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kathryne_B

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
155
19
CA
I been looking for a text-to-speak app and found a really neat one, called Speak it, that is for iPhones and iPads. That's super! But can this app be used on a desktop computer? If not, does anyone know if there is a similar app and I mean very similar to "Speak it," for Macintosh desktop computers? TIA for any suggestions.
 

JediMeister

macrumors 68040
Oct 9, 2008
3,263
5
OS X Lion (10.7) has Text to Speech built in. Highlight a grouping of text, right click, then choose Speech->Start Speech. There are a base set of 6 (3 female, 3 male) different voices to select from via System Preferences->Speech->Text to Speech and more can be enabled by selecting Customize from the drop down and waiting for it to download. I don't have access to an older Mac at the moment, so I can't confirm if this was added with Lion or was present in earlier versions of OS X. When 10.8 is released later this month, it will support Dictation, or Speech to Text without requiring something like Dragon Dictate or MacSpeech Dictate.
 

kathryne_B

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
155
19
CA
OS X Lion (10.7) has Text to Speech built in. Highlight a grouping of text, right click, then choose Speech->Start Speech. There are a base set of 6 (3 female, 3 male) different voices to select from via System Preferences->Speech->Text to Speech and more can be enabled by selecting Customize from the drop down and waiting for it to download. I don't have access to an older Mac at the moment, so I can't confirm if this was added with Lion or was present in earlier versions of OS X. When 10.8 is released later this month, it will support Dictation, or Speech to Text without requiring something like Dragon Dictate or MacSpeech Dictate.

Hi . . . thank you for your response and your suggestion, but I'm still on 10.6.8. That's why I was inquiring about the app I talked about on my OP. Thanx!
 

kathryne_B

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
155
19
CA
10.6.8 (and much earlier) have the same functionality JediMeister mentions above.

There is a "Speak It!" app on the Mac App store, I assume that's the same one?

It looks like the same one and it IS for the desktop. Only, does this app version have all the other languages that the $1.99 version offers? All I see on the product description is "English." Thanx for the info.
 

sandys101

macrumors newbie
Apr 19, 2012
10
0
Bangalore, India
It looks like the same one and it IS for the desktop. Only, does this app version have all the other languages that the $1.99 version offers? All I see on the product description is "English." Thanx for the info.

There is voice over app built in to OSX on all versions right from 10.4 through 10.7..
 

kathryne_B

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
155
19
CA
There is voice over app built in to OSX on all versions right from 10.4 through 10.7..

Are you talking about iSpeak it for Mac desktop? I don't know what you mean by, "There is voice over app built in to OSX on all versions right from 10.4 through 10.7.." What I'm looking for is a voice for Spanish, which OS 10.6.8 doesn't have. I'm on Leopard, not Lion.

___________________________________________

P.S. Yeah, I didn't think you'd be able to answer my question.

Everyone else thank you for your feedback.
 
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kathryne_B

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 9, 2005
155
19
CA
Are you talking about iSpeak it for Mac desktop? I don't know what you mean by, "There is voice over app built in to OSX on all versions right from 10.4 through 10.7.." What I'm looking for is a voice for Spanish, which OS 10.6.8 doesn't have. I'm on Leopard, not Lion.

___________________________________________

P.S. Yeah, I didn't think you'd be able to answer my question.

Everyone else thank you for your feedback.
________________________________

As a service to anyone who is wondering about this app, such as I was, and it's ability to read in other languages? The answer is an emphatic NO! It does NOT have any other languages besides English. In the 'Help' section of this app, however, it indicates that it will have other languages, once their voice download manager is complete. -Whatever that means and whenever they get around to finishing it. If you want the Speak it app to read in other languages, don't buy this app. Otherwise, you're wasting your money.
 
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