Early speech board maker?

From: Jeff Kaneko <jeff.kaneko_at_ifrsys.com>
Date: Thu Jun 25 11:59:24 1998

<Cool Stuff about the history of computer speech SNIPPED>
 
> A year or two earlier, Texas Instruments got into speech synthesis in a big
> way using a technique halfway between digitized speech and speech
> synthesis, a
> process that might now be called "smoothed sampling". It worked much better
> than true synthesis in that its intelligiblity was quite good. Because of
> that, TI was able to sell a variety of manufacturers on the idea of having
> talking washing machines, microwave ovens, vaccuum cleaners, etc. The most
> expensive of these talking machines was the Chrysler LeBaron automobile
> -- and
> people (the end-users, not the engineers) found all of this incredibly
> irritating. The single most requested option on the LeBaron, by far and
> away,
> was to have the speech generator deleted.
>
> Talking appliances were a technological fad that lasted only about three
> years, 1979-1982.

/NOSTALGIA = ON

Wow, this brings back a funny (well to me, anyway) memory. In 1983,
I used to service two way mobile radios for a Motorola Service
Center in Los Angeles. Typically, the customer would bring in his
car, explain the problem, and then wait in the lounge whil I worked
on it.

One day, this guy comes in with this big, shiny new luxury car (well,
maybe it was a Buick? Chrysler? anyway . .), with a broken two-way.
I'm sitting next to him in the front seat, and he's trying to explain
the trouble. The whole time, the car is saying <<The key is in the
IGNITION>>, <<The key is in the IGNITION>> . . . in a decidedly
mechanical pseudo-woman's voice.

The guy gets pissed, and angrily jerks the key out of the ignition
(shutting up the robot), and continues to tell me how he can't talk
to his dispatcher . . .

An hour goes by, and I replace a bad antenna and feed line, and clamp
down the BIG +12v lead, and so on. I start the engine, the radio
works ok, so I kill it, and head for the lounge where the customer is
waiting.

We step outside, I explain the work I did, and he signs the invoice.
As he turns towards the car, he asks me where are his keys. Using
the best mechanical voice I could muster I replied: <<The key is in
the IGNITION>>, <<The key is in the IGNITION>> . . .

/NOSTALGIA = OFF

Well, it was funny at the time.
You really had to have been there . . .

Jeff
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Received on Thu Jun 25 1998 - 11:59:24 BST