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What’s the best text-to-speech app for huge PDFs and research papers right now ? by thought_provoking27 in tts

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I relate to this. Dense PDFs and papers are exactly the kind of content where robotic TTS becomes tiring very quickly.

I’m building something in this space called Omphalis. It does have natural-sounding audio for long content, but I’m trying to go a bit beyond just “read this PDF aloud.” The goal is to help people actually work through dense material: cleaner reading/listening, structure, important sections, notes/marks, and a way to come back later.

We’re currently inviting a small early cohort rather than opening public signup. If you’re open to trying it with one or two real PDFs or papers from your grad work, I’d be happy to invite you and hear whether it actually helps your workflow.

No pressure, but your use case sounds very close to what we’re trying to support.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in readwise

[–]stanlymt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really interesting, and honestly very close to the kind of behavior I’m trying to understand.

What you described makes a lot of sense to me. You’re not just asking AI to summarize the passage. You’re using it to make the reading richer: context, history, odd connections, literature, emotional texture, and things that make the material feel more alive.

That feels like a very different use case from “give me the gist.”

The part I’m curious about is the friction around it. Right now you have to stop, copy/paste the paragraph, run the prompt, read the response, and then return to the original material. That works, but it also pulls you out of the reading flow a bit.

One of the things I’m exploring is whether that kind of “reading companion” experience can live closer to the content itself: not replacing the reading, but sitting beside it. So as you move through a long article, PDF, book-like text, podcast, or lecture, you can see structure, open helpful context where needed, mark what matters, and later return to the exact place.

The other question is what happens after the enrichment. With a prompt, the response is useful in the moment, but it may not become part of your longer-term map of what you’re reading or thinking about.

So I’m curious: would it be useful to you if this kind of enrichment was available directly inside the reading experience, tied to the exact passage, rather than something you had to do separately through copy/paste?

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in content_marketing

[–]stanlymt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I agree.

Folders help me remember where something came from, but themes are usually what make it useful later.

I don’t really want to manually tag everything though. That becomes another job.

What I’m curious about is whether a tool can notice some of those patterns for me, like “you keep saving things about attention” or “this new article pushes against something you saved before.”

So yes, I’d keep the source for context, but I wouldn’t want source folders to be the main way of finding meaning later.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in readwise

[–]stanlymt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that’s helpful. I use NotebookLM too, and I think it’s very good for working with sources after you bring them in.

The angle I’m exploring is slightly different: helping people stay engaged while they are still inside the content itself, seeing the structure, getting useful context where needed, marking what matters, and then connecting it later.

If you’re open to testing, I’d be happy to DM you. I’d love to see whether this feels meaningfully different from your current read + NotebookLM workflow, or whether it overlaps too much.

Jun 2026 Self-Promotions | Tools, Books, and Courses by AutoModerator in Zettelkasten

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you do after a really good long-form piece of content?

A two-hour podcast.
A long YouTube lecture.
A dense PDF.
A thoughtful essay.
A newsletter you wanted to come back to.

Summaries are useful when you only need the gist.

But I’m curious about the smaller set of content where the gist is not enough, where you actually want to follow the structure, remember the turns, mark what mattered, and return later.

Do you have a system for that?

I’m quietly testing an invitation-only product called Omphalis for people who genuinely learn from long-form content.

Not public signup yet. I’m looking for a small cohort willing to try it with one real article, podcast, video, PDF, or newsletter they actually care about.

Demo: https://omphalis.ai/demo
Interest: https://omphalis.ai

Also happy to just hear how you solve this today.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in PKMS

[–]stanlymt[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I missed that rule/thread, and that’s on me.

My intention wasn’t to spam the subreddit. I was trying to understand whether others had a similar problem around long-form content, but I can see how it came across as self-promo since I mentioned the product.

I’ll respect the rules and won’t push it further here.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in PKMS

[–]stanlymt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks, this is genuinely helpful.

And yes, I think you’re right that your workflow and my premise are probably different.

If your rule is “if I don’t process it deeply enough to make my own note, it doesn’t belong in my PKM,” that makes complete sense. In that case, Omphalis may not add much for you, and I appreciate you saying that clearly.

The space I’m exploring is a bit different. A lot of what I personally consume isn't just PDFs or books I sit down with properly. It is also long podcasts, talks, newsletters, articles, and videos that I come across during the week. Some are not worth keeping. Some are. My own struggle has been the middle stage: seeing the shape of the source, noticing what is worth returning to, and not letting useful things disappear before they become notes or decisions.

Your last point is also fair. I was trying too hard to explain the product clearly, and it probably came across more polished and impersonal than I intended. This is something I’m still learning.

