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CLEMMONS, NC - David Rogers is a commercial fisherman and contractor in Vancouver, Canada, who is also pursuing a Master's Degree. With two intensive jobs that keep him busy by day, David found that he lacked sufficient time for the study his degree needed. But then it occurred to him that both jobs enabled him to do the work while also allowing for listening at the same time. He realized that instead of simply painting a room by day, he could be painting that room and listening to his coursework at the same time -- and in researching his options for Text to Speech, he discovered TextAloud, the PC software from NextUp Technologies (http://www.nextup.com).

TextAloud is the easy and popular PC software that outputs written text into speech in just minutes, and from almost any source (e-mails, websites, documents, PDFs and more). For students -- especially continuing students like David -- TextAloud is an ideal study tool that installs swiftly to almost any PC, and is easy and versatile, able to output and save written text seamlessly as natural-sounding audio files for listening on almost any portable audio devices, from iPhones, to iPods, laptops, Compact Discs and more. Best of all, it's affordably priced from $29.95.

"TextAloud quickly made a difference in my studies," comments David. "I love to upload course material and let it play away while I'm mindlessly rolling out paint on a wall -- thereby killing two birds with one stone. I'm very lucky to be able to work and listen at the same time, and now TextAloud helps me turn that listening into active study!"

David wasn't always a believer in Text to Speech. "I was initially skeptical of the 'Mr. Roboto' voice you can hear from some text to speech providers." But he soon found TextAloud and its lifelike and natural-sounding array of voices, and using the Premium Voices 'Crystal' and 'Mike,' he was surprised at how realistic and listenable the voice quality turned out to be. He also quickly came to enjoy the software's friendly look and feel, and especially such easy aspects as the ability to adjust the tempo of the readback to 'slow down' or 'speed up' a piece as desired. To assist him in note taking, he also took advantage of the way the software allows the listener to plug additional or extended pauses into the listening process, as needed.

"TextAloud was different right away," comments David. "I came across it from an online search, then uploaded a bunch of economic news and stock trading info from my favorite sites. I saved everything to an audio file in minutes, and then let it play away in the car the following morning! It was that simple." He now does his listening primarily via his RCA MP3 player, which is easy for him to take anywhere on the go.

While David has come to appreciate many different aspects of the software, its biggest asset is the one he discovered first -- its ability to turn lost time, into time for entertainment, or learning. "TextAloud turns downtime into productive time," he comments, "and I especially like the way it allows me to engage my mind during tedious tasks and long drives." He adds, "One other function I like about the TextAloud program is that it enables me to listen to web text or e-mails straight from my computer even while I am doing dishes, playing with the baby or otherwise puttering around the house."

"Ultimately, TextAloud has helped David to paint a rosy future -- and has helped to move him tangibly toward his goals. "Before I start any painting job or drive, I am giddily uploading the material from my favorite sites to enjoy the next day while I am working away," adds David. "TextAloud has seriously improved the way I look at work."

About TextAloud
TextAloud has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN, and more. Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows (R) 98, NT, 2000, XP and VISTA. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via /purchase.html.

NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices™, Nuance®, Acapela® and Cepstral® for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include U.S. English, U.K. English, Indian Accent English, Scottish Accent English, Arabic, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Faroese, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Castilian (European) Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

About NextUp.com
NextUp.com, a division of NextUp Technologies, LLC, provides award-winning Text to Speech software for consumers, business customers, educators, and those with visual or vocal impairment, or learning disabilities.

In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that allows people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate with others.

Note to Editors:

Evaluation copies of TextAloud are currently available upon request. To receive a review copy, or for more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at (904) 982-8043.

All companies and products referenced in this press release are the trademarks of their respective owners.