# Text to Speech now 'Optional'?



## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

From Amazon
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Statement from Amazon.com Regarding Kindle 2's Experimental Text-to-Speech Feature
SEATTLE, Feb 27, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kindle 2's experimental text-to-speech feature is legal: no copy is made, no derivative work is created, and no performance is being given. Furthermore, we ourselves are a major participant in the professionally narrated audiobooks business through our subsidiaries Audible and Brilliance. We believe text-to-speech will introduce new customers to the convenience of listening to books and thereby grow the professionally narrated audiobooks business.
Nevertheless, we strongly believe many rightsholders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver's seat.

Therefore, we are modifying our systems so that rightsholders can decide on a title by title basis whether they want text-to-speech enabled or disabled for any particular title. 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.

Customers tell us that with Kindle, they read more, and buy more books. We are passionate about bringing the benefits of modern technology to long-form reading.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

What? Not liking this one bit. 

If the publisher can decide not to let K2 users have text to speech, than we should be informed before buying a book if it is available or not.


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## John Steinbeck (Feb 15, 2009)

Interesting turn of events


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## jeremy81 (Feb 27, 2009)

While I do love this feature I purchased knowing this would probably happen. I can definitely understand the authors viewpoint.  Audiobooks are a big business. I would personally rather keep cheaper prices than have authors/publishers raise the price to compensate for the text-to-speech feature.


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## Sweety18 (Feb 14, 2009)

Atunah said:


> What? Not liking this one bit.
> 
> If the publisher can decide not to let K2 users have text to speech, than we should be informed before buying a book if it is available or not.


I think it would be a good idea to state it next to the book, whether the text to speech function is available with the particular book.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

But really, text to speech is nothing like a audio book. It isn't going to take the place off. Its meant for in between, in car, treadmill etc. 
If they implement that, they should be required, and Amazon or course to clearly mark the lack of text to speech for that particular book. That way one can make a choice to not bother with it, or get it anyway. But They need to be open about it.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

This sort of upsets me.  I wish they would have made this decision prior to shipping.  I am not sure that I would have changed my mind, but it seems so icky to change this so shortly after sending these out.  

I leaned toward buying K2 because of text to speech.


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## John Steinbeck (Feb 15, 2009)

I think this is going to be just like it is now with DTB vs. Kindlebooks on Amazon...we can click a button that we would like to see text-to speech for this particular Kindlebook. So as to "encourage" Amazon and/or the publisher to make it happen.

As for the thought that this missing functionality is a "deal killer" for purchasing a K2...some may be affected, but most are not buying to have a book read to them (in my opinion).

On a side note, I am assuming this will not affect personal documents and/or free books (guttenburg, etc.).


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## Encender Vaquero (Feb 14, 2009)

...cop-out.


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## John Steinbeck (Feb 15, 2009)

Encender Vaquero said:


> ...cop-out.


High priced lawyers sweating it out at Amazon.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

jeremy81 said:


> While I do love this feature I purchased knowing this would probably happen. I can definitely understand the authors viewpoint. Audiobooks are a big business. I would personally rather keep cheaper prices than have authors/publishers raise the price to compensate for the text-to-speech feature.


Audiobooks are a big business but after my text-to-speech experiment the other day, there is no way that I consider them comparable media. If I wanted to listen to a book, I'd buy, rent, or borrow a copy of the recorded audio book. I could not possibly listen to an entire book via text-to-speech.

Too bad Amazon is caving on this, but it is probably a case of picking their battles carefully. In the big scheme of things, this is small potatoes.

L


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## WolfePrincess73 (Dec 2, 2008)

If the Text to Speech is disabled on a book, how do you get the auto page turn to work?


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## stargazer0725 (Feb 10, 2009)

I would definitely demand that Amazon declare whether or not each book is TTS enabled.  I would then probably boycott those books that don't allow it.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

That's a bummer.. Its one of the reasons I upgraded to K2.   Hate to say it - but I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have sold my K1 so fast.  Sigh..


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## Neversleepsawink;) (Dec 16, 2008)

Thats bad, they should of let everyone know it was optional.    Sorry K2 owners.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Neversleepsawink;) said:


> Thats bad, they should of let everyone know it was optional.


Well. . . .I think they just did. 

