My computer just started talking to me, out of the blue. It says weird things which I can’t understand (it speaks English, but has a bad accent). Or it will just say the name of a key when typed.
Eventually I noticed this is a feature of XP for people with bad eyes. But I can’t see how it would help anyone. (It also causes crashes.)
Does anyone here use this feature?
…
OK, I have XP on my home computer, and it has never talked to me. Yet.
Are you quite certain your system’s not demon-possessed? grabs bottle of holy water and cross, looks askance
computer screams “Your mother writes codes in HELL!”
“Let Linux FCK you! Let Linux FCK you!”
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!
The handicap accessability text reader is terrible. The magnifier program is great and is handy. I use Deskbot with MS Agents to listen to text most of the time. You can get a couple good voices. I use my video card driver magnifier because it uses less resources.
I’ve mananged to hit the secret key combination to turn on that voice. It is very startling indeed, to hear a phantom voice reading off…
My documents
My computer
My network places
<wha?>
Microsoft outlook
Windows explorer
Recycle bin
<Make it stop!!>
Internet Explorer
I’ve turned on my text reader. It uses a nice voice named ‘Vicki’. To hear the text read, I highlight the text and hit shift+space.
Why not?
Because ‘Vicki’ sounds like a tart? 
YOU DON’T SAY THAT ABOUT VICKI!
Erm…
Actually, it’s just the voice I like best. I wonder if I can download others?
(As a result of this post, I’ve changed the reader keys to shift+escape.)
I’ve met Vicki. She is indeed a bit loose. But give her a break–she’s stuck inside a computer.
I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM!
So… that’s what happened to Vicki…
http://www.dyxploitation.nu/issue5/iss5images/SW_promo.jpg
Then throw a Malatov Cocktail. I’m sure Ellison would agree.
I just want it to say “Hello,” and “How are you?” and things like that.
But I really do sympathize (but maybe I should just shut my mouth).
I used to work on an iMac in a psychology lab. It talked to me. Sang, actually. If I’d bring up the “Properties” of any file, it would sing the name of the file in a weird muffled robotic voice. To the tune of “In the Hall of the Mountain King.”
Never figured that one out.
I think that one’s called Pipe Organ. I use Fred myself, and just for alerts and apps that need attention. It can be kinda weird when I start burning a dvd when I go to bed, then later when I’m asleep, it says “Excuse me, Toast Titanium 6.app needs your attention” when it’s done. The first time it did that, I started to grab my gun, then realized that Stephen Hawking is probably the person least likely to break into my apartment late at night and tell me my disc is done. :smack: