each time.
> 
> Again, best wishes to all on this listserv in your continued use of DECtalk.
> 
> corine bickley
> Enable Rehab, president
> _______________________________________________
> DECtalk mailing list
> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> 
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>


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