COMPUTERS . . .~ . Page 5 The Michigan Daily TuesdayMarch 12, 1985 Page 5 Let your Mac talk back! By DONALD SCHMID For most persons, the Macintosh per- sonal computer from Apple com- municates best through its graphics or extraordinary array of font, styles, and type sizes for word processing. But now the Mac can actually talk. First Byte has produced an amazing piece of sof- tware called SmoothTalker which tran- slates written words into "live speech." The Macintosh is equipped with an in- ternal speaker. The speaker produces a beep when you turn the Mac on, try to do something wrong, or when the Mac tries to get your attention, e.g. when the Mac's alarm clock goes off. The speaker also plays music programmed on Microsoft's BASIC (version 2.0). Now, SmoothTalker is able to take written words, either those converted from a MacWrite word processing document or those typed into a SmoothTalker file, and converts them into verbal expression. AS EXPLAINED IN the literature provided by its creator, First Byte Cor- portation, SmoothTalker converts standard English text into 41 "phonemes." Phonemes are the most basic units of English speech (e.g. long "a" sound, "th" sound, etc). Once the English text has been translated into phonetic codes, SmoothTalker converts these codes into electronic impulses. These impulses produce the sound of English words through the Mac's inter- nalspeaker. Software gives Just allowing the user to convert user can do on written English into speech would be a the way Smo remarkable accomplishment, but selected word SmoothTalker is even more The user ca sophisticated than that. The program English spelli allows the user to adust volume, pitch, how to get the and speed of the speech as well as bass right. For exa and treble settings for an entire pronounce th document or, if the user prefers, just were "sky - in one word. SmoothTalker automatically the following changes its inflection depending on the dictiona whether a sentence ends with an ex- produce thev clamation point, a question mark or a pronounced. period. OR SMOO SmoothTalker even pauses for the user to use1 commas that the user has inserted in through whic the written text. The backup disk that a to verbal exp purchaser receives from First Byte has a specific file both female and male voices. to do this an MOST HELPFUL, however, is the 41 phonet SmoothTalker's "dictionary." If the much simpl user doesn't like the way SmoothTalker codes contain is pronouncing a specific word, 'the tionaries. A i User's last name for instance, the user phonetic cods can tell SmoothTalker exactly how to prior phoneti pronounce the word. The Smoot When the user pulls down the dic- the Mac's s tionary menu at the tiop of the Mac's; perfect. At ti screen with the mouse, a dialog box ap- like it has pears on the screen. The user types in somewhere the correct spelling of the word as it and Eastern would appear in a document. Then, the Still, Smoot computer a voice ne of two things to change othTalker pronounces the i. n type in a little different ng to show SmoothTalker word's pronunciation just ample, SmoothTalker will e word "skiing" as if it g" on its own. by typing in spelling, "skee - ing," in ry, SmoothTalker will word the way it should be THTALKER allows the the same phonetic codes h it translates English text ression. SmoothTalker has which shows the user how d which contains a list of tic codes. These codes are er than the pronunciation ned in the front of most dic- user could begin using the es in a few minutes without c experience. thTalker's speech through peaker is admittedly not mes, SmoothTalker sounds s a foreign accent - between Czechoslovakian Lituanian. thTalker does a commen- dable job. For the most part, one can understand what SmoothTalker is "reading aloud" without having to follow along with written text. When I first heard about this software, my first thought was the incredible aid that SmoothTalker would be for blind per- sons. I worked for a blind attorney who had to hire a "reader" at great expense to him and the law firm in which he was a partner. HOW EASY IT would be to use an op- tical scanner to read written text into the Macintosh's memory and then use SmoothTalker to read it aloud for the blind attorney. SmoothTalker is a step away from that kind of profesional use even if a low-cost optical scanner were available. For now, SmoothTalker is a lot of fun. And easy to use. SmoothTalker comes with a very little documentation on how to use it. Normally, that's very an- noying. Here, however, a long user's manual is unnecessary. Excluding games, SmoothTalker is the easiest piece of software that I have used. X% ' ., . 