From reading the press release, it seems to me that all they're saying is that if the publishers/authors prefer it turned off for their books they'll do so. I don't see it as 'caving' but just as trying to acknowledge that some folks have a problem with it. Folks who, by the way, possibly haven't heard "Tom" read their book but are just reacting to the Author's Guild position. I expect that that Amazon willl be demonstrating the feature in comparison to a Real Audiobook as part of their negotiation with authors/publishers.

Ann


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Good point, Ann. Maybe "caving" is too strong a word.

Heck, this may never even happen. They *say* this is a solution but there is a big distance between a press release and actual implementation.

L


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

I wonder if this raises any ADA issue.  Especially for someone that bought a Kindle specifically for this reason due to a disability that makes reading difficult.  It could deny the required access to some Kindle users.


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## durphy (Nov 5, 2008)

That's disappointing. I also wouldn't have bought K2. However, if authors need to actively opt out, it may not be as bad.


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

Another article on the disabling of the the text to speech feature. Looks like Amazon is backpedaling.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE51R02R20090228?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&rpc=76


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## V (Jan 23, 2009)

Atunah said:


> What? Not liking this one bit.
> 
> If the publisher can decide not to let K2 users have text to speech, than we should be informed before buying a book if it is available or not.


Indeed, it should definitely be in large type: WARNING: PUBLISHER OF THIS BOOK CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEXT-TO-SPEECH AND AN AUDIOBOOK.

I can't believe they caved on this...I really can't. The difference between audiobook and TTS is the difference between driving a beaten down 3rd hand 25yr old car and a brand spanking new Porche.

Ug, afterthought: one hopes this feature is 'enabled by default' (i.e., authors/publishers/idiots can request it be disabled by title) or a lot of free content just got wiped out for the feature.


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## FSkornia (Feb 22, 2009)

What I'm surprised at is the late arrival of such an issue. The fact that it is coming up now after the units have shipped and two weeks after the announcement of the Kindle 2 and its relevant features and upgrades.  Why was this not something that was worked out well ahead of time?  Instead it is going to now hamstring one of the primary features of the new Kindle and one of its biggest selling points since its release announcement.

For myself, this is not much of a big loss. I am a KK owner and I never really do much with audiobooks.  About the only time I've listened to them is when I'm on road trips that 4+ hours long.  This has been a feature though that I've been using to try to convince friends to buy a Kindle. I have one friend who loves to read but has suffered from Macular Degeneration for the past several years. She listens to audio books, but not every book is available and they're much pricier to purchase. With the Kindle she would have both the larger text sizes as well as the Text to Speech, but even that is not going to be 100% anymore.

Someday people are going to have to understand that technology is moving faster everyday and that old business models will not work forever.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

PJS said:


> I wonder if this raises any ADA issue. Especially for someone that bought a Kindle specifically for this reason due to a disability that makes reading difficult. It could deny the required access to some Kindle users.


Amazon has said all along this is an experimental feature. We already saw them pull an experimental feature when they took away NowNow.


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## SimonStern2 (Feb 26, 2009)

J. Steinbeck said:


> High priced lawyers sweating it out at Amazon.


How much would they sweat a class-action of all the "early adopters" of the k2 who were marketed to with the T2S feature in place and unrestricted?

This is a crappy way to deal with it.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Wow, talk about horrible bait-and-switch. I realize Amazon may not necessarily be at fault since this is a legal matter (and a completely ridiculous legal matter at that), but I'd be pissed if I had purchased a Kindle 2 only to find out this news.


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## deMoMo (Feb 10, 2009)

I just want to add my 2 cents to the idea of authors having issues with text to speech. People say all over that it's not the same as an audiobook. And while I agree that it will never be exactly the same, it could get closer and closer as technology develops. I really don't think that publishers are concerned about what it sounds like _now_, they're concerned about what it sounds like in 2 years.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about it. Neil Gaiman has come out pretty strongly in favor of text to speech capability, and he has a lot more knowledge and insight than I do (plus he's an awesome author), so that's where I lean towards. But I could probably be persuaded in the other direction, too.


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## ELDogStar (Dec 19, 2008)

I think it might be important to remember that it is classified as "experimental".

Eric


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## Anita (Jan 3, 2009)

Encender Vaquero said:


> ...cop-out.


Total!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Hmmm, I don't remember Bezos mentioning in the release announcement that it was experimental. In fact he spend quite some time showing off that particular feature. It might have been mentioned somewhere buried on the product page amongst the gazillion video's I don't know. The fact that it is listed as such on the actual device doesn't really help much after the fact. 

Maybe he should have mentioned that to the press from the get go. Here is a feature that might or might not stick around. We are giving it a try.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Atunah said:


> Maybe he should have mentioned that to the press from the get go. Here is a feature that might or might not stick around. We are giving it a try.


Except at the time, he probably wasn't thinking that. It was only after the announcement that the Author's Guild and a bunch of lawyers got their panties in a twist.

L


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

True. I mean its still a Kindle, even without this feature, so people still get what it is suppose to do. But of course the advertising of a particular feature will disappoint some and I can understand that. 

I still wonder though why the lawyers didn't think of clearing this up before hand. I guess nobody thought they would whine about a feature that is already available on other devices on computers and such.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

luvmy4brats said:


> Amazon has said all along this is an experimental feature. We already saw them pull an experimental feature when they took away NowNow.


That is true I forgot about NowNow.


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## Anita (Jan 3, 2009)

Atunah said:


> I guess nobody thought they would whine about a feature that is already available on other devices on computers and such.


...and that is one of the many reasons that the argument makes no sense to me. Why now, and why this device? I doubt there will ever be more Kindles in the world than there are computers with OS that allow text-to-speech.

And the issues of people with disabilities is never far from my mind....there is no reason that those with disabilities should have to pay more for the right to read, whether it's in the form of audio books or text-to-speech abilities. But hey, that's just *my* soapbox opinion....


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## ELDogStar (Dec 19, 2008)

Anita said:


> ...and that is one of the many reasons that the argument makes no sense to me. Why now, and why this device? I doubt there will ever be more Kindles in the world than there are computers with OS that allow text-to-speech.
> 
> And the issues of people with disabilities is never far from my mind....there is no reason that those with disabilities should have to pay more for the right to read, whether it's in the form of audio books or text-to-speech abilities. But hey, that's just *my* soapbox opinion....


Gotta agree as well.

Later friends,
Eric


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

Anita said:


> ...and that is one of the many reasons that the argument makes no sense to me. Why now, and why this device? I doubt there will ever be more Kindles in the world than there are computers with OS that allow text-to-speech.
> 
> And the issues of people with disabilities is never far from my mind....there is no reason that those with disabilities should have to pay more for the right to read, whether it's in the form of audio books or text-to-speech abilities. But hey, that's just *my* soapbox opinion....


That is true I think it unfair that people with disabitities should have to pay more for the right to read. I may not even use the speach to text feauture that much but I also think it is unfair that now I may not be able to use it.


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> Amazon has said all along this is an experimental feature. We already saw them pull an experimental feature when they took away NowNow.


Oh no they haven't! It is listed on the Kindle sales page as full out feature. The only now it adds ", unless the book is disabled by the rights holder" where it didn't before. Don't get me wrong I love my kindle and this will not affect how I use it. But I recognize that it will affect others.

Furthermore, the argument against the feature is absurd and logically ridiculous. If you buy a book and it is read to you there is no royalty lost by and author / rightsowner - the royalty was paid for the sale of the book. Likewise if you buy a Kindle book and the Kindle reads it to you there is no royalty lost - the royalty was paid for the sale of the book. You aren't sharing, copying or disseminating this reading of the book so no royalty is due anyone. In fact the Kindle read book protects the rightsholder better than the print book or the audiobook, both of which can be lent, given away or resold for which no royalty is paid. Whereas a Kindle book must be purchased by each user (i.e. account holder) generating more royalties. Also those that need a book read to them would be able to buy more books since they cost less than an audiobook. They don't cost more because the rightsholder is getting a bigger royalty from the sale of the audiobook but because the production cost is higher.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

ELDogStar said:


> I think it might be important to remember that it is classified as "experimental".


I agree with everyone that it would suck to have the feature taken away. But, as pointed out, it is experimental.

Based on the posts and voting in another thread, many people have said they wouldn't use the TTS feature. I'm kind of curious if people here complaining that it shouldn't be removed are the same people who wouldn't actually use it.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

kim said:


> I agree with everyone that it would suck to have the feature taken away. But, as pointed out, it is experimental.
> 
> Based on the posts and voting in another thread, many people have said they wouldn't use the TTS feature. I'm kind of curious if people here complaining that it shouldn't be removed are the same people who wouldn't actually use it.


I am not sure how much I will use this feature but I would like to be able to use it . I do not like the idea of the feature taken away. Right now I like to use it to listen to the samples I am trying.


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## holmes4 (Dec 26, 2008)

Amazon promoted TTS as a major feature of the K2, with demos.  It's not like NowNow that many people didn't even know existed.  I did not see "experimental" in any of the Amazon promotional material.

I agree that the TTS feature is not a substitute for an Audible audiobook, but I would use it for reading parts of books in some circumstances.  I do hope that they clearly label books with this feature disabled so that I can decide whether or not I want to buy them.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

PJS said:


> Oh no they haven't! It is listed on the Kindle sales page as full out feature. The only now it adds ", unless the book is disabled by the rights holder" where it didn't before. Don't get me wrong I love my kindle and this will not affect how I use it. But I recognize that it will affect others.
> 
> Furthermore, the argument against the feature is absurd and logically ridiculous. If you buy a book and it is read to you there is no royalty lost by and author / rightsowner - the royalty was paid for the sale of the book. Likewise if you buy a Kindle book and the Kindle reads it to you there is no royalty lost - the royalty was paid for the sale of the book. You aren't sharing, copying or disseminating this reading of the book so no royalty is due anyone. In fact the Kindle read book protects the rightsholder better than the print book or the audiobook, both of which can be lent, given away or resold for which no royalty is paid. Whereas a Kindle book must be purchased by each user (i.e. account holder) generating more royalties. Also those that need a book read to them would be able to buy more books since they cost less than an audiobook. They don't cost more because the rightsholder is getting a bigger royalty from the sale of the audiobook but because the production cost is higher.


Yes, they have. On the Kindle itself it is listed as an experimental feature. On the product page, scroll down. Read to Me is the first one listed under Experimental Features. It has always been there. It's also in the Users Manual as an Experimental feature.

NowNow was an experimental feature on the KK...It was featured just as like the Read to Me...It got pulled with no notice.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Audiobooks are a big business but after my text-to-speech experiment the other day, there is no way that I consider them comparable media. If I wanted to listen to a book, I'd buy, rent, or borrow a copy of the recorded audio book. I could not possibly listen to an entire book via text-to-speech.
> 
> Too bad Amazon is caving on this, but it is probably a case of picking their battles carefully. In the big scheme of things, this is small potatoes.
> 
> L


I agree. Perhaps Amazon is facing push-back from publishers on getting books Kindle-ized, so they are picking their battles. I know some folks that use the text-to-speech on their pcs due to disability and were thinking of getting a Kindle because of the text to speech; loss of those sales, however, probably pale in light of losing a publisher (or two).


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

Trekker said:


> Which hints that they foresaw possible issues and wanted an easy "out."
> 
> While it's something that I'd never use, I think that Amazon caved way too easily on this. They should have stood their ground, especially when they used it as a major selling point.
> 
> It will be interesting to see what the publishers do. It would be a nice statement if most of the publishers allowed it anyhow.


I agree Amazon caved way too easily on this. It not the only reason but it is one of the reasons I bought K2.


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

kim said:


> I agree with everyone that it would suck to have the feature taken away. But, as pointed out, it is experimental.
> 
> Based on the posts and voting in another thread, many people have said they wouldn't use the TTS feature. I'm kind of curious if people here complaining that it shouldn't be removed are the same people who wouldn't actually use it.


First of all let's put this "experimental" issue to bed - It was *never* advertised as being experimental, temporary, optional or as being tenuous in any other way! It *was* advertised as feature and in fact this feature was in some cases even highlighted (e.g. the Jeff Bezos' interview noted above). So please nobody else say it was experimental and "we knew it" when that is in no way true - especially for new Kindle users.

