Clemmons, NC (PRWEB) May 18, 2011
NextUp.com's latest case study shines the spotlight on TextAloud user Jason Petty, who found the software in 2009 while trying to meet several specific goals: He wanted to find a solution to help him convert his PDF files to audio to help maximize his time during commutes for work, and also hoped to find a helpful reading tool to assist his son in overcoming ADHD. Then the Payson, Utah senior software engineer discovered TextAloud, from NextUp.com, which did everything he needed -- and even assisted him in getting his MBA!
Petty tests software for a living, as well as writing programs that automate the testing of software itself, so his standards for the program he needed were high. "I was a quarter of the way through my MBA program when I did a search for Windows (R) software that could convert PDF files to audio, and found TextAloud," he comments. The program proved to be simple and affordable while offering potential help for his son's ADHD as well. TextAloud even worked seamlessly with his iPod (R), and the software's ability to convert PDFs to audio files quickly became essential for Petty. The engineer began listening to his books and studies on his 20-minute commutes, on his iPod (R) Classic, as well as on his PC laptop running Windows (R) Vista. "TextAloud allowed me to use that 40 to 60 minutes a day that was not being utilized for anything but driving to work and home," he comments. "This gave me more time at home with my family at night, since I was getting my reading done on my commutes and lunch breaks, instead."
TextAloud also soon proved its worth to Petty in its assistance to his son with ADHD, as it enabled the boy to follow along with text he was listening to on a visual basis, reinforcing what he read. "He concentrates better, and I like how the text is highlighted onscreen in TextAloud as it is read," adds Petty, "as this makes it easier to follow along visually."
As a software industry professional, it's no surprise that Petty discovered a few clever ways to make TextAloud even more productive for his studies. One smart approach he implemented was, when exporting his PDFs for study, to do a search and replace for each and every book title and page number that appeared as a header to each page, including them in the spoken text for his final audio file. This enabled him to always know exactly where the information came from in his reading while listening, for reference or a visual refresher later on. He also found that he could still listen comfortably to reading that was slightly faster than the typical spoken word. "I could get more read by doing that than I could if I read it myself," he comments. "And the AT&T Natural Voices (TM) are a must."
TextAloud eventually played a key role in helping Petty through his MBA and attaining his degree. "Without TextAloud, I would have finished my degree, but not with the efficiency and resulting extra time that gave me to spend with my family," he adds. "I'd started out looking for this to help my son read along with his school work, and ended up using it more than he did, with my school assignments! I would not hesitate to recommend this software to anyone who wants to use their time more efficiently when commuting, or when they have some reading to do."
About TextAloud:
With a completely new interface and more personalization options than ever, TextAloud is the highly useful PC program for students, scientists, writers, business people, and PC users from all walks of life. TextAloud enables anyone to experience their reading by listening, and has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN, and more.
TextAloud is priced from $ 29.95, and system requirements include almost any version of Windows (R) (from 98 to Me, NT, 2000, XP or Vista), as well as a minimum of 64 MB of RAM, 10 MB of disk space, and a sound card. TextAloud can even be listened to on TV, using TiVo's (R) Home Media Option, and it works seamlessly with iTunes (R), for easy synchronizing with iPod (R), iPhone (R), or other iTunes (R)-compatible portable audio players. Best of all, unlike prohibitively priced gadgets or eReaders, TextAloud does not require special hardware of any kind. Become a fan at http://www.Facebook.com/TextAloud, or try the program today, via a safe and secure preview and purchase at http://www.NextUp.com.
Optional Premium Voices:
NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional Premium Voices from Nuance RealSpeak (TM), AT&T Natural Voices (TM), Acapela (R) and Cepstral (R) for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include U.S. English, U.K. English, Indian-Accent English, Scottish-Accent English, Arabic, Basque, Catalan, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Faroese, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Greek, Hindi, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Castilian (European) Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Swedish, Taiwanese, and Turkish.
About NextUp.com:
NextUp.com, a division of NextUp Technologies, LLC, provides award-winning Text to Speech software for consumers, professionals, businesses, educators, and those with visual or vocal impairment, or learning disabilities.
In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows (R) software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that enables people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate aloud with others.
Evaluation copies of TextAloud are available for the media upon request. For more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, or for a rich assortment of case studies involving users ranging from firefighters and lawyers, to writers, editors, teachers, actors, students, entrepreneurs, doctors, truck drivers, musicians, and more, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at (904) 982-8043.
All companies and products referenced in this press release are the trademarks of their respective owners.
# # #
