 |  | make your computer speak |  | | By Jack Lyon | | (8/5/02) |
Technology confronts us with a new oxymoron: computers can perform tasks at lightning speed, yet those tasks get off to a slow start when you first have to read reams of related text on your screen. Even voicemail is faster than combing through piles of Monday morning e-mail. But multitasking addicts take note: you can race through miles of messages, Web pages, and other assorted documents without even glancing at your monitor. TextAloud MP3 will gladly read any text that graces your computer screen.
Find your voice
After installation, choose an electronic voice thats music to your ears. The software comes with a handful of voices with names such as Mary and Sam. But there are plenty more available. To access additional voices, click the Engine/Voices tab in the softwares main interface. Then click the link that says "Want to hear more voices and languages?" to access the collection of freely downloadable voices from the manufacturer's Web site. A panoply of voices is available in English, as well as several foreign languages.
To try out different voices, click any voice in the Engine/Voices tab and press the Test button to the right. The voice will read a test message. Once youve picked a favorite, select it, and click the Set Default button to make it your default voice.
Start reading
Now youre ready to have your computer start reading to you. The easiest method is to simply paste text into the softwares text window and click the Aloud button found at the top of the softwares interface. The text will automatically be read aloud. The software can also load external text files to be read. Under the File menu, choose Open Text File, select your text file, and the software will load it up and start reading.
Text selections can be either read aloud or saved as a sound file to be listened to later. To save a reading as a sound file, click the File button at the top of the softwares interface once you have the appropriate text in the softwares text box.
Set up your hot keys
If you find that the cut-and-paste method gets old after a while, its time to set up the softwares Hot Keys function, letting TextAloud read highlighted text from any program. Choose the Misc. button from the softwares main interface and click the Hot Keys button. Select a key combination for both Speak Text and Stop Speaking. Its important to not pick key combinations that are already in use in other types of software, such as Ctrl-S, for instance. Once youve defined your Hot Keys, simply highlight any text you want read in any program (such as text documents or Web pages), press your key combination, and then just sit back and listen.
Fine-tune
TextAloud allows for plenty of fine-tuning. To change the pitch or speed of any voice, click the Edit button under the Engine/Voices tab and start tinkering. To fine-tune the vocal pauses between words, go to the Options menu and select "Set up predefined pauses." A Pronunciation Editor is even available, so you can teach your computer to pronounce certain phrases. For instance, you can set it up so your computer says "etcetera" whenever it comes across "etc."
Jack Lyon, former director of CNET Hardware, splits his time contributing to CNET and building brand-savvy online games as cofounder of AstroManic Studios.
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