[Rhodes22-list] Voice recognition software

[Bill Effros]

Ed,

I still use voice recognition all the time.  I have been using and
recommending it for more than 10 years.  I am still the only person I know
who uses it on a regular basis.

The learning curve is tough, both for you and for the artificial
intelligence built into the system.  It takes a while before you are sure
you are really saving time when you use it.

If you are not alone where you are working, everyone can hear what you are
thinking and working on.  This can be intimidating.

Once you have trained a system you are reluctant to learn a new one.  I
can't tell you what is a good deal or what I would recommend in the current
market.  You can't buy what I've got.

I typed this because I knew most of it would be cutting and pasting--the
only thing faster for long text input than voice recognition.  For short
text input I type, as noted below.  I am now at the threshold of where I
would start to think I should have replied using voice recognition.  (If I
had been using the program when I first saw your email I surely would have
replied using voice recognition.  The system burdens your computer, so I
turn it on only when I am actively using it--also if it is on while you are
doing something else, like having a telephone conversation, it can
misinterpret your conversation and wreak havoc on your computer before you
notice what is happening.)

Following is the voice recognition email from last year.  The only real
change is that I have used the L&H correction system for long enough that it
now works for me almost as well as the Kurzweil correction system.  I am
considering dropping the Kurzweil system and using only the L&H system.  It
took me 2 years to get to this point, however it would have taken much less
time if I had not been switching back and forth between systems:

Tom,

Following is email I sent out on this topic 2 years ago.  I now have the L&H
system sufficiently well trained that I use it most of the time to dictate,
and I correct using the Kurzweil system.  L&H is now bankrupt, but they
bought and dispersed all the smaller houses, breaking up the research teams
in the process.  The L&H system is quite remarkable, and there is no
comparison between using it vs. typing.  It is much much faster.  No
contest.  Still the correction issue looms large, and must be addressed.
The 2 systems I use share a common correction command system because one
evolved from the other.  I can't recommend any system today, and I don't
think they will evolve much further.  I am still the only person I know who
routinely uses a voice recognition system.  I do not recommend the system to
slow readers, blind people, and dyslexic people--everything they turn out
will require a decoder ring.  My system now gets what I am trying to say 99%
of the time.  These new faster computers allow the system to capture
everything I say at the speed I normally speak.  The ability to correct is
still the key.  I can correct much faster using my voice system than I can
using the typewriter.

All of the preceding was typed.  I thought when I started I was just going
to send a little note and attach the email, and I thought that would take
less time than going to the other program (the Dragon system that is the
heart of the L&H program is much better when working inside its own special
word processing program than it is when you use it in your normal
program--so I would switch over and cut and paste.  The Kurzweil system
works perfectly in any program.)

If I had realized I was going to type this much I surely would have used the
L&H system and saved myself a lot of time.

Bill Effros

John,

I use voice recognition software all the time.

I am currently using two different programs depending on what I'm trying to
do.  My older program is word oriented, meaning I must speak one word at a
time, and put pauses between the words.  My newer program is "continuous
speech" meaning I can speak in a fairly normal way.

The technology is dazzling, but far from perfect.  I'm the only person I
know who uses it on a regular basis.  I am no longer recommending it to
anyone who doesn't have a special need.  Following is an email I sent to a
friend:

"I am out of brevity mode, using a continuous speech voice recognition
system. Boy, this technology is difficult. No puns. No convoluted syntax.
Once the system goes off on a tangent, there's no getting back.

At the same time, it's so close. The problem is that 95% is not nearly good
enough. If you don't correct through the system it never gets smarter.
Using the system correction mode is time-consuming and counter intuitive.
Among other problems, it is very difficult for the system to know the
difference between issuing a command, and saying a word.

Oh, well. Maybe if I stay out of brevity mode (it learned that phrase since
the beginning of this email--you should have seen what it tried the first
time around) and use it for email and other and non-essential tasks I can
ramp it up to the point where it's useful. "

John--

I use the continuous speech voice recognition program to compose my work,
then I use the word oriented program to correct it.  I find in the
continuous speech program it is very difficult to control the cursor using
voice alone.  The word oriented system is much easier to control by voice,
both in terms of cursor control, and correction.

