From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from [204.233.198.50] (helo=linserver.romuald.net.eu.org) by speech.braille.uwo.ca with smtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 18OqlX-0006Tm-00 for ; Wed, 18 Dec 2002 21:50:27 -0500 Received: (qmail 714 invoked by uid 1023); 19 Dec 2002 02:49:36 -0000 Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 20:49:36 -0600 From: Gregory Nowak To: speakup@braille.uwo.ca Subject: Re: a bit of trivia I found interesting Message-ID: <20021219024936.GA697@romuald.net.eu.org> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.4i Sender: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca Errors-To: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca X-BeenThere: speakup@braille.uwo.ca X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: speakup@braille.uwo.ca List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Actually, I personally think that the accent sounds like crap, and the bns sounds wonderful. Whenever I listen to the accent, I can't help the notion that it is better suited for speaking French instead of English. I have known for a while that the bns used the si 263 chip. I had also suspected that the accent used the same speech chip as the bns because of how they both sounded on head phones, but wasn't absolutely sure. What I think makes the difference is how the chip is controlled by the software. Greg On Wed, Dec 18, 2002 at 07:55:53PM -0600, Adam Myrow wrote: > I was just looking through files on my computer and stumbled over a README > file from an old shareware DOS screen reader called TinyTalk. The part > that I found interesting is that it listed several synthesizers that > existed around 1994 and what chipset they used. It mentioned that the > Braille 'N Speak line as well as the Accent line both use a chip called > the SSI263. I found this interesting because the Braille 'N Speak sounds > like crap, has terrible pronunciation, and practically no inflection. > The Accent still sounds very mechanical, but has a lot more inflection, > and its pronunciation is 10 times better than the Braille 'N Speak line. > Apparently, this chipset wasn't the only piece required to produce speech. > So, anybody know what makes such a radical difference? I know this isn't > directly Linux related, but I figured a lot of the list members have been > using computers for a long time and might know what makes the difference > or where I may find such information. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup