The ShrinkIt archive in this folder named ECHO.WD.SHK is the Echo Speech Synthesis and Mincing 4000 Word Dictionary collective for use with the Echo II or Echo Plus card which is also useful with the Tutor Tech program. The information outlined below that was extracted from the Tutor Tech TechNotes will give you a basic understanding of just what this archives contents (all binary files) are intended for and how they are used. This is also know as The Echo II Vocabulary Disk and the 4000 word dictionary on a 3.5" disk. You can unshrink this archive with ShrinkIt to a ProDOS format 800k 3.5" disk named Echo. You can also unshrink the archive to any media storage device, hard drive, RAM disk or ROM disk that retains the data after machine power has been turned off, into a folder named Echo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Tutor-Tech Technical Notes... Tech Note #8: Echo Speech Synthesis and Mincing Word Dictionaries Revised by: Dave Lampert September 1990 Written by: Dave Lampert May 1990 This technical note describes the patch needed to import words from the Echo 3.5" Words Disk. Changes since May 1990: added Street's address and formed into a tech note. Tutor-Tech can import and speak words from the digitized dictionaries provided with the Echo Speech Synthesizer from Street Electronics. You can also import words from the 4000 word dictionary on a 3.5" disk using the patch disk, "/ECHO.TABLES/". Contact us to receive this disk free of charge. This disk only contains supplementary files and is useless without Street Electronics' Echo 3.5" disk. When you receive the disk, simply use a filer, such as ProDOS System Utilities, to copy all the files from the disk "/ECHO.TABLES/" to your work copy of the Echo 3.5" disk in the directory, "/WORDS/DATA/". When you're using Tutor-Tech to import words, do not select the "TABLE" file in the top-level directory of the "/WORDS/" disk. Instead, open the "DATA" directory and choose one the "TABLES..." files. These tables have been alphabetically divided up to make them smaller files. The file "TABLE.MISC" contains numbers and long phrases. Also note: The sound data is the data read from the Echo Word Dictionary, whose format uses the linear predictive coding. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 8, 1999 GS WorldView Editor Notes: After a telephone call today, to the company that made the Echo II card and the Apple II software programs for use with it, I was asked to relate the following update information about the software archive, the Echo II card and all of the software for use with it. This is offered for the public information needs. There is no longer any production of the ECHO II card, there isn't any hardware distribution or sales or support offered for any of it's software from the company that made it in the past. The company has changed it functions to other items, interest and productions and has changed it name also. I was also advised that there's no problem or objection from the company with having any of the Echo II card software and it programs for use with the card made available as archives for free download and use with the Apple II users of the Echo II card. It should be made clear that all of the efforts from the company that made and sold the Echo II card is no longer available from that company and no support for the hardware or software will be given from that company. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------