The « VODER » doesn’t that sound like a character from Star Wars or Star Trek?

Great historical piece explaining exactly what the Voder is, was… the first device that could generate continuous human speech electronically. The flowing composition of the many speech sounds had to be done manually in real-time on a special keyboard.

Video is here

Bell Laboratories (think Western Electric….) developed this back in 1939…to say it took so long for this type of technology to become mainstream as we know it today is amazing.

It’s all about making inventions work?

Note that at minute 4:25 a comment is made about women using the “Voder” and the speaker in a calm manner says regarding women using the Voder

“It requires a particular combination of particular talents that is not too common”…wow…. things have changed indeed!

So maybe that is what it never hit the mass market?

All fun…