1 .". : I~~~~~~~~~~~ v ~.:::.::: ..**.. ..-.*. I Ir., 17 r.G' '5 Donald Schmid is a third-year law student at the University Law School. Local merchant looks for Commodore market By PATRICK HAGGOOD Generally, the rule of thumb for a low-end machine like the Commodore 64 is that along with the incredibly low price you pay, you get incredibly low service. You either found yourself a very knowledgable pal or found yourself all alone in the world of computing, with Apple and IBM owners snickering at yoL he way down to their machine specific computer stores. There weren't any places to get even the most basic questions answered, like "What is the best wordprocessor for the C-64?" or What do most users say about this certain database?" One new Commodore computer owner, Robin Warner, who like many others couldn't find these answers, decided to create a place where people could get this kind of information locally. Hence, Chelsea Software was born. Chelsea Software is an exclusively Commodore computer center. Last Friday and Saturday saw its grand opening in the office where Armstrong software operates during the week. Warner, who operates the store with a little help from friend James Randall and his son, talked about what are his goals for the store. "Basically, I went searching around for some support for my Commodore and found that even Commodore itself had a reputation for not offering an- swers and'advice to its customers. And the discount stores that sold the com- puters in bulk (Kmart: Toys 'R' Us, etc) don't employ the type of people who can answer even the simplest questions about the machines," Warner said. "There are a lot of questions about software and hardware that people need answered." "What I want to offer here is a place where Commodore people can get the information they need and get those important questions answered. Oh, and I would also like to sell some software." Currently in stock are six different word processing packages, three telecommunications packages, four databases, three graphics development packages, and a myriad of other enter- tainment and utility software packages for the commodore. "And," Warner pointed out, "we use many of the packages you see on the shelves to run the store. We made signs with the 'Print Shoppe' program, keep records with 'Superbase' and have flyers and newsletters written and produced on a C-64 word processor, all which are available right off the shelf." If he doesn't stock something you need, Warner will order them from his supply house for a competitive price. "I can't match the discount stores prices," he said, "~but then again, they can't come close to the service that I offer here." Chelsea's hardware inventory is also competitively priced. One striking example was the C-64 computer, priced only eight dollars less than a popular discount house's price. Chelsea price also includes invaluable technical help after the purchase, though. OnT item, those hard-to-find Indus drives that many Commodore owners now swear by, are available for im- mediate pick-up at the store. Printers and monitors from many different manuf-acturers are available and displayed in the store, and Warner said, "Anything I don't have, I can get for you." So what are the customers saying about Chelsea? Although Chelsea had it's "Grand Opening" last Saturday, it had been operating on a more limited basis prior to that opening. Therefore, many regular customers of Chelsea's were on hand to help celebrate. The customers of Chelsea seem to believe in making the store an integral part of their computing needs. One customer named Reggie, who had recently purchased a 3-D animation and design package brought it in to give a demonstration of the package's features. Warner advocates demonstration of software products, by encouraging such user demos and by offering demostration packages for customers to use who "seem to have a serious in- terest in the software." Warner has plans for his store's future. "Once people really get to know that we're out here, we will be able to offer more services, most importantly longer store hours. I am also looking forward to offering computer classes for people interested in anything from beginning programming to advanced database use ot telecommunications," he said. Typesetting & Word Processing Resumes Newsie;,ers Books MICROCOMPUTER DISKS ACCEPTED II I TeleTypesetting Co. Conventional &,Telecomnunicaions1ypesetti. 