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The Speak N Spell was introduced at the Summer Consumer Electronic Show in Chicago in June, 1978. This chapter describes what the final product looked like and how it worked. Finally it talks about the successful introduction at the Consumer Electronic Show.

What it looked like

The product that we created did not look at all like the original concept. If you look back at Chapter 1, you'll see Paul's original concept, both as he drew it in his engineering notebook, and how it was redrawn for later presentations. The name also changed from "Spelling Bee" to "Speak N Spell". The reasoning for the name change was to emphasize the fact that this new product could speak. It also allowed for follow on products like the "Speak N Read" and "Speak N Math".

The final product design looked more like a book with a handle on it than a child's toy. The color choice was a bit of a surprise but was, in fact, a good choice for the product. As you can see from Figure 1, the keyboard was laid out in alphabetical order with the vowels highlighted. The original Speak N Spell had raised push buttons, but was modified to have a flat membrane keyboard in the third year of production. The display was a green vacuum florescent, all capital, alpha-numeric display (Figure 2). We had many discussions about what size of batteries we would use, finally choosing "C" cells, which gave us the best trade off between product thickness and battery life.

Speak N Spell

Vacuum Florescent Display showing "Spell A".

The Speak N Spell was introduced without a power adapter, although the circuitry for the adapter was designed in but not populated with components (see figure 1, lower left hand corner). It was not populated, as I did not believe that a child of the age the product was designed for was mature enough to properly plug something into the wall. We did create an educator's version which could be used in the classroom. This version did have a power adapter, so that teachers could use it in their classrooms without having to spend a fortune on batteries. The educator's version also had a plug for a headset so that the whole class was not disturbed when one student was playing with the Speak N Spell.

How it worked

The Speak N Spell's main purpose was to help students learn to spell. It seemed every parent and teacher knew how this process of learning played out. The words were pronounced by the parent and the student is then asked to spell the pronounced word. The student then attempted to spell the word. If spelled wrong the parent asked them to try again with perhaps a hint or two to help the student. After the student had given up on trying to spell the word, the parent spelled it and then would go on to the next word on the list. If the student spelled that word correctly, the parent praised the accomplishment before going to the next word on the list. This was the obvious algorithm for the Speak N Spell to use. But to enhance the learning and fun the product actually had five different learning activities:

Questions & Answers

what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
what is inflammation
Shelly Reply
part of a tissue or an organ being wounded or bruised.
Wilfred
what term is used to name and classify microorganisms?
Micheal Reply
Binomial nomenclature
adeolu
what's microbiome?
john Reply
Microbiology is the scientific study of microorganisms
Ibra
the microorganisms in a particular environment (including the body or a part of the body).
Ibra
describe the bacterial cell
Akello
The biggest populations of microbes reside in the gut.other popular habitats include the skin genitals.The microbial cells and their genetic material ,the microbiome ,live with human from birth .
Zahreen
can agriculture be integrated into biology
David
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Source:  OpenStax, The speak n spell. OpenStax CNX. Jan 31, 2014 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11501/1.5
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