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Download SayO'Clock (for Windows 98, 2000, NT, XP)
Alternative
link
Download VB 6.0 Runtime
Electrojunky
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SayO'Clock is a talking Digital Clock which speaks
'on demand' or according to a schedule, using either pre-recorded 'Real
Speech' or Text To Speech (TTS). |
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Awarded '5 satellites' from Freeware World Team.
Rated '5' by Popular Shareware, TopQualityFreeware,
1-Shareware, Shareup, BrotherSoft, 5-Cup Software,
Bestsoftware4download, Bestfreewaredownload. 'Editors
Choice' by FreeTrialSoft. Awarded
'3 stars' by WebAttack. Rated '3 cows' by Tucows. 'Pick of the day' in
Infopackets Windows Newsletter (circulated to over 150,000
subscribers). |
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Installation:
If you do not already have the
VB 6.0 Runtime installed in your system, download the VB 6.0 Runtime, save
it to a temporary directory, double-click the icon and follow the
instructions. Then, download the
SayO'Clock application installation file, unzip it (using eg. FreeZip, WinZip), and
save the individual extracted files to a temporary directory. From this
directory, select and double-click the file named 'Setup' and follow the
instructions. To make use of SayO'Clock's TTS features, your system should
have the necessary TTS components installed.
SayO'Clock
PAD file: 'Portable Application Description' files are datasets which allow software authors to communicate specific and most often requested information
about their products to online communities in a concise and standard way. Click
here for SayO'Clock PAD file which can be opened in a standard browser. Click
here for SayO'Clock PAD file in XML format (data can be extracted and
parsed using standard XML toolkits).
SayO'Clock is being used by a more diverse user-base than I had originally
expected. As of January 20, 2004, I have included a Hotkey to speak the time.
This was upon the request of a visually impaired student who was interested in
SayO'Clock as a substitute for his malfunctioning speaking watch.
User comments: "Thankyou
SO much. Anyone with dawdling children (like me) will find this to be a sanity
saver!"
"Just a quick email to say
thanks for your indispensable SayO'Clock. I use it all the time, but especially
when I play full screen games."
Detailed Features List
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SayO'Clock informs you how many TTS (Text To
Speech) engines you have installed in your
system, and the name of the TTS Voice that shall be speaking. You can swiftly change from one
speech type to another
(TTS or 'Real Speech') as
well as the application's mode of operation ('Announce Time' or 'Alarm'
mode). |
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Whenever SayO'Clock speaks - whether it is using 'Real Speech' or TTS to
do so - a
green indicator light on the face plate lights up. This is a useful visual
alert. |
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In 'Announce mode', SayO'Clock
says the time at specific time intervals, between the times of day you
select. The interval is set by means of a slider on SayO'Clock's face
plate, which is adjustable between 0 and 60. For example, an interval of
'1' means that SayO'Clock will say the time every minute in the hour. An
interval of '20' means SayO'Clock will say the time on the hour, 20 past
the hour and 40 minutes past the hour. You can also press the 'Speak'
button or Ctrl+Alt+T at any time, and SayO'Clock will say the time at that moment. Other
choices available in 'Announce' mode are:
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-whether to say the time using
'Real Speech' or TTS. If you choose 'Real Speech', the time announcement
will be like:
'The time is now twelve
twenty five PM'.
The sentence will be
constructed using pre-recorded WAV file sound bytes.
If you choose TTS and don't
enter a Phrase, the time announcement's sentence structure will be as
above. If however you do type in a Phrase, the 'Time is now' part
of the announcement will be replaced by your Phrase. For example, if you
type in the Phrase:
'It's a great day, and I
have to say it is'
the complete time announcement
will be:
'It's a great day, and I
have to say it is twelve twenty five PM'.
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-whether or not SayO'Clock
should automatically announce the time when it starts up.
-whether or not scheduled time
announcements should be preceded with 'warning beeps'.
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SayO'Clock's 'Alarm mode' is
indicated by a little hourglass image in the Display. In this mode, as
soon as you choose a time interval and release the slider - the alarm is
armed from that moment to trip every time the interval elapses. For
example, if you choose '1' as the time interval, the alarm will trigger 1
minute after you release the slider, and again 1 minute after that and so
on - in a recurring fashion.
If you choose 'Real Speech' for your alarm
announcement, the alert sentence structure will be in the form:
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Time Interval, followed by Current Time,
followed by Time the alarm was set.
For example:
'One minute. The time is now one ten PM.
Timer start one oh five PM'.
Or, you can choose to just have the Time
Interval announced ie 'One minute'.
If you choose TTS for your alarm announcement,
the alert sentence structure will be in the form:
Time Interval, followed by Phrase (if entered),
followed by Current Time, followed by Time the alarm was set.
For example:
'One minute has elapsed. It's a great day,
and I have to say it is one ten PM. Timer start one oh five PM'.
Or, you can choose to just have the Time
Interval announced ie 'One minute has elapsed'.
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In 'Alarm mode' (just as in 'Announce mode'),
you can press the 'Speak' button or Ctrl+Alt+T at any time, and SayO'Clock will say the
time at that moment.
You can also choose whether or not the alarm
alerts should be preceded with 'warning beeps'.
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Text To Speech Installation
 SayO'Clock
does not require your system to have TTS capabilities, because it can speak the
time using pre-recorded 'Real Speech' Wav file snippets that are installed with
the application. If your system does not have the
necessary TTS components, the application will run, but with TTS features disabled. The TTS features will
become available to you once your system has the required TTS components. Please
follow these steps to install the required TTS components:
1. Goto 'Step 1' at
this page and download and run the 'Microsoft SAPI 4.0a runtime' (spchapi.exe).
2. Goto 'Step 2' and download and run the file 'msttsa22L.exe'. This installs
some TTS Voices.
3. Goto 'Step 3' and download and install the 'Microsoft Speech Control Panel'.
This adds a 'Speech' icon to your Windows Control Panel to enable you to verify
correct TTS installation - it lists the TTS engines (Voices) available on your system.
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