i used it.. the voice sux actually. not reali clear

Bo Regard(#47)
I'm giving u a line-to-line reply-
BR:First of all, you have no idea what the GOTD “initiative” is about.
Me:Gimme the idea[if u know more n better...]
BR:Secondly, if you did, you’d know that each giveaway is equipped with an exe. and activation file or a combined file,...
Me:This is partially correct but almost all the program do not come with an installation[.exe] file;we get just an "ONLINE LINK" of the said link and being online is a must to install the software.Sometimes, GAoTD provides full software as well as the key/.dll file/equivalent, but that's a rare case.
BR:...and you’d know they aren’t meant to be re-installed. If you want to re-install, YOU cough up a few extra bucks. THAT’S part of what GOTD is about.
Me:Listen, i'm not at all a GAoTD hater but a fan.But it is a matter of fact that GAoTD should justify with its' name,if they really want to GIVE licensed softwares to their visitor at zero cost.I don't want to elaborate further.
BR:...Do some homework before you go blasting the people here who DO know what they’re talking about.
Me:Please mind your language.I have been here for a decade and still trying to learn computing.Always I spend a few time for a comment on any subject based on huge homework. Do u?? Your comments do not corroborate that..

The voices are just not good enough and, as a linguist and native speaker, I can tell you that without the right intonation these programs will not be of much use to the sighted. It does seem strange that people, who can read, now read so much (and on-screen) that they get fatigued. This never seemed to be the case in the past when, surely, if only because of the lack of modern distractions like TV, etc., people read a lot more.
As far as non-native English consumers go, such lifeless reading might actually hurt their comprehension of real English.

Amen! Better late than never (in response to the good words of Amazing Girl, comment #45)

Thanks much! :)

To any who had trouble with activate & setup not giving you full version- Just try it again. It works. Maybe you didn't give activate enough time to signal the giveaway site & get the code? :) I did that once. Try again.

It works and it sounded like Governor "Terminator" of California.

Hey #39 I am from TEXAS so I know what you mean about that horrible thing called an American accent. Just joking I get along with people speaking in what ever accent.

I do have several voice engines on my computer, but TextAloud is more usable than the others. the voices are very poor but with a little adjustment to (Options)Mary is bearable. I`ve been using TextAloud since the last time GOTD gave TextAloud out free. i also checked all references that i found and did NOT Find the requirement that you must Purchase the TextAloud program before it will accept premium voices, as there was in the last giveaway version.
My eyes give out after several hours on the web. A good reader with an acceptable voice will be very useful. I plan to buy the CD with a Licensed copy of TextAloud and a premium voice.
no gripe today.

The Grouser

Call me selfish, but I'm glad you brought this GOTD software program back!! I downloaded it the last time it was offered and saw the benefits of having it available to me. It interface is pretty darn straight-forward/intuitive. Wanting it to sound better I made the investment in the ATT Natural Voices -- you have to admit that the installed voices are less than stellar. Overall, I was pleased with the combined package and then last summer, my hard drive crashed and I had to totally reboot my system, so I lost ALL of my installed GOTD programs. I've been hoping that I eventually would see this program come back around... thanks again!!

One BIG question (big for me, at least--I jealously guard my screen space against any new toolbar unless I really need that toolbar BAD): DOES THE INSTALLATION OF THIS PROGRAM AUTOMATICALLY INSTALL A TOOLBAR ALSO OR IS THERE A SWITCH OR OTHER CHOICE TO OPT OUT OF THE TOOLBAR? I hope this gets posted soon so someone can answer it before the time runs out on the offer, cause sometimes there is a long delay time.

Thank you GAotD, this program is the reason I signed up for email notices. I missed this the first time it was offered, and have been hoping it would show up again. Even though it's sold separately, it can use the RealSpeak Samantha voice, the best U.S. English computer voice I have heard.

