Are You Ready To Let Your Computer Do The Typing? Introduction Jim Fox
There is a new generation out there of software products which allow the user to dictate into a microphone and have the computer type the words as they're spoken. Do these programs really work, or are the marketers just blowing smoke? One of the top products in this new category is Naturally Speaking from Dragon Systems, Inc. Corel Wordperfect is currently offering a version of their Wordperfect Suite 8 bundled with a special edition of Dragon Naturally Speaking - and believe it or not, the software really does work. IBM also has their ViaVoice line of software along the same lines, but for purposes of this report, I'll use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to make my point.
Don't throw away your keyboard just yet, though. You will still need it to access most of the advanced features of the word processor. It's not just a matter of loading the software and starting to dictate. There's a certain procedure you must follow.
First, load NaturallySpeaking onto your computer. Then the software goes through a diagnostic procedure which analyzes your sound card and microphone. Next you must choose one of several passages to read and dictate into your microphone. As you are reading, the software is learning your speech patterns as well as adjusting your audio and microphone volume levels. The reading takes about 30 minutes, and about another 15 minutes are needed to process your input and develop a user profile for your speech patterns. Finally, you are asked to load a few representative samples of your existing documents. Naturally Speaking scans these documents for any words it does not recognize. You can then specifically train it on these unrecognized words.
