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Clemmons, NC (PRWEB) February 16, 2006 -- Most of us take such actions as
computing, word processing, reading e-mail or surfing the web for granted. But
for those without sight, or who are battling any kind of visual disability,
these tasks can present huge challenges (and expenses) -- even with all of the
sophisticated technology available today. Luckily, Text to Speech software
programs like NextUp.com's TextAloud help to provide an alternative, turning
visual text into natural and enjoyable speech. With TextAloud, a hard-to-read
e-mail or website becomes an enjoyable listening experience.
This is why Text to Speech programs like TextAloud are becoming more and more
essential to the visually disabled and the way they read for work, learning, or
simple enjoyment. TextAloud is an award-winning program that converts text into
spoken audio for listening on a PC, and that can also save text to audio files
for playback on the go. The easy to use program is a snap to set up, and works
along with a wide array of surprisingly natural premium voices to bring words to
life for those who have trouble reading visually. For visually-impaired users,
TextAloud truly presents an easy and very affordable alternative to high-end
machines and software programs, which are too often prohibitively expensive.
"TextAloud was specifically created to bring words on screen to the ear in an
enjoyable and affordable way," noted Ken White, CEO of NextUp.com. "Visually
impaired users were some of the first to discover TextAloud, and we are excited
to see our program continuing to be such a benefit to those who cannot see."
Praise from Visually-Disabled Users of TextAloud:
Edward M.: "My wife is permanently blind, and TextAloud has enabled her to
participate again in the various groups in which she is interested. We collect
e-mail files and any research material into optical recognition documents that
can be read by TextAloud using the "speech to file" feature. We then burn a CD
from the information in *.WAV format, and this becomes her library (she is able
to mark the Jewel cases in Braille for location purposes). It has made a great
deal of difference in her feeling of self-worth."
Carolyn T.: "I'm a 40-year-old blind woman and scholar. Before getting
TextAloud, I had to pay people to read texts I needed, either aloud to me or
onto tape. The tapes were bulky and easily damaged, and the process was
time-consuming and extremely expensive. The sheer number of cassettes (as well
as bulky recorder) I would have to carry meant that I could not read on campus
or when I traveled. While proud of being accepted into a graduate program, these
kinds of hurdles made me begin to dread what it would take for me to attain my
Ph.D.
"However, not long after starting graduate work, a friend recommended
NextUp.com's TextAloud, and it was an effective and inexpensive solution to what
is normally a costly endeavor for blind people. Now I'm finally able to read
when I'm on campus as well as when I travel (with several books' worth of text
easily fitting on my MP3 player at one time). In addition, unlike taped texts,
TextAloud can change the speed at which the text is read without distorting the
voice or words. And unlike many adaptive software packages that blind people are
told they should buy, TextAloud doesn't cost thousands of dollars -- something
any college student can appreciate!
"Although I originally purchased TextAloud to read books for school, I also use
it to read over my own work, grade my students' papers, and access articles and
email on-line. TextAloud has become invaluable to me, and it's one of the few
tools that I've consistently recommended to my students, faculty, and associates
when asked about alternatives to ink-based texts."
About TextAloud
TextAloud is a full-featured Text to Speech tool offering direct support for
Word, PDF and HTML formats, as well as advanced pronunciation tools, an Internet
Explorer Plug-In for easy listening of favorite web pages -- and more. TextAloud
is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows® 98, NT,
2000 and XP. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via
http://www.NextUp.com.
NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural
Voices™, Nuanceâ RealSpeakâ, NeoSpeechâ and Cepstral® for the most
natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include English
with U.S., U.K., and Indian and Scottish accents, as well as French, Canadian
French, Latin American Spanish, European Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Brazilian
Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese,
Korean, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Danish, Swedish,
Norwegian, Polish, and Arabic.
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 impairment or learning disabilities. In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com
markets other innovative Windows software including talking personal "news
agent" NewsAloud™, WeatherAloud™ (a weather application that lets users select
and listen to personalized weather forecasts), and stock updates and related
news headlines read aloud thanks to StocksAloud™. Most recently, NextUp released
NextUp Talker 1.0, 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.
Evaluation copies of TextAloud are currently available upon request by members
of the press. To receive a review copy, or for more information on NextUp.com or
TextAloud, please contact Rick Ellis. Meanwhile, for images, logos, box shots,
or other information or artwork on 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.
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