Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!burchil
From: burchil@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Andrew Burchill)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Macintalk
Message-ID: <1991May25.155523.4609@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
Date: 25 May 91 15:55:23 GMT
References: <1991May24.071611.4646@hawk.cs.ukans.edu> <13663@goofy.Apple.COM>
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Lines: 46

In <13663@goofy.Apple.COM> rmh@apple.com (Rick Holzgrafe) writes:

>In article <1991May24.071611.4646@hawk.cs.ukans.edu> 
>chai@hawk.cs.ukans.edu (Ian Chai) writes:
>> Donald Peterson's search for a Mac program that reads text out loud
>> reminded me that this facility came out with the mac way back in '84 
>> or so, in the form of Macintalk, but that in recent years, Macintalk
>> seems to have been abandoned by Apple.
>> 
>> In fact, most of the Macintalk-using programs I had died with 6.0.5
>> and I think the rest of them went with sys7...
>> 
>> Why??????? Apple coulda boasted that Mac was the only computer that
>> *came* with built-in speech synthesis... but no, they let it fall by
>> the wayside.

>MacinTalk was done by an outside firm, and Apple purchased the program so 
>the Mac could have an extra splashy intro in 1984: it could introduce 
>itself. We never purchased the source code. That's why we can't upgrade it 
>to work with new System software: we're as helpless as you are. (It was 
>patched the hard way once, to get rid of some self-modifying code that 
>failed on 68020's and 030's, but its current problems are much more 
>fundamental.)

>I can't comment on possible replacements since I don't know of any. (Not 
>my line of work - though it sounds like fun! :-)

>==========================================================================
>Rick Holzgrafe              |    {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!rmh
>Software Engineer           | AppleLink HOLZGRAFE1          rmh@apple.com
>Apple Computer, Inc.        |  "All opinions expressed are mine, and do
>20525 Mariani Ave. MS: 3-PK |    not necessarily represent those of my

I would also really (and I mean really) like to see a replacement for
MacIntalk.  I currently work in an area for diabled people, many are
blind and use a program called OutSpoken (based on Macintalk).  Why
should these people be left out of Sys. 7?  I am not a programmer
but I think something could be done with Ballon help hooks.
Any Ideas?  Send them to me, and Apple.

Charles
Burchil@ccu.umanitoba.ca
(Talking to Berkely systems Outspoken continues to work if you don't use an
sounds other then sys. beep, I have not had a chance to try on sys 7.  It works
OK on 6.0.7, albeit a little flaky).
>Cupertino, CA 95014         |        employer, Apple Computer Inc."