MynaTime Q & A

1. Why is it called ‘MynaTime’?

MynaTime is named for the Myna bird, a starling famous for its ability to mimic human speech. Using Alex, the voice of Mac OS X, MynaTime creates timed speech to guide you through your workout with audio.

2. Who would want to use MynaTime?

No matter what exercise program you’re using, the key is that you have to actually do what’s prescribed in order to make progress. That’s where MynaTime comes in. It lets you turn advice (from a trainer, a magazine or your own experience) into words coming out of your Mac, iPod or iPhone at exactly the time you need them—while you’re exercising. Visit our Gallery to see videos of MynaTime in action.

3. How hard is it to create a workout with MynaTime?

You simply type want you want to hear from your “assistant” while you exercise. MynaTime delivers your words back to you as audio real-time coaching while you exercise so you can forget about time and what’s next, and concentrate on your workout:

Begin with 5 minutes on your exercise bicycle;

Perform 12 repps of dumbbell curls with five pounds for your right arms;

Rest for 30 seconds;

Repeat dumbbell curls with your right arm for 12 repps;

Switch to your left arm for 12 repps;

Most workouts are only a page or two of text that can be typed in a few minutes, yet provide amazing flow and convenience during your workout.

4. Where do I get workouts?

Workouts are everywhere: magazines, the web, books on lifting and yoga, cycling publications, runner’s magazines, your physical therapist, your personal trainer, your coach, your friends. It seems everyone has advice on how you should work out.

MynaTime was written to take advantage of all of this information by providing a quick, easy and inexpensive way to convert it from something you Read to something you can Listen to and Do. With the added benefit that after you try a workout, you can Edit and Refine It until it’s precisely the workout that fits into your lifestyle and gets the results you want.

To get you started the Library page of this website provides downloadable MynaTime files that you can work out to and then edit to meet your needs.

5. MynaTime uses a synthetic voice. Aren’t they annoying?

Alex on Mac OS X is an advanced text-to-speech voice Apple developed as part of their Universal Access system. Alex is quite natural, phrases well and is easy to understand. Everything you need during a workout. Plus, as an added bonus, you can adjust how fast Alex Speaks.

6. I vary my warmup time on my bicycle. How can I do this if my warmup is built into my MynaTime Session audio file?

Build your workout as multiple MynaTime sessions, then run them one after the other using the Playlist capability of iTunes. Since each Export from MynaTime is a separate song file you might build a 10-minute warmup and a 20-minute warmup. Then make a playlist with the 10-minute warm followed by your workout, and a separate playlist for your 20-minute warm up followed by your workout. It’s fast and easy to make playlists so you can assemble a workout on any given day from the separate sections you’ve created.

7. I want high energy music behind the more intense parts of my workout while I’m out running or riding. How do I do that?

Playlists in your iPod via multiple MynaTime sessions. Generally a workout has sections: warm-up, intensity, recovery, more intensity, cool-down etc. Make each of these sections a separate MynaTime session and Export it with the music you want associated with that section into a song file. Then use the Playlist capability of iTunes or your iPod/iPhone to assemble a full workout from these song files. That way, you can have something mellow like Jack Johnson behind your warm-up, and AC/DC when you’re hammering intervals.

8. Can I print my MynaTime session after I’ve written it?

Yes. MynaTime supports standard printing. And since the Sessions Window in MynaTime is a capable word processor, you can format your workout into sections, use bold headers, color etc. to make your workout easy to ready. A printed copy of your session can be used to take notes on while you workout (e.g. did you finish those 15 repps, or did you stop at 12, was an exercise hard or easy?). You can also use the hardcopy to discuss your workout with your trainer, a friend, or your physical therapist. Take notes on the printout during your discussion, then go back and modify your MynaTime session accordingly, or create a new one with the changes using Save As to create a new file.

9. Alex can be a bit intense for the way I like to do yoga. Can I change the voice?

Yes. MynaTime uses the voice you set in System Preferences > Speech > Text to Speech. Alex is the default, and one of the most natural voices. But you can control the Speaking Rate, from Slow to Fast, to make Alex talk slow for mellow workouts like yoga, Pilates or meditation, and talk fast for high energy workouts. For yoga, try moving the slider about one-fourth of the way towards Slow.

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

1. How do I figure out what version of Mac OS X I’m running?

Click the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your screen. Choose About This Mac. The version number is located below the Apple logo in the About This Mac display panel.

2. I can’t drag songs from iTunes to the MynaTime Export window.

Be sure you are running the latest version of Snow Leopard (10.6.4 or later). There was a Drag issue in earlier versions of Snow Leopard that has been corrected in later versions.

3. I have DRM files from iTunes. Why can’t I drag them into the Export Song List?

Due to technical limitations related to the ability to copy DRM files, protected files (with extension m4p) are not supported and cannot be used with MynaTime Export. Please visit Apple at www.apple.com for details of how to convert your DRM files to unprotected non-DRM (m4a) files.

4. The word “minute” in my Session is being pronounced my-noot.

Alex pronounces words according to how they are used. If you are trying to say “minute” as in 60 seconds, be sure you are using this word as a noun, and not an adjective. To help Alex out, you can place a comma after the word (e.g. Rest for 1 minute, while preparing the weight for Bench Press;) or enclose it in quotation marks, “1 minute” to help him pronounce it correctly. Optionally, you can change the order of the sentence (e.g. Prepare the weight for Bench Press while resting for 1 minute;). Experiment with several formats, you’ll quickly find the one that works for you.

5. I want to fix the typing mistakes I hear in my new Sessions the first time I use them.

A session cannot be edited while it’s playing. But a quick way to review a new Session and fix it on the fly is to create a copy of the file using Save As. You can then play the copy and exercise to it while editing your original as necessary.

    If you don’t want to be bothered with editing while working out, try taking quick notes in TextEdit, or in another MynaTime document. Then when you’ve finished exercising, you can use the notes to quickly update your MynaTime file.

    Or if you prefer, print a hardcopy of your file and take quick notes on it while you do your workout. After you’re done exercising, you can edit the changes into your MynaTime Session for the next time.

6. Is there a Windows version of MynaTime?

At present, MynaTime uses technology only available in Apple’s OS X 10.5, and therefore requires this operating system.