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Posted by Craig Mill on the 31st October, 2024
Natural Reader has been a favourite text reader here at CALL for many years. It’s simple to use, has a large ‘play’ button making it easy to target and press to read text, and it works extremely well with the Scottish voices. But the best thing about Natural Reader is that it’s free – or at least it was!
Natural Reader is no longer available as a Windows download from the Natural Reader website.
Instead, the company is forging ahead with ‘AI Text to Speech’ with a range of generated AI voices, all requiring an internet or online connection.
The great thing about the original Natural Reader was that it was a downloadable file and you didn't need an internet connection to use it. It's also particularly helpful for learners with reading difficulties, as you can use it to read a range of text formats such as Microsoft Word files, webpages, PDF files, and e-mails - select some text and click the blue play button.
Although it’s not a bad thing, as we all need to change with the times, the move to online text-to-speech with AI voices poses many problems, including the dreaded Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) – to ensure that no personal data is stored in some unknown server in a faraway country.
Another advantage of Natural Reader is that it doesn't store any data, and it also works a treat with additional languages such as French, Spanish, etc. - as long as you have downloaded the Windows Language Pack (also free).
Click the 'Cog' icon to select a voice.
All is not lost, as Natural Reader is still available to download for free from the excellent SAM Group in North Lanarkshire as part of a Glow blog.
Alternatively, you can also download it from the popular CNET website.
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