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A great reason for text to speech - please take a look.
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todd ellis
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:13 pm    Post subject: A great reason for text to speech - please take a look. Reply with quote

i saw this on linked in and ALMOST posted a snarky comment without clicking the link & learning more.

i'm glad i didn't.

this is the best reason ever for text to speech & i'm going to donate.
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Foog
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's just... I think I got something in my eye. Thanks Todd. I needed that today!
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Bailey
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Todd... great idea! But when I read the following:
Quote:
Once you donate recordings of your vocal content, your contribution is irrevocable and it may be used by VocaliD or its affiliates for scientific research, the development of products (including those intended for speech impaired individuals) and for other purposes not yet known.

I understand this is all voluntary, but does "other purposes not yet known." mean that your voice samples could be sold to another outfit making enhanced vocal announcements like "Clean up needed in aisle seven" ?

... or am I just thinking about worse case scenarios?
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in February 2008, I spent six hours per day for a week in the studio of a European speech technology company (subsequently purchased by another company) recording exactly what seems to be described here by VocaliD: completely nonsensical sentences. They were not archiving recordings of complete sentences or even words; they were going for the sounds made by the combinations of the different letters within the words.

I was not told who the end-user client was or what the samples of my voice were to be used for. The only thing they shared was that devices like GPS are able to speak complete sentences because all those archived voice samples of two-letter combinations are assembled on-the-fly to create the sentences.

VocaliD seems to be working for a great cause. Like Bailey, though, I'm a bit concerned about their expectation that donors will allow essentially open-ended (not yet identified) use of voice samples by their affiliates. Isn't that like asking someone to sign a blank piece of paper?
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todd ellis
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

good point jim & mike -- i had not read the sign up details - so i missed that! i sent them an email asking a direct question and posted the same on the LI page --- 24 hours & no response. we'll see.
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Jen Gosnell
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is super cool!

Could any of us imagine being without a voice? For me, it is misery.
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ballenberg
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jen--the original stated use may be cool, but the ultimate unlimited and uncapped usage is reason to run away very fast....Would you like to record for a local phone company charity program and have your voice sold as per Siri? A few years back I was in the running, one of two, for a voice program along these lines for IBM--uncapped usage. I pulled out without a second thought. Don't know if the other guy stayed in.. There just weren't nearly enough digits in the fee
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Philip Banks
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The fees for such jobs should be life changing, in a good way.

In the context of Todd's post, how much would I charge to give a disabled person a voice? Exactly the same as I would charge for pulling someone from a burning building.
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chrisvoco
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

An apparent majority of adaptive speech equipment is in dire need of this kind of thing.

For example, those that mount to wheelchairs and have separate little panels with pictures on them, providing rudimentary bits of speech, to allow you to communicate a need or a feeling, as in, "I want a glass of lemonade." Several of my wife's residents, being nonverbal, have panels like these. While they make communication possible, the sound tends to be more like the National Weather Service than a living human with feelings. The present state - "present" being loose, since they're expensive and thus cannot be replaced or upgraded very often - serves the purpose, but doesn't go far in correcting the boneheaded attitudes of folks within earshot.

Not to veer too far from the original post, but has anyone here provided speech for modern incarnations of adaptive speech devices? My wife gets a number of trade publications and catalogs in the mail for this equipment, and I'd be curious to know whether the manufacturers look for actual voice talent or simply prepare the audio themselves. I guess the easiest thing to do would be for me to contact them myself, huh... not that *I* personally would sound more human than what they've got, because I am a robot, but still...
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Kristin Lennox
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've posted about this before, but a couple of years ago, my daughter spent several days in a studio recording for the ProLoquo2Go TTS app. It was kind of ground-breaking back then, because it was the first time non-verbal children could have an actual child's voice represent them, instead of a pitched up adult's voice.

It does have a bit of a computerized quality to it, but I still think it's quite good. If you want to hear my daughter's sample, click on the link, scroll down and click on "Ella"...

http://www.assistiveware.com/innovation/childrens-voices
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Jen Gosnell
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 1:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

chrisvoco wrote:
because I am a robot

LOL! You talk a good game, Chris, but I'm not buying it. Wink

ballenberg wrote:
the ultimate unlimited and uncapped usage is reason to run away very fast

I get it, Bill, and I would tatally understand the desire to work with the organization to restrict use of one's voice to the charitable purposes. Of course, they may be unwilling, as income from resale of the vocal samples may be a key part of their business plan, or some other reason. In that case I also understand that business is business, and one would be totally justified in walking away from a donation to avoid the prospect of unlimited reuse. I'd be curious, though, to talk to the company and find out what their prospective use cases are. Completely true that by donating with the unrestricted use clause one takes a risk of potentially losing future income. But I question the size of such a risk, and feel that in this case it may well be outweighed by the value of doing a good thing in the world.

Of course, it may not. Your mileage may vary. Smile
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todd ellis
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i got a reply back from Dr. Patel, the founder of VocaliD -- which, in part, states:

We completely understand your concern about the legal wording - these things are often onerously written. We do not intend to use your recordings for other purposes or to provide them to a third party.

i get the necessity for the legalese and think any financial risk to me is infinitesimal compared to the good this project can do.
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Bruce
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More than 98% of my work involves just one legal document: an invoice that asks for payment for services rendered. Period.

On those few other jobs that require "employment agreements", "independent contractor agreements", "non-compete statements" and such, often many pages long, I usually think, "ahh, some lawyer got his/her hooks into you, making you pay stuff you don't really need." Oh well.


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Lee Gordon
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

todd ellis wrote:
i got a reply back from Dr. Patel, the founder of VocaliD -- which, in part, states:
We do not intend to use your recordings for other purposes or to provide them to a third party.


Then they shouldn't mind initialing an addendum to any agreement stipulating that.
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Bish
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's unfortunate that a good cause can muddy the waters by letting the lawyers write their agreements.

a) Legal position: We can use your donated stuff for whatever we want, including selling it to third parties.

b) Informal statement: But we have no intention of doing so.

Without getting into any discussion about the validity of the charitable work, we all need to take a stand against contracts that contain stuff like this. "Dr. Patel" may be a man of honour and integrity... but his successor or subordinates may not be. If they have a salable commodity on their books and a mandate to further their cause or raise funds to do so, policies may change.

Sorry to be a hard-arse, but too many things go by the wayside under the banner of, "it's for the children". All legal contracts need to be appropriate and relevant to their purpose.
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