Hi Scott and list:Agreed on Doubletalk. If it doesn't work for you, perhaps you need a computer. It is a reading device that can do more demanding tasks.
In the meantime, the book port already allows you to use any Sapi5 compliant voice your computer has for reading non-audio files.
The archives of this list will reveal that it is a regular item discussed here quite often. Similarly, the disadvantages of USB1 and the issue of power consumption particularly during data transfers.
Odd that some claim Compact Flash to be "going oug". My experience only indicates it is increasingly wider available and cheaper. This is mentioned in the book port manual which is current.
Cheers, Dave----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Erichsen" <pianoman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 1:40 PMSubject: [bookport] Synthersizer was:RE: Re: gripes and wishes from a new subscriber
Doubletalk really isn't that bad. The reason it's used is the fact that it is responsive and doesn't require any operating system to run whereas keynote gold and elequence or any of those other synths do. DecTalk would be a nice option as well but again it needs an OS as I understand it.I think doubletalk is fine for the book port and all the other devices it'sused in such as the IDMate and a few others. Cheers, Scott -----Original Message----- From: bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alex Parks Sent: Wednesday, 27 December 2006 11:19 AM To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bookport] Re: gripes and wishes from a new subscriber I agree with everything you said, especially file sorting, SD cards andplaylists. I would also like to see a better speech synthesizer. I know thatthe quality of a synth is mostly personal opinion, but the one on the BP right now is quite bad. I would like to see Eloquence or KeyNote Gold, if not RealSpeak or the speech of Natural TTS. Have a great day and a happy New Year, Alex----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Zenchenko" <wb9rsq@xxxxxxxxxx To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date sent: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:46:03 -0600 Subject: [bookport] gripes and wishes from a new subscriberI have decided to put my favorite gripes and wishes out on thelist beforetrying to find out if they have been posted before. In this way anyone at APH who sees my comments will know thatthey are notinfluenced by people already on this list. I have supported several folks running bookports and finallydecided Iwanted one of my own so my understanding of the product is basedon morethan first impressions. So here we go.hardware issues 1. USB power: I can see no reason not to allow USB power to operate thebookport when itis connected to a computer. In addition this would allow external battery packs or powersupplies to runthe bookport without having to add a power jack. 2. If USB power is possible then why not charge batteries withit:This one gets slightly more tricky since if you had normalbatteries in theBP you would have an issue with automatically charging via USB. A switch either software or hardware could be added to make thispossible.I have a ham radio portable that has a menu choice that setsbattery typeand switches off the charging current when normal battery pack isselected.I realize that this suggestion does open up a support nightmare. 3. Add an SD slot or CF to SD converter card: CF is on it's way out. SD is moving up and many products andcompanies nolonger find CF viable. I have many CF cards but the prices have probably gone as low asthey willand in some cases are starting to rise on mid to high sizedcards.SD is clearly moving up and with the release of the HC specc (upto 32GB)will take more and more market share since the target is videoand digitalcameras.That's it from the hardware side of things.Software functions and issues. 1. File sort order: This one is a real PITA! Let's say you have file names such as 3145_01.mp3 3145_02.mp3 3145_03.mp3 3149_01.mp3 3149_02.mp3 3149_03.mp3 Now you copy all of these to the BP. They should play in sequence but in fact the last file3149_03.mp3 will befirst in the BP list. If you load several files at different times the sequence will bealmost inorder from each load session but the order issue remains withineach groupand overall causes files to play in scrambled order if you useautomaticfile advance. This is a major gripe since if you have a book in chapters, oneper file,and the files are not sorted by name correctly you can't read thebook fromstart to finish without user intervention. 2. Playlists: This one would in part solve item 1 but would just be nice. The ability to have a simple text file that would step the BPthrough filesin the order the user wants would be great. Also playlists in the .m3u format are almost universal. It wouldalso allowapplications such as Winamp to generate lists to go along withthe files yousend to the BP. 3. file titles from ID tags: ID v2.0 tags for .mp3 and .mp4 along with many other file typesincluding..wav are industry standard and almost universal. I think the BP should be able to read the file name or any one ofthe majorID tag items such as artist, title, album, through a user menuselection.A combination of these would be even better. Example Artist, "book title", title "Chapter number and title"would be muchmore useful than just an alphabet soup of a file name such asTHC_b1c01.4. ability to read text type PDF: That one doesn't need much elaboration. A PDF with text ratherthan picturebased pages should be readable without jumping throughtranslation hoops.5. Better sample rates for memos: Nice to see 22,050 mono 16 bit. Huge improvement in quality andwith thesize of CF cards these days should not be to much trouble formany users.I run several 4gb cards and have at least two 2gb and one 1gb forstand-by.That's it for now. Clearly I still like the BP and think it wasthe bestoption out there or I would not have purchased one. The items listed above would in my opinion just make it that muchbetter. Iam sure there are users on this list who will find fault with mylist butprobably there are just as many who have noticed these themselvesand mayhave even written to the list. I will be happy to discuss any of these with list members or APHdevelopers,but no flames! With more than 20 years on the net and in news groups and onlistservs Iknow how simple comments can be blown sky high. So feel free to write me privately or via the list but let's keepitprofessional and constructive. Thanks in advance and 73 Chris Zenchenko Skype wb9rsq-- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition.Version: 7.5.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.22/590 - Release Date: 16/12/2006 5:39 p.m.