From drjlevi at netonecom.net Fri Sep 1 11:57:13 2006 From: drjlevi at netonecom.net (Jonathan Levi, M.D.) Date: Fri Sep 1 11:57:26 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: At 8:18 PM -0500 8/31/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >ViaVoice works fine with 10.4.7 but I also get the message, ""The >Microphone is Being Used Exclusively By Another Application". I >discovered this happens when I try to turn on the microphone too >soon after bringing it up the application. If I wait and turn on >the microphone after the speech pad is completely open, I do not get >this message >Paul Spilseth, MD You're too kind to ViaVoice re its grammar -- it really does say, "The Microphone Is Been used..." Nevertheless, I appreciate your comment, as well as revDave's re the F8 key. (The F8 key does work, to some extent: It recovers from "The Microphone Is Been Used", but the red, yellow & green buttons on the VoiceCenter icon don't activate, so there's no easy way to quit VoiceCenter.) >On Aug 30, 2006, at 11:16 AM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: >>But first: Can you still use "backspace" and "pick 1" in your >>current 10.4.6 setup? Amazing -- they're now working again! Seems to be related to the order of my user commands: if I start SpeakPad, then say, "What Can I Say", the resulting "What Can I Say" window contains the full suite of SpeakPad commands, including "backspace", "pick 1", "uppercase this", etc. However, at other times, the window either doesn't contain the "SpeakPad" suite of commands at all, or sometimes only a partial suite, with only the "Menu Commands" subheading present, and all the rest missing. It seems as though my only recourse at that point may be to quit SpeakPad, VoiceCenter, etc. and restart. Regardless, I'm overjoyed to have my full suite of commands back. Thank you all very much for your help, Jonathan From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Fri Sep 1 12:14:54 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Fri Sep 1 12:15:12 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> All: I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my mouth shut, but I just can't. Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and I have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel Mac. The last update of ViaVoice was April of 2003 - over 3 years ago! Meanwhile, we have been busting our arses for the past 6 years and, by all accounts have (some time ago, actually) finally surpassed ViaVoice in accuracy - we were ALWAYS better in terms of command and control. Since April of 2003 we have issued multiple updates AND kept up with changes in the Mac OS. If you accept the fact that speech recognition is also more prone to issues than any other type of software you are likely to use on your computer, our set up and use is also relatively hassle-free in comparison to ViaVoice. I really appreciate the fact that many of you have established profiles in ViaVoice, I really do. But even NY Times Columnist David Pogue - who is an avid NatruallySpeaking fanatic - reported (in the NY Times) that he was able to get almost 96 percent accuracy after using the latest version for only 30 minutes! So, let me ask: what is it going to take to get y'all to switch to the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED to work on current Macs, from a company that continues to develop and support it? Let me know, and I will do my best to provide it if it is at all in my power. (Keep in mind that at some point, you will have to switch anyway - when you get an Intel Mac). Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 1, 2006, at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: > At 8:18 PM -0500 8/31/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >> ViaVoice works fine with 10.4.7 but I also get the message, ""The >> Microphone is Being Used Exclusively By Another Application". I >> discovered this happens when I try to turn on the microphone too >> soon after bringing it up the application. If I wait and turn on >> the microphone after the speech pad is completely open, I do not >> get this message >> Paul Spilseth, MD > > You're too kind to ViaVoice re its grammar -- it really does say, > "The Microphone Is Been used..." Nevertheless, I appreciate your > comment, as well as revDave's re the F8 key. > > (The F8 key does work, to some extent: It recovers from "The > Microphone Is Been Used", but the red, yellow & green buttons on > the VoiceCenter icon don't activate, so there's no easy way to quit > VoiceCenter.) > >> On Aug 30, 2006, at 11:16 AM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: >>> But first: Can you still use "backspace" and "pick 1" in your >>> current 10.4.6 setup? > > Amazing -- they're now working again! Seems to be related to the > order of my user commands: if I start SpeakPad, then say, "What Can > I Say", the resulting "What Can I Say" window contains the full > suite of SpeakPad commands, including "backspace", "pick 1", > "uppercase this", etc. However, at other times, the window either > doesn't contain the "SpeakPad" suite of commands at all, or > sometimes only a partial suite, with only the "Menu Commands" > subheading present, and all the rest missing. It seems as though > my only recourse at that point may be to quit SpeakPad, > VoiceCenter, etc. and restart. > > Regardless, I'm overjoyed to have my full suite of commands back. > Thank you all very much for your help, > > Jonathan > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From dkw at umich.edu Fri Sep 1 12:55:35 2006 From: dkw at umich.edu (David K. Wehe) Date: Fri Sep 1 12:55:44 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: Chuck: I think that the fact that iListen has continued to support the Mac is admirable. But, for some of us, ViaVoice does provide better accuracy -- the reasons are immaterial to the practitioner. Most of us would much prefer to use iListen, but we cling to VV because it still serves us better where it counts: from voice to the page. I have moved to the Intel-Mac and use Dragon 9 to actively dictate from Windows into the Mac applications. I would much prefer to use iListen than this kluge, but it just works better in my figure-of-merit: accuracy. Having said that, yes, I bought iListen 1.7 and will continue to support iListen because I continue to like its speed and want to encourage its development. I hope to see the improvements in accuracy, for me, that will enable me to switch from these other options. Best wishes, David. >All: > >I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my >mouth shut, but I just can't. > >Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and I >have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel Mac. >The last update of ViaVoice was April of 2003 - over 3 years ago! > >Meanwhile, we have been busting our arses for the past 6 years and, >by all accounts have (some time ago, actually) finally surpassed >ViaVoice in accuracy - we were ALWAYS better in terms of command and >control. Since April of 2003 we have issued multiple updates AND >kept up with changes in the Mac OS. If you accept the fact that >speech recognition is also more prone to issues than any other type >of software you are likely to use on your computer, our set up and >use is also relatively hassle-free in comparison to ViaVoice. > >I really appreciate the fact that many of you have established >profiles in ViaVoice, I really do. But even NY Times Columnist David >Pogue - who is an avid NatruallySpeaking fanatic - reported (in the >NY Times) that he was able to get almost 96 percent accuracy after >using the latest version for only 30 minutes! > >So, let me ask: what is it going to take to get y'all to switch to >the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED to work on >current Macs, from a company that continues to develop and support >it? Let me know, and I will do my best to provide it if it is at all >in my power. (Keep in mind that at some point, you will have to >switch anyway - when you get an Intel Mac). > > >Best Regards, > >Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist >MacSpeech, Inc. > > > > >On Sep 1, 2006, at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: > >>At 8:18 PM -0500 8/31/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >>>ViaVoice works fine with 10.4.7 but I also get the message, ""The >>>Microphone is Being Used Exclusively By Another Application". I >>>discovered this happens when I try to turn on the microphone too >>>soon after bringing it up the application. If I wait and turn on >>>the microphone after the speech pad is completely open, I do not >>>get this message >>>Paul Spilseth, MD >> >>You're too kind to ViaVoice re its grammar -- it really does say, >>"The Microphone Is Been used..." Nevertheless, I appreciate your >>comment, as well as revDave's re the F8 key. >> >>(The F8 key does work, to some extent: It recovers from "The >>Microphone Is Been Used", but the red, yellow & green buttons on >>the VoiceCenter icon don't activate, so there's no easy way to quit >>VoiceCenter.) >> >>>On Aug 30, 2006, at 11:16 AM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: >>>>But first: Can you still use "backspace" and "pick 1" in your >>>>current 10.4.6 setup? >> >>Amazing -- they're now working again! Seems to be related to the >>order of my user commands: if I start SpeakPad, then say, "What Can >>I Say", the resulting "What Can I Say" window contains the full >>suite of SpeakPad commands, including "backspace", "pick 1", >>"uppercase this", etc. However, at other times, the window either >>doesn't contain the "SpeakPad" suite of commands at all, or >>sometimes only a partial suite, with only the "Menu Commands" >>subheading present, and all the rest missing. It seems as though >>my only recourse at that point may be to quit SpeakPad, >>VoiceCenter, etc. and restart. >> >>Regardless, I'm overjoyed to have my full suite of commands back. >>Thank you all very much for your help, >> >>Jonathan >>_______________________________________________ >>MacVoice mailing list >>MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >>http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice >> >>Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: >> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > >_______________________________________________ >MacVoice mailing list >MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > >Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From macintalkpro at yahoo.com Fri Sep 1 12:59:57 2006 From: macintalkpro at yahoo.com (Frank) Date: Fri Sep 1 13:00:06 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <20060901195957.199.qmail@web34007.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Chuck and a genuine Thank You for all you and your team do. FC Farwell registered iListen user (under different email) --- Chuck Rogers wrote: > All: > > I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my > mouth shut, but I just can't. > > Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and I > > have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel Mac. > snipped __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From tscheresky at micron.com Fri Sep 1 13:36:30 2006 From: tscheresky at micron.com (tscheresky@micron.com) Date: Fri Sep 1 13:36:39 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Message-ID: David, can you explain to this group how you run Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 on Mactel and dictate into Mac applications? -----Original Message----- From: macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com [mailto:macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com] On Behalf Of David K. Wehe Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 1:56 PM To: A place to discuss speech recognition on Macintosh. Subject: Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Chuck: I think that the fact that iListen has continued to support the Mac is admirable. But, for some of us, ViaVoice does provide better accuracy -- the reasons are immaterial to the practitioner. Most of us would much prefer to use iListen, but we cling to VV because it still serves us better where it counts: from voice to the page. I have moved to the Intel-Mac and use Dragon 9 to actively dictate from Windows into the Mac applications. I would much prefer to use iListen than this kluge, but it just works better in my figure-of-merit: accuracy. Having said that, yes, I bought iListen 1.7 and will continue to support iListen because I continue to like its speed and want to encourage its development. I hope to see the improvements in accuracy, for me, that will enable me to switch from these other options. Best wishes, David. From gavinwj at wanadoo.fr Fri Sep 1 13:59:02 2006 From: gavinwj at wanadoo.fr (Gavin Wynford-Jones) Date: Fri Sep 1 13:59:20 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: Chuck, Much as I support MacSpeech and iListen as a user, investor and evangelist, I feel there is still a very long way to go before it can be considered a serious challenger to Naturally Speaking, regardless of the platform. One fundamental issue is that of the software distinguishing correctly between commands and the words in the command. Dragon made sure that all commands were at least two words, MacSpeech took a different tack and allowed one word commands (my all- time bugbear is "paragraph" which is recognised as a command 100% of the time, even in the middle of a sentence, never as a word), without providing an easy method to customise, expand, alter, or delete anything in the command dictionary: I want to set it so that "paragraph" is never recognised as a command, "return" types the word rather than pressing the return key, and to be able to define "New paragraph" and "Press return key" as replacement commands. Then I would probably never have to go into command mode ever again, because iListen would know the difference... I love the fact that you've been able to do so much with so few resources, when IBM couldn't keep it going with al the money and people they have at their command. When people switch to an Intel Mac, they're probably going to look at Boot Camp plus DNS and some of them are going to go that route. Gavin On 1 Sep 2006, at 21:14, Chuck Rogers wrote: > All: > > I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my > mouth shut, but I just can't. > > Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and > I have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel > Mac. The last update of ViaVoice was April of 2003 - over 3 years ago! > > Meanwhile, we have been busting our arses for the past 6 years and, > by all accounts have (some time ago, actually) finally surpassed > ViaVoice in accuracy - we were ALWAYS better in terms of command > and control. Since April of 2003 we have issued multiple updates > AND kept up with changes in the Mac OS. If you accept the fact that > speech recognition is also more prone to issues than any other type > of software you are likely to use on your computer, our set up and > use is also relatively hassle-free in comparison to ViaVoice. > > I really appreciate the fact that many of you have established > profiles in ViaVoice, I really do. But even NY Times Columnist > David Pogue - who is an avid NatruallySpeaking fanatic - reported > (in the NY Times) that he was able to get almost 96 percent > accuracy after using the latest version for only 30 minutes! > > So, let me ask: what is it going to take to get y'all to switch to > the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED to work on > current Macs, from a company that continues to develop and support > it? Let me know, and I will do my best to provide it if it is at > all in my power. (Keep in mind that at some point, you will have to > switch anyway - when you get an Intel Mac). > > > Best Regards, > > Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist > MacSpeech, Inc. From JSenecal at aol.com Fri Sep 1 14:18:26 2006 From: JSenecal at aol.com (Joseph Senecal) Date: Fri Sep 1 14:18:36 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <98B0AF60-DEFD-41EF-AFEC-3884BBF97B6B@aol.com> On Sep 1, 2006, at 1:59 PM, Gavin Wynford-Jones wrote: > Dragon made sure that all commands were at least two words, > MacSpeech took a different tack and allowed one word commands (my > all-time bugbear is "paragraph" which is recognised as a command > 100% of the time, even in the middle of a sentence, never as a > word), without providing an easy method to customise, expand, > alter, or delete anything in the command dictionary: I want to set > it so that "paragraph" is never recognised as a command, "return" > types the word rather than pressing the return key, and to be able > to define "New paragraph" and "Press return key" as replacement > commands. In iListen (specifically in the speech engine which is licensed by MacSpeech), "paragraph" is a predefined word that types two return characters, it is not a command. "New Paragraph" is also a word and types the same characters. The difference between a word and a command is that words can be corrected. Thus you can correct "Paragraph" to spell out the word instead of typing the returns. I run into the same problem with "Line" vs. "New Line". It's annoying, but iListen does eventually start recognizing it as a word at least some of the time. I agree that a word editor that allows deletion of problematic words would be very helpful in these situations. It would be great to be able to get rid of words that you don't use but show up inconveniently often in recognition. Also it would be nice to be able to delete words you added by accident (misspelled words or other word entry errors). Joe Senecal Note: I have no connection with MacSpeech other than being a User. From drjlevi at netonecom.net Fri Sep 1 14:24:42 2006 From: drjlevi at netonecom.net (Jonathan Levi, M.D.) Date: Fri Sep 1 14:24:33 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Message-ID: At 2:14 PM -0500 9/1/06, Chuck Rogers wrote: >I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my >mouth shut, but I just can't...what is it going to take to get y'all >to switch to the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED >to work on current Macs, from a company that continues to develop >and support it? I think about switching often and will continue to think about it, but for obvious reasons, I'm in no hurry to throw out software that so far I can keep going, thanks in part to the members of this list. I would add that I tried a previous version of iListen, and although the training experience may have improved, back then it wasn't great (not that ViaVoice's is, either.) In answer to your question, my advice for you is to keep plugging away at improving your product, to be ready when I and others want it. But your outburst certainly isn't going to cause me to switch sooner. Best regards, Jonathan From gavinwj at wanadoo.fr Fri Sep 1 14:29:10 2006 From: gavinwj at wanadoo.fr (Gavin Wynford-Jones) Date: Fri Sep 1 14:29:19 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <98B0AF60-DEFD-41EF-AFEC-3884BBF97B6B@aol.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <98B0AF60-DEFD-41EF-AFEC-3884BBF97B6B@aol.com> Message-ID: I used "command" loosely. Plus, you highlight another issue: if you're dictating into MS Word and using styles, for example, having two carriage returns is a no- no. Two returns is a leftover from typewriter days... That reduces iListen's acceptability in some quarters. Gavin On 1 Sep 2006, at 23:18, Joseph Senecal wrote: > > On Sep 1, 2006, at 1:59 PM, Gavin Wynford-Jones wrote: > >> Dragon made sure that all commands were at least two words, >> MacSpeech took a different tack and allowed one word commands (my >> all-time bugbear is "paragraph" which is recognised as a command >> 100% of the time, even in the middle of a sentence, never as a >> word), without providing an easy method to customise, expand, >> alter, or delete anything in the command dictionary: I want to set >> it so that "paragraph" is never recognised as a command, "return" >> types the word rather than pressing the return key, and to be able >> to define "New paragraph" and "Press return key" as replacement >> commands. > > In iListen (specifically in the speech engine which is licensed by > MacSpeech), "paragraph" is a predefined word that types two return > characters, it is not a command. "New Paragraph" is also a word and > types the same characters. The difference between a word and a > command is that words can be corrected. Thus you can correct > "Paragraph" to spell out the word instead of typing the returns. I > run into the same problem with "Line" vs. "New Line". It's > annoying, but iListen does eventually start recognizing it as a > word at least some of the time. > > I agree that a word editor that allows deletion of problematic > words would be very helpful in these situations. It would be great > to be able to get rid of words that you don't use but show up > inconveniently often in recognition. Also it would be nice to be > able to delete words you added by accident (misspelled words or > other word entry errors). > > Joe Senecal > Note: I have no connection with MacSpeech other than being a User. > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > From JSenecal at aol.com Fri Sep 1 15:01:35 2006 From: JSenecal at aol.com (Joseph Senecal) Date: Fri Sep 1 15:01:53 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <98B0AF60-DEFD-41EF-AFEC-3884BBF97B6B@aol.com> Message-ID: <69E615FE-9E4C-496D-98A5-44414996DC30@aol.com> > Plus, you highlight another issue: if you're dictating into MS Word > and using styles, for example, having two carriage returns is a no- > no. Two returns is a leftover from typewriter days... That reduces > iListen's acceptability in some quarters. I'm dictating program code and need exact control of lines and spacing. If I want one return I say "New Line", if I want two I say "New Paragraph". The other difference is that New Paragraph capitializes the next word and New Line does not. If I want something that iListen doesn't normally do (such as one return, capitalize the next word), I make my own command and add it to the Dictation Text Macros vocabulary. While iListen isn't the best in every area, I've never found it lacking in flexibility. Joe Senecal From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Fri Sep 1 15:45:24 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Fri Sep 1 15:45:41 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <92C2B272-9CCC-4392-B4ED-3773F622D629@macspeech.com> Jonathan (and everyone else): Please don't characterize my posting as an "outburst" as that was certainly not my intent. My job with MacSpeech and the advice I may give someone my sometimes seem to be bordering on conflict of interest, but they are still separate things. I was speaking as a MacSpeech person, since that is who I am - but the opinion is definitely mine. Continuing to use ViaVoice is, in my opinion, only slightly less grievous than continuing to use Claris Emailer. Great "back in the day," but... Just to be clear, I would have probably said the same thing if I had never ever worked for MacSpeech. In fact, I probably would have piped up even if I had worked for IBM's speech division instead. That's just who I am. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 1, 2006, at 4:24 PM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: > In answer to your question, my advice for you is to keep plugging > away at improving your product, to be ready when I and others want > it. But your outburst certainly isn't going to cause me to switch > sooner. From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Fri Sep 1 15:50:43 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Fri Sep 1 15:50:50 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <24238BF9-C22B-43E8-AF07-E28629EC1485@macspeech.com> Gavin (and everyone else): There is no doubt Dragon has done great things with NaturallySpeaking. They produce, when all is said and done a program that is more feature-rich and easier to get up and running than ours - of that we offer no argument. But with regard to the accuracy you can attain, it is only that they can get you more accurate *sooner,* not more accurate no matter what, forever. And when it comes to command and control of the interface, we win - hands down. All that having been said, my reference to Dragon NaturallySpeaking was purely anecdotal. The real purpose of my post was simply to point out that, in case some people didn't realize it, popular consensus is that we surpassed ViaVoice in both features and accuracy some time ago. Regarding your comment about the word "Paragraph" I would add only this to what Joe already said. In Word, you can use "New Line" to produce the results you would get by pressing the Return key once. It is not what you would prefer, I realize that - but it is a work around. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 1, 2006, at 3:59 PM, Gavin Wynford-Jones wrote: > Chuck, > > Much as I support MacSpeech and iListen as a user, investor and > evangelist, I feel there is still a very long way to go before it > can be considered a serious challenger to Naturally Speaking, > regardless of the platform. One fundamental issue is that of the > software distinguishing correctly between commands and the words in > the command. Dragon made sure that all commands were at least two > words, MacSpeech took a different tack and allowed one word > commands (my all-time bugbear is "paragraph" which is recognised as > a command 100% of the time, even in the middle of a sentence, never > as a word), without providing an easy method to customise, expand, > alter, or delete anything in the command dictionary: I want to set > it so that "paragraph" is never recognised as a command, "return" > types the word rather than pressing the return key, and to be able > to define "New paragraph" and "Press return key" as replacement > commands. > > Then I would probably never have to go into command mode ever > again, because iListen would know the difference... > > I love the fact that you've been able to do so much with so few > resources, when IBM couldn't keep it going with al the money and > people they have at their command. When people switch to an Intel > Mac, they're probably going to look at Boot Camp plus DNS and some > of them are going to go that route. > > Gavin > > On 1 Sep 2006, at 21:14, Chuck Rogers wrote: > >> All: >> >> I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my >> mouth shut, but I just can't. >> >> Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and >> I have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel >> Mac. The last update of ViaVoice was April of 2003 - over 3 years >> ago! >> >> Meanwhile, we have been busting our arses for the past 6 years >> and, by all accounts have (some time ago, actually) finally >> surpassed ViaVoice in accuracy - we were ALWAYS better in terms of >> command and control. Since April of 2003 we have issued multiple >> updates AND kept up with changes in the Mac OS. If you accept the >> fact that speech recognition is also more prone to issues than any >> other type of software you are likely to use on your computer, our >> set up and use is also relatively hassle-free in comparison to >> ViaVoice. >> >> I really appreciate the fact that many of you have established >> profiles in ViaVoice, I really do. But even NY Times Columnist >> David Pogue - who is an avid NatruallySpeaking fanatic - reported >> (in the NY Times) that he was able to get almost 96 percent >> accuracy after using the latest version for only 30 minutes! >> >> So, let me ask: what is it going to take to get y'all to switch to >> the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED to work on >> current Macs, from a company that continues to develop and support >> it? Let me know, and I will do my best to provide it if it is at >> all in my power. (Keep in mind that at some point, you will have >> to switch anyway - when you get an Intel Mac). >> >> >> Best Regards, >> >> Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist >> MacSpeech, Inc. > > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Fri Sep 1 21:49:38 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Fri Sep 1 21:49:58 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> Gavin (and everyone else): There is no doubt Dragon has done great things with NaturallySpeaking. They produce, when all is said and done a program that is more feature-rich and easier to get up and running than ours - of that we offer no argument. But with regard to the accuracy you can attain, it is only that they can get you more accurate *sooner,* not more accurate no matter what, forever. And when it comes to command and control of the interface, we win - hands down. All that having been said, my reference to Dragon NaturallySpeaking was purely anecdotal. The real purpose of my post was simply to point out that, in case some people didn't realize it, popular consensus is that we surpassed ViaVoice in both features and accuracy some time ago. Regarding your comment about the word "Paragraph" I would add only this to what Joe already said. In Word, you can use "New Line" to produce the results you would get by pressing the Return key once. It is not what you would prefer, I realize that - but it is a work around. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. From vlmaples at bellsouth.net Fri Sep 1 22:16:24 2006 From: vlmaples at bellsouth.net (Valerie Maples) Date: Fri Sep 1 22:16:28 2006 Subject: SR comparisons, was:Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> Chuck; As a dual platform user I must respectfully disagree strongly. Although I give iListen an edge in mousing with MouseAywhere over grid and other options in DNS, the other two statements are patently untrue. Proper name and possessive recognition alone are infinitely better in DNS, both out of the box and with training, and command and control integrated into all dictation is seamless without transitioning between two vocabularies. Then when you look at command and control in browsers, well, they are not even on the same planet. I am a diehard Mac user and strong proponent of iListen and continued development of SR for Macs. I use my Mac for 95% of my workload, but the simple fact iListen does not recognize nor offer correction options of my last name capitalized (Maples) after every conceivable training, teaching, and correction in addition to issues mentioned with inconsistent ability to get words like period or paragraph (slightly better in 1.7, but still not great) to spell out handicap its performance considerably. Since I have used many products successfully for many years on both platforms and still do to this day as well as having been a professional trainer for Voc Rehab and being married to a quadriplegic dependent on SR, I feel I have unique experience on this topic. I do not bash iListen for limitations due to OS issues, speech engine limitations or a shorter development history, but to say iListen surpasses DNS in any area (except my penchant for MouseAnywhere) has no merit in my 12 years of experience with SR. Valerie Maples Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 2 GB DDR SDRAM OSX 10.4.7 Sennheiser e835 Andrea USB pod IListen 1.70 On Sep 1, 2006, at 11:49 PM, Chuck Rogers wrote: > But with regard to the accuracy you can attain, it is only that > they can get you more accurate *sooner,* not more accurate no > matter what, forever. And when it comes to command and control of > the interface, we win - hands down. From thechuck at mac.com Fri Sep 1 22:23:50 2006 From: thechuck at mac.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Fri Sep 1 22:24:01 2006 Subject: SR comparisons, was:Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <41397C0C-7875-482A-B01B-42C43F62DA09@mac.com> Valerie: Thanks for your email. My comments were in general, not specifics. iListen will indeed learn regarding possessives, and anything iListen can do in a browser, iListen can do - although you may have to write some of the scripts yourself to do it. I would never presume to compare an out of the box iListen to an out of the box Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Not today, anyway. We have a long way to go before I would even be willing to submit to such a comparison. But, if you AREN'T a dual-platform user and you ARE a Mac user - or you are simply willing and able to put in the extra work it takes to get iListen up to where things are "out of the box" with Dragon, then my comments stand true - again, in general. There are trade offs. Dragon gives you complete speech control over itself. Because of some technical limitations in the Mac OS, we can't do that (we are working on partial control, however and we will continue to work on full control for a future version). Please do not read anything into my comments that aren't there, and don't put words into my mouth or thoughts in my head (its crowded enough in there already). In summary, I would submit iListen is better than ViaVoice in every way, which is what started this thread - accuracy, command and control, everything. Regarding Dragon, if you are willing to work, iListen can equal Dragon in most cases. In the remaining areas where iListen falls short (such as voice control of itself), it makes up for it in other areas (as with its ability to offer virtually complete control of any application and the Mac OS through scripting). Regarding scripting, you have to pay $800 for Dragon to get anything close to what iListen offers you for $99. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers On Sep 2, 2006, at 12:16 AM, Valerie Maples wrote: > Chuck; > > As a dual platform user I must respectfully disagree strongly. > Although I give iListen an edge in mousing with MouseAywhere over > grid and other options in DNS, the other two statements are > patently untrue. Proper name and possessive recognition alone are > infinitely better in DNS, both out of the box and with training, > and command and control integrated into all dictation is seamless > without transitioning between two vocabularies. Then when you look > at command and control in browsers, well, they are not even on the > same planet. > > I am a diehard Mac user and strong proponent of iListen and > continued development of SR for Macs. I use my Mac for 95% of my > workload, but the simple fact iListen does not recognize nor offer > correction options of my last name capitalized (Maples) after every > conceivable training, teaching, and correction in addition to > issues mentioned with inconsistent ability to get words like period > or paragraph (slightly better in 1.7, but still not great) to spell > out handicap its performance considerably. > > Since I have used many products successfully for many years on both > platforms and still do to this day as well as having been a > professional trainer for Voc Rehab and being married to a > quadriplegic dependent on SR, I feel I have unique experience on > this topic. I do not bash iListen for limitations due to OS > issues, speech engine limitations or a shorter development history, > but to say iListen surpasses DNS in any area (except my penchant > for MouseAnywhere) has no merit in my 12 years of experience with SR. > > Valerie Maples > > Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 > 2 GB DDR SDRAM > OSX 10.4.7 > Sennheiser e835 > Andrea USB pod > IListen 1.70 > > > On Sep 1, 2006, at 11:49 PM, Chuck Rogers wrote: > >> But with regard to the accuracy you can attain, it is only that >> they can get you more accurate *sooner,* not more accurate no >> matter what, forever. And when it comes to command and control of >> the interface, we win - hands down. > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From spils at mac.com Sat Sep 2 05:08:21 2006 From: spils at mac.com (Paul Spilseth) Date: Sat Sep 2 05:08:30 2006 Subject: SR comparisons, was:Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <41397C0C-7875-482A-B01B-42C43F62DA09@mac.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> <41397C0C-7875-482A-B01B-42C43F62DA09@mac.com> Message-ID: <069741E5-8AC7-4894-B751-4A1B1BE531B1@mac.com> Chuck, I would like to use iListen, but ViaVoice has a medical dictionary that I need. Paul Spilseth, MD On Sep 2, 2006, at 12:23 AM, Chuck Rogers wrote: > Valerie: > > Thanks for your email. > > My comments were in general, not specifics. iListen will indeed > learn regarding possessives, and anything iListen can do in a > browser, iListen can do - although you may have to write some of > the scripts yourself to do it. > > I would never presume to compare an out of the box iListen to an > out of the box Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Not today, anyway. We have > a long way to go before I would even be willing to submit to such a > comparison. > > But, if you AREN'T a dual-platform user and you ARE a Mac user - or > you are simply willing and able to put in the extra work it takes > to get iListen up to where things are "out of the box" with Dragon, > then my comments stand true - again, in general. > > There are trade offs. Dragon gives you complete speech control over > itself. Because of some technical limitations in the Mac OS, we > can't do that (we are working on partial control, however and we > will continue to work on full control for a future version). > > Please do not read anything into my comments that aren't there, and > don't put words into my mouth or thoughts in my head (its crowded > enough in there already). In summary, I would submit iListen is > better than ViaVoice in every way, which is what started this > thread - accuracy, command and control, everything. Regarding > Dragon, if you are willing to work, iListen can equal Dragon in > most cases. In the remaining areas where iListen falls short (such > as voice control of itself), it makes up for it in other areas (as > with its ability to offer virtually complete control of any > application and the Mac OS through scripting). Regarding scripting, > you have to pay $800 for Dragon to get anything close to what > iListen offers you for $99. > > Best Regards, > > Chuck Rogers > > > On Sep 2, 2006, at 12:16 AM, Valerie Maples wrote: > >> Chuck; >> >> As a dual platform user I must respectfully disagree strongly. >> Although I give iListen an edge in mousing with MouseAywhere over >> grid and other options in DNS, the other two statements are >> patently untrue. Proper name and possessive recognition alone are >> infinitely better in DNS, both out of the box and with training, >> and command and control integrated into all dictation is seamless >> without transitioning between two vocabularies. Then when you >> look at command and control in browsers, well, they are not even >> on the same planet. >> >> I am a diehard Mac user and strong proponent of iListen and >> continued development of SR for Macs. I use my Mac for 95% of my >> workload, but the simple fact iListen does not recognize nor offer >> correction options of my last name capitalized (Maples) after >> every conceivable training, teaching, and correction in addition >> to issues mentioned with inconsistent ability to get words like >> period or paragraph (slightly better in 1.7, but still not great) >> to spell out handicap its performance considerably. >> >> Since I have used many products successfully for many years on >> both platforms and still do to this day as well as having been a >> professional trainer for Voc Rehab and being married to a >> quadriplegic dependent on SR, I feel I have unique experience on >> this topic. I do not bash iListen for limitations due to OS >> issues, speech engine limitations or a shorter development >> history, but to say iListen surpasses DNS in any area (except my >> penchant for MouseAnywhere) has no merit in my 12 years of >> experience with SR. >> >> Valerie Maples >> >> Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 >> 2 GB DDR SDRAM >> OSX 10.4.7 >> Sennheiser e835 >> Andrea USB pod >> IListen 1.70 >> >> >> On Sep 1, 2006, at 11:49 PM, Chuck Rogers wrote: >> >>> But with regard to the accuracy you can attain, it is only that >>> they can get you more accurate *sooner,* not more accurate no >>> matter what, forever. And when it comes to command and control of >>> the interface, we win - hands down. