Fwd: Via-voice

Lloyd Rasmussen lras at loc.gov
Thu Feb 19 15:53:02 UTC 2004


I posted the message, which quotes from Government Computer News, for 
informational purposes.  Perhaps it would be possible, under IBM's terms, 
to create a consortium of users who would want to buy licensed copies of 
this TTS engine for Linux.  I don't have any more information than what's 
in the article.

At 09:01 AM 2/19/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>A minimum order of 200! What the heck?
>
>At 01:29 PM 2/18/2004, you wrote:
>
>>>From: Hoffman Allen W <Allen.W.Hoffman at irs.gov>
>>>To: "'dtb-talk at nfbnet.org'" <dtb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>Subject: [Dtb-talk] Via-voice
>>>Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 12:35:53 -0500
>>
>>
>>>Message
>>>02/16/04
>>>
>>>IBM brings text-to-speech to the Linux desktop
>>>
>>>By
>>>Patricia Daukantas
>>>
>>>GCN Staff
>>>
>>>IBM Corp. researchers are bringing text-to-speech capabilities to the 
>>>Linux desktop.
>>>
>>>Previously, production versions of IBM's text-to-speech engine had been 
>>>available only for the Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh platforms, 
>>>said Rich
>>>
>>>Schwerdtfeger, an IBM software group accessibility strategist and 
>>>chairman of IBM's Accessibility Architecture Review Board.
>>>
>>>A few years ago, the company had made a beta Linux version of the speech 
>>>engine available for downloading, but took it offline when it stopped 
>>>working with
>>>
>>>later versions of the Linux kernel.
>>>
>>>The speech engine, together with a screen reader, converts text on a 
>>>computer screen to sound but does not enable users to issue voice 
>>>commands to the computer,
>>>
>>>Schwerdtfeger said.
>>>
>>>Wizzard Software Corp. of Pittsburgh is distributing the IBM-developed 
>>>ViaVoice speech engine as a standalone product and a component in its 
>>>Interactive
>>>
>>>Voice Assistant line of products.
>>>
>>>List pricing for the standalone ViaVoice text-to-speech engine is $5 per 
>>>individual user license with a minimum order of 200 licenses. Volume discounts
>>>
>>>are available.
>>>
>>>(Posted Feb. 16. Corrected Feb. 17)
>>
>>Braille is the solution to the digital divide.
>>Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Staff Engineer
>>National Library Service f/t Blind and Physically Handicapped
>>Library of Congress    (202) 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls/>
>>HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
>>The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent 
>>those of NLS.
>>
>>
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>
>
>
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Braille is the solution to the digital divide.
Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Staff Engineer
National Library Service f/t Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress    (202) 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls/>
HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent 
those of NLS.





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