Terminal Tips: Say

there is a way to do this without using a text file. there is a way to get terminal to spit out the .aiff file using your own text in quotes. the instructions to do this are available in the "Mac os x web development" book by friends of ed. however I left that book at home. does anyone out there know what I am talking about and remember the terminal commands to make this happen?

-1 error, speaking failed. It will say strings, but not files.

The quality of the TTS voices is significantly improved in Tiger. They were already pretty good in Panther, but Apple put more work into them since then. I've heard some demos: the Vicki voice in particular, but all the other voises too, are smoother, more natural, more intelligible. Still sounds like a computer, but good progress.

I can't seem to get it to work out for me. The Terminal keeps telling me "Speaking failed: -1". What am I doing wrong?

steve, http://www.macosxhints.com

justin, I haven't seen an official place of tips, but getting a good RSS aggregator like NewsMac to keep on top of about 4-5 great sites (like Tuaw) and using Stickies (a post-it note like app that comes with OS X), I'm able to keep tips like this organized for easy reference. And with the spotlight search capabilities coming in 10.4 this Friday, it will be even EASIER to find these useful hints on your system after you've noted them in Stickies, in a PDF file, or elsewhere. Good luck - I just switch after 16 years on the PC platform and love it!

CK - you continue to prove your worth on the TUAW team - great gem - thanks for digging it up! Now off to convert a TON of stuff I need to read :)

as a possible swithcer, is that sort of info readily available or would a mac user have to keep track of those types of tricks

That is a great tip, thanks CK. I'm off to www.gutenberg.org to make my own (free) audio books. Wow

we would use the say command while up at school to fool people into thinking that Macs can have conversations with people. My buddy would log into my Powerbook with Remote Login, then control my Terminal. Our friends would talk to the computer (which we named Bruce, thanks to the voice name) and he would reply from the other room. I can't tell you how many people wanted to get Macs after that. We would tell them that you could set it so you are talking to a sympathetic person, or a sarcastic person, whatever you want. It was great fun.