[DECtalk] decTalk on IOS with TestFlite beta app?

[Don]

On 11/15/2022 6:56 PM, Karen Lewellen wrote:
> granted, I did not read all of this thread.
> However, the assumption that the only folks interested in, or who might benefit 
> from dectalk inclusion are a small segment of a single population is profoundly 
> misguided.

If you look upthread, you'll see I wasn't the one who made the claim!

*I* use a DECtalk work-alike in my product.  But, not the way folks here
likely expect to use it.  (I use a more understandable synthesizer for
the "real" uses)

> that is, of course, if dectalk actually sounds as clear and flexible as its 
> hardware synthesizer days.
> Those with various learning disabilities use speech as well, and, when I still 
> worked for xerox quite appreciated quality  dectalk speech.
> I hear, quite often when sharing my dectalk speech with those who use ttx, 
> individuals without print disabilities but  who, like much of humanity learn 
> faster and better by listening, wish the speech passing as tts sounded as good 
> as my dectalk.

What *other* products have they used?  Were they products INTENDED for
folks with disabilities?  If so, they likely represented a small market
and had limited "investment".

> I might add that more often than not the largest complaint about speech, 
> regardless  of the population, is quality.

Exactly.  When I started my project, I auditioned a DECtalk DTC-01
("original" hardware synthesizer), DECtalk Express and PC-based DECtalk
speech among a sample user base.  I got them to criticize what they found
hard to understand -- and hard to listen to (listener fatigue) about
the synthesizers.

[The Votrax units that I auditioned were quickly ruled out as
"too robotic"]

I took those critiques and folded them into my formant synthesizer,
despite it only being used "for error messages".  The thought being
that a user doesn't expect to encounter errors (system failures)
and, when he does, is likely not going to be patient with the system.
He'll want to KNOW what the message was, "first pass" (because having
to repeat it is a further annoyance).

> While I feel incorporating dectalk into iOS, without also incorporating it into 
> macos is a disservice, I would not recommend stealing to accomplish such a goal.
> Lastly, proper marketing to a broader audience might indeed  prove what I 
> already know from countless discussions over the years.

If there really is a market, then it seems like some MONIED party
would legally pursue obtaining "clear title" to the DECtalk assets
so that he/she can capitalize on them in that "broader market".

The fact that this hasn't happened suggests there are impediments
to it *or* that the market isn't as large/profitable as thought.

[E.g., why hasn't espeak, eloquence, etc. gone this route?]

> If you must listen to a computer, best to use the  widest number of choices, 
> and dectalk has 9, at least in the better days.

Here's a pointer to Cepstral's demos:

<https://www.cepstral.com/en/demos>

I count 18 "US English" voices, 2 "UK English", one italian,
2 german, 2 french canadian and 2 spanish.

Nuance offers 119 voices:

<https://www.nuance.com/omni-channel-customer-engagement/voice-and-ivr/text-to-speech.html>

> Just because you have not heard of jurisprudence does not mean it could not 
> take place.
> After all, someone sues God a few times a  year.
> best,

But, "god" doesn't have to incur legal fees to answer those services!