Amazon buys text-to-speech software company Ivona

via engadget.com

If you go buying a text-to-speech software maker, you're not exactly going to stay quiet about it, right? Amazon this morning announced its acquisition of Ivona, the company behind the Kindle Fire's Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features. Ivona, currently carrying the tagline "an Amazon company" on its site, offers its technology in 44 voices in 17 languages. It also works closely with organizations for the blind and visually impaired. More information on the acquisition can be found after the break.

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How Do Computers Understand Speech?

via gizmodo.com

More and more, we can get computers to do things for us by talking to them. A computer can call your mother when you tell it to, find you a pizza place when you ask for one, or write out an email that you dictate. Sometimes the computer gets it wrong, but a lot of the time it gets it right, which is amazing when you think about what a computer has to do to turn human speech into written words: turn tiny changes in air pressure into language.

Computer speech recognition is very complicated and has a long history of development, but here, condensed for you, are the seven basic things a computer has to do to understand speech.
If you thought Siri had an easy gig, think again. Mental Floss breaks down just how hard it is for computers to understand what we say—and to turn that into written words.

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Microsoft Can Convert Your Voice Into Another Language

via gizmodo.com

It's unlikely that you speak Mandarin, but that doesn't mean you won't need to at some point. Now, Microsoft has created software that can analyze your speech, translate it and then spit out a new recording of your very own voice speaking in a different language.

It isn't witchcraft though: it's just damned clever, and a major advance in speech analysis compared to what we usually see. It's not easy, of course. To reach a stage where this is possible requires providing the software with hours of a single person's voice. This isn't something that can be used by just anyone, casually.

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20 Excellent Websites to Help You Convert Text to Speech

via doublemesh.com

Text to speech is an brilliant technology to improve your reading efficiency, differnd sound of words and save time. Text to speech is useful tool in the areas like education, consumer report, computer interface and telecommunications. There are many websites supply free online convert text to speech synthesis services. It is also a great way to check your writing for grammar and spelling errors.

Text to Speech online services allow you to save the converted file to MP3, m4b, WAV and other formats. There are many great websites available for text to speech conversion that allow the user to read written text aloud in a natural voice. Here is a list of some of the best tools for text to speech conversion.

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Great Leaders: 8 Steps to Make a Great Speech

via inc.com

After spending years as a Toastmaster speakers' club member and speaking to a wide range of audiences, I enjoy coming up with topics that will appeal to a group, developing the flow of talks, and interacting with audiences. I was recently asked to give a presentation to a group of product managers about how to give a great presentation--and both the Republican and Democratic conventions have the art of speech-making on my mind--so I developed a plan that could help anyone.

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Give a Great Speech: 3 Tips from Aristotle

via inc.com

Getting a presentation ready for primetime can sometimes be frustrating. Content is seldom an issue; organization is. This is especially true with major presentations either to a senior executive or board of directors. I like to impart a little advice I received from a Jesuit teacher who coached me for extemporaneous speech competitions.

"Three things you need to do, John," I recall him saying. "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them." It was not until years later that I learned that this advice was not developed by the good Jesuit fathers but rather by the master of rhetoric himself, Aristotle. Not only did it work for me then, but it has also worked for a generation of executives with whom I have worked, as well as heads of state, and heads of committees.

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Make a Successful Speech on Short Notice

via freelanceswitch.com

Have you ever been asked to give a speech somewhere on short notice? Sure, we’d all love to have months to prepare a well rounded and informative speech for an audience, but sometimes we aren’t given the time. You have two options: decline the opportunity or seize it.

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A Very Creative Speech Given at TED

via holykaw.alltop.com

The prestige of presenting at TED usually means talks so polished you can see your face in 'em. Colin Robertson challenged that idea with an error message-filled presentation that made the audience squirm in their seats...until they realized the slew of spinning beach balls of death were all part of an Improv Everywhere stunt.

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The 10 Best TED Talks of 2011

Watching videos online is usually considered fun, but generally a waste of time. Not so with TED videos, which are uniformly interesting, educational, inspiring, and enjoyable. If you haven't spent much time (or any) checking out TED videos, you should – and to help with that, I've compiled what seem to be the very best 10 TED videos of 2011.

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Ronald Reagan Famous Speech: Curbing the Size of Government

via youtube.com

In his first day in office, President Reagan promises to curb the size of the federal government and protect federalism.

America needs big people, and small government

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The Science of Speech Technology - Infographic

via digitaltrends.com

Voice search and speech commands mean your electronics require even less from you--check out this graphic to learn how exactly the technology works.

Speech recognition is being implemented in a variety of devices. From phones to desktop computers to tablets, this technology means you can use your electronics without lifting a finger and foregoing the keyboard. So how exactly does it work? Well we could explain it to you, or you could check out the infographic below, courtesy of Medicaltranscription.net. Enjoy!

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How To Display Twitter Updates In Speech Bubble Using CSS

via paulund.co.uk

Do you want to display your twitter feed on your wordpress for your visitors to have easily access to your latest news.

I found a good article about how you can make a shape in pure CSS which looks just like a speech bubble. When you put this together with your twitter feed you can represent you speaking your twitter feed to your visitors.

This tutorial will show you how to display your latest tweet on any page and place this tweet inside a speech bubble in pure CSS.

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7 Tips For Beating Fear And Becoming A Stellar Public Speaker

via openforum.com

Effective verbal communication is probably the one skill that can make you shine like a superstar in a few minutes. Brilliant speeches, sales pitches and conversations only take moments to deliver, but live on long after they are over.

So it's safe to say, developing solid public speaking skills is not only important for business, but for life in general.

Now, I can't claim to be the world's greatest public speaker, but I've had my fair share of chances to spread my message. And as the audiences have grown larger and the speeches longer, I've figured out a few things about the fear and nervousness that often accompany public speaking.

Here are seven tips to keep in mind when preparing for and delivering a presentation.

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