software speech for speakup

Shaun Oliver shauno at goanna.net.au
Tue May 22 06:48:39 EDT 2001


I see those comments are gonna come back to haunt me.
Well, yes I agree that a hardware synth costs a hell of alot of $. I was
lucky last year to have had a trust fund mature so I went out and bought a
doubletalk which at the time cost me $400 and it was one of the last ones
that I knew of in the country. Brand new anyway. I will stand to be
corrected. but yes in the situation of a laptop and if there's no other
option, software speech is well worth clock cycles.


Shaun..
"Has anyone ever tasted an "END"? Are they really bitter?"
EMAIL: shauno at goanna.net.au ICQ: 76958435
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www.jong.com:6667

On Tue, 22 May 2001, Kirk Wood wrote:

> > 1: aAs far as I'm aware, software synthesys ties up a great deal of system
> > resources including the sound card unless of course you run a sb-live.
> 
> Geoff pointed out that you can get a card with multiple streams. There are
> a number able to do this. But there are other considerations.
> 
> First, *most* of the people asking for this are looking at a particular
> situation. They want the portibility and are well aware there are tradeoffs. 
> (There are always tradeoffs.) Yes, it takes away clock cycles. But if you
> are in a cramped spot and have no room for a synth, the clock cycle is
> worth it.
> 
> Second, you can always add another sound card if it only handles one
> stream. Last time I looked, I could buy a sound card for as little as
> $5. And many have modules available. Even a $35 card is cheaper then any
> hardware synth.
> 
> Pointing out the problems with software speech is pointless. Most of those
> posting with the desire to see this are aware there are problems. They
> already know that this will take time. And also, don't asume they are
> somehow less understanding of the advantages of a hardware synth. In my
> not so humble opinion making computing more affordable is a reasonable end
> in itself. Software speech can drop the cost of this by almost a
> grand. We are not talking chump change. The lowest cost hardware synth I
> know of is over $200. If $200 is chump change to any list members please
> let me know. I will personally put forth the time to get a
> "scholarship" program started for synths helping out those who don't have
> that kind of money burning.
> 
> =======
> Kirk Wood
> Cpt.Kirk at 1tree.net
> 
> Nothing is hard if you know the answer or are used to doing it.
> 
> 
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