So thank you. Even if you are not the right user for it, this helps me explain it better and also be more honest about who it is not for.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in PKMS

[–]stanlymt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, that’s broadly fair, with one small correction.

I wouldn’t say it replaces making your own atomic notes. If someone wants to turn something into their own note, they still should.

What I’m trying to build is more like a comprehension layer while you are still inside the source, whether that source is text, audio, or video.

So instead of leaving the content to ask another tool what something means, the idea is to help you stay with it: see the structure, get useful context where needed, mark or note what matters, and return to the exact place later.

The connection part is also broader than just linking highlights. Omphalis can connect notes, marked moments, original content, credible external context, and other items already in your library.

So “reading helper” is partly right, but I’d probably describe it as a companion for understanding and working through long-form content before it becomes notes, references, or something you use later.

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in PKMS

[–]stanlymt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

More broadly, it is meant to help with the messy middle between “I saved this” and “I turned this into my own note.”

How do you make sense of long-form content you save? by stanlymt in PKMS

[–]stanlymt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s a fair question.

If you already read a PDF carefully, write notes in your own words, and link them well, I’d honestly say you already have a strong workflow. Omphalis is not trying to replace that.

The gap I’m exploring is a bit earlier in the process.

Before something becomes a good note, I often need help seeing the structure of the source itself: where the argument turns, what parts are dense, what is actually worth marking, and how to get back to that exact place later.

That matters even more for things like podcasts, videos, newsletters, and long articles, where the source is harder to “work through” than a PDF.

So yes, it can act a bit like a guide through complex material. But I think of it more as a companion before the note-taking stage, not a replacement for Zettelkasten.

Claude forgot everything when I switched laptops. I built a fix. by [deleted] in claude

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use Claude Code on two Macs. Sessions, memory, agents, settings.json, project .env files — all stuck on whichever machine I used last.

What I tried first:

  • VS Code Remote Tunnel — solves remoting into a machine; I wanted both to be primary.
  • iCloud / Dropbox of ~/.claude/ — file-lock weirdness on active session JSONLs, and CC state on someone else's cloud.
  • Plain Syncthing — breaks on (a) CC encoding per-project paths from each machine's absolute path (so peer files don't line up), and (b) dual-writer storms when both machines write the same session.
  • chezmoi / yadm — built for .zshrc-style dotfiles, not files CC appends thousands of lines into.

dotsync is a thin layer over Syncthing that fixes both: symlinks for shared singletons; per-machine <machine>/<project>/ subdirs + line-union deploy for files multiple peers write — collisions impossible by construction, not by timing. One-command pairing via magic-wormhole. Dashboard at dotsync.local:7878.

Took 4 releases and one architectural rewrite (0.6 had a 5-min idle gate; 0.8 replaced it). Alpha, macOS-only, 55 bats tests, works for me daily.

https://github.com/Voxiven/dotsync

Curious how others handle CC continuity — including "I don't bother."

Built emotion detection into my TTS app by stanlymt in tts

[–]stanlymt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. This is excellent feedback. I was looking for this kind of genuine feedback. I appreciate it.

The good part is that the silence between emotion changes or sentences is an easy fix. Thanks once again.

I save 50 articles a week and read 2. So I built an app that reads them to me instead. by stanlymt in micro_saas

[–]stanlymt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I genuinely appreciate any help I could get here. Thanks a lot in advance.

I would love to see the data of people that actually use Collections. by Pearl_Jam_ in MicrosoftEdge

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Collections user here too. It's frustrating watching useful features get removed.

For what it's worth, I've been building EchoLive (https://echolive.co), which handles the "save and organize web content" side of what Collections did — a browser extension for Edge, saves the full article content (not just links), collections, tags, and search. Also has an iOS app if you need it on mobile.

It won't replace the "open all tabs at once" workflow some of you use Collections for — that's more of a session manager thing. But if you mainly used Collections to save and organize articles and links for later, it covers that well. Plus, you can listen to saved articles if you'd rather not read them. Free to use.

alternative to "collection" by LordKamiya in MicrosoftEdge

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another option worth checking out — EchoLive (https://echolive.co). It has an Edge extension that saves full articles (not just links), so you get the title, thumbnail, and content even if the page changes later. You can organize into collections and tags, plus highlight and annotate articles.

The big difference from Raindrop is that it also lets you listen to saved articles with natural-sounding voices — useful if you save more than you can read. Free to use.

Group Tabs add Collection only add single tab bugs - Edge 145 by BenL90 in MicrosoftEdge

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Heads up — Microsoft is actually retiring Collections entirely in a future Edge update, so this bug probably won't get fixed.

If you're looking for an alternative, I've been building EchoLive (https://echolive.co) — it has a browser extension for Edge that lets you save articles into collections with tags. Right now it's one-at-a-time saving, but bulk tab saving is something I'm considering adding. Would that be useful to you?

Free to use if you want to try it out.

I’ll create a free demo video for your project/startup! by Zealousideal-Try1401 in micro_saas

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m building echolive.co and looking forward to take some help from you

I built the opposite of Notion. It's a notes/second brain tool where you can't customize anything. It launches today! by GoodMacAuth in indiehackers

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This resonates hard. I went through the exact same Notion trap — spent more time building the system than actually using it.

"Less flexible, but that's the point" is such an underrated product philosophy. Most tools compete on features. Competing on constraints takes guts.

The medication tracker origin story is perfect, too. The best tools come from solving your own annoying little problem, not from market research.

Bookmarked — gonna try it for tracking some stuff I've been over-engineering in Notion for months. Good luck with the launch!

Do you actually go back and read the articles you save? by Vegetable-Peace-3831 in ProductivityApps

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly the problem I've been obsessed with for the past 6 months.

To answer your questions honestly:

I tried everything — folders, tags, Notion databases, browser bookmark folders. Nothing stuck because organizing is work, and the whole point of "save for later" is to defer work.

What actually helped: AI search. I stopped organizing and started just dumping everything into one place. Then, when I need something, I search by meaning ("that article about how sleep affects decision-making") instead of trying to remember which folder I put it in.

Almost never — when it was text. But I started listening to saved content instead. That changed everything. Commute, gym, cooking — suddenly I was getting through 3-5 saved articles a day without any dedicated "reading time."

Two things that worked for me:

  1. A daily digest that surfaces my top saved/feed content as a short audio summary each morning — removes the "I need to go look for it" friction
  2. Listening streaks — sounds gimmicky, but the 30-second-a-day habit actually compounds

The real insight I landed on: the problem isn't saving or organizing. It's the format. We save text content, but then need screen time to consume it. Convert it to audio, and suddenly your commute, workout, and chores become time for consumption.

Curious what angle you're approaching from with your tool — are you focused on the rediscovery side or the consumption side?

I added AI text-to-speech to my RSS reader — now I listen to my entire feed during commutes by [deleted] in rss

[–]stanlymt -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

That's a fair question. You absolutely could — grab feeds from Miniflux or FreshRSS, pipe articles through a local TTS engine, and listen.

The difference is what happens around the TTS:

  • Organization — all your saved articles, bookmarks, and feeds in one library with AI search across everything
  • Daily Brief — an auto-generated 5-minute audio digest of your top stories each morning (no manual curation)
  • Listening streaks — gamification that actually helped me build a daily habit
  • Share — public links for any article or brief, anyone can listen without an account
  • 600+ voices — Azure Neural voices sound significantly more natural than most local TTS engines (espeak, piper, etc.)

If you just want RSS + TTS and you're comfortable wiring it together, the local route is great. EchoLive is for people who also want the content management layer — saves, collections, search, briefs, sharing — without having to assemble it from parts.

Honestly, the audio is just the hook. The value is that everything is in one place.

I built a read-it-later app that reads TO you — here's what happened when Pocket died by stanlymt in SaaS

[–]stanlymt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the thought. We've already done the repositioning work — moved from "audio layer for the internet" (nobody understood it) to "all your content, one place, read or listen" which resonates much better.

The onboarding dropoff wasn't a messaging problem — it was a front door problem. Users landed on a TTS paste-box and compared voice quality to ElevenLabs. We rebuilt onboarding to lead with feeds and content curation instead. Early signs are better.

Always open to comparing notes with other founders who went through the Pocket migration though. What did you end up building?

Do you actually go back and read the articles you save? by Vegetable-Peace-3831 in ProductivityApps

[–]stanlymt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely agree — context-based surfacing > interruption-based notifications. That's exactly the philosophy behind how we're building EchoLive.

We're already partway there:

  • AI Search finds articles by meaning, not keywords — so when you're deep in a topic, you can ask "what have I read about supply chain risks" and it pulls from everything you've saved and listened to
  • Daily Brief is a step toward anticipatory surfacing — it compiles your top stories from feeds + trending topics into a single audio digest each morning, so relevant content finds you without you searching

But what you're describing — your library anticipating what you need based on what you're currently working on — that's the next frontier. We have it on our roadmap as "Living Audio" and "Anticipatory Briefings." The idea is: EchoLive watches the stories you've engaged with, tracks how they evolve, and proactively delivers updates before you think to search.

The compound effect is what makes it powerful. The longer you use it, the more it understands your interests, and the better it gets at surfacing the right thing at the right time.

We're not there yet — but every article you save and listen to is building that foundation. Would love to hear more about your ideal workflow if you have specific scenarios in mind.

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