Making phone calls from computer

[Reiddm]

Hello, I have lost my voice and the Dr. tells me this might be permanent? Is there a application that I could use with my Mac to make the phone call and type what I need to say and listen to them through my main speakers, or even a headset, I just need to be able to communicate without my voice!

[Highmac]

Hi Reid - One possibility could be the cross-platform Skype, which includes instant messaging - it may let you combine typing from your end and voice from the other, but that is speculation on my part. Also, it would be dependent on your contact using Skype on their computer. Might be worth checking out the Skype site. The basic Skype program is free but there are (naturally!) lots of pay-for add-ons.

QUOTE

Do amazing things for free -
    * Voice and video calls to anyone else on Skype
    * Conference calls with three or more people
    * Instant messaging, file transfer and screen sharing

Now while Reid almost certainly already knows this bit, a lot of people don't - text to speech is straightforward: Open Simpletext and type something in. Then go to Edit/Speech (near the bottom of the list)/ and click "Start speaking". If you have highlighted a bit of the text, it will read that. If not it will read the whole document. Connecting the output to the outside world is another matter and I'm sure our more tech-minded friends will come up with ways of doing that bit.

[krissel]

Sorry to hear about your difficulty. Hope is really isn't permanent.  :-(

Aside from the text and IM method of communication you may want to look into the IP relay type of connection. Probably best to contact your phone provider for details as to what they offer.

QUOTE

Many IP Relay services now support many methods of communications, such as web browser, mobile phone client, text messaging, WAP, and instant messaging methods to communicate through the relay service. This has made it possible to use almost any generic connected device to use a relay service, such as a personal computer, laptop, mobile phone, PDA, or other device capable of utilizing the connection methods provided by an IP Relay provider.

Here's some reading on the TTY and related methods for those who are impaired in hearing or speech.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunica...s_Relay_Service

http://www.adcohearing.com/tty_what_tty.html

http://www.dwt.com/LearningCenter/Advisories?find=27241

[Xairbusdriver]

Not the kind of news anyone wants to hear! I certainly hope and pray that it will be only temporary!

Aside from what has been posted above, in my own case, being such a slow typist, I would make even more use of a macro program like <Typinator> or <TextExpander>. You could use them to 'spit out' common phrases by typing only a few specific letters. You'd still need to use the built-in Text to Speech functions but that may also be possible with these type apps. Or you may need to use AppleScript or Automator to do both tasks.

BTW, both companies have bundles (several very useful apps) that could save some money and if you mentioned your health condition, they just might cut you another discount! It's often possible with smaller developers to do this and the worst that can happen is they could say "No!"

Just "Hang in there" and "Be quiet!"

[Reiddm]

Thank you for the information, it still seems I will not be able to answer a phone call when my wife is not home, I have used TextEdit for this but it is very clumsy, I've typed quite a few normal things and highlight it and tell the program to speak, one problem is it does not stop with just the highlighted item, but I can get it to stop, but again it is very clumsy! Yes the phone company has a service, an operator of a sort comes on and talks for me but most people don't trust these calls although I have e-mailed or had my wife tell them that I can no longer speak, then it makes it kind a good, but VERY slow, I'm now trying to find something like TextEdit that will fit the bill, again thank you for the information!

[kimmer]

Oh, I'm really sorry to read about your voice loss. I also hope it's not permanent. This weekend I will attempt to contact a pal who is quite knowledgeable about this type of software and see what he says.

[Reiddm]

QUOTE(kimmer @ Sep 17 2010, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I'm really sorry to read about your voice loss. I also hope it's not permanent. This weekend I will attempt to contact a pal who is quite knowledgeable about this type of software and see what he says.

Thank you, like I said I don't really worry to much, my wife is normally home, but she is a red hatter and was gone Wednesday and of the phone rang, I did not answer but it was for me to see a Doctor, I have so many questions and no answers, this year has been a challenge and a half!

[Xairbusdriver]

WARNING! Be careful if you start "playing" with Voice Over! I forgot how to turn it off and nearly went crazy(er) just trying to get back to the System Prefs! It's not really what you need, anyway.

Still, I would think some kind of version of a 'chat' app wold work; you type in your sentence, click a button or press return and it speaks the line and waits for another entry. Would something along that line work? Still would be able to use a macro app to insert common phrases...sayings...snide remarks...etc.

[Reiddm]

QUOTE(kimmer @ Sep 17 2010, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I'm really sorry to read about your voice loss. I also hope it's not permanent. This weekend I will attempt to contact a pal who is quite knowledgeable about this type of software and see what he says.

kimmer, did you find out if there was any software or hardware on this subject?? Thank you many times over!!

[Xairbusdriver]

I had another thought (that makes 18 this year, already!) that you might want to consider. The included voices are rather crude but there are much better ones available, but at a cost, of course. But it should be worth the money if it helps make you sound more human! <Cepstral Voices for Mac> It might even be interesting to use one of the UK voices!

Here are a couple of links to NaturalSoft apps, one free the other ~$70.

<Free version>
<Paid version that includes two Acapela® voices>
<Acapela® voice samples>

Here is another possibility. This one allows changing not only the speed but the pitch of the audio. <Able Reader, comes with two voices>

[Highmac]

Hi Reid - I PM'd you on Sept 17 with some info, but it doesn't look like you've picked it up yet