Now, as to whether people should object to the removal of a feature they aren't going to use, my answer is an unequivocal *Yes*! I personally don't wait until I am directly affected to stand up and say something is wrong. Those that stand by and close their eyes to wrongs saying "it doesn't affect me" are the ones that have no right to whine when things progress to a point where they are affected. This isn't just about text-to-speech. It is about our useage rights to digital media we purchase. What are those rights and who has the right to limit or change them. Digital media is still a new arena and precedents are being set now. Each issue surrounding these rights is important to all of us. Apathetically letting go of one right you don't need to use today could set a precedent that could lead to the loss of something down the line that is important to you. Then who do you have to blame?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Ahem!  If any of you K2'ers are going to sell your K2 because of this text to speech issue, let me know. . . I'll give you $250.   

I do think the Author's Guild is shortsighted. . .but I don't think Amazon is 'caving'.  Look at it this way: Text to speech has been around a while for computers, why is the AG so worried. . .clearly they think Kindle is an up and coming book selling method.  They're unfamiliar with it, and thus afraid.  Amazon will use this opportunity to actively 'sell' the text to speech option to authors/publishers. . . possibly using a lot of the comments we're seeing here about how folks hope to use it. . . especially the disabled.

(But, seriously, if you want to sell your K2, call me. . . )

Ann


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

Ann Von Hagel said:


> Ahem! If any of you K2'ers are going to sell your K2 because of this text to speech issue, let me know. . . I'll give you $250.
> 
> I do think the Author's Guild is shortsighted. . .but I don't think Amazon is 'caving'. Look at it this way: Text to speech has been around a while for computers, why is the AG so worried. . .clearly they think Kindle is an up and coming book selling method. They're unfamiliar with it, and thus afraid. Amazon will use this opportunity to actively 'sell' the text to speech option to authors/publishers. . . possibly using a lot of the comments we're seeing here about how folks hope to use it. . . especially the disabled.
> 
> ...


LOL Sorry even without the speech to text feature I still love my K2


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## Chris (Dec 6, 2008)

This feature was actually one of the reasons that I upgraded to the K2 from my K1.  That being said though, I did understand it as experimental and knew that it could go the way of nownow.

I figure that Amazon doesn't want a fight because they are trying to encourage publishers and authors (i.e. J.K. Rowling) to release their books on the Kindle and don't want to upset that apple cart.

I want Amazon to do everything in their power to Kindleize all the books, new and old, as they possibly can and if the TTS feature puts that at risk then good for them for being cooperative.  Apple had to make concessions also to get where they are now.

Go Go Amazon!!!!

Just a thought...

Chris


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## VMars (Feb 8, 2009)

BOOOOO to Amazon!  

I don't use the Text To Speech feature, but people who are blind would benefit! They need to stick to their guns.


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

The Question - is it all done in the book with a flag or is there a something in the K2 that does it. Thus would they make a small change in K2 to notice this flag in the book. If so, would K2s already out be able to read all books and newer K2 have this protection mechanism.

Steve


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## speters (Feb 18, 2009)

Although T2S is listed under "Experimental," to equate it with other "experiments" doesn't quite seem fair. They touted this one big time, whereas I've read posts this week by new Kindlers who are surprised to see the Kindle has a Web feature! I never got to use "Now Now" (aka "Then Then") but I also didn't even know about it before I bought the K1.

As an author who had never heard of the Author's Guild before two weeks ago, I think this decision is awful and placates the big wheels at the expense of the little guys. 

But I'm more worried about the slippery slope factor. Those who keep pointing out that T2S was experimental have a point, but so are the "Play MP3" option and "Basic Web." Will they go someday, too? This move also suggests to me that in the future Amazon might adjust more terms and policies as it suits them despite any detriment to readers who have already plunked down $350. They already seem to be going soft on the "suggested" $9.99 price point. Is it possible that this new policy will be retroactive, with new software that blocks T2S on some of the books I already own? Or will it result in a tiered-pricing model that allows publishers to charge $9.99 for a "normal" e-book and a buck or two more for the T2S version?


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

What I don't understand is that Microsoft's ereader format has had text-to-speech enabled for years, and no one complained about that.  Why start complaining now?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

SusanCassidy said:


> What I don't understand is that Microsoft's ereader format has had text-to-speech enabled for years, and no one complained about that. Why start complaining now?


'Cause they don't perceive that there are many people using the MS e-reader t2s. But if it's on the Kindle, well there are <undisclosed number but A LOT> of people who might use it. The AG is running scared of this newfangled e-book stuff. . .that's my feeling. . . . .

