Batavia Firm Rides on
CoCo's Coattails
Perhaps the most impressive outcome of this local firm's augmentation of the Tandy Color Computer's offerings is their speech-recognition program, which sells for under $100. Although there are similar programs for other Pcs, prices generally range from at least $200 for home uses to thousands of dollars for the more business-market oriented computers. [Prices reflect article's writing publication date in 1986.]
Speech Systems' version consists of a hardware pak, a microphone, and software, works with Speech Systems' Voice and SuperVoice hardware and software, and "learns" up to 84 words with 95% to 98% recognition accuracy. Although its largest current market is hobbyists, Parry hopes to interest more educational and business customers in the product.
The University of Oklahoma and the University of California have already purchased the package (called, appropriately, "Ears"), and Parry is looking forward to others' applications of Speech Systems' speech recognition and voice synthesis programs. His biggest hope along these lines is development of additional software to enable the visually and manually impaired to utilize the "hands off" capability of these products -- which already ranges from such simple things as turning on and off the TV, coffee maker, etc., to actual computer programing using BASIC.
Speech Systems is able to offer this "product of the future" for use today at prices unheard of as little as two years ago partly due to its low overhead. Parry's five-person staff includes two employees who take and process orders and two who manufacture and test the products. Speech Systems advertises heavily in CoCo magazines (another burgeoning coattail industry based on Tandy's ever popular Color Computer), including seven-page spreads in The Rainbow, a 250-page monthly magazine devoted entirely to users of the Tandy Color Computer.(Many customers who use the relatively inexpensive CoCo and its related products in their businesses and who claim it equals or outperforms the more expensive "professional" PCs wish Tandy put as much faith in its CoCo product as the coattail industry does!) [Editorial note: Tandy dropped the Color Computer from its line within a few years after the release of the Color Computer 3.]
Although "Ears" may have stolen the thunder from other Speech Systems products as far as publicity is concerned, it is by far not Speech Systems' only product. Speech Systems' SuperVoice has an optional vocabulary of over 500 digitized words. Unlike the traditional synthesized voices, SuperVoice uses actual voice announcers to create more accurate speech reproduction. It will soon be adding to its repertoire a woman's voice and a child's voice.
Parry's interests have always been along the lines of more sophisticated computer applications, rather than going the standard joystick-games route. For example, other Speech Systems products include a $30 software package that turns the PC into a high-quality musical instrument, as well as similarly low-priced software and hardware (and even a 61-note keyboard) that turn the CoCo into a 12-voice, polyphonic music synthesizer.
These music offerings are of professional quality and are compatible with any MIDI-equipped music synthesizer. Amateurs or professionals may record their music as they play it and then print the actual notes to screen for editing or to printer for hard copy. An educational feature of one of these products is an on-screen keyboard with moving keys showing the notes played. For the noncomposer, a list of 800 songs -- arranged for Speech Systems' Musica 2 -- is also available.
Part of the success of this local small company is based upon its low prices for high quality products. The rest probably comes from Parry's expertise and personal interest in his products. An electrical engineer with 13 years' experience, Parry has also taught computer science at the college level. His musical background is, perhaps, less academic and less professional; he studied clarinet for 5 years and once played guitar in a rock band.
In the late '70s, Parry started writing articles about music for computer magazines. "I'd comment that, if people wanted more information, they could write me directly," Parry remembers. "They did: in surprising numbers! And suddenly, I realized there was an interest in and market for computer-music programs." The combination of his expertise, his musical bent, and his genuine interest in the public and their needs was the beginning of his new career; and, as we have just related, the rest is now history.
Or perhaps, future. When this article was begun, Parry had felt his line of products had just about reached the limits of the CoCo's 64K memory capacity and was looking into expanding to products for other computer companies. "I'm looking for larger markets," he said then.
However, as if responding to Parry's needs, Tandy has finally come out with its long-rumored and long-awaited Color Computer 3 -- already receiving rave reviews from The Rainbow. This new, 128K Color Computer, expandable to half a megabyte, expands the CoCo's memory 10 times and is to be available to customers by the end of August. Surfacing claims suggest the CoCo 3 outperforms much of the competition -- both "professional" and "home-use" computers of similar type but not necessarily similar price (only $220).
Most programs previously designed for the CoCo are supposed to work on the CoCo 3 -- with, perhaps, some minimal rewriting or patches; but the additional memory capacity opens new avenues for third-party suppliers such as Parry and Speech Systems. If Tandy supports this computer as poorly as it does its other CoCo products, the coattail industry should have a gold mine in the CoCo3. We can be sure Parry's Speech Systems will be looking into being in the forefront of the rush to develop new and expanded products for this new Tandy computer.
And Parry has already begun arrangements to create products for Commodore's Amiga and is looking toward other lines, as well, perhaps the Atari. Soon, other computer company's customers will be able to look forward to a line of integrated products that is Speech Systems' trademark and currently only available to the Tandy Color Computer.
For those who are impressed with credentials, Parry has an engineering degree from the University of Illinois, a Master's degree in Business Administration from Northern Illinois University, and the CDP (certified data processing) certificate.
Speech Systems accepts orders by mail or phone. It also has an active BBS which allows telecommunications ordering. Speech Systems' address is: 38 V 255 Deerpath Rd.; Batavia, IL 60510. For further information, you may call 555-6880 (voice) or 555-8811 (24-hour BBS).
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