Check if /usr/bin/sugar-speechd has execute permission. If not execute following as root: chmod +x /usr/bin/sugar-speechd To verify if speechd is configured properly, execute the following at python prompt: >> import dbus >> bus = dbus.SessionBus() >> espeak_object = bus.get_object('org.laptop.Speech', '/org/laptop/Speech') >> espeak_object.SayText("say hello world") At this point, you should hear N900 speak "say hello world".