4.0228 Voice Cards (2/32)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Wed, 27 Jun 90 17:08:39 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0228. Wednesday, 27 Jun 1990.


(1) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 18:57:19 EDT (11 lines)
From: cb%kcp.UUCP@XAIT.Xerox.COM (Christopher Bader)
Subject: 4.0225 ... Voice Cards ...

(2) Date: Wednesday, 27 June 1990 8:54am CST (21 lines)
From: John Slatin <EIEB360@UTXVM.BITNET>
Subject: 4.0218 ... Voice Cards ...

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 18:57:19 EDT
From: cb%kcp.UUCP@XAIT.Xerox.COM (Christopher Bader)
Subject: 4.0225

Anyone who wants voice input and output on a personal computer should
consider a Macintosh. All the recent models have a speaker and a sound
chip for audio output. Voice input can easily be added with MacRecorder
from Farallon (about $160). No "cards" are necessary for either input
or output.


(2) --------------------------------------------------------------28----
Date: Wednesday, 27 June 1990 8:54am CST
From: John Slatin <EIEB360@UTXVM.BITNET>
Subject: 4.0218 ...Voice Cards ...

Re: Thomas Zielke's query about voice cards for use in language
teaching. There are quite a few such cards available, ranging from very
expensive devices such as Digital Equipment Corporation's DECtalk (a few
thousand dollars US-- it offers 9 different voices, possibility of
multiple connections, excellent output), down through Texas Instruments'
Speech Board 2 (also high quality, with an extensive library to support
development; cost is around $1000 US I think-- well worth it, though, as
TI's support service is extensive and excellent, including a free BBS),
and on down to relatively inexpensive devices like the Votrax Personal
Speech System (around $400 US), and even cheaper things like CoVox
(around $100). These are all for MS-DOS machines; the Macintosh has its
own on-board speech synthesizer, though the sound quality isn't as good.
The TI card I mentioned earlier allows for record-and-playback of human
speech as well; so does the Farallon MacRecorder, a very inexpensive
device for the Macintosh. Hope this is helpful.

John Slatin, University of Texas at Austin
(EIEB360@UTXVM.BITNET)