January 21, 2012

الحمدلله الذي أنعم علي بنعمته ورزقني بمولود

Thanks to Allah for blessing me with a beautiful baby boy.

Recording OS X Text to Speech to an Audio file using Terminal

This is a very useful method to record OS X text to speech into an audio file.

1. Create a text file using TextEdit and write whatever you want the Mac to speak then save it as "text.txt" on your desktop.
   
   
2. Open Terminal
   
   
3. Type cd ~/desktop and click Enter
   
   
4. Type say -v Alex -o "audio.aiff" -f "text.txt" being "audio.aiff" is the name of the audio output file and "text.txt" is the name of your text file saved on your desktop then click Enter

Once you click Enter the audio file will appear on your desktop.

You can change the voice with any of OS X system voices (Kathy, Vicky, Victoria, Alex, Bruce, Fred) by replacing Alex with any of the names.

Note that even ".rtf" files can be read as well so in that case just change "text.txt" with "text.rtf".

Learning Misconception

Here's an advice for all of you graduate students...
NEVER defy your instructor even if he/she was wrong.

I'm doing my masters degree in instructional design for open and distance teaching and training. Our current module is "Design and Presentation of ODL materials" and part of our study is learning HTML attributes. It is funny how my basic knowledge of HTML became useful.

What we are being taught in our workbook is that "ALT attribute" for graphics and media is basically a mere tooltip option rather than accessibility feature. There's also no mention for the "Title attribute" which is in fact the rightful attribute for tooltips on web pages. When I told the instructor it is a misconception he told me to wait and see. He defined ALT attribute for an image on dreamweaver to demonstrate how it works and when he moved the mouse over the image waiting for a tooltip to show text he entered nothing happened. I told him this has nothing to do with ALT attribute, it's Title attribute that handles tooltips. He insisted that there's a problem with his browser and all of us should try it on our computers.

I, being ignorant, defined my image with a Title attribute. When he came to check my work, to his shock mine was the only one working, I told him see this is the right attribute. He stood still for a couple of seconds. Goes back to the center of class and says arrogantly "When I ask you to do something you do it precisely. I don't need your help rather you need mine." Double/you-tea-ef ?!

Ok, my fault. I don't need to tell a professor what's right and what's wrong but if he is teaching us this misconception how is he expecting us to succeed? No wonder why our learning outcome sucks and nobody seems to understand what he/she is doing.

Belated new year resolutions

My blog has been up for the past 6 years *shocked how time passes by* and I'm still here, not active as I used to be but still alive and kicking'. My belated new year resolutions are:

• Be a better person (that includes being a better son, husband, brother, uncle and friend)


• Blog more often


• Do my best in my masters study


• Become super dad for my upcoming baby


• Buy a new car without having to sell the one I have


• Enjoy photography even more


• Ease up on shisha ( yeah right -_- )