Short Take: Digital Future Software's TextSpeech Pro v1.5.1

[Jabes]

Remember when talking computers were strictly the realm of science fiction? I remember thinking how cool HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey was because it could listen and respond to your voice. Microsoft has already accomplished this to a limited extend with their Voice Command software for Windows Mobile. Today we will look at Digital Future Software's TextSpeech Pro for Pocket PC to see what it beings to the table (and hope it doesn't turn your Pocket PC homicidal like HAL 9000). Read on to see how it performed!

[c1oudrs]

Another take on TextSpeechPro? Well . . . it isn't exactly. But you asked for an uber-use for TextSpeechPro. As you pointed out the sound quality is truly exceptional (heh--at least when we are dealing with the two original optional voices. I use Kate. )

BUMP-BUMP-BA-DUMMM . . . #*!! Audio book conversion!!

I've been meaning to post how to do this at Aximsite for some time (slug-me). As far as I know no one is doing it.

But the short of it is that Baen books, a significant science fiction and fantasy publisher, supports fair use (I emailed specifically mentioning changing a book to an audio file for personal non-profit use and posting on how it was done, and Eric Flint said 'go ahead').

I have converted dozens of electronic books to audio books veerrrry inexpensively using TextSpeechPro on my Dell Axim X51V. I use the better text engine which seems to work from a CF card just fine so it doesn't matter how much memory it takes (I just love my Axim!).

[Pony99CA]

Wow, making audio books does sound like a great use. Can you copy and paste a whole book at once (I'd be shocked if you can) or do you have to do it in pieces?

Steve

[c1oudrs]

No, mostly you are right again--unless its a small book. You usually have to break the book up into 2-4 sections text file before exporting it to a wave. (Arrgghhh--another very unfortunate thing about Textspeechpro.) However, unlike many of the other 'uses' this is still usable.

For example: Thraxus Dance with Death by Martin Scott (smallish book); 64,909 words; 150 pages; 282 KB wavefile (7hr15min playback reading (which is rather big)--again love it that the Axim has the two card slots, so I put audio books on my sd card . . .

Small book---Thraxus & Dance with Death did not really need broken up on the Axim. I usually target 150 pages or less. Up to 200 starts to take a long time to process. 300 pages, 14 hour playback time is possible (I did it once), but it takes forever. Something about the processing becomes exponential. As it is, I usually start processing before I go to work, before I go to bed. Of course, once you have exported a file, you've got it. I play it back on pocket player 3.01.

[c1oudrs]

By the way . . . another 'usable' use (not nearly so uber): is to use TextSpeechpro to read back a written report for you so you can catch mistakes. As pointed out, the controls are clunky and there is MUCH that needs fixed. (One of my biggest griefs are an incompatibility with Textmaker.) But Textspeechpro will read back small rtf files adequately if not brilliantly, though it takes a while to jump through the hoops as you pointed out in your article. (rtf not really recommended for exporting big files to wave).

Eh. My report on 'browser' function is less complimentary than yours. The less said the better.