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CLEMMONS, NC - Scott Newton is a Chicago-area author and media professional who recently completed a new book, yet like many authors, he couldn't find the time in his extremely busy work schedule for the all-important review and proofing process. After doing a little research online, he came across the idea of Text to Speech, and TextAloud, from NextUp.com (http://www.NextUp.com).

Using the program to hear his own work read back to him, Scott soon discovered that TextAloud, a popular and easy to use software application, provided the tools he needed that would enable him to do his proofing in a new and streamlined way, and without the visual fatigue so common to the editing process. The program enabled Scott, like many other PC users, to listen to his reading anywhere, and on almost any device, from iPhones, to iPods, laptops, or Compact Discs, and in and to do so via natural, human-sounding speech. Scott chose to do his listening via iPod, and soon discovered that he could not only listen to his own work, but to almost any text he found, including e-mails, website content, documents, and even PDFs.

A media production professional for over 25 years, Scott is well versed in multimedia, media and technology, with a career that has encompassed video, multimedia, print, audio and online media for a primarily corporate marketplace. He has also written extensively throughout his career, from scripts and printed materials, to articles in trade journals. For his previous writings, Scott had been able to balance his work and writing schedules in order to proof and review his content. However, when he completed his latest book-length project, he needed to find a solution for reviewing and editing his work that would give him more flexibility.

"I turned to TextAloud because I thought it would be a novel idea to have my computer read my work back to me as I was making the necessary edits," Scott comments. "It turned out to be a highly valuable tool that was really helpful to me throughout the editing process." After spending many hours writing and editing the book, Scott found that he began to lose objectivity on his work when he was tired or working through a significant amount of material. TextAloud enabled him to hear his work in a new way, and the process of listening to his prose enabled him to regain perspective on what needed to be edited or polished. "In essence, TextAloud helped me to perform that old copywriter's trick for proofreading; namely having one person read silently while another reads aloud," adds Scott. "In this case, TextAloud stepped up to the task, and using this process, I was able to find errors and typos that I had missed on previous read-throughs on my own. More importantly, I was able to do this without imposing on friends and family."

In giving Scott the ability to transfer his written text into MP3 files which could then be listened to on an MP3 player, TextAloud not only assisted him with his editing, but also enabled him to do his listening flexibly, at any location. As he used the software increasingly for his book, Scott also began to utilize it regularly for proofreading other documents by ear, especially on items like e-mails and client proposals that required especially careful word choices -- and no errors.

Scott also began to use the program in his ongoing production work in unique ways as well. "I'm now starting to use TextAloud in a way that few other users have probably considered," he comments. "In my line of work, I use recorded voices quite often -- for video narration and short voice clips in multimedia or web-based presentations. TextAloud gives me the unique ability to output high-quality audio voice files in MP3 or WAV format, and means I can easily generate a 'scratch' or 'reference' voice file before hiring a professional voice-over talent to finish the project!"

Scott's favorite voice is AT&T's 'Crystal,' whose voice is soothing, yet professional. "I'm rather amazed at the technology behind Text to Speech in the first place," he comments. "As for the quality, it really is just like having someone read to you. The quality of the TextAloud voices is fantastic."

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.