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CLEMMONS, NC- Like many parents in today's hectic and fast-paced world, Adrien Curry is constantly seeking new solutions to managing her time even while juggling a multitude of tasks for kids and home. A teacher and dedicated stay-at-home parent of five, as well as a student pursuing a Master's in Waldorf education, Adrien wanted to find a tool that would help her study her online college lectures while keeping an eye on her young children at the same time. After a search for Text to Speech (TTS) solutions, Adrien came across TextAloud software from NextUp Technologies (http://www.NextUp.com).

TextAloud is simple to use PC software that enables users to easily turn text into natural-sounding speech audio files that they can listen to aloud anywhere, from the computer, to the car, or using any one of a number of popular portable devices such as the iPod®, iPhone™ and more. With TextAloud, reading from books, websites, e-mail, and beyond becomes truly portable for listening enjoyment anywhere the user goes.

The software proved to be easy to install on Adrien's PC, and was an immediate success at helping with her schooling, allowing her to export her lectures, assignments, articles and more to audio files that she could listen to even while she cared for her young children, managed the house, ran errands, and more.

"It's a lifesaver!" comments Adrien. "I have several lengthy online lectures for class, and TextAloud works really well to help me watch my kids and listen to the lectures instead of tiring out my eyes from being glued to a screen."

TextAloud proved useful to Adrien not only in listening to required college lectures, but also in her evaluation of other students' work, which is another important yet often time-consuming aspect of her studies. "In this area, TextAloud easily saves me one to two hours a day," she comments. The program also proved valuable in providing relief from extensive headache-inducing time at the computer. "I would definitely recommend TextAloud for anyone who gets fatigue symptoms from computer time," she adds. "TextAloud also helps me proofread my own work--it especially helps when my eyes are tired, but my ear readily picks up my grammatical errors I would otherwise miss, and sometimes helps me hear where I could reword my thoughts better, too. "

While TextAloud soon proved to be invaluable to Adrien in her life as an online student, she soon found other uses for the software in her daily life, as well. "With TextAloud," she laughs, "I can listen to e-mails, fold laundry and make sure my toddler and baby are not eating cat food -- or thinking that the kitty litter is a new sandbox!" She has also enjoyed involving her children in the technology in fun ways as well. "The kids will type in funny things for the software to say, and everyone laughs. It's been fun introducing them to this kind of technology, and it gets them interested in their typing skills too!"

Adrien's favorite aspect of TextAloud is the software's flexibility when it comes to controlling the sound and speed of the spoken material. "The pitch and speed control are very helpful," adds Adrien, "I like being able to change it around to keep it from being monotonous." The 'pause between sentence' feature is also a favorite of hers, as it helps her to integrate her thoughts while listening to a reading. "Also, in those times when I feel sleepy but know I should get some reading in, a higher-pitched voice keeps me more alert."

Adrien is now sold on Text to Speech technology and its usefulness, whether in the school, in the home, or in the workplace. "I'm more productive at school and more relaxed in my home," she comments. "But I really knew Text to Speech was a valid means of communication when I found myself practically rolling on the floor laughing while listening to some entertaining anecdotal reading read aloud by the software. TextAloud is excellent!"

About TextAloud
TextAloud has been featured in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Writer's Digest, on CNN, and more. Hailed by critics and users alike, TextAloud is priced at just $29.95, and is compatible with systems using Windows (R) 98, NT, 2000, XP and VISTA. The program is available for fast, safe and secure purchase via /purchase.html.

NextUp.com also offers TextAloud with optional premium voices from AT&T Natural Voices™, Nuance®, Acapela® and Cepstral® for the most natural-sounding computer speech anywhere. Available languages include U.S. English, U.K. English, Indian Accent English, Scottish Accent English, Arabic, Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Belgian Dutch, Faroese, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian, Castilian (European) Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

About NextUp.com
NextUp.com, a division of NextUp Technologies, LLC, provides award-winning Text to Speech software for consumers, business customers, educators, and those with visual or vocal impairment, or learning disabilities.

In addition to TextAloud, NextUp.com markets other innovative Windows software designed to save time and deliver vital information. NextUp Talker is an easy and affordable program that allows people who have lost their voices to use the latest in high-quality computer voices to communicate with others.

Note to Editors:

Evaluation copies of TextAloud are currently available upon request. To receive a review copy, or for more information on NextUp.com or TextAloud, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at (904) 982-8043.

All companies and products referenced in this press release are the trademarks of their respective owners.