Voice Output for the MacVoice Output for the Mac
The programs which offer voice output (AudioInterface, TexEdit, Speak2Me) use the Mac's built-in speech capabilities. In the old days, the only voice available was MacinTalk, a distinctly male, robotic-sounding voice. Then came some better sounding voices with MacinTalk2 and Apple's Speech Manager. Now, with MacInTalk Pro and MacinTalk3 there are high-quality digitized voices: Victoria, Agnes, and Bruce. These voices sound almost human, much more so than those used by many high-end augmentative communication devices.
In the past, users had to consider the speed of their system and available RAM to determine which speech program was best for them. However, Apple has a new English Text-to-Speech program. The best system for your computer will be determined by the installer. Depending on your system, it will either install MacinTalk2, MacinTalk3, and/or Macintalk Pro on your computer. MacinTalk2 offers standard quality speech, MacinTalk3 offers high-quality speech, and MacinTalk Pro gives the highest quality speech. The program also installs the voice files, a new version of the Speech Manager, and a new Speech Control Panel that allows you to set the default voice and adjust the speech rate . Although the new all-in-one program takes the guessing out of speech for the Mac, the file is 5 MB! So, be prepared to speed a few hours downloading!! If you are up to the challenge, download English_Text-to-Speech from here. Be sure and read the information file which comes with the program!!
If this explaination has confused you or you need more help, let me know.
Updated September 10, 1995
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