Computer Talk Technology and SpeechWorks International Support The Canadian National Institute for the Blind with Bilingual VisuNEWS.Business/Technology Editors TORONTO and ONTARIO, Canada--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2002 Electronic Text Reading Application Improves Quality of Life for Canadians who are Blind and Visually Impaired Computer Talk Technology Inc. (CTT CTT Correios (Portuguese Postal Service) CTT Certified Technical Trainer CTT Charity Technology Trust CTT Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' (collaboration) CTT Common Task Training ), an industry-leading provider of multi-channel contact center solutions, has partnered with Boston-based SpeechWorks International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWX SPWX Speechworks (stock symbol) ), the global leader in speech technologies and services, to deliver a text-to-speech (TTS (1) See text-to-speech. (2) (Transaction Tracking System) Software that monitors a transaction until completion. In the event of a hardware or software failure, it ensures that the database is brought back to its former state before the attempt to ) conversion program for The Canadian National Institute for the Blind The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), founded in 1918, is a volunteer agency and charitable organization dedicated to assisting the integration of the blind and visually-impaired of Canada into mainstream society, to improve their condition, and to prevent Library, based in Toronto. The program, VisuNEWS, converts electronic news feeds into natural sounding speech, enabling people who are blind or visually impaired to access current news and entertainment articles from anywhere using a touch-tone telephone. Only three percent of all published material in Canada is available in a format that Canadians who are blind or visually impaired can use. Programs like VisuNEWS help to create equal access to information for everyone. The system is housed on CTT's powerful `glacier' platform and uses SpeechWorks ETI-Eloquence(TM) TTS software to create synthesized speech in English and French. `glacier' lets callers use the touch-tone keys on their phones to navigate through the system, make selections and input commands such as repeat, speed up, slow down and skip articles. "CTT's products are globally recognized for their functionality and versatility. By integrating CTT's and SpeechWorks' systems, we're leveraging technology to push boundaries that once limited people who are blind or visually impaired," said Greg Blackett, Director of Product Marketing at CTT. The CNIB CNIB Canadian National Institute for the Blind Library for the Blind offers free library and information services See Information Systems. to approximately three million Canadians who are blind, visually impaired and print-disabled. The library circulates 1.8 million items each year, offering an ever-growing collection of braille books, talking books, and a wide array of electronic and digital materials. "VisuNEWS by phone is one of our most popular services and makes an enormous difference in our clients' lives," said Margaret McGrory, Executive Director of the CNIB Library. "Without it most Canadians who are blind or visually impaired would have no access to the daily newspaper, an essential source of information that the rest of us take for granted. We applaud CTT and SpeechWorks for making this technology possible." "VisuNEWS is a powerful tool offering people who are blind or visually impaired greater access to news and information to enhance their lives," said Steve Chambers, Chief Marketing Officer at SpeechWorks. "We continue to see increased interest in our TTS suite of products for embedded and network applications such as this that deliver dynamic text-based information to callers in a natural sounding voice." About CTT Computer Talk Technology, Inc. (CTT) designs, deploys, and supports contact center solutions for clients worldwide. Established in 1987, CTT is headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Montreal, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , and Staffordshire, England. CTT's products unify multi-channel communications - improving staff productivity, contact management, and service levels - and enhance business performance. The company's managed outsourcing products and services leverage clients' existing investments and empower them with the freedom to manage as much or as little of their contact center as they wish. Services include custom application development, outsourced agents, flexible service agreements, and dedicated customer service. Customers include Barclays Bank, Bell Canada Bell Canada Enterprises (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE), legally BCE Inc., is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Through its subsidiaries including Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for , TD Waterhouse, Staples, Enbridge Consumers Gas, and Grocery Gateway. Complete information on Computer Talk Technology is available on the company web site at: www.computer-talk.com. About SpeechWorks Organizations around the world trust SpeechWorks to manage their customer conversations. As the leading provider of speech technologies and services, SpeechWorks helps companies create and implement unique speech strategies that ensure maximum financial return and the highest levels of caller satisfaction. The Company provides speech recognition, text-to-speech (TTS) and speaker verification for network and embedded environments, including new multimodal Two or more modes of operation. The term is used to refer to a myriad of functions and conditions in which two or more different methods, processes or forms of delivery are used. On the Web, it refers to asking for something one way and receiving the answer another; for example requesting devices with both an audio interface and visual display. SpeechWorks' customers include carriers, corporations and government organizations, such as America Online, Citibank Europe, CIBC CIBC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIBC Centres Interinstitutionnels de Bilan de Compétences CIBC Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control (Trinidad) CIBC Commercial International Brokerage Company Bank, IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. , Microsoft, National Federation of the Blind The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is an organization of blind people in the United States. It is the oldest and most likely largest national organization to be led by blind people. Its national headquarters are in Baltimore, Maryland. , Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and United Airlines. For more information, please call 617-428-4444 or visit www.speechworks.com. |
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