BlindSpeak brings text-to-speech to e-mail

Here's a concept I don't quite get. BlindSpeak, which launched on Tuesday, lets you type in a message to send to someone else as a voice message. Whatever you've written gets synthesized by Microsoft Sam's text-to-speech reader then read back as an audio message.

The synthesized messages arrive in your recipient's e-mail in-box as both an MP3 file and a link to the Flash player. Missing completely is the actual text you wrote. Assuming you're sending this to someone with visual impairments they probably have their own system for dealing with text e-mails that offers a little more simplicity than either the MP3 file or the link to the player.

The company says support for TTY/TTD services and synthesized voice mail messages is coming in future iterations, meaning you'll be able to send these messages to landline phones. Until then, consider this just an easy way to send anonymous computerized voice messages to your friends.

BlindSpeak will be great once it works with TTY/TTD and telephone systems. For now it's e-mail only, which might muddle things up for deaf folks who want the message transcribed.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

[dascha1]

I commend the attempt, bravo! However, understand that it may be because the person who's talking to you or me sounds unfamiliar, or uncaring, and a nobody, really.

[dascha1]

On 2nd Thought, if it were to emulate someone like Sam... Adams and his vocabulary, then perhaps the rebellious (for lack of a better word) nature would benefit anyone, visually impaired, motor impaired, mobility, etc. to get a clearer sense of the message being sent.

[foldsomething]

this might be a good way to send a txt message to someone who has txt messages blocked on their phone... i.e. my fiance had problems with spam-txting so she had her phone service block it entirely... nor can she check email on her phone (she's reluctantly digital). When I'm at work, I can't always call her on my cell, but this would be a quick way to leave a voice message on her phone and contact her when she's not near a computer.