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> MacVoice mailing list >> MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >> http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice >> >> Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random >> stuff: >> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From drjlevi at netonecom.net Sat Sep 2 07:18:26 2006 From: drjlevi at netonecom.net (Jonathan Levi, M.D.) Date: Sat Sep 2 07:17:13 2006 Subject: SR comparisons, was:Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <069741E5-8AC7-4894-B751-4A1B1BE531B1@mac.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> <41397C0C-7875-482A-B01B-42C43F62DA09@mac.com> <069741E5-8AC7-4894-B751-4A1B1BE531B1@mac.com> Message-ID: At 7:08 AM -0500 9/2/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >Chuck, >I would like to use iListen, but ViaVoice has a medical dictionary >that I need. >Paul Spilseth, MD Ditto, except that my medical dictionary (about 1,000 words and macros) has been created by me, and is still a work in progress. Presumably iListen allows the creation of a custom vocabulary (if not, that's a capacity you must run, not walk, to add) but I'm apprehensive, I think for obvious reasons, about recreating that vocabulary. --Jonathan From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Sat Sep 2 08:31:35 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Sat Sep 2 08:32:05 2006 Subject: SR comparisons, was:Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <4EE1D7E8-C0A6-421C-8FFE-7D4778FB00CA@macspeech.com> <45E1BC0B-9C56-49E1-A90A-87A48DAAFA5C@bellsouth.net> <41397C0C-7875-482A-B01B-42C43F62DA09@mac.com> <069741E5-8AC7-4894-B751-4A1B1BE531B1@mac.com> Message-ID: <39A5040A-C665-4B83-95FF-84068CEBD094@macspeech.com> All: iListen has had the ability to create custom vocabularies for many, many years. We have a doctor who states that he was getting about 95 accuracy - with his medical terms - within a week or two of purchasing iListen. That was almost a year ago. I heard from him recently, and he is now consistently getting 98-99 percent accuracy on a regular basis. There is always a down side to a pre-built vocabulary, which is why we resist it so strongly: in speaking with medical professionals, they have told us 99% of the time they use a word from a group of 500 to 1000 specialized words. This is because, while there are a percentage of medical terms that everyone uses, the rest of the words a particular individual uses are unique to their discipline. The average pre-built vocabulary adds 10,000 to 15,000 new words that the speech engine can recognize. In iListen's case, it can already recognize about 300,000 words. But adding another 9,000 to 14,000 words to the vocabulary you will never use is going to decrease accuracy a bit since you are increasing your word choices. In our tests, we have found this to be the case. BUT, adding only the words you use has a couple of advantages. The first is obvious: adding only the words you use not only increases the odds those words will be recognized accurately, but also decreases the odds other words will be introduced into the vocabulary that could be mis-recognized instead of what you actually said. A second benefit it more subtle. Because the way we add the words en masse is through the "Learn My Writing Style" feature, iListen actually learns them in context - meaning it improves by a considerable amount the odds of those words being recognized right off the bat. Our doctor friend - who, by the way, is one of the people who insists that he is getting better results from iListen than he did from Dragon after FIVE YEARS!!! - goes one step further with a process we now recommend to our medical professionals: when, in the course of normal dictation, he says a word that has not been added yet, he (of course) adds it at that point. But AFTER he is finished with the document he then has iListen analyze it immediately using "Learn My Writing Style." He says he has found the odds that iListen gets the new word right the first time improve dramatically when he does this. We would not have thought of doing that, but it does make sense. I hope this information is helpful. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 2, 2006, at 9:18 AM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: > At 7:08 AM -0500 9/2/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >> Chuck, >> I would like to use iListen, but ViaVoice has a medical dictionary >> that I need. >> Paul Spilseth, MD > > Ditto, except that my medical dictionary (about 1,000 words and > macros) has been created by me, and is still a work in progress. > Presumably iListen allows the creation of a custom vocabulary (if > not, that's a capacity you must run, not walk, to add) but I'm > apprehensive, I think for obvious reasons, about recreating that > vocabulary. --Jonathan > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From jeffschlueter at mac.com Sat Sep 2 08:49:24 2006 From: jeffschlueter at mac.com (Jeff Schlueter) Date: Sat Sep 2 08:49:38 2006 Subject: [MV] (no subject) Message-ID: From builtinbc at hotmail.com Sat Sep 2 10:39:12 2006 From: builtinbc at hotmail.com (Robert Marks) Date: Sat Sep 2 10:39:30 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: Chuck: I'm a ViaVoice user, but am considering buying an Intel Mac. The main reason I haven't so far is that I'm a physician and use IBM's Medical Dictionary (not available from ScanSoft, who obviously have no investment in continuing to support VV). As a (sub)specialist, I've had to create a large (> 2500 word) custom vocabulary that I've trained over 3 or 4 years. However, I'm keen to try iListen, because if I could get it to work better for me than VVwith no more than a weekend of effort, I'd go for it, so that I could upgrade to a new Mac. Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, why not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive upgrade path from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check iListen out at low risk? Thanks, - Robert On 1-Sep-06, at 12:14 PM, Chuck Rogers wrote: > All: > > I'm sorry, but I really need to jump in here. I tried to keep my > mouth shut, but I just can't. > > Neither IBM or Nuance has any intention of modifying ViaVoice, and > I have yet to hear from anyone who can get it to work on an Intel > Mac. The last update of ViaVoice was April of 2003 - over 3 years ago! > > Meanwhile, we have been busting our arses for the past 6 years and, > by all accounts have (some time ago, actually) finally surpassed > ViaVoice in accuracy - we were ALWAYS better in terms of command > and control. Since April of 2003 we have issued multiple updates > AND kept up with changes in the Mac OS. If you accept the fact that > speech recognition is also more prone to issues than any other type > of software you are likely to use on your computer, our set up and > use is also relatively hassle-free in comparison to ViaVoice. > > I really appreciate the fact that many of you have established > profiles in ViaVoice, I really do. But even NY Times Columnist > David Pogue - who is an avid NatruallySpeaking fanatic - reported > (in the NY Times) that he was able to get almost 96 percent > accuracy after using the latest version for only 30 minutes! > > So, let me ask: what is it going to take to get y'all to switch to > the ONLY speech recognition software that is GUARANTEED to work on > current Macs, from a company that continues to develop and support > it? Let me know, and I will do my best to provide it if it is at > all in my power. (Keep in mind that at some point, you will have to > switch anyway - when you get an Intel Mac). > > > Best Regards, > > Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist > MacSpeech, Inc. > > > > > On Sep 1, 2006, at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: > >> At 8:18 PM -0500 8/31/06, Paul Spilseth wrote: >>> ViaVoice works fine with 10.4.7 but I also get the message, ""The >>> Microphone is Being Used Exclusively By Another Application". I >>> discovered this happens when I try to turn on the microphone too >>> soon after bringing it up the application. If I wait and turn on >>> the microphone after the speech pad is completely open, I do not >>> get this message >>> Paul Spilseth, MD >> >> You're too kind to ViaVoice re its grammar -- it really does say, >> "The Microphone Is Been used..." Nevertheless, I appreciate your >> comment, as well as revDave's re the F8 key. >> >> (The F8 key does work, to some extent: It recovers from "The >> Microphone Is Been Used", but the red, yellow & green buttons on >> the VoiceCenter icon don't activate, so there's no easy way to >> quit VoiceCenter.) >> >>> On Aug 30, 2006, at 11:16 AM, Jonathan Levi, M.D. wrote: >>>> But first: Can you still use "backspace" and "pick 1" in your >>>> current 10.4.6 setup? >> >> Amazing -- they're now working again! Seems to be related to the >> order of my user commands: if I start SpeakPad, then say, "What >> Can I Say", the resulting "What Can I Say" window contains the >> full suite of SpeakPad commands, including "backspace", "pick 1", >> "uppercase this", etc. However, at other times, the window either >> doesn't contain the "SpeakPad" suite of commands at all, or >> sometimes only a partial suite, with only the "Menu Commands" >> subheading present, and all the rest missing. It seems as though >> my only recourse at that point may be to quit SpeakPad, >> VoiceCenter, etc. and restart. >> >> Regardless, I'm overjoyed to have my full suite of commands back. >> Thank you all very much for your help, >> >> Jonathan >> _______________________________________________ >> MacVoice mailing list >> MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >> http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice >> >> Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random >> stuff: >> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From cwillems at willemscommunications.com Sat Sep 2 11:05:13 2006 From: cwillems at willemscommunications.com (Cletus Willems) Date: Sat Sep 2 11:05:21 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <44F9C7D9.9040703@willemscommunications.com> Robert Marks wrote: > Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, why > not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive upgrade path > from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check iListen out at low risk? Inexpensive upgrade path? Please take a step back and view the context. The most expensive iListen retail package I could find goes for $219 at full retail, when bundled with a Pro Xpress USB Headset. For actively developed and supported software used in a medical setting, this is not "expensive". Even at this "maximum cost", in context, I think it can be fairly described as "low risk" from a purchase price perspective. Of course, for personal use by folks with small financial resources, the situation could well be viewed quite differently. Regards, Cletus Willems From gavinwj at wanadoo.fr Sat Sep 2 11:10:39 2006 From: gavinwj at wanadoo.fr (Gavin Wynford-Jones) Date: Sat Sep 2 11:10:49 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <44F9C7D9.9040703@willemscommunications.com> References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> <44F9C7D9.9040703@willemscommunications.com> Message-ID: Presumably it's also a wholly deductable tax write-off. Given how much American doctors charge, it should amortise itself in less than three hours... Gavin On 2 Sep 2006, at 20:05, Cletus Willems wrote: > Robert Marks wrote: >> Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, >> why not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive >> upgrade path from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check >> iListen out at low risk? > > Inexpensive upgrade path? Please take a step back and view the > context. The most expensive iListen retail package I could find > goes for $219 at full retail, when bundled with a Pro Xpress USB > Headset. For actively developed and supported software used in a > medical setting, this is not "expensive". Even at this "maximum > cost", in context, I think it can be fairly described as "low risk" > from a purchase price perspective. > > Of course, for personal use by folks with small financial > resources, the situation could well be viewed quite differently. > > Regards, > Cletus Willems > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Sun Sep 3 18:49:45 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Sun Sep 3 18:50:04 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: <3404CC1C-1E68-4CB4-A676-260644CFCC06@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <4BACCCAE-E418-4C6C-B646-A5446EE3FD00@macspeech.com> Robert (and everyone else): Many years ago we offered a trial version and found a perplexing the number that did not turn into sales. It was way out of whack from what it should have been. We later learned (well, not too much later - it didn't take long for us to figure this out) that most people were using either their built-in microphone or a mic not well-suited for speech recognition on the Mac. For instance, IBM wrote a special sound driver to compensate for the fact that the microphones they shipped on the PC side didn't work well for speech recognition on the Mac side. This is because Macs want a signal strength that is about 10db stronger than Windows. It is this special sound driver that causes all the angst for ViaVoice users, and is the primary reason so many people can't get it to work at all. We don't do that. We insist the software work with what god (in this case, Apple) gave us. That way, we don't have to worry about the OS breaking our sound input every time we turn around. (No, they find ways to break us in all sorts of other ways - but I digress.) This is why we do not offer technical support for accuracy issues unless the customer is using a microphone we have certified. OK - back to your real issue. We do the next best thing. EVERYONE who purchases iListen has 30 days to try it out. If it doesn't meet their expectations, they can return it, subject to the following conditions: 1). It must be in like new condition. 2). There is a $15 restocking fee since by law we have to replace the windscreen and the earpiece cover. 3). You must contact our tech support department at "questions@macspeech.com" in order to see if they can resolve the issue you are having. We make the following assumptions regarding our product: you bought it because you want it to work, and no matter how easy we attempt to make it, it will ALWAYS be subject to more outside variables than any other software you will use. All we want is a fair chance to address those variables. If you still aren't satisfied, we are happy to refund your money. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers From tscheresky at micron.com Mon Sep 4 19:11:07 2006 From: tscheresky at micron.com (tscheresky@micron.com) Date: Mon Sep 4 19:11:20 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Message-ID: I would have two agree with Cletus here. To get DNS ( Dragon NaturallySpeaking ) 9 Professional, with a decent microphone, it would cost somewhere around $800. So I would say that trying iListen is a pretty small risk. Besides, if iListen makes you 10% more productive in a day, you'll probably pay for iListen in a couple days. If it doesn't work out, you write off the $220 experiment. I'm sure you have purchased medical equipment in the hopes that they would improve your productivity, that cost much more than iListen, that haven't worked out and you simply wrote them off. Thanks... Todd -----Original Message----- From: macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com [mailto:macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com]On Behalf Of Cletus Willems Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:05 PM To: A place to discuss speech recognition on Macintosh. Subject: Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Robert Marks wrote: > Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, why > not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive upgrade path > from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check iListen out at low risk? Inexpensive upgrade path? Please take a step back and view the context. The most expensive iListen retail package I could find goes for $219 at full retail, when bundled with a Pro Xpress USB Headset. For actively developed and supported software used in a medical setting, this is not "expensive". Even at this "maximum cost", in context, I think it can be fairly described as "low risk" from a purchase price perspective. Of course, for personal use by folks with small financial resources, the situation could well be viewed quite differently. Regards, Cletus Willems _______________________________________________ MacVoice mailing list MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From dkw at umich.edu Mon Sep 4 19:40:28 2006 From: dkw at umich.edu (David K. Wehe) Date: Mon Sep 4 19:40:33 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I'm not sure that I would necessarily agree that it takes $800 to try DNS. A standard version of DNS is available for ~$100 (check Amazon.com), the preferred version for a bit more. If you have deep pockets, then the Professional version will really set you back. But just to try it for a comparison, the standard version might be worth a try, and if you like it, follow the upgrade path. I must confess that I use VV, iListen, and DNS each day. Variety adds a bit of spice. With the right microphone and enough patience and training, iListen can be quite good. David. >I would have two agree with Cletus here. To get DNS ( Dragon >NaturallySpeaking ) 9 Professional, with a decent microphone, it >would cost somewhere around $800. So I would say that trying >iListen is a pretty small risk. Besides, if iListen makes you 10% >more productive in a day, you'll probably pay for iListen in a >couple days. If it doesn't work out, you write off the $220 >experiment. I'm sure you have purchased medical equipment in the >hopes that they would improve your productivity, that cost much more >than iListen, that haven't worked out and you simply wrote them off. > >Thanks... > >Todd > >-----Original Message----- >From: macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >[mailto:macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com]On Behalf Of >Cletus Willems >Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:05 PM >To: A place to discuss speech recognition on Macintosh. >Subject: Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 > > >Robert Marks wrote: >> Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, why >> not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive upgrade path >> from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check iListen out at low risk? > >Inexpensive upgrade path? Please take a step back and view the >context. The most expensive iListen retail package I could find goes >for $219 at full retail, when bundled with a Pro Xpress USB Headset. >For actively developed and supported software used in a medical >setting, this is not "expensive". Even at this "maximum cost", in >context, I think it can be fairly described as "low risk" from a >purchase price perspective. > >Of course, for personal use by folks with small financial resources, >the situation could well be viewed quite differently. > >Regards, >Cletus Willems >_______________________________________________ >MacVoice mailing list >MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > >Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 >_______________________________________________ >MacVoice mailing list >MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > >Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From drjlevi at netonecom.net Tue Sep 5 10:21:32 2006 From: drjlevi at netonecom.net (Jonathan Levi, M.D.) Date: Tue Sep 5 10:21:30 2006 Subject: [MV] Re: Multiple Speech Softwares (Was: IBM ViaVoice 3...) Message-ID: At 10:40 PM -0400 9/4/06, David K. Wehe wrote: >I must confess that I use VV, iListen, and DNS each day. Variety >adds a bit of spice. With the right microphone and enough patience >and training, iListen can be quite good. Amazing! More power to you if this works, but what's the point? Perhaps Chuck and DNS are happy with this (I can't imagine who cares what ScanSoft thinks:->) but isn't it an annoyance to you to have to keep training the recognition models of three applications instead of 1? And what microphone works for all three applications, or do you have three different ones? --Jonathan From Antivenom at aol.com Tue Sep 5 12:03:45 2006 From: Antivenom at aol.com (Antivenom@aol.com) Date: Tue Sep 5 12:04:04 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Message-ID: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> I bought a $180 sony digital voice recorder and it came with a free copy of DNS 8 preferred. I was so blown away by the accuracy that I purchased DNS 9 Medical. I have used ilisten and VV in the past but found that I was spending too much time on corrections. I have not tried. iListen 1.7 yet, although I have been a beta tester for them in the past. As a hard-core Mac addict, I am really hoping that 1.7 works for me. Currently I am using DNS 9 medical on a Windows machine, and DNS 8 preferred on a Mac book Pro running parallels. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/pipermail/macvoice/attachments/20060905/0bc264a2/attachment.html From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Tue Sep 5 13:26:55 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Tue Sep 5 13:27:14 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> References: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> Message-ID: <8B72E9BA-73A8-4902-B60C-8140939B9691@macspeech.com> As I have said before, we have several customers who are adamant that they are achieving accuracy just as good as Dragon, including one doctor who insists it is better. We would be the first to point out, however, that getting iListen to that point will take longer - in some cases a lot longer - than Dragon. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 5, 2006, at 2:03 PM, Antivenom@aol.com wrote: > I bought a $180 sony digital voice recorder and it came with a free > copy of DNS 8 preferred. I was so blown away by the accuracy that > I purchased DNS 9 Medical. I have used ilisten and VV in the past > but found that I was spending too much time on corrections. I have > not tried. iListen 1.7 yet, although I have been a beta tester for > them in the past. As a hard-core Mac addict, I am really hoping > that 1.7 works for me. Currently I am using DNS 9 medical on a > Windows machine, and DNS 8 preferred on a Mac book Pro running > parallels. > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From kalirhe at umdnj.edu Tue Sep 5 15:14:19 2006 From: kalirhe at umdnj.edu (Henry Kalir) Date: Tue Sep 5 15:14:33 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <8B72E9BA-73A8-4902-B60C-8140939B9691@macspeech.com> References: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> <8B72E9BA-73A8-4902-B60C-8140939B9691@macspeech.com> Message-ID: <44FDF6BB.2000709@umdnj.edu> Hi Chuck, I'm considering a move to the most recent iListen. Just curious - why would iListen take longer than Dragon to achieve the same accuracy? Best, Henry Chuck Rogers wrote: > As I have said before, we have several customers who are adamant that > they are achieving accuracy just as good as Dragon, including one > doctor who insists it is better. > > We would be the first to point out, however, that getting iListen to > that point will take longer - in some cases a lot longer - than Dragon. > > > > Best Regards, > > Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist > MacSpeech, Inc. > > > > > On Sep 5, 2006, at 2:03 PM, Antivenom@aol.com wrote: > >> I bought a $180 sony digital voice recorder and it came with a free >> copy of DNS 8 preferred. I was so blown away by the accuracy that I >> purchased DNS 9 Medical. I have used ilisten and VV in the past but >> found that I was spending too much time on corrections. I have not >> tried. iListen 1.7 yet, although I have been a beta tester for them >> in the past. As a hard-core Mac addict, I am really hoping that 1.7 >> works for me. Currently I am using DNS 9 medical on a Windows >> machine, and DNS 8 preferred on a Mac book Pro running parallels. >> _______________________________________________ >> MacVoice mailing list >> MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >> http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice >> >> Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random >> stuff: >> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 > From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Tue Sep 5 15:20:35 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Tue Sep 5 15:20:59 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <44FDF6BB.2000709@umdnj.edu> References: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> <8B72E9BA-73A8-4902-B60C-8140939B9691@macspeech.com> <44FDF6BB.2000709@umdnj.edu> Message-ID: <23D61477-38EB-4128-AA56-CF3070D74E19@macspeech.com> Henry (and everyone else): It has to do with how development resources have been allocated in the respective companies (Dragon and MacSpeech). Dragon has had the benefit of having a codebase virtually unchanged since Windows 95. This has given them the last 11 years plus to improve their algorithms, add features, and just in general, tweak their software. MacSpeech, on the other hand, has had to rewrite our software from the ground up three times just to keep it running on the Mac: once to go from 68K to PPC, again to go from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, and just recently, yet again to go from PPC to Intel. We have our fingers crossed that Apple's "top secret" features for 10.5 will not require us to further retool our software in any substantial way. But the bottom line is that while Dragon has been able to significantly improve their training process, we have been mired in just keeping our software running on the platform. The good news is that all speech recognition software out there uses pretty much the same methodology: Hidden Markov Modeling. That's why you can eventually get accuracy from iListen on par with Dragon - it just takes longer to get there with iListen. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 5, 2006, at 5:14 PM, Henry Kalir wrote: > Hi Chuck, > > I'm considering a move to the most recent iListen. Just curious - > why would iListen take longer than Dragon to achieve the same > accuracy? > > Best, > > Henry > > Chuck Rogers wrote: > From vlmaples at bellsouth.net Tue Sep 5 20:43:46 2006 From: vlmaples at bellsouth.net (Valerie Maples) Date: Tue Sep 5 20:43:57 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> References: <2de.5a82c400.322f2411@aol.com> Message-ID: I think if you invest enough time teaching iListen your style and feed it enough documents with your medical vocabulary, you will find it much better than previous versions. It is *so* different from DNS that a comparison is unfair, IMO, from product maturity and OS limitations, but it is very workable and trainable for the most part. Standard text dictation is much quicker than previous versions, but it takes a lot of time and dedication to add in a wide array of proper names and medical terms if not brought in early through learning my writing style. Like you, I am a hard core Mac User, but my disability and medical dictation have me use my Windows box for those lengthier straight medical documents. Due to mail and security issues and viruses and other horrors on PC's, I use iListen for all that. The result is no more problems on the PC with no email and Internet downloads. Let us know your experience if you decide to play with iListen. The more feedback developers get, the better the product will be. Valerie Check out my kids at: http://www.caringbridge.org/ms/nicholemaples http://www.caringbridge.org/ms/cindymaples http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jorgemaples On Sep 5, 2006, at 2:03 PM, Antivenom@aol.com wrote: > I bought a $180 sony digital voice recorder and it came with a free > copy of DNS 8 preferred. I was so blown away by the accuracy that > I purchased DNS 9 Medical. I have used ilisten and VV in the past > but found that I was spending too much time on corrections. I have > not tried. iListen 1.7 yet, although I have been a beta tester for > them in the past. As a hard-core Mac addict, I am really hoping > that 1.7 works for me. Currently I am using DNS 9 medical on a > Windows machine, and DNS 8 preferred on a Mac book Pro running > parallels. From tscheresky at micron.com Wed Sep 6 18:25:20 2006 From: tscheresky at micron.com (tscheresky@micron.com) Date: Wed Sep 6 18:25:33 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 Message-ID: I hate to belabor the point, but I chose Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional to compare to iListen because it was the only DNS product that compared, feature wise, with iListen. Sure if you want to just check out NaturallySpeaking's dictation you can buy DNS Standard 9 at amazon.com for $90 ( without a microphone ). As far as upgrading from DNS Standard to Professional... LOL -----Original Message----- From: macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com [mailto:macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com]On Behalf Of David K. Wehe Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 8:40 PM To: A place to discuss speech recognition on Macintosh. Subject: RE: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 I'm not sure that I would necessarily agree that it takes $800 to try DNS. A standard version of DNS is available for ~$100 (check Amazon.com), the preferred version for a bit more. If you have deep pockets, then the Professional version will really set you back. But just to try it for a comparison, the standard version might be worth a try, and if you like it, follow the upgrade path. I must confess that I use VV, iListen, and DNS each day. Variety adds a bit of spice. With the right microphone and enough patience and training, iListen can be quite good. David. >I would have two agree with Cletus here. To get DNS ( Dragon >NaturallySpeaking ) 9 Professional, with a decent microphone, it >would cost somewhere around $800. So I would say that trying >iListen is a pretty small risk. Besides, if iListen makes you 10% >more productive in a day, you'll probably pay for iListen in a >couple days. If it doesn't work out, you write off the $220 >experiment. I'm sure you have purchased medical equipment in the >hopes that they would improve your productivity, that cost much more >than iListen, that haven't worked out and you simply wrote them off. > >Thanks... > >Todd > >-----Original Message----- >From: macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >[mailto:macvoice-bounces@listserver.themacintoshguy.com]On Behalf Of >Cletus Willems >Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 12:05 PM >To: A place to discuss speech recognition on Macintosh. >Subject: Re: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 > > >Robert Marks wrote: >> Iif iListen is really better than VV at recognition as you claim, why >> not offer a 30-day free trial version, or an inexpensive upgrade path >> from ViaVoice so that users like myself can check iListen out at low risk? > >Inexpensive upgrade path? Please take a step back and view the >context. The most expensive iListen retail package I could find goes >for $219 at full retail, when bundled with a Pro Xpress USB Headset. >For actively developed and supported software used in a medical >setting, this is not "expensive". Even at this "maximum cost", in >context, I think it can be fairly described as "low risk" from a >purchase price perspective. > >Of course, for personal use by folks with small financial resources, >the situation could well be viewed quite differently. > >Regards, >Cletus Willems >_______________________________________________ >MacVoice mailing list >MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > >Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 >_______________________________________________ >MacVoice mailing list >MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com >http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > >Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 _______________________________________________ MacVoice mailing list MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From coolcat at hosting4days.com Thu Sep 7 08:38:03 2006 From: coolcat at hosting4days.com (revDAVE) Date: Thu Sep 7 08:38:56 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hello Chuck & Everyone, Does iListen have a feature like ViaVoice has called " macros "? ... With this feature you could use any word or phrase to trigger a text string. EX: I have used the phrase " print whole address" to trigger my whole address - complete with several return characters - my whole address and several more returns... This 'macro' feature is quite handy and I use it a lot... I'm curious, does anyone else use this type of tool in whatever program you use? -- Thanks - RevDave CoolCat@hosting4days.com [db-lists] From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Thu Sep 7 23:13:57 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Thu Sep 7 23:14:10 2006 Subject: [MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <207DCD67-F669-4F5B-8F55-584F56A14FF3@macspeech.com> Dave (and everyone else): ABSOLUTELY! We had this feature before ViaVoice! (We introduced it in a product called "ListenDo!" which was a free download for Mac OS 9). iListen has had a macro function since we introduced it six years ago. You can have macros of up to 32,000 characters (that's 8 pages of text!). iListen 1.7 introduces the capability to have the macros pasted using the clipboard instead of typed, which is a great time saver. Related to this, iListen can mimic any keypress (including any keyboard shortcut with any combination of modifiers), and iListen can control the menu of any application that was programmed according to Apple's developer guidelines. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 7, 2006, at 10:38 AM, revDAVE wrote: > Hello Chuck & Everyone, > > > Does iListen have a feature like ViaVoice has called " macros > "? ... With > this feature you could use any word or phrase to trigger a text > string. > > EX: I have used the phrase " print whole address" to trigger my whole > address - complete with several return characters - my whole > address and > several more returns... > > This 'macro' feature is quite handy and I use it a lot... I'm > curious, does > anyone else use this type of tool in whatever program you use? > > > > -- > Thanks - RevDave > CoolCat@hosting4days.com > [db-lists] > > > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From coolcat at hosting4days.com Tue Sep 19 10:06:29 2006 From: coolcat at hosting4days.com (revDAVE) Date: Tue Sep 19 10:06:49 2006 Subject: [MV] Microphone Upgrade Help- I Need Something Sturdy For Traveling Message-ID: Hello folks, Currently I am using a G4 desktop with viavoice and a VXi Parrott Translator Headset: - - - - - From: MacSpeech Store Location: http://www.macspeech.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=217&osCsid_pr ivate=b68d88a22c76c77c8deb9ba0a769aca4 - - - - - Soon - I'm thinking of getting a laptop - most likely a Mac book or Mac Book pro . I also will be moving to iListen. So, I would like to be able to work with iListen on my mobile laptop - and I afraid that the VXi Parrott will not be able to handle traveling - as it is quite delicate. Q: What is the best headset/microphone to use for iListen that is also sturdy enough to handle the rigors of traveling? Is there such a thing like a Blue tooth headset/microphone that can work well with dictation programs? I imagine that the typical cell phone Blue tooth ear piece would not work well - because the microphone is not close enough to someone's mouth... And would pick up too much extraneous noise in a real world environment ... Is this true? -- Thanks - RevDave CoolCat@hosting4days.com [db-lists] From chuck.rogers at macspeech.com Tue Sep 19 14:09:09 2006 From: chuck.rogers at macspeech.com (Chuck Rogers) Date: Tue Sep 19 14:10:08 2006 Subject: [MV] Microphone Upgrade Help- I Need Something Sturdy For Traveling In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1B461B5D-2F0E-484B-BC11-24EED3E96F59@macspeech.com> Dave: I travel with a VXi Parrott all the time and I haven't had a new microphone for well over a year now. I do not perceive it as being "delicate" at all. I wrapped the sucker up in its own cords and shoved it into my backpack countless times and it always bounces right back. The one thing I would suggest is to put a tiny dollop of super glue on each side of the windscreen where it comes in contact with the microphone stem to keep from losing it. That can be a real pain. That having been said, the Plantronics .Audio 85 is a folding microphone that performed as well as the standard microphone we ship with iListen and almost as good as the VXi TalkPro. It is built for portability (and it is stereo, so it work's great on iPods, too!). Regarding BlueTooth, we have yet to find a BlueTooth microphone that will work with iListen. All of them we have tested have an 8kHz sampling rate and iListen needs at least 16kHz to get good accuracy. We are working with VXi to try to come up with a solution involving their recently introduced BlueParrott, but so far we have nothing positive to report. Best Regards, Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. On Sep 19, 2006, at 12:06 PM, revDAVE wrote: > Hello folks, > > Currently I am using a G4 desktop with viavoice and a VXi Parrott > Translator > Headset: > > - - - - - > From: MacSpeech Store > Location: > http://www.macspeech.com/product_info.php? > cPath=21&products_id=217&osCsid_pr > ivate=b68d88a22c76c77c8deb9ba0a769aca4 > - - - - - > > Soon - I'm thinking of getting a laptop - most likely a Mac book > or Mac > Book pro . I also will be moving to iListen. > > So, I would like to be able to work with iListen on my mobile > laptop - and I > afraid that the VXi Parrott will not be able to handle traveling - > as it is > quite delicate. > > Q: What is the best headset/microphone to use for iListen that is > also > sturdy enough to handle the rigors of traveling? Is there such a > thing like > a Blue tooth headset/microphone that can work well with dictation > programs? > I imagine that the typical cell phone Blue tooth ear piece would > not work > well - because the microphone is not close enough to someone's > mouth... And > would pick up too much extraneous noise in a real world > environment ... Is > this true? > > -- > Thanks - RevDave > CoolCat@hosting4days.com > [db-lists] > > > > _______________________________________________ > MacVoice mailing list > MacVoice@listserver.themacintoshguy.com > http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/macvoice > > Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random > stuff: > http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 From coolcat at hosting4days.com Tue Sep 19 15:41:10 2006 From: coolcat at hosting4days.com (revDAVE) Date: Tue Sep 19 15:41:28 2006 Subject: [MV] Microphone Upgrade Help- I Need Something Sturdy For Traveling In-Reply-To: <1B461B5D-2F0E-484B-BC11-24EED3E96F59@macspeech.com> Message-ID: On 9/19/2006 2:09 PM, "Chuck Rogers" wrote: > Dave: > > I travel with a VXi Parrott all the time and I haven't had a new > microphone for well over a year now. I do not perceive it as being > "delicate" at all. I wrapped the sucker up in its own cords and > shoved it into my backpack countless times and it always bounces > right back. The one thing I would suggest is to put a tiny dollop of > super glue on each side of the windscreen where it comes in contact > with the microphone stem to keep from losing it. That can be a real > pain. Thank you Chuck for your continued help. Previous to the VXi Parrott I owned end earlier model of some VXi mike - not sure which model - roughly the same - and I have both of them side-by-side right now - and I am noticing that the Parrott plastic piece that meets the metal head band is quite a bit thicker ( so hopefully it is sturdier) than the previous model ... Which eventually broke - rendering the Mike fairly useless - even after I tried to repