Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "PlainTalk" in English language version.
The outcome of this work was MacinTalk. MacinTalk is a file that can be placed into the System Folder of an ordinary Macintosh computer and allow text to be transformed into speech for the introduction in 1984. It was felt to be an interesting piece of software, so Apple made it available to developers. Interfaces to MacinTalk were published and Apple Software Licensing allowed it to be included with developers' products. The original project was to get a speech driver for the Macintosh, but it did not include obtaining the source code to this driver. Apple only has exactly what it gives to developers: a file to be copied into the System Folder, and this file cannot be changed since Apple does not have the source code. [The original] MacinTalk works by using a VBL task to write data directly to the sound hardware of the Macintosh Plus and SE logic boards—a method which Apple does not support. It has only been through the efforts of the Sound Manager that software that writes directly to this sound hardware continues to work. MacinTalk continues to write to the hardware addresses of the Macintosh 128K logic board, but the Sound Manager and the Apple Sound Chip work together to allow programs like MacinTalk to continue working on newer machines. The Sound Manager and the Apple Sound Chip [ASC] were introduced with the Macintosh II. The Sound Manager watches the hardware addresses that used to be present on the Macintosh. When the Sound Manager detects activity at one of these addresses, it goes into a "compatibility" mode. In this mode, it routes the data to the real sound hardware, but while this is happening, proper Sound Manager code cannot run—even the Sound Manager's _SysBeep does not work when MacinTalk is in use. Furthermore, the compatibility mode cannot be turned off until the application requiring it calls _ExitToShell. Even an application that uses sound properly, with correct code, does not work if another application opens the MacinTalk driver. There are no solutions to this incompatibility.... In other words, if you find MacinTalk interesting and entertaining—go ahead and purchase it. Write some code and enjoy. However, be warned that MacinTalk should not be included as part of any commercial product. Apple Computer, Inc. provides no support for MacinTalk other than what is purchased with the package itself, and there will be no support in the future. Apple is committed to providing the developer community with an array of speech technologies integrated with the Sound Manager... Nothing more will be done [with the original MacinTalk]. It is a compatibility risk... causes the Sound Manager to fail... will not work with the new Sound Manager planned for System 7.0... may not work at all with future versions of the Macintosh hardware. ....#000: About Macintosh Technical Notes.... We place no restrictions on copying Technical Notes, with the exception that you cannot resell them, so read, enjoy, and share. We hope Macintosh Technical Notes will provide you with lots of valuable information while you are developing Macintosh hardware and software.Alt URL
The outcome of this work was MacinTalk. MacinTalk is a file that can be placed into the System Folder of an ordinary Macintosh computer and allow text to be transformed into speech for the introduction in 1984. It was felt to be an interesting piece of software, so Apple made it available to developers. Interfaces to MacinTalk were published and Apple Software Licensing allowed it to be included with developers' products. The original project was to get a speech driver for the Macintosh, but it did not include obtaining the source code to this driver. Apple only has exactly what it gives to developers: a file to be copied into the System Folder, and this file cannot be changed since Apple does not have the source code. [The original] MacinTalk works by using a VBL task to write data directly to the sound hardware of the Macintosh Plus and SE logic boards—a method which Apple does not support. It has only been through the efforts of the Sound Manager that software that writes directly to this sound hardware continues to work. MacinTalk continues to write to the hardware addresses of the Macintosh 128K logic board, but the Sound Manager and the Apple Sound Chip work together to allow programs like MacinTalk to continue working on newer machines. The Sound Manager and the Apple Sound Chip [ASC] were introduced with the Macintosh II. The Sound Manager watches the hardware addresses that used to be present on the Macintosh. When the Sound Manager detects activity at one of these addresses, it goes into a "compatibility" mode. In this mode, it routes the data to the real sound hardware, but while this is happening, proper Sound Manager code cannot run—even the Sound Manager's _SysBeep does not work when MacinTalk is in use. Furthermore, the compatibility mode cannot be turned off until the application requiring it calls _ExitToShell. Even an application that uses sound properly, with correct code, does not work if another application opens the MacinTalk driver. There are no solutions to this incompatibility.... In other words, if you find MacinTalk interesting and entertaining—go ahead and purchase it. Write some code and enjoy. However, be warned that MacinTalk should not be included as part of any commercial product. Apple Computer, Inc. provides no support for MacinTalk other than what is purchased with the package itself, and there will be no support in the future. Apple is committed to providing the developer community with an array of speech technologies integrated with the Sound Manager... Nothing more will be done [with the original MacinTalk]. It is a compatibility risk... causes the Sound Manager to fail... will not work with the new Sound Manager planned for System 7.0... may not work at all with future versions of the Macintosh hardware. ....#000: About Macintosh Technical Notes.... We place no restrictions on copying Technical Notes, with the exception that you cannot resell them, so read, enjoy, and share. We hope Macintosh Technical Notes will provide you with lots of valuable information while you are developing Macintosh hardware and software.Alt URL
