#NaturalReader

[bizarrepotpourri]

I'm testing various text-to-speech services, and the first and very promising one is Typecast. It's super clunky and I had to go through their voice library (very limited on their free plan) to find one that could do emotions for Agnes, and it's still far from perfect (it's like a bad JRPG dub from early 2000s!), but the fact that it even allows for reading the text with emotional charge is the promising part.

This content was produced with Typecast, an AI virtual actor service. Characters casted:  Jack (The Liege) Olivia (Lady Agnes) https://typecast.ai

And this was generated in the free video editor for Windows 11, ClipChamp. It's terribly basic and the only thing it has in its defense is putting American and British English voices separately. But as you can hear, they're still awkward and mechanical.

Music: "Hopeless" by Jimena Contreras, Youtube Audio Library

Also, there's a slight difference in phrasing between the two recordings - the one made in ClipChamp comes from the published version of "Swift Justice", the one made in Typecast is a new rewrite.

[trashartgalleries]

This how I feel the voices on NaturalReaders look at the fanfictions I make them proofread for me 🤣:

[nyssasorbit]

.

[thalassic-p4rk]

WAIT OMFG THAT WAS YOU????? THATS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FICS EVER WTF

update on hybrid au/"Octonauts; truly together"

i'll be moving it over here onto tumblr because ao3/the people behind it are anti-Palestine/supporting zionists/ect. Might take a little bit of figuring things out, but i figured i should mention it.

[violetsandshrikes]

Since sharing this post about a usful AI used to compile and graph research papers, I've realised I have a few other resources I can share with people!

Note: I haven't had a chance to use every single one of these. A group of post-grad students has been slowly compiling an online list, and these are some I've picked out that are free (or should be free and also have paid versions). However, other students using them have all verified them as safe.

Inciteful (Using Citations to Explore Academic Literature | Inciteful.xyz) – similar to connectedpapers + researchrabbit. Also allows you to connect two papers and see how they are linked. Currently free.

Spinbot (Spinbot - Article Spinning, Text Rewriting, Content Creation Tool.) – article spinner + paraphraser. Useful for difficult articles/papers. Currently free (ad version).

Elicit (Elicit: The AI Research Assistant)  – AI research assistant, creates workflow. Mainly for lit reviews. Finds relevant papers, summarises + analyses them, finds criticism of them. Free (?)

Natural Reader (AI Voices - NaturalReader Home (naturalreaders.com)) – text to speech. Native speakers. Usually pretty reliable, grain of salt. Free + paid versions.

Otter AI (Otter.ai - Voice Meeting Notes & Real-time Transcription) – takes notes and transcribes video calls. Pretty accurate. Warn people Otter is entering call or it is terrifying. Free + paid versions.

Paper Panda (🐼 PaperPanda — Access millions of research papers in one click) – get research papers free. Chrome extension. Free.

Docsity (About us - Docsity Corporate) – get documents from university students globally. Useful for notes.

Desmos (Desmos | Let's learn together.) – online free graphing calculator. Free (?)

Core (CORE – Aggregating the world’s open access research papers) – open access research paper aggregation.

Writefull (Writefull X: AI applied to academic writing) – Academic AI. Paraphrasing, title generator, abstract generator, apparently ChatGPT detector now. Free.

Photopea (Photopea | Online Photo Editor) – Photoshop copy but run free and online. Same tools. Free.

Draw IO (Flowchart Maker & Online Diagram Software) – Flowchart/diagram maker. Free + paid versions.

Weava (Weava Highlighter - Free Research Tool for PDFs & Webpages (weavatools.com)) – Highlight + annotate webpages and pdfs. Free + paid versions.

Unsplash (Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash) – free to use images.

Storyset (Storyset | Customize, animate and download illustration for free) – open source illustrations. Free.

Undraw (unDraw - Open source illustrations for any idea) – open source illustrations. Free.

8mb Video (8mb.video: online compressor FREE) – video compression (to under 8mb). Free.

Just Beam It (JustBeamIt - file transfer made easy) – basically airdrop files quickly and easily between devices. Free.

Jimpl (Online photo metadata and EXIF data viewer | Jimpl) – upload photos to see metadata. Can also remove metadata from images to obscure sensitive information. Free.

TL Draw (tldraw) – web drawing application. Free.

Have I Been Pwned (Have I Been Pwned: Check if your email has been compromised in a data breach) – lets you know if information has been taken in a data breach. If so, change passwords. Free.

If you guys have any feedback about these sites (good or bad), feel free to add on in reblogs or flick me a message and I can add! Same thing with any broken links or additions.

[allmylittlepauliesandschemes]

3 Tips for Fanfic / AO3 Readers!

I love, love, love reading fanfic (McLennon, helllooooo).

Here are 3 ways to make your fanfic reading easier / more enjoyable since it's off the traditional publishing path:

If you love listening to Audiobooks, download NaturalReaders, upload a PDF of a fic & listen like it's on Audible. If you think you'll listen a lot, I highly recommend getting the Plus Subscription ($19/month). This is not an ad, btw, I don't get a kickback for this. But the Plus Subscription AI voices are so insanely realistic & expressive that you'll feel like you're listening to a human narrator. My personal favorite is Andrew (U.S.). If you don't want to pay, their free voices are fine - it just doesn't pass for human. (Bonus: I use this subscription for work & write it off on my taxes. Then I use it to read long/boring work docs. But duh, fanfic is the real reason I pay for it!) NaturalReaders is my favorite way to consume long fics while I'm cleaning/cooking/driving, including and especially my current fav, On Our Way Back Home. One tip, though: If you wanna listen to a particularly long fic, like hundreds of pages long, it's easier if you split it up into a couple of files before you upload it. It will load much faster and it's easier to manage since it won't have chapter markings like on Audible.

Download AO3 files on Kindle. You probably already know this - but I didn't realize, until recently, how incredibly easy this is!! Here's how: - Download the Kindle App on your phone / iPad. - Open AO3 and download any fics to read as an EPUB file. - If you've downloaded these files on your computer, airdrop to your iPhone or iPad. If you've downloaded on your phone you won't have to do this step. - Go to your downloads or whatever folder it’s saved to. - Click the file with a long hold then select to "Share to Kindle." - Make any changes you want to the title / author's name and then click upload! It'll be available on your phone/ipad in a few minutes. Just like a regular Kindle book you can highlight, annotate, change font size / color, etc. 3. Keep your fics organized on Kindle with "Collections." "Collections" are essentially themed folders on your Kindle. I use them to sort fics into categories: unread, currently reading, and favorite fics that I'm excited to re-read! I also sort based on fandom / length. So "Short McLennon Unread" or "Favorite McLennon to Reread." You could use the folders however you want, of course. One advantage of this is that you can batch upload dozens or hundreds of fics on your phone / iPad and then find which one you want more easily. I love, love, love doing this before an international trip so my Kindle is always fully loaded with hours of McLennon entertainment. Sorry, not sorry to anyone reading over my shoulder on a flight. Do you have any fanfic reading tips for me? I'd love to hear them :)

[wiratomkinder]

auuuuuugh they’re doing han tyumi stuff

ohh gizz is streaming the forest hills show now… hot water -> robot stop my beloved

[guyc-uk]

Username Hash Tag Issue

Please view and give this a thumbs up and help get it noticed, it may help with my hashtag issue being resolved. Thanks

[art-res]

Quick Update New Website Feature!

I added a listen button powered by NaturalReaders on every blog post page so you can listen to it! (see lower left hand side!)

I find that listening to content while reading it is helping me a lot with focus and figured maybe it could help some of you all too :) (work done faster? more time for art!)

I explored a lot of different options bc I jump into rabbit holes and I like NaturalReaders' Free plan the best!

[accessibleaesthetics]

This poll is for people who use text-to-speech programs (as opposed to screen readers, which are covered in this poll.) If you have never used text-to-speech programs, please reblog to increase the sample size!

Note: if you used one of these in the past but do not currently use it, that still counts!

If you have never used text-to-speech programs but still would like to know the results, please feel free to message me. I'll add you to a list of people to tag once the poll is done. That way, you don't have to worry about finding it again yourself!

[formula-fun]

Hi!!

I remember you once mentioned listening to fanfics, before I kind of just listened to the pod fics made but they take a lot of work so few are available. And Apple Books’ speaking function is so machine like 😂 do you happen to have any recommendations for more natural reading? Thanks.

Mine is literally called NaturalReader hahshahsha its a little expensive but it’s worth every penny to me! Sometimes I need a podcast or audio playing to jumpstart me into actually doing chores or work, so I use it all the time while I’m cooking dinner or cleaning. Podficcing is wonderful but it seems like it’s getting rarer these days. This doesn’t replace that but it’s a nice backup option!

[prayreturn]

accessibility > aesthetics.

it's been said many times, but accessibility in the rpc is a real issue - i have seen quite a few people tag graphics with eyestrain, which is good, but we can do more. particularly when it comes to fonts as screen readers cannot read some of the fonts used and, honestly, the rpc in general tends to over-format their posts. aesthetics is one thing, but you really don't need 7 different fonts and styles in your posts ( personally i only really use it for character names so the post doesn't get thrown into the char tags even though it's untagged, thanks tumblr! ) though most often i see it used for headings which i think is fine in small doses - but it's quite common to see several fonts, styles and colours in peoples posts which is far less accessible. spacing is a complicated matter as personally it makes things much harder for me to read and i know several roleplayers who have said the same, but have also seen people argue that it makes things easier for others to read. it differs person for person, so it's best to ask! similarly, whilst it's rare i do see it still - posting your replies as images completely disregards accessibility.

below is a list of those that it can read and those it cannot - when in doubt, it doesn't hurt to temporarily use a screen reader to double check or asking the person you are writing with if it's a thread. make your writing and your blog accessible and ask if those you are writing with need any particular formatting in order to assist with any dyslexia or visibility problems. when plotting or discussing threads, it only takes a few seconds to ask "hey, do you need anything specific regarding accessibility or visibility in these posts?"

unfortunately i am unable to test all available screen readers that are available, so if you have any additions do let me know! i have tested on a few screen readers and text-to-speech programs: ttsreader, ChromeVox, Pericles: screen reader extension on chrome and firefox, NVDA (windows), murfai, tts by Readme, Screen Reader by UserWay, Google text-to-speech, NaturalReader text-to-speech and textmagic.

these fonts work:

ｔｈｉｓ　ｆｏｎｔ

these ones may or may not work depending on the text-to-speech or screenreader. they appear to work on textmagic, on Screen reader by UserWay, Pericles: screen reader extension on chrome and firefox, and google text-to-speech. i have tested it with ChromeVox and these fonts sometimes work and sometimes don't for some reaso - if i would suggest that if you are in doubt, ask:

𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒏𝒕

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐭

𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗻𝘁

𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩

these fonts do not work with most screen readers / tss:

𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔫𝔱 ( works with Pericles )

𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖋𝖔𝖓𝖙 ( works with Pericles )

ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠᵒⁿᵗ

ᴛʜɪs ꜰᴏɴᴛ

​🇹​​🇭​​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇫​​🇴​​🇳​​🇹​

ₜₕᵢₛ fₒₙₜ

ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠᵒⁿᵗ​

𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕟𝕥 ( works with Pericles )

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚝 ( works with Pericles )

𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒻ℴ𝓃𝓉 ( works with Pericles )

𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓷𝓽 ( works with Pericles )

тнιѕ ƒσηт

t̷h̷i̷s̷ ̷f̷o̷n̷t

those that don't work simply will not read out the words, skipping them altogether if there is text it can read either side of it, resulting in large amounts of text being unread. if you absolutely have to use several fonts or large amounts of text in these fonts ( i wouldn't think so, though ) then please add "captions" below the text, possibly in a blockquote or read-more, where the text is plainly typed so it can be read.

t̸̡̧̪̣̯̼̠̺̠͉̼̍͜͜͠ͅh̷͎̜̠̺̫̒͊̈��i̸̡͗̔̉̾̚͝͝ṣ̸̢̥̮͚̲͎̣̉̏̈́̂ ̵̮̞͇̪̼̳͈͚͉̻̬͈͑̄̍͌̓͊̽̌̍͆͒͝f̷̡̢̡̫͎̲̻̼̤̪̠̪͍͔͒͌͊̈́̔̄̀̉̈́͛̕ơ̸̞͚̗̣͇̜̫͍͋̓̐͒̓̒͌͐n̷̛̗͍̈́̎͐̌̈͆̂͆͒̒̚ṱ̷̨̤͚̓͑̒͌̒͌̎̀̕͝͝

the above "cursed text" font...kind of works? it reads it out letter by letter, as does t͎h͎i͎s͎ ͎f͎o͎n͎t͎, so i would recommend against using them for anything but short single words.

please keep this in mind and try to make your blog accessible!

[seasy33]

thought abt aaron just randomly at work at the exact same moment someone was talking about audiobooks in the refreshments area and it reminded me of your like. life hack at work abt text to speech reading fic. so then ofc i had to come say i hope ur doing well today HAHA sending u 💕💕💕

HI !!!

thank you for thinking of me!! 🥺 the text-to-speech is a great hack for fics that don’t have any podfics — i personally use NaturalReader on my phone which lets you upload and listen to entire fics (or ebooks) and has some voices for free if you don’t mind them sounding very automated and wooden haha in case anyone was wondering (i don’t think they were)

anyway i also hope you’re doing well today jane!! (today is relative, i know it’s been a couple weeks since you asked this lol) and sending you all the love in return! 💕💕💕

[isalisewrites]

Do you do betas by chance?

I'm a little confused by the question, but let me answer two potential questions you might be asking here.

"Do I have betas readers?"

Yes, I do have beta readers. AJ (also my coauthor for Shall I Stay and Badger Prey) and @tessa-s-b. Although, they're both rather busy, so I sometimes post without my work being beta read. I use NaturalReader 16 to proofread my chapters before posting.

"Do I beta read for others?"

Not really, no. I'm swamped with college and poor health at the moment to take on anything more. I sometimes would like to, but I'm overwhelmed with my work load. My classes are 16 week classes shoved into 12 weeks, so it's pretty stressful right now. 😵‍💫😵

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

May I ask which screenreader you use? Is it a mobile app? :3

Excellent question, Sleepwalkersqueen!

I use NaturalReader, which is available on mobile, and on a computer, though I prefer to use the phone version for listening to fanfiction in audio book form. That way I can listen and do something with my hands.

NaturalReader is free to use, free to download. Though, you can pay for a subscription to have things such as higher quality AI voices, or the ability to download your chapters for offline listening on your NatrualReader.

Uploading fanfiction is quite simple as well. You can copy and paste chapters into NaturalReader, upload documents, upload photos with words, or copy and paste in websites for it to analyze. NaturalReader has been my personal favorite Audio Book reader app so far!

[jasminbusinessstudent]

Week 9: Online Customer Showcase

References: Some material within this online showcase video is from Canva, which includes videos, templates, fonts, etc. The Google Slide theme used in this video was created by Slidesgo, includes icons by Flaticon, and infographics and images created by Freepik. Jazzy Writes' logo was created by Wix. Narration voice done by NaturalReader.