Online Community Focuses on the Needs of People With Disabilities

FOR RELEASE -- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2002

FLORHAM PARK, NJ -- AT&T Labs today announced that it has signed an
agreement to provide AT&T Labs' Natural Voices (tm) Text-to-Speech Engine to
Minneapolis-based
Serotek Corporation for its Freedom Box Internet accessibility product line
and its Freedom Box Network online community.

The Freedom Box Internet accessibility product is a conversational Internet
interface that allows users to access the Internet and operate computers
using
voice commands alone.  The Freedom Box Network is a full-service Internet
Service Provider (ISP) and custom-designed online network community focused
on
the interests and needs of people with disabilities.  The Freedom Box
Network removes many barriers to Internet use and provides custom content so
users
with visual disabilities don't have to visit text-based Web sites.  If users
want to surf beyond Freedom Box's custom network, they can still listen to
Web-based content because the ISP automatically converts text to Voice
Extensible Markup Language in near-real time.

Users can simply speak and listen.  Freedom Box is a "conversational" Web
interface that tells users the choices they have and describes exactly what
is
available on a Web page using AT&T Labs Natural Voices text-to-speech
engine.  If the Web page has links to other pages, Freedom Box can turn
those links
into an audio menu that it reads aloud.  Users simply tell the Freedom Box
which link to take.   If users get confused they can simply say "Back" or if
an explanation is needed, they can say "Help" and Freedom Box will explain
the current Web page and what choices are available.  Just like anyone else,
Freedom Box users can access the Web to check electronic mail, shop online,
retrieve news, whether, sports and stock information, and even participate
in chat rooms.

 "The natural-sounding quality of AT&T Labs Natural Voices text-to-speech
engine will help alleviate the fatigue often associated with listening to
robotic-sounding
voices over long periods of time," said Michael Calvo, president and chief
executive officer of Serotek Corporation.  "The AT&T speech engine offers us
the best choice for easy integration with our Freedom Box products."

The Freedom Box is offered in three different accessibility product packages
including: PC software for qualified personal computers, a plug-and-play
Internet
access device, and a high-powered computer that will run virtually all
applications customized for disability access.

"The Freedom Box is a great product that will open up Internet access for
many people with disabilities," said Lex McCusker, general manager of AT&T
Labs
Natural Voices products.  "By selecting AT&T Labs' speech engine, Serotek
has reaffirmed that we have the best product on the market to meet the
rigorous
needs of its customers."

>From the first synthesized speech system in 1939 to today, AT&T Labs has
been the world's leading speech technology pioneer, creating the highest
quality
and most robust speech systems available.  AT&T Labs holds more than 150
patents in automatic speech recognition, text-to-speech, speech synthesis
and
speech translation technologies.  The AT&T Labs Natural Voices web site can
be found at
www.naturalvoices.att.com
Information is also available by phone at 1-877-741-4321.

Serotek invites interested parties to visit its Web site at
www.freedombox.info
for more detailed descriptions of the products and services.  Information
packets in Braille and demonstration tapes are also available by calling
1-877-661-3785.

About AT&T Labs Natural Voices Speech Products:
AT&T Labs Natural Voices Text-to-Speech (TTS) Engine was launched on July
31, 2001.  Considered to be one of the most human-sounding computer-speech
systems
in the world, AT&T Labs TTS engine has the capability to recreate
practically any voice.  The product consists of a text-to-speech "engine"
that turns
written words into natural-sounding speech, a library of male and female
voices in different languages, and the ability to custom develop a voice
that
becomes the unique property of the customer.  New languages are introduced
approximately every three months and product enhancements are added on a
regular
basis.  Headquartered in Florham Park, NJ, the product team leverages the
talents and expertise of AT&T Labs, one of the world's premier corporate
research
organizations.  Since its introduction, AT&T Labs Natural Voices products
are quickly becoming an accepted standard by which all other TTS engines are
measured.  For more information go to
www.naturalvoices.com

###



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