Paul, coming from a radio person, your voice is... something. Leaps ahead the podcasts at Arizona Republic in any case. It also first reminded me of hearing those voices on a Mac... when text to speech was newer.

I don't think anyone has made GREAT strides in t-t-s, or perhaps this Pittsburgh firm they contracted with just isn't very cutting edge. They say they nicknamed the voice "Diane." It's probably the "Diane" voice on the Mac's text pad circa ten years ago.

I can't imagine something like this ever really taking hold. Perhaps they did it just to do it.

I had to pay *close* attention to the podcast to make up for the aural cues that would have occured as matter of course with even an amateur human -- pauses, inflection.

I also don't see any potential value for advertisers. Computers can replace humans in many tasks but I see a line clearly drawn in this application.