Ann


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I'm with Ann. If you decide to sell your K2 over this, I'll take it. And BTW NowNow was highly featured... Jus sayin...


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## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

My advice is for those who are upset about this issue is to send an e-mail to Customer Service at Amazon.  The text-to-speech feature is the only reason that I bought the new Kindle2 and I know others who have done the same. If this service ends, I will demand a refund on my Kindle2.
To launch a product aimed at people with disabilities and then withdraw or severely limit that feature within a week, is clearly bait and switch. 
In this day and age, I would think publishers would not want to alienate customers who are actually paying for your books. There are too many other options.

luvshihtzu


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Bezos announced NowNow in a press conference in front of a bunch of media  when the first Kindle was announced? He demonstrated it to the media? I wasn't around when the first Kindle was released so I might have missed that. He clearly demonstrated the TTS feature and I don't remember hearing or reading him mentioning it was a experimental feature. 

The manual doesn't really count as you get that when you buy the product. I still say he should not have highlighted the feature as heavy in the launch if it was only experimental. Big mistake right there. That is misleading.


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## John Steinbeck (Feb 15, 2009)

luvshihtzu said:


> My advice is for those who are upset about this issue is to send an e-mail to Customer Service at Amazon. The text-to-speech feature is the only reason that I bought the new Kindle2 and I know others who have done the same. If this service ends, I will demand a refund on my Kindle2.
> To launch a product aimed at people with disabilities and then withdraw or severely limit that feature within a week, is clearly bait and switch.
> In this day and age, I would think publishers would not want to alienate customers who are actually paying for your books. There are too many other options.
> 
> luvshihtzu


Might I also suggest you write a letter to the Authors Guild, there is a thread  here with the contact information


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## Chris (Dec 6, 2008)

Well at least they made this decision within the first 30 Days of everyone owning one so people who are not happy can just return them.  Better than 90 days from now.

Chris


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Trekker said:


> Which hints that they foresaw possible issues and wanted an easy "out." I didn't follow K1 when it first came out but was NowNow heavily advertised in order to sell the kindle?


Oprah talked about NowNow more than she talked about how to read a book when she demoed her Kindle. Personally, I think Oprah is half the reason NowNow got axed.

L


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## jah (Oct 28, 2008)

Anita said:


> ...and that is one of the many reasons that the argument makes no sense to me. Why now, and why this device? I doubt there will ever be more Kindles in the world than there are computers with OS that allow text-to-speech.
> 
> And the issues of people with disabilities is never far from my mind....there is no reason that those with disabilities should have to pay more for the right to read, whether it's in the form of audio books or text-to-speech abilities. But hey, that's just *my* soapbox opinion....


As a person with more then one disability, it also not far from my mind as well. While I am not blind or have that several of eye problem, I think that what the AG is doing to force Amazon to do with the text to speech is awful, and the people who will mostly suffer the most are people who are blind or have other disability and would really benefit for the text2speech program.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Personally I think the Author's Guild and all related parties are being very narrow-minded and shortsighted. They are being reactive to a new technology instead of being proactive as to how they could work to make the new technology benefit their authors.

L


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## Gables Girl (Oct 28, 2008)

I used it today on the drive up from Miami for 3.5 hours.  It was very nice and allowed me to progress in my book and finish it so now I can buy another book.  They might want to think they will sell more books with this feature.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Trekker said:


> I think it's all about greed. AG's legal team knew Amazon is a billion dollar company, and figured a potential lawsuit was a way to make some of them rich.


It's hard for me to believe that publishers won't automatically choose to disable the text to speech, even on books they publish that are in the public domain.

I sent Amazon customer service an email on the subject (polite, but I did use the word "cave") and got back a form reply. At least the reply was specific to the topic, though.

Most of the books on my K1 are public domain. When my K2 gets here this week, I can enjoy the text to speech on them, anyway.

Mike


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

PJS said:


> First of all let's put this "experimental" issue to bed - It was *never* advertised as being experimental, temporary, optional or as being tenuous in any other way! It *was* advertised as feature and in fact this feature was in some cases even highlighted (e.g. the Jeff Bezos' interview noted above). So please nobody else say it was experimental and "we knew it" when that is in no way true - especially for new Kindle users.


