This TechTIP will explain how you can create your own personalized voice announcement when you receive email with either Microsoft Outlook, or Eudora.

My wife and I saw the 1998 movie, You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan when it came to our local theatre, and my wife's comment was, "That is probably another reason people buy Apple computers, they can talk instead of just beep."  My wife is not a computer user - but she did know that my IBM compatible PC beeped when I got mail.  I explained that I could make my PC do that too, and it could even be her voice.  I recorded her voice and have used that recording to announce my emails ever since.  You can use that announcement to set-up your PC until you can record your own.  Right click on the following link, Save Target As, choose a destination and Save to your PC --> You've Got Mail.

Outlook / XP Pro

1. Close Microsoft Outlook.
   a. In Control Panel, get to Sounds and Audio Devices.
   b. Click the Sounds tab.
   c. Under Program Events, under Windows, select New Mail Notification.

2. Click Browse, and then select a new .wav audio file.
3. Click OK.
(Note The audio file can be located anywhere on your hard disk or network share that you always have access to. If you move the audio file or if the file is not accessible for any reason, the sound will not play.)

4. Restart Outlook.

Eudora v7 / XP Pro

1. From within Eudora select Tools/Options/Getting Attention

2. Check the boxes - 'open mailbox' and 'play a sound'

3. Double-click the drop-down under 'play a sound' and navigate to where you saved your sound file, select it and click Open, then click OK.

How To Record Your Own Voice Announcement

1. Open the Sound Recorder (Programs/Accessories/Entertainment)

2. Click on the Record icon at the far right to begin recording and click the Stop icon when you are finished.  You can select Play to hear how it sounds before choosing File Save As to store it on your PC.

Sight & Sound PowerPoint Demo

If you missed it in the last issue, but would like to receive the Sight & Sound PowerPoint Demo with the audio and video clip described in the three-part series, just click on this link and when the window opens select RUN, and when the next window opens select RUN again.