This application is a quick and dirty hack. It speaks the phrases stored with each of the new MacinTalk III voices. Instead of the usual description the comment for each voice is a funny or strange phrase. This kind of hidden information is usually called an 'Easter Egg'.
Thanks to Brian Kendig and Lawrence D'Oliveiro for giving Talking Eggs a quick try.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Talking Eggs requires the Speech Manager 1.2 with one or more of the MacinTalk III voices made available by Apple. You can use it with System 6, provided you have the Speech Manager installed, but for ”practical“ reasons you need System 7 or later.
Some people complain the MacinTalk III voices are getting chopped up and are difficult to hear. It appears one needs at least a Quadra to have the speech work properly…
INSTALLATION
Put the Talking Eggs application into your Startup Items folder (see why you need System 7?).
WHAT DOES IT DO?
Talking Eggs picks random one of the installed MacinTalk III voices and speaks the phrase stored as a comment with that voice. I.e. the voice “Bubbles” will speak the sentence “Pull the plug! I'am drowning!”. By putting Talking Eggs into the Startup Items folder you will hear a phrase everytime your computer starts up.
EASTER EGGS
This is the full list of the MacinTalk III voices with their age and comment:
Albert (30): "I have a frog in my throat. No, I mean a real frog!"
Bad News (50): "The light you see at the end of the tunnel is the headlamp of a fast approaching train."
Bahh (2): "Do not pull the wool over my eyes."
Bells (100): "Time flies when you are having fun."
Boing (1): "Spring has sprung, fall has fell, winter's here and it's colder than usual."
Bubblesm (0): "Pull the plug! I'am drowning!"
Cellos (50): "Doo da doo da dum dee dee doodly doo dum dum dum doo da doo da doo da doo da doo da doo da doo"
Deranged (30): "I need to go on a really long vacation."
Fred (30): "I sure like being inside this fancy computer."
Good News (8): "Congratulations you just won the sweepstakes and you don't have to pay income tax again."
Hysterical (30): "Please stop tickling me!"
Junior (8): "My favorite food is pizza."
Kathy (30): "Isn't it nice to have a computer that will talk to you?"
Pipe Organ (500): "Never laugh when a hearse goes by for you may be the next to die they wrap you up in a bloody sheet they lower you down about fifty feet the worms crawl!"
Princess (8): "When I grow up I'm going to be a scientist."
Ralph (50): "The sum of the squares of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse."
Trinoids (2001): "We cannot communicate with these carbon units."
Whisper (30): "Pssssst, hey you, yeah you, Who do ya think I'am talking to, the mouse?"
No charge may be levied for this program, nor may it be included as part of any package sold for profit without express authorization from the author. It may be distributed freely via BBS's and other electronic data services that do not explicitly charge for file downloads, that is, do not charge a per file rate as opposed to a per hour rate. This includes, but is not limited to, services such as Compuserve, America Online, Genie, and the public access InterNet sites such as sumex-aim.stanford.edu. Further, no service or distributor may attach additional restrictions to this program or to its distribution. This software must be distributed unmodified, and complete with documentation.
Permission for commercial distribution is granted to:
Arizona Macintosh Users Group (BBS in a box CD-ROM)
IDG Communications Nederland (MacWorld CD-ROM)
Pacific HiTech, Inc. (Info-Mac CD-ROM)
Quantum Leap Technologies, Inc. (The Right Stuffed CD-ROM)
This program is provided “as-is” without warranty of any kind, including the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Although all reasonable efforts have been made to remove, or document all bugs, the author does not warrant, guarantee, or make any representations regarding the use, or the results of the use, of the software or accompanying instructions in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise. The entire risk as to the results and performance of the software is assumed by you. If the software or instructions are defective, you, and not the author, assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction. The author shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of your use or inability to use this product, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
AUTHOR
René G.A. Ros
D.C. van Krimpenstraat 3
1067 SG Amsterdam-Geuzenveld
The Netherlands, Europe
email adresses:
INTERNET:
rgaros@bio.vu.nl
COMPUSERVE:
>INTERNET: rgaros@bio.vu.nl
100112,1363
(The bio.vu.nl address is used almost daily, the COMPUSERVE address a few times a month).
