SpeakMe For Mac

Mac OS X integrates the possibility to convert any text to speech and comes with multiple voices to support this function. However, you do not have the option to save the audio content to a file: each time you want to listen to the text you must activate the Speech tool.

SpeakMe is a minimalist OS X application that relies on the built-in system voices, but also enables you to export the recording the an AIFF file. The well organized interface makes the whole process more user friendly.

Many new OS X users do not know about the inbuilt text to speech function because the option is tucked away in the default Edit menu. At the same time, to change the default voice or the speech speed, you must navigate to the System Preferences window.

All this changes considerably when using the SpeakMe application: the customization options are visible on site, and you can start or stop the speech by pressing a button.

Most importantly, the adjustments performed within the SpeakMe utility will not interfere with the default system settings.

To start using the SpeakMe application all you have to do is paste the text you want to hear in the app’s main window and press the playback button.

Note that SpeakMe does not include a pause function: if you stop the speaking process, you will have to start listening from the top.

A simple workaround it would be to remove the piece of text your have already listened. SpeakMe helps you keep track of the progress by highlighting the current word.

Since you get to export the audio content to an AIFF audio file, you can bypass all these issues by employing a player featuring basic capabilities.