[rescue] DECtalk

[Tim H.]

On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:53:01 -0500
"Sheldon T. Hall" <shel at cmhcsys.com> wrote:

> Lionel Peterson writes ...
> > --- "Sheldon T. Hall" <shel at cmhcsys.com> wrote:
> > > Eric Dittman writes ...
> > >
> > > > I know this is question is a long shot, but does anyone have
> > > > a DECtalk unit they'd like to sell?
> > >
> > > Not I, but I do know what one is, I used to have one, and I've
> > > programmed an e-mail reader for one....
> >
> > DECTalk is now software-based, isn't it? I've wanted one for years,
> > but my interest never rose to the level where I would go out of my
> > way and actively look for one...
> 
> I don't know about now, but ten years ago, a DECtalk was a
> box'o'smarts, about 2U high.  My client wanted it to read e-mail aloud
> in a television station control room.  My program modified the text in
> the e-mail messages and fed it over a serial link to the DECtalk.
> 
> Of course, the last thing you need in a TV control room is some
> automaton talking to you at random times, so the DECtalk got dropped
> from the spec pretty early in the project.
> 
> -Shel
> _______________________________________________
> rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
> 
A lont time ago, seems like I was a middle teenager, Corning Inc. put
some fancy DEC system in so that the stats of the glass furnaces could
be checked by phone.  Just call the number and the furnace would talk to
you.  There were different voices for each furnace. Apparently at the
time it was one of the best speech synthesis products around. Would that
have been DECtalk? Time frame may not be perfect, but I think it was
when I was still living in PA, and that would have been <1983.

That would be more fun than using festival to make a talking firewall.

Tim