I am using the continuous voice recognition program for this email.  Up to
this point, I have been erect a new as I go that should be "our acting as I
told"-- 8.8 wrong again.  This is a perfect example of the problem.  Once
the program becomes confused within a sentence, it is extremely difficult to
straighten it out.

I will not correct to their manger of this email, so you can get a sense of
hell off and it makes mistakes, and how far the mistakes are from the
message I'm trying to convey.  Your friend will find this very frustrating.

A the word-oriented system is much more controllable.  I've been using it
for for over five years-- (that should have been for to or five years-- it's
having a lot of trouble with the sentence fragments) a

John--

I've just switched word recognition programs.  I got so frustrated using the
other system, I couldn't take it anymore.  I am correcting again, because
the correction system in this program is so much more effective.  Also, I
have switched from the proprietary optimized text entry program provided by
L&H to the program I am actually using.  I cut and pasted the previous text
to Internet Explorer.  The word oriented program is designed to work
properly within any other program.  The continuous speech program is
supposed to do that also, but you soon discover it works much better in the
optimized program.  For the purposes of this email it will take me far less
time to use this ostensibly slower system.  The word oriented program also
navigates both Windows and the Internet better.

I guess I'm saying I think the older, word oriented system would be better
for your friend if she can find it.  I'm controlling the system solely by
voice, not using the mouse as I normally would.  This system is extremely
well trained -- something I can do entirely by voice.  It doesn't come out
of the box understanding anyone as well as this system now understands me.
It spells every word correctly.  I don't think I could type as quickly as I
can dictate using this system.

The older system is Kurzweil Voice.  The newer system is L&H Voice Express.
L&H bought Kurzweil.  I believe they also bought Dragon.  Microsoft owns a
large part of L&H.  The newest versions of Microsoft software are being
optimized for L&H voice recognition.  If your friend decides to proceed I
would strongly recommend she work with L&H products.  The playing field is
not level, and Microsoft will win.

The faster your computer, the better these voice recognition programs work.
Most specify Sound Blaster sound cards, although others will work.  Since
you know in advance you will have recognition problems, I install Sound
Blaster cards simply to remove a variable.  Maybe some other card is better.

I hope this helps.

Bill Effros



----- Original Message -----
From: "John Ward" <johnward3@akamail.com>
To: <rhodes-list@sailnet.net>
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2000 1:09 AM
Subject: [rhodes] Voice recognition


> A friend has macular degeneration to the point she can no longer use her
> PC.  She's interested in voice recognition software.
>
> I know Michael and others are using voice recognition software.  What are
> you using, what do you recommend, what equipment do you need to run it?
> And I guess, does it work for you?
>
> Thanks,
> John and Nell Ward
> Fountaintown IN
> SV New Song
> johnward3@akamail.com
>


----- Original Message -----
From: SVTRITON@aol.com
To: rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 8:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] everyone talked out


mark and mike
have you found a voice system you like..i tried via voice and was not happy
with it...it was about 3 yrs ago
tom

One more thing.  The microphone is critical for 99+% recognition.  The
microphone that comes with the software is a cheap one that won't get you
past 95% recognition.  I now use an Emkay ultra light noise canceling mike.
I think the ANC (?) mike is marginally superior but weighs twice as much and
is far less comfortable.

Bill Effros


----- Original Message -----
From: SVTRITON@aol.com
To: rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 9:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] everyone talked out


bill
thanks for the info..i will investigate the Kurzweil system and see where it
takes me
tom

Tom,

The software is widely available.  The specialized microphones must be found
on the web.  The big problem is that you don't know what you're going to get
in any of the boxes.  Most of the software licensed the Dragon speech engine
from Dragon, then customized the way it operates.  Via Voice 4 could be
closer to L&H Professional 3 than it is to Via Voice 5.  No one knows what's
in any of the software boxes.  You can't tell by price.  You have to stick
with it for a few months before you know if you can train it well enough to
use it all the time, so 30-day money back guarantees don't help.

All I know is I have something that works for me.  I bought 3 Dragon
packages before I found one that did the trick--and that only because it
used the correction method I was already using.

Bill Effros


----- Original Message -----
From: SVTRITON@aol.com
To: rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] everyone talked out


bill
thanks again..is this stuff available at say comp usa or are there more
specialized outlets
thanks
tom