Talking Desktop Clock

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Talking Desktop Clock adds new features to your Windows^® system tray clock.

It shows the time in the system tray and/or on the desktop,
You can choose from many attractive clock styles, both analog and digital. You can also make custom clock styles.
It uses Microsoft^® Speech or Microsoft^® Agent to announce the time on the hour, ½ hour, or ¼ hour, or at any interval you choose.
It can play a chime on the hour, ½ hour, or ¼ hour, or at any interval you choose.
You can choose from a number of different chimes, from classic to silly. You can also make custom chimes that play .WAV files.

Installation Notes • Download • Screen Shots • Acknowledgements and Awards

Installation Notes

To install and use Talking Desktop Clock, your system will need:

Windows^® XP, Windows^® Vista (32-bit or 64-bit), or Windows^® 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
From 10 MB to 100 MB of free disk space, depending on the optional clock styles and chimes you install.

Additional Features

Talking Desktop Clock has a number of optional clock styles and chimes that are only installed if you choose a Complete or Custom installation. The setup files for these optional features are downloaded automatically as required.

Automatic Startup

Once Talking Desktop Clock has been installed, you can get it to start automatically when you log on:

Find the Talking Desktop Clock shortcut in your Start menu.
Right-click on the shortcut and use Copy to put it on the clipboard.
Open the Startup folder in the Start menu.
Right-click and use Paste to add a copy of the Talking Desktop Clock shortcut.

Since all shortcuts in the Startup folder are started when you log on, Talking Desktop Clock will now start automatically.

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Microsoft^® Speech

Talking Desktop Clock can use Microsoft^® Speech to announce the time.

Microsoft^® Speech is included in Windows^® XP and later Windows^® versions. It has two main features: Text-to-Speech lets programs speak to you, and Speech Recognition lets you speak to programs. Talking Desktop Clock uses the Text-to-Speech feature.

The Speech settings in the Windows^® Control Panel let you configure Text-to-Speech for all programs running on your computer. Talking Desktop Clock uses those settings by default, but it also lets you override the default settings.

Microsoft^® Agent

Talking Desktop Clock can use Microsoft^® Agent or Double Agent to announce the time.

Microsoft^® Agent is included in Windows^® XP and Windows^® Vista, but on in later Windows^® versions. If Microsoft^® Agent isn't installed on your computer, Talking Desktop Clock setup will automatically try to install Double Agent. If you want to install Microsoft^® Agent, go to the Microsoft^® Agent Download Reference page for more details.

Also, the Microsoft^® Agent installation on Windows^® Vista and Windows^® 7 may not include all of the basic characters. The Talking Desktop Clock setup will download and install any missing characters.

Agent Text-to-Speech

For Microsoft^® Agent characters to talk, a text-to-speech engine must be available.

On Windows^® XP, Microsoft^® SAPI4 (Speech Application Programming Interface version 4) is required for Agent characters to speak.

For Windows^® Vista and Windows^® 7, Microsoft^® Agent will use the speech engine that comes with Windows^® (SAPI5). However, if you want to use any of the voices that were available for SAPI4, you'll need to install both SAPI4 and the speech engines for those voices.

The Talking Desktop Clock setup includes options for installing SAPI4 and the SAPI4 voices that used to be included with Microsoft^® Agent. To use these options, choose the custom setup type.

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Download

Run the Talking Desktop Clock setup (click on the link and pick Run or Open). The setup program will download and open the installation package. Then just follow the installation instructions.

Once the Desktop Clock has been installed, look for Talking Desktop Clock in the Programs Menu.

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