[DECtalk] decTalk 4.4 4.5 and 4.6 as sapi5?

[Don]

On 6/26/2021 2:48 PM, Josh Kennedy wrote:
> And who knows what Microsoft will offer in windows11 at the end of the year.
> Not only that, but I think ESpeak has untapped potential as well.

Exactly.  Many FOSS products start out in a sad state, when contrasted
to other COTS offerings.  But, if they inspire *effort* from people,
they will continue to improve; the COTS product's direction will be
governed by the needs of the people who want to PAY for that product.

And, if enough people are not willing to pay, then it stagnates as the
"owner" can't justify spending monies to improve something that
folks don't want to purchase.

By contrast, the FOSS "product" is driven by the enthusiasm of its
(largely volunteer) users.

Here's a pertinent portion of an email exchange with the primary
developer of another (totally unrelated) piece of software that
I'm using:

      "I'm also pretty sure that it's not hard to fix. If there's
      something you're particularly interested in, let me know. My
      development cycle is driven by what users need."

Note that last phrase!

I can *buy* a commercial product that does something similar
(for many tens of thousands of dollars).  But, how eager do you
think that commercial product's owner will be to address *my*
needs in their product?