Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Commercial TTS voices compatible with Orca? (self.Blind)
submitted by rpglb_caturria
Hi all,
I'm hoping to switch to Linux, at least for 75 percent of my everyday computing. I don't like how big tech forgets that their customers are human beings (I'm looking at you Apple!) and would rather use open source software as much as humanly possible.
My question is, can I buy TTS voices that can somehow be integrated into the Orca screen reader?
It seems like Neospeech is gone, Voxin seems to be defunct as well, and though I purchased Cepstral Dianne a number of years ago I don't seem to be finding documentation on how it would be integrated with Speech Dispatcher.
If I'm stuck with Espeak I'm sure I'll get used to that, but I'd prefer to be able to use something else if possible and have it be at least a semi turnkey solution.
Does such a beast actually exist?
Thanks.
I'm hoping to switch to Linux, at least for 75 percent of my everyday computing. I don't like how big tech forgets that their customers are human beings (I'm looking at you Apple!) and would rather use open source software as much as humanly possible.
My question is, can I buy TTS voices that can somehow be integrated into the Orca screen reader?
It seems like Neospeech is gone, Voxin seems to be defunct as well, and though I purchased Cepstral Dianne a number of years ago I don't seem to be finding documentation on how it would be integrated with Speech Dispatcher.
If I'm stuck with Espeak I'm sure I'll get used to that, but I'd prefer to be able to use something else if possible and have it be at least a semi turnkey solution.
Does such a beast actually exist?
Thanks.
pitermach 3 points 2y ago
Voxin is probably your best bet, which would give you either Viavoice (Eloquence) or Vocalizer for something more natural. I checked on their website and it seems that it's not so much defunct as temporarily offline. I suspect the site was probably hosted in the Strassburg OVH datacenter which burned down in March, because they are based out of France and the date on the site lines up with when that incident took place.
rpglb_caturria [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Oh man, I had no idea about that DC fire. I hope they had their stuff backed up. I'd donate hosting to them if they were interested.
Fridux 1 points 2y ago
Just wondering: what's your problem with Apple, specifically? I don't particularly like the way they rule their services, but I do like Apple hardware, and one thing doesn't have to influence the other.
I do run command-line Linux on MacOS for development using Docker.
I do run command-line Linux on MacOS for development using Docker.
rpglb_caturria [OP] 2 points 2y ago
I like Mac OSX better than Windows.
In 2017 I payed somewhere around $3500 for a MacBook Pro. For that price I could only get 256GB of storage, bleh. So they want you to put all your stuff in iCloud (which I have no control over) and rely on optimized storage (read: Apple decides what can be removed from your computer to save space, not you).
I eventually replaced this with Nextcloud and offloaded most of my extra stuff to my own server, but this is far from convenient as then I have to go and retrieve things as necessary (must always have good internet) or carry around external drives.
Because Apple's doctrine is that customers have no right to upgrade or repair their computers I can't upgrade the storage for a cost much less than a new machine. Neither can I buy a new keyboard to replace my failing right arrow key and hire a local computer repair company to install it.
If I bought a new MBP (at a cost of almost 5K in order to get the storage I actually need), I would have to except more doctrine that I apparently no longer need any USB ports, despite the single one my old MBP came with being insufficient as it is. And even if I bought a computer with specs which would still be relevant in five years, I still have no reasonable repair options if something fails after the extended warranty expires.
I also reject the fear mongering tactics Apple uses to scare people into not using apps from developers who haven't paid the tithe.
This is the stuff that cults do. I'm not saying that being an Apple fan is equal to being in a cult, but if you really look at them through the lens of the BITE model, they hit all four points perfectly. Capitalism has gone a little too far, IMHO.
In 2017 I payed somewhere around $3500 for a MacBook Pro. For that price I could only get 256GB of storage, bleh. So they want you to put all your stuff in iCloud (which I have no control over) and rely on optimized storage (read: Apple decides what can be removed from your computer to save space, not you).
I eventually replaced this with Nextcloud and offloaded most of my extra stuff to my own server, but this is far from convenient as then I have to go and retrieve things as necessary (must always have good internet) or carry around external drives.
Because Apple's doctrine is that customers have no right to upgrade or repair their computers I can't upgrade the storage for a cost much less than a new machine. Neither can I buy a new keyboard to replace my failing right arrow key and hire a local computer repair company to install it.
If I bought a new MBP (at a cost of almost 5K in order to get the storage I actually need), I would have to except more doctrine that I apparently no longer need any USB ports, despite the single one my old MBP came with being insufficient as it is. And even if I bought a computer with specs which would still be relevant in five years, I still have no reasonable repair options if something fails after the extended warranty expires.
I also reject the fear mongering tactics Apple uses to scare people into not using apps from developers who haven't paid the tithe.
This is the stuff that cults do. I'm not saying that being an Apple fan is equal to being in a cult, but if you really look at them through the lens of the BITE model, they hit all four points perfectly. Capitalism has gone a little too far, IMHO.
Winnmark 2 points 2y ago
My man.
Winnmark 2 points 2y ago
Not OP, but I kind of get what he means.
Giving Apple money is like capitulating, even if you end up using their products in a manner they don't want you to. Besides, they'll probably just try and stop you anyway.
Giving Apple money is like capitulating, even if you end up using their products in a manner they don't want you to. Besides, they'll probably just try and stop you anyway.
Fridux 1 points 2y ago
I used to make that kind of sacrifice when I was younger, but then realized that I was the only person harmed by it. In my case I was harmed as a developer by learning how to develop for Apple hardware much later than I should have.
Winnmark 1 points 2y ago
Different situation. Also, do whatever you need to do to get that check.
I'm an IT/CS person too, just because I dislike Apple doesn't mean I'm going to not use their products and services at the workplace, if that's what management has deemed we need to use. I may make a different recommendation, if I were in a position to do so, but I suppose that's a different conversation.
I'm an IT/CS person too, just because I dislike Apple doesn't mean I'm going to not use their products and services at the workplace, if that's what management has deemed we need to use. I may make a different recommendation, if I were in a position to do so, but I suppose that's a different conversation.
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