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Amazon Caves On Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech
On Wednesday we discussed news that the Authors Guild had objected to the text-to-speech function on Amazon's Kindle 2, claiming that it infringed on audio book copyright. Today, Amazon said that while the feature is legally sound, they would be willing to disable text-to-speech on a title-by-title basis at the rightsholder's request. "We have already begun to work on the technical changes required to give authors and publishers that choice. With this new level of control, publishers and authors will be able to decide for themselves whether it is in their commercial interests to leave text-to-speech enabled. We believe many will decide that it is."
Some people just like to hear themselves talk. I prefer fornication. It is pleasant.
So what do I know?
Not enough to spell "losing" correctly, apparently.
Even if the encryption algorithm and hardware were "unhackable", how hard could it be to set up a robot finger to press "Next Page" + a digital camera to photograph each page + OCR if desired????
Have a Kindle title which you want TTS (and it was forbidden)? Just convert it to regular text, as above, and poof, TTS.
Unless Amazon is going to start checking the files you TTS/read on your Kindle for copyright violations, I suppose.
I need more coffee, I spelled Stephen Hawking wrong..... Dont worry, I have already taken the appropriate amount of points off my geek card.
Publishers won't be makin' a penny offa me for this "added value" anyway... I have to subvocalize when I read, so I wouldn't want to hear anyone but the voices already inside my head. Ooops, gotta go, one of them wants something....
>>>many people want Stephen King to sound like Steven Hawking ?
I've never heard King read any of his books, but I have heard Toni Morrison. In that case, the robotic voice would be an improvement. Toni reads her books as if she's taking downers. That's a flaw lots of authors have; they may be great writers but their speech leaves a lot to be desired. Give me Hawking instead.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Wait till Amazon offers the Kindle Android Fembot. And then the lawyers put restrictions on it.
Then maybe people like you will come to understand why these issues matter. Or, maybe I should rephrase that...
I hear ya! Those iPods. I really wish they could play something other then iTunes DRM files. Every other MP3 player plays, well, MP3s, and we all know you can't put DRM on those! Or even if I could take a cd I own and put it into the iPod format so I could listen to it on the iPod and not have to buy it again from them. Mean ol' Steve making me buy the White album again. If only I'd have known that I'd have to buy everything I wanted to listen to from iTunes.
Maybe someday someone will figure out how to get other files onto a Kindle so you don't have to buy everything from Amazon...
Actually perhaps the best computerised voice would be anthony hopkins doing his hannibal lector voice. or maybe nelson mandela.
Janet Street-Porter