New feature - audio alternative
January 16, 2008 by Dennis Howlett
Courtesy of Tara Hunt’s site, I discovered a new service that might be useful to readers of this blog. It’s called Odiogo and converts the text I write to speech. At the top of each post you’ll see a small button called ‘Listen Now.’ When clicked you can listen to what was written instead of reading, send to iTunes or another MP3 player. I have included a subscription button which is at the bottom right hand side of the sidebar. That way you can receive posts as a podcast.
The text-to-speech ‘translation is near perfect except for compound words like GetSatisfaction. The tone and intonation reminds me of an in-car navigation system so it’s not quite ‘human.’ It also contains a six second advert for the service at the beginning of each segment but I’m not sure that’s a big deal. If they extend advertising then I will want a paid alternative. Most folk I know don’t like the idea of intrusive advertising of any kind.
It is however a good alternative for the busy person who wants to catch my material or someone who is visually impaired.
Let me know what you think - I’m intrigued yet rather pleased with results I’m getting to date.
Technorati Tags: odiogo, podcasting
Mixed feelings about this Dennis.
The service is great, as you say, but I can read the post a lot faster than it is spoken but on the other hand I probably take more in when I listen.
Oill give it foive.
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I think it is neat. I think it would be especially helpful on longer posts that I can sent to my ipod and listen while in the car.
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It’s the “not quite human” bit I’m not sure of - especially for making presentations or videos.
It’s hard enough to hold people’s attention as it is without sounding like a Dalek!!
M
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@Em - it’s not meant for those apps, it’s meant for this app. Different.
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Den I like it, a lot!
You are right for those who are visually impaired it is fantastic!
I am, going to look at it with a view to copying you and trying it on my blog.
As for the voice, I thought it was okay.
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