Sorry, but you're wrong. I posted way back on Feb. 10 that it was listed as experimental. http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,3457.msg75754.html#msg75754 It was on the Kindle2 page already then, and was from the beginning. Might not be something pointed out strongly in videos or interviews or blogs or anything like that (no clue, never watched any of 'em), but it's been on the webpage since Day 1.


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## hazeldazel (Oct 30, 2008)

Stoopit authors guild! I really hope very few authors take the option to turn it off.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/usitinternetkindleamazoncopyright


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## durphy (Nov 5, 2008)

RT Seth Godin offers smart context to the Authors Guild's dumb opposition to Kindle 2's text to speech feature: http://bit.ly/jhk45


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## LSbookend (Dec 22, 2008)

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,4600.0.html


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## ginakra (Mar 1, 2009)

Personally, I'm really upset by this. I almost ordered the Kindle 2 yesterday but now I'm glad I waited because, in light of this, I am strongly considering not buying at all. This is a feature that was very important to me. Without airing personal facts about my health issues, the Kindle could very much enrich my life, and the speech feature was only second to the fact that I could visually read books again. Being able to hear them when unable to read was extremely important. I'm writing Blount Jr. and Bezos (if I can find the amazon address). I urge anyone affected by this decision to write both parties.


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## coyote (Feb 24, 2009)

I don't think I'll use this feature much, but it annoys me that greedy luddite authors can make the world a more mediocre place. (The Author's Guild actually told their members to not support the Kindle, because of lost revenues due to text-to-speech!) And while Amazon disagrees with them, they folded and agreed to make it a per-book switch.


Amazon statement

Email the Author's Guild and let them know what you think of this

coyote


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## davem2bits (Feb 2, 2009)

Will the buyer know if text-to-speech is enabled before purchasing a kbook?  Or will I have to purchase a book, download and listen for Tom to know.  And then call CS and tell them they can have it back.

We don't seem to know if a publisher has done any indexing on the kbook before we purchase it.  Unless it is mentioned in a customer review.

Or the actual number of downloads that are allowed for a kbook.


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## Encender Vaquero (Feb 14, 2009)

Wow, redundant threads are pretty common on boards, but repeatedly reposting your repeat is pretty novel. I'm pretty sure that's gotta violate anti-cloning laws somehow..


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## coyote (Feb 24, 2009)

Encender Vaquero said:


> Wow, redundant threads are pretty common on boards, but repeatedly reposting your repeat is pretty novel. I'm pretty sure that's gotta violate anti-cloning laws somehow..


It seems like I found a board bug. When I tried to post, I got an error. It happened twice. (You'll notice that the other threads don't have any messages in them, even from me!) The third time, as they say, was the charm.

-c


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## MonaSW (Nov 16, 2008)

It happens. Luckily when I had to hit post multiple times earlier today, it didn't leave an embarrassing series of identical posts.


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## davem2bits (Feb 2, 2009)

Steph H said:


> Sorry, but you're wrong. I posted way back on Feb. 10 that it was listed as experimental. http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,3457.msg75754.html#msg75754 It was on the Kindle2 page already then, and was from the beginning. Might not be something pointed out strongly in videos or interviews or blogs or anything like that (no clue, never watched any of 'em), but it's been on the webpage since Day 1.


I took the "Experimental" to mean; we know this is pretty bad. But we got scientists in the lab (Developers) making improvements.

Has the "Basic Web" been experimental since release of K1? Haven't they made some improvements to it?

The "Play MP3" experiment needs some work. Think shuffle.

Maybe for the next release, the devs can add code to make Tom say "Kindle" the same way each time.

Anyway, I didn't think experimental meant, we haven't clear this with every authors/publishers on the face of the earth.


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

When I purchase a hard copy of a book, do I have to sign a waiver that says I Can't read it out loud to anybody??


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

Jesslyn said:


> I agree. Perhaps Amazon is facing push-back from publishers on getting books Kindle-ized, so they are picking their battles. I know some folks that use the text-to-speech on their pcs due to disability and were thinking of getting a Kindle because of the text to speech; loss of those sales, however, probably pale in light of losing a publisher (or two).


