Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition)

The Speech applet is used to configure the voice that you'll hear whenever the text-to-speech translation feature is used. Now, the voice offered is still too jerky and coarse for my taste. I remember my first voice-enabled computer game "Parsec" for the TI; that was more than 20 years ago. And the voice it used is just about the same as what is offered here in Windows XP. I can't wait until the sultry voice of the Star Trek: The Next Generation computer becomes the standard.

The Microsoft SAM voice is limited in its configurability. But, Windows XP will accept third-party voices which may offer greater end-user control.

Currently, text-to-speech or TTS is only available through Microsoft Office. To use it, you must enable the Speak Text command in the Language bar under Options. Once enabled, highlight the section of the document you want read to you, then issue the Speak Text command from the Language bar.