A few months ago I downloaded version 2.248. Not great default voices, but good enough that I kept the program. In order to get natural sounding speech, you have to buy the voices at a steep price. With some pitch and speed tweaking, the default voices sound acceptable. Same voices that are used in Weather Aloud, which was offered here later. Both programs worked flawlessly. I use TextAloud as a plugin in my MSIE. It will read every word that is on the web page just by clicking on the the play button at top of browser. Also has a stop button too. I found it super easy and handy to use, or not to use. Overall, despite its vocal short comings, I like it. I use it with Win XP Pro with no problem at all. I would rate it overall a 8 out of 10. I consider it to be more of a novelty than a actual regularly used program. I think that I recall downloading some more voices for free I think. Text Aloud is worth a download in my humble opinion. The voices kinda reminds me of a upgraded Dr. Sbato in the Commodore 64 back in the early 80s.

Wish it were for a Mac.

Sharon

PRADEEP (#38): First of all, you have no idea what the GOTD "initiative" is about. Secondly, if you did, you'd know that each giveaway is equipped with an exe. and activation file or a combined file, and you'd know they aren't meant to be re-installed. If you want to re-install, YOU cough up a few extra bucks. THAT'S part of what GOTD is about.
Do some homework before you go blasting the people here who DO know what they're talking about.

I find this a useful and interesting program. It works well, and the speaking voice is understandable. However the professional voices are clearly superior and much more understandable.

However at a cost of $35 per voice, I have to weigh it against my own reading/scanning speed, which is considerably faster.

In any case, thanks GOTD for an interesting program that works.

Pottery

I want to say Thank you GAOTD.
I have a vision problem when taking some of my medications that make it difficult to read and having this program is really nice.
There are some free ones out there but so is this unless I choose to purchase the program in full version and with the supports. What is nice is that I can try it and if I like it well enough then make a decision to keep the free version or pay for more of it.
I have come to enjoy listening to the readings and perhaps will get other voices some day but for now, I am content with just appreciating being able to have items read to me when I can't or just want it read to me.
There are probably better and worse programs out there but being a supporter of GAOTD, I enjoy the participation of the programs.
No matter what the others say, I appreciate all that you do and every program you provide, rather I intend to use it or not. You give to me the change to try these and I give back my support of that, appreciate what you do and thank you for staying strong, even when unappreciated by those who are giving their nothing.
Keep up the good work!
Somebody Say, Amen!

I still prefer to use 2nd Speech Center, it has more graphical interface, and I think it is easier to use .

Wow this is a coincidence that this program appeared today because I have been downloading e-books during my vacations and they have to many pages which make my eyes tired from reading and I don't want to waste ink printing, and I wondered which program is good for reading text aloud, and the next day which is today this program appeared, what a miracle. I am using it right now to hear this book that has like 400 pages, while I relax in my bed.

The voice isn't perfect but lol people is expecting too much like it's a computer lol is not a human.

Thia is good for making audio boos to listen on a mp3 player.

THANK YOU.

This is really a wonderful program which I definitely recommend people install. I paid the full price and it has been worth every cent. I receive so many rss feeds daily that it's difficult to find the time to scan them, let alone read them. They keep me rooted to one spot. Using this program has given me the freedom to listen to text in the car, while working-out etc.

The key, as others have said is to purchase and download at least one quality voice. With the savings from downloading this program, consider NeoSpeech Paul or NewSpeech Kate. The best voices I've heard yet. You can get them both online for $28. Try: http://tinyurl.com/2ezayw To make these voices sound this natural takes considerable R&D investment, so don't moan about the price. Even if you can't get the voices now, download this TTS software and add them when you can. So you'll sound like Steven Hawking for a while...that's not so bad.

Tips: Convert text to .wav and then use your mp3 software to convert to mp3 for highest quality. Also, go into audio settings and add 2 seconds of silence to the end of every conversion. This provides separation on your mp3 player.

For a freeware alternative check out DSpeech. It seems to offer much of the functionality of TextAloud. http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/

Hmmmn I think I'd rather just read my newspapers rather than listen to Microsoft Sam pronounce everything wrong and (even worse) in an American accent.

