datajake1999

@datajake1999@dragonscave.space

I am totally blind, and I am interested in archiving rare software such as old screen readers and speech synthesizers. I am also an audio and mythology nerd.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

datajake1999, to random

I just installed Native Instruments Bandstand on my computer, and I now understand why it got discontinued 4 years after it's release. To put a long story short, the intentions were good, however the product itself not so much.

datajake1999,

@cordova5029 I actually ended up using Windows built-in OCR.

datajake1999, to random

My Dell Dimension 9100 is in working order, (the system wasn't a Dimension 2400 as I initially thought). I am currently running Windows XP Pro SP2 off a 16 GB SD card, and the experience isn't half bad. The processor of the computer is a dual core Pentium 4, and the system has 1 GB of RAM. I ended up tracking down Windows XP drivers for the onboard Sigmatel audio, and I am happy to report that the system is running smoothly.

datajake1999, to random

Windows 11 AI The Good, The Bad, and The DANGEROUS!!!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIz4PaT3g88

datajake1999, to random

the existence of a watch dog implies the existence of a watch cat.

FluidEscence, to random

Wellp, perfect timing, Keychron, thanks for releasing keyboards on the day I decided I needed a new keyboard. Pretty fucking cheap too. Grabbed their new numpad one, the B6 Pro Ultra-Slim Wireless Keyboard. Am excited. It has everything I want in a keyboard, USBC, 2.4 ghz wireless and bluetooth. Boom! Job done.

datajake1999,

@KaraLG84 @FluidEscence I have one of those in my dedicated keyboard drawer, which is overflowing with keyboards.

datajake1999,

@KaraLG84 @FluidEscence The Unicomp version.

datajake1999,

@KaraLG84 @FluidEscence It is a decent board in my opinion. The only thing that took me a while to get used to was the locations of the Alt and Windows keys were switched around.

datajake1999,

@KaraLG84 @jscholes @FluidEscence No, i didn't.

BTyson, to random

I hope everyone has a great day today! :)

datajake1999,

@BTyson But, it's !
@BorrisInABox

FluidEscence, to random

Some of you may remember that my keyboard has a control key that likes to randomly get stuck in weird positions? Well, it's now taken to randomly completely popping off. I swear, I'm going to lose the damn thing one of these days now.

datajake1999,

@FluidEscence I once had a control key that wasn't registering, and taking the key off and putting it back on fixed the problem.

glyph, to random
@glyph@mastodon.social avatar

It suddenly occurs to me that tremendous amounts of programmer culture are just various, mostly-failed attempts at managing the work associated with keeping pace with a changing world. Specifically: SemVer, LTSes, “commercial support” funding models for OSS, Win32’s “Old New Thing”-style compatibility, SaaS interface versioning, and, arguably, the popularity of the x86/amd64 architectures themselves are all aspects of a fantasy world where you build something once and have it work forever.

datajake1999,

@matt @glyph DECtalk is abandoned at least in the official sense.

datajake1999,

@matt @glyph The version of DECtalk in System Access (4.51) is from late 1998, and Window Eyes used a newer version that is based on 4.60 R008, which was initially completed in December of 1999. In 2003, a fix was applied to the audio driver code for GW Micro.

datajake1999,

@matt Got it. How did the version of 4.60 you get access to suck? There is a later version of 4.60 (R011) that sounds different than the one included with Window Eyes, and I am curious if that is what you ended up getting. I am attaching an audio file of the 2 versions for comparison.

datajake1999,

@matt There were. To be honest, version numbers don't have a lot of meaning where DECtalk is concerned, especially in the later years.

datajake1999,

@matt Not that it really matters, I would be more than happy to produce a static library of 4.60 with a custom registry key for the dictionary location, such as HKLM\SOFTWARE\Pneuma Solutions\DECtalk-OEM\4.60. This is what the build that ships with Window Eyes does, as it stores the dictionary location in HKLM\SOFTWARE\GW Micro, Inc.\DECtalk-OEM\4.60.

datajake1999,

@bryansmart @matt The reason for the faint electronic beeps at the end of phrases is because of rounding errors in the fixed point version of the vocal tract model. Later versions of DECtalk simply apply a gate to the output to minimize the audibility of these artifacts, as it is mathematically impossible to get rid of them.

datajake1999,

@bryansmart @matt I have created builds that use the floating point model, which can be found in the speak Windows archive. This archive can be found at https://datajake.braillescreen.net/tts/dectalk%20software%20and%20manual/DECtalk%20Speak%20windows.7z.

datajake1999,

@pixelate @bryansmart @matt The latest build I published is fixed point, however the code can easily be compiled as floating point.

N2DYI, to random

In late 2020, I tried a silly experiment in which I ran some raw PCM audio to an AMBE vocoder, dropping the sampling rate, then compensating by changing the sampling rate to match on the other side, so the frequency response changed, but the pitch stayed the same.
When I recorded these samples, I had no idea what the end result would be. While you can still understand me at the highest sampling rate, it's quite broken.

datajake1999,

@N2DYI That broke really quickly.

MutedTrampet, to random

Found a 35 minute lecture by Bathsheba Malsheen from Centigram Communications, the makers of the old TruVoice synthesizer, on several topics related to TTS, and an email parser Centigram was working on that was suppose to be able to handle the various typos and punctuation choices in emails and try to naturally read them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPKvhiBnTY0

datajake1999,

@MutedTrampet Some of the demos in this presentation are included in the TruVoice speak window that I archived a while back. https://datajake.braillescreen.net/tts/old_software_synths/TruVoice_speak_window.exe

siervodejusticia, to random Spanish

Tonight, thanks to @datajake1999 I was able to delve deeper into the very first main menu shows. Thishas een my dream for a long time, since I've been listening to these shows since then. Thanks a lot for giving me access to all that memorabilia

datajake1999,

@siervodejusticia No problem.

datajake1999, to random

For some reason, I find the idea of installing Windows Server 2003 on a consumer computer really amusing.

datajake1999,

@seedy If I get the 2003 PC up and running, I plan on doing an unattended install of Server 2003 at some point.

BTyson, to random

I was looking at the text-only forecast for my area through the National Weather Service, and there was an image at the top, and VoiceOver said, "Domino, piano." Now I'm just picturing the people in charge of that weather report just playing dominos and a nice grand piano during their break time.

datajake1999,

@BTyson Plot twist, the employees ordered Dominoes pizza during their break, and someone is playing the Spiderman Pizza Theme on a piano.

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