[DECtalk] DECtalk TTS licensing

[Karen Lewellen]

On Mon, 30 Aug 2021, Don wrote:
> You could have used a Votrax in the late 70's.  Or, DECtalk in the
> early 80's.  But, both would have been *hardware* synthesizers...
> boxes that sat next to your computer.
..and this is a problem why exactly?
granted, I am not a Linux user, for many reasons, one of which is because 
no driver exists for the dectalk hardware I am using with my machine right 
now.
I have an associate here in Toronto who builds dectalk USB boxes in his 
basement, for about $50, and he is a Linux person.
Please do not confuse what may not have been tried by yourself personally 
as impossible for others.


> Getting text into them would have been the problem.  But, then again,
> all that was available at that time were CP/M machines and early PCs.
I am not sure I follow this at all.
I began using speech in 1988, when I got my first computer and synthesizer, 
which was an Internal card.  The technology had been around long before I 
got mine, so much so that Telesensory systems <spelling>  had 
representatives around the country, who came to your house and trained you 
to use their screen reader programs.
I know dectalk internal cards existed in the 90s, although I did not start 
using  any tool of theirs until  mid decade.
So, what any of what you are claiming has to do with the reality of 
computing escapes me.
even IBM  had a talking structure of sorts at that time, no windows 
required.


> I'm not sure you realize just how many choices have already been
> made for you!  And, how intimidated you would be if they had
> been available for you to muck with.
Are you kidding?  One of the things I can personally say as someone using 
computers, with the same operating system, since 1988, is the last thing I 
desire is someone who does not know my needs making decisions for me.
What is intelligently done, in every screen reading program I have used 
regularly is  a bit of consistency.
There may be config files that the screen reader program developer feels 
may be useful.  However there are also choices as to if you need load 
them, ways to create our own, and best of all a detailed manual, both on 
board and in external form that guides you to the process.
There are many disappointing things about Linux, but one of them is the 
lack of  consistency.
Still, speaking personally, Linux seems to me to be a developers 
operating system, not an end users one.


>
> How large is the speaker's *head*?  How many formants?  What
> frequencies, bandwidths and gains for each?  How do they
> change, over time, for each "phoneme"?
Speaking personally, that I do not have  such choices is precicisily why, 
that and there are few consistencies, quality consistencies in how Linux 
make these decisions are why I
am likely never going to be a Linux user.
And pronunciations varied, even with DOS screen readers...certainly with 
tts tools.
A simple example, I have a friend who uses her Kindle to read fanfiction, 
and TTS..which cannot even say the names of characters  properly.
My dectalk  and my computer gets it correct.

>
> How long a pause between words?  For each comma encountered?  Period?
> Other punctuation?
That is decided by the content, not the developer.

>
> How do I pronounce 1234?  1,234?  2021?  9/1/2021?
>
A quality screen reader leaves that to the end user, because different 
individual
  life situations impact how one desires numbers be announced, and dates.
You do not make that decision for the user if building a quality product, 
there may be a default, but that default can be changed.
Linux likely does not trust its end users, because, again speaking 
personally, Linux is  for programmers who may build things for people, not 
for  individuals.
>>  of
>>  dictionaries made it an `extremely wonderful experience. DecTalk came with
>>  my
>>  first pc in 1994. I listen to it more hours each day than any1 including
>>  my
>>  Wife, so it better be enjoyable. The thing about choices, its your choice
>>  to
>>  make them or accept the defalts.

And everyone should, regardless of system, have that flexibility..I am 
thankful every single day, several hours a day, that  I still have those 
dectalk rich vibrant quality choices, even though I was never a vocal eyes 
user.  having a solid consistent computer floor a screen reader that 
reliably gives you, and only you, what you need, providing the ability for 
you to choose what that means, so you know when there is a problem, and 
when there is not?

Mercy if I had a dollar for every time someone unaware of how good 
adaptive technology should function, tell me the problem is my screen 
reader when it was not, I would be Oprah Winfrey.

Karen