Look, Ma! No Hands!
Written: Jul 21 '01 (Updated Nov 27 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 160,000-word dictionary, intuitive interface. Support for word processing and web surfing.
Cons: Steep learning curve; misses many words at first.
The Bottom Line: Via Voice 8 Personal is limited to text creation in SpeakPad and Word, along with simple Internet commands. It requires patience to learn, but is worth the $29.99 price.
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| lap0530's Full Review: IBM ViaVoice 8.0 Full Version for PC |
This is something of an experiment. I am not typing this article. Instead, I am speaking into a microphone. Theoretically, my computer, using voice recognition software, will understand the words I speak and turn those words into text.
I have been intrigued with voice recognition technology for many years. However, I am also something of a cheapskate. The high price tags of programs such as IBM's ViaVoice and Dragon Naturally Speaking were a deterrent. Eventually, however, as is always the case in the technology field, the prices began to drop. When I saw IBM's ViaVoice Personal Edition on sale at Office Depot for $29.99, with a $20.00 rebate, my cheapskate side gave in to my technophile side.
What kinds of functionality and features might one expect in a $10.00 voice recognition program? The answer is somewhat surprising. First of all, I received a program on a CD that when installed, consumed 464 MB of hard disk space. Second, I found a headset microphone in the box along with a well written 100-page instruction manual.
After installing the program, and rebooting my system, I "trained" ViaVoice to recognize my voice by reading several passages of preselected text. As I read the text aloud, sections of it changed color from black to gray as the computer recorded my voice. When I finished, the computer analyzed my voice patterns to create a "voice model" for me.
Always considering the manual a last resort, I immediately used ViaVoice to dictate a progress report. Although it probably took me four or five times longer to produce the report using the voice recognition software than it would have for me simply to type it, I saw at once the potential of virtually hands-free text creation. As I learn the program, and as it, at the same time, learns my speaking patterns, both the speed and accuracy of my dictation are improving.
My interest in voice recognition software is more than academic. I began using a typewriter in 1967, and have been using typewriters and computers ever since. Over the years, I developed a condition known as Wrist Resting Syndrome, or WRS for short. Although this condition results from external pressure on the median nerve, rather than from internal pressure as is the case with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the symptoms are very similar. Using an ergonomic keyboard, exchanging my mouse for a touch pad, and wearing a special glove with wrist support built in helped to minimize, but not to eliminate, the numbness and pain in my hands. Voice recognition takes another approach—don't use the hands in the first place.
Although at the moment I am very self-conscious while dictating to my computer, I predict that the process will become more natural over time. The ViaVoice program supplies a simple text editor called SpeakPad that is optimized for dictation and voice recognition. Documents created in SpeakPad can be saved or printed. Additionally, text from SpeakPad can be transferred to other open applications.
The program also works with Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. ViaVoice adds a dictation item to the menu bar of Word, along with a correction box icon. In Internet Explorer, ViaVoice permits the user to launch a browser window by speaking the command "Surf the web." The program also provides a taskbar-like command center called Voice Central that allows the user access to various user setup options and menus such as "What can I say?" and "Teach me about..." These features are also available by voice command.
I am using ViaVoice from within Microsoft Word to produce this document. One of the unexpected benefits of this program is the 160,000-word dictionary built into it. Although, especially in the early stages of using it, the program often misrecognizes words, any words it does enter are spelled correctly. Users can add other words to the dictionary. Thus, over time, even with proper names, the program becomes very good at spelling.
As an aside, I would like to mention that dictating to a computer requires both quiet and concentration. If one loses concentration because of distractions, he/she will most likely find some interesting text on the screen. Likewise, extraneous sound, such as dogs barking or children speaking loudly, can produce some very strange results. My daughter and I got a good laugh from reading the "text" created when the three dogs we are sitting began barking loudly at my son while I was dictating this. To ViaVoice, dogs barking sound like "How how how higher high-heel!"
And so I find myself at the end of this article, having used the keyboard only sparingly to make corrections, and having enjoyed the learning process. As with the progress report, it took me longer to speak this than it would have for me to type it. However, by using ViaVoice, I was able to avoid aggravating my wrist condition and to have a "secretary" that is very good at spelling. At the moment, I have no plans to discard my keyboard, but the advantages of dictating and seeing correctly spelled words appear on the monitor as if by magic, are quite apparent. And to think, I accomplished all this with a program that after the mail-in rebate, will have cost me exactly $9.99 plus tax!
Recommended:
Yes
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lap0530
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Location: Anderson, SC
Reviews written: 122
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Psychology and management professor and business consultant
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