210 Nickels Arcade, Mon -Frl. &8. Sat 12 3 - 78 Daily Photo by DAN HABIB Robin Warner, one of the owners of Chelsea Software, shows off one of the Commodore computers he sells. Gorbachev has new ideas for'Soviet post From AP and UPI MOSCOW - Mikhail Gorbachev, the youngest member of the ruling Polit- buro and a representative of the new generation. of Soviet leaders, was named today to succeed Konstantin Chernenko as head of the Communist Party. Gorbachev, 54, was elevated to take over as general secretary of the Com- munist Party. GORBACHEV'S official biography shows he was born March 2, 1931, in the Village of Privolnoye in the Stavropol territory, which was former Soviet leader Yuri Andrapov's power base. He graduated from Moscow State University law faculty and began working his way through party ranks in Stavropol, becoming first secretary of the territorial party in 1970 and a mem- ber of the national Central Committee a Kyear later. In 1978, he became a party secretary, in 1979 an alternate Politburo member, and in 1980 a full member of the ruling body - a relatively rapid rise. SOVIET OFFICIALS said Gorbachev was No. 2 in the Kremlin and, in private 1 conversations with Western reporters, r the officials pinned hopes for change on Gorbachev and the new ideas he is said to favor. In public speeches, Gorbachev has made standard Kremlin attacks on the West but also emphasized detente in a bachev called him "absolutely char- ming." Prime Minister Margaret That- cher, once labeled the "Iron Lady" by the Soviets, said of the visitor: "I like Mr. Gorbachev. We can do business together." But she also noted that while Gor- bachev may be associated with a movement to reform the Soviet economic system, he is no liberal eager to change Soviet society. Another aspect of Gorbachev's trip to Britain was the emergence of his wife, Raisa Maximovna. Previously not known in the West, the trim brunette, a trained philosopher, won over Britons with smiles and fashionable clothes rarely worn by older Kremlin wives. THE GORBACHEVS have at least one daughter and one granddaughter, but nothing else is known about the family. Limousines zoomed by the Kremlin yesterday as -,the Central Committee of the Communist Party chose its new chairman: Gorbachev, who was named to head the funeral committee, a sign to Soviets he would be their new ruler. Many people at Red Square seemed relieved, perhaps at the thought that there probably will be no more state funerals for a while. M " Mkipenngs Tuesday Lecture: Text Formetting with TeX, Part I, 9:30-11 a.m., 3046 East Engin. Chalk Talk: Examples of Tell-A-Graf Bar Charts, 12:10-1 p.m., 1011 NUBS. Laboratory: The Macintosh PC as an MTS Terminal, 1:30-3 p.m., UNYN Terminal Room. Wednesday Lecture: Introduction to Textform, Part II, 3:30-5 p.m., 165 Bus. Admin. Lecture: How to Buy a Microcomputer, 4-5:30 p.m. (Registration required - 764-5356), 3113 School of Education. Thursday Lecture: Text Formatting with TeX, Part II, 9:30-11 a.m., 3046 East Engin. Chalk Talk: Examples of Tell-A-Graf Pie Charts, 12:10-1 p.m., 1011 NUBS. Workshop: Textform - Special Problems, 3:30-5 p.m., 171 Bus. Admin. RESEARCH s end $2 for catal o No one face cancer alone. -~ of over 16,000 topics to assist your research ef- C 11 uS. forts. For info., call toll- free 14e00621-5745 (In3 ll AMERIICN CNE SOCIETY' linois call 312-922 ). Authors' Research, Rm 800"N, 407 S. Dearborn, Chicago. IL 60605 WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN YOUR STUDENT UNION? The Michigan Union Board of Representatives, comprised of stu- dents, staff, faculty, and alumni, provides policy and user advice in the operation and planning of The Michigan Union. r's' I Ann Arbor's 1 PAuthorized Dealer Apple Computer Dealer is offering you special savings on 1 I 1 all Macintoshsoftware in stock. 10% off when you buy 2 or more! i 1 (with this ad) . I ~ featuring .I I MICROSOFT. Basic s 1Mulitlan and Chart 1 S n c2K 1 sGargon 11(computer chess)