Yep. While this is a bit of a setback (and an embarrassment for Mr. Bezos, after emphasizing the TTS feature on ALL of the interviews just last week!), it was probably a matter of needing to give on this, in order to get more authors/publishers to Kindlize their DTBs. And if THAT's the choice we must make, I'll take more Kindle books, every time. I've thought that if/when I upgrade to K2 (or K3...) I was looking forward to the TTS, but it's not a dealbreaker, at least for me. But it is a disappointment.

Hopefully, most authors will allow TTS for their books. I'd expect those that don't to have a clickable link to request authors to allow it. And I agree that Amazon had best list TTS capability for each Kindle book they offer.

Oh, and I'll also volunteer to buy anyone's K2 (at a steep discount!) who's that unhappy with this news, and no longer wants theirs....


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

If anyone is dead serious about not keeping their K2, I assume they can still get a full refund from Amazon, right?

One way to tell if the feature works in a book would be to download a sample and try that first.

I wonder how they handle this with other text to speech functions, say, on a PC used by a blind person?


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Okay, I was pretty upset about this when it initially happened, but at least can see the real issue due to this article. While this was not where the Authors Guild was coming from, I get it

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20090228/


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

As far as I can see, his argument is another example of trying to close the barn door after the horse has already escaped.

There has been software available to do this on computers for a long time and the Kindle is just a computer with a special purpose.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

what is the defalt on or off?


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

sylvia said:


> what is the defalt on or off?


default is off. You have to phsically turn it on in the font size menu.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

luvmy4
I meant from the author/publisher is on or off a defalt for the ability of text to speech. does that make sense?
Sylvia


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

They haven't changed anything yet as far as I'm aware.


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## chocochibi (Jan 2, 2009)

Amazon said the default was going to be on and that the author/publisher had to request for it to be off.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

that is better for us who like this feature. we get the ones who ignore the issue as well as the ones who want the feature. I don't think it well ever take the place of audio books but is a nice feature that may introduce the idea to some and help others who need.
Sylvia


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## speters (Feb 18, 2009)

I think they said the TTS would be blocked or not via a software update that (to my knowledge) doesn't exist yet. Does anyone know if this is correct?


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

I just saw a post at Amazon Discussion that Random House is disabling text-to-speech in its e-books.

http://www.randomhouse.com/about/faq/index.php?ToDo=view&questId=130&catId=26


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## mwvickers (Jan 26, 2009)

So, here's a question.  Does anyone know if Amazon is making it obvious when books have tts disabled?  Or is it just a chance you take that it won't be working if you buy the book?  

I think Amazon should make it very clear if tts is disabled for a book.  

At the same time, I cannot imagine anyone actually planning on using tts much no matter what book it works for.  It may be good in a pinch, as others have said, but from what I've heard, it is not something one would listen to as a normal thing.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

This is very disappointing. And I agree they MUST mark very clearly what books do or do not have TTS. 

As to if anyone would use it? I would. I am sure there are many that would, for various reasons. It was very clearly advertised after all. 

What a bummer. I expect other publishers to follow suit now.


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## busy91 (Feb 27, 2009)

Bummer is right.  
I usually read it, but sometimes when my eyes get tired, I like to listen, just to keep going.
If it is not stated clearly, I will miss it, I miss everything.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Amazon has me totally confused now. This was on the Discussion Boards: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3LOIUHETXJZXJ
---------------------------------------
Accessible Navigation on Kindle
9:34 AM PDT, March 19, 2009
We've heard from many of our blind or vision impaired customers who are excited about Kindle 2's text to speech technology. Some of these customers have asked that we make Kindle even easier for them by adding navigation accessible to the blind. We want to let those customers know that this is something we are working on and we look forward to making it available in the future. 
--The Amazon Kindle Team
------------------------------
This has got to be a fake, joke, right? Cause with publishers pulling the TTS, how's this gonna help?


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Has anybody actually come across ANY books that have been disabled yet?

I know has made it an option for the publisher to disable it, but I have yet to hear of any book actually being disabled yet. (Yes, I saw the Random House blurb earlier, but I'm just not believing it) I have over 200 books on my Kindle and while I haven't tested all of them, I have tested many of them (Ok, so I make my daughter sit there and do it while I'm driving..Kids can come in handy) and they all still have TTS.


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## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

I think they are doing the process of disabling TTS right now. That's why we haven't seen it is happening. Maybe they have to include some code in the ebook to disable the TTS?


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