From: alex wallis <alexwallis646_at_googlemail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:42:14 -0000

Hi list.
I haven't really been following the gsoc 2009 ideas, however having scene a
few mails about the idea of intigrating tts into the rb core I felt I should
write to the list
and express a few concerns.
For anyone who hasn't read the page with the proposal it is located at
http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/SummerOfCode2009



I have no problem with the idea in principle with integrating tts into the
core, I think it is a really good idea, I can see how it could solve a lot
of accessibility headakes and some things not being voiced.
However my main concern is if this is accepted, completed and intigrated
into rockbox, would this be used as a way to drop support for the old voices
completely, in other words we would have no more lang files, we wouldn't be
able to generate our own voices and we would be forced to use the intigrated
tts.


My reason for asking this is that I could see myself using such an
intigrated tts maybe for file browsing, but I wouldn't choose to use it
routinely as I find the espeak voice horrible to use and very hard to
understand, I don't no anyone who actually chooses to use this voice in day
to day computer use, it would be a bit like someone using jaws with a
default Microsoft voice.


I prefer to generate my own voices currently for rockbox as I use very high
quality human sounding synths to make my voices.

If the two systems will be allowed to run along side each other then I am
all in favour of intigrating tts into rockbox.

My other reason for being concerned about the espeak tts is that I have to
concentrate to understand it when I have to listen to it, but what about
people who are hard of hearing? how will they manage with such a tts.

These are just my thoughts.
Alex.
Received on 2009-03-27