Hey ! Think The GAoTD site is closed !!
To the angry guys:
Will you really be frustrated? The answer is probably - YES! This is one of the rarest initiatives that fetches really some expensive softwares almost at free of cost[forget download cost,electricity+telephone bills.After all these guys just GIVE us all these at no cost..If you are really interested [the review forum is splendidly democratic]- go and get it, else browse anywhere....
To the GAoTD:
Hello...please give us the .exe file and the activation files if u really want to GIVE these FREE in true sense!!! What about re-install??????

TEXT ALOUD :Verdict:
Its' a well-known softy and reasonably useful...And this falls under "worthy" category.Don't cry for more "Voices" when you have had the software...be happy or cough up a few extra bucks...

Is it only for english texts or are other languages supported?

Once again no problems with downloading, installing, registering gaotd offer. My interest was the ability to read into an audio file and that works as advertized. Yes MS mary/mike/sam quality leaves something to be desired. As do the sample of the voices textaloud recommended. I have yet to try the suggested free voice sources.

BTW; the cellphone analogy doesn't work. AFAIK, text aloud nor gaotd make any money if I where to purchase better speech options.

Requirements: "... 64MB RAM; 10MB Disk Space; Sound Card"

Do you really need a sound card? Does that mean you can't use this on a laptop, or is a built-in sound chip on a motherboard good enough?

TextAloud has some features you can't get with some of the freebies, such as a pronounciation editor and the ability to run full screen. Both of these are very important if the person using them has vision or hearing issues. Also, some text readers do not highlight text as they read, which is critical if you are using this in an educational setting to help young readers develop fluent reading speeds.

I appreciate the GiveAway today; thanks GAOTD!

As a technology consultant for the blind, I have recommended TextAloud to many clients over the past two years, since I became aware of it. I really love this program! Yes, the included speech is not great, but, as an earlier comment stated, don't expect everything to be free.

For those users who are blind, if you are using a screen reader, TextAloud will pick up on the voices that come with the screen reader, so you will have several other choices. Also, JAWS can be used directly to read the files displayed by TextAloud (haven't tested the others out as yet.)

Yeah right,I think I will pass today.

GAOTD is simply awesome and I love this site, however, their software is getting kind of wierd lately. Rate this statement high, rate it low, doesnt matter. Either way, the software lately is still getting out of the norm.

Extra comment--If you use Firefox, TA will add a plug-in and not automatically remove it if you uninstall. An annoyance.

I've been using this program for about 3 years, maybe several times a month. Over that time, I've bought four premium voices, spreading out the pain. I find this software quite valuable. Not everything in life is totally free.

Very simple program to use, quick and easy installation. Sure, the voices aren't the most natrual human-sounding (and I have yet to try other add-on voices for the program), but it's still far more advanced than the "Speak & Spell"-type voice emulation from when I was a kid, and fits my needs almost perfectly. I have been looking for a decent text-to-voice program, and this seems like it will do the trick for me. Thank you, GOTD!

Here is a listing of what has been changed from the previous version.

http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/whatsnew.html

They always offer a link to the company's website, yet no one seems to bother (???). You see stupid questions like Vista? what's the difference can it handle ???. Quit being so lazy and not so quick to enter useless questions.

Forgot to mention that I prefer TextAloud over 2nd Speech, mainly because of its much better integration into MS Outlook. It adds a toolbar and let's you read e-mails aloud without having to copy&paste anything.

I repeat (english-french)...

http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/

For french...
http://www.clubic.com/telecharger-fiche34129-dspeech.html

BYE.

I've known this program since years... it is good but comment number 2 says its only, and not a small one, disadvantage. Without buying the quality voices, the program isn't worth much.

The "Sam" voice reading is so bad that I, an anglophone, could not understand the words unless I read the words as the voice spoke them.
This will be good if it will create a file which other text-to-voice programs can use, but I will not put out money to have a nicer voice read just as badly as Sam.
This should be a beta version because it's quality is so bad.

Hello all! Today's 15-Minute Review is up! Check it out!

http://www.bladedthoth.com/reviews/15mrs/textaloud-v2-248/

This is the previous review of the title because there hasn’t been significant changes to the title that would be reflected in an updated review. The title has essentially had bug fixes and better support for My Documents folder. The version previously featured here was version 2.248. The changelog can be found through the link below:

http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/ReleaseNotes.txt

We purchased this software 18 months ago but didn't like it -- agreed, it's a legitimate product from a respected company and, if you're sight impaired, a tremendous help. But for our purposes, the unnatural UK English voices were, well, just unnatural: there's one called Charles, I think, who does a fruity rendering of the actor Tom Conte. After a plum stone has been caught in his throat. Definitely a big improvement on the Atari 'Major Tom Speak Your Weight' days. But still not quite there just yet.

too bad voices are ridiculously over priced.

For those looking for better voices, check the thread fo 2nd Speech Center, # 13 (additional German voices mentioned in the German section). Going by one link from the forum we found a much more acceptable voice the last time around, but I don't remember the link.
As far as I remember it came up pretty late in the comment section.

I do agree though that use of it will largely depend if you manage to find an acceptable "free" voice to go with it or are willing to shell outthe $$$ for one.
Text Aloud was offered here in June and did receive a pretty high rating. Even though we don't use them all the time, we have found some amusement by having them read my son's homework, where it helps to detect some awfully strange sentences in essays etc. ...
Pura vida, AlexSJ

Th-an-ks Gg-Oo-Dd-Tt!!

Exsellent progrramm!

Nice option too, Natural Reader.

Someone please give me a drinkable egg, to improve my voice.

Yes it is free! like the last time...
BUT like the cell phone offer:
"We give the phone free if you sign-up with us"
Like the cellular phone without the service, TextAlound without the GOOD voice is less interesting and you better be anglophone for the free one.
Bring us some money and we will give it free, they said!
Now if you need it just bye the voice going with-it.Ahhhh....
Hectorz..............................................

Off the current GOTD subject, but since Evernote was so popular here I thought I'd let everyone know that its on sale at their corp site for $19.95 instead of the nearly $60 some pricing. My computer had to be formatted so this deal worked for me. Its holiday pricing only. I hope it helps someone as its not usually so affordable for most. Cheers!

I purchased this program over a year ago and use it daily. It is a user-friendly interface and very customizable. Although it does not come with high quality voices it is an outstanding program. They offer a two-voice pkg for $25, which can be installed and used with any text-to-speech software.

Great software !

This is a great piece of software that I use until 2003 ...
Much options, much control, possibility to split an entire book into small piece and convert it into mp3.
For a better use, you must BUY voices !!!!
I use Loquendo Voices, the best. If you use default Microsoft voices, result is very poor with this and ALL text to speech programs....
Only commercial voices can reproduce a good speek !!!
So, don't blame this software....
This is the best (IMHO).
Problem is voices....
I buy voices for 210 euro at one......
Thanks for this great Christmas gift !!!!
Cassandra Charis

For once I hope there IS a screensaver this weekend.
I've been looking for a decent Christmas Screensaver.
:-P

I've used TextAloud for many years and it's become as important a tool as the word processor. Initially, I started using it to convert materials for my child who has low vision. Now I use TextAloud a lot and the child (now in college) does everything on a Macintosh because text to speech is built-in to the OS and available for almost everything.

I've become so accustomed to the electronic voices that I no longer notice them because I'm focussed on what is being read. The add-on voice packages were researched and developed by other companies (like AT&T). It is the common practice to buy voice packages separately from the software that uses the voices.

In response to the question by Rich on the difference between the versions... NextUp doesn't have frequent version changes. When they do, it's for a good reason (perhaps Vista compatibility?).

By the way, I don't work for these folks, but over many years they have carefully developed and supported a solid suite of products. Their products are well known and respected by people in the low vision community, and their forums are an excellent source of advice.

Program takes alot of memory to create mp3 as it converts from text to wav then to mp3. I ran out of hard drive space before it could convert one of my longer ebooks. I have Natural Reader from NaturalSoft and there is a free version and the I like the voices the sell better. Nice idea but too slow and not developed to apoint that I would keep it.

No interest without a natural voice included !
A bunch of freeware already offer text to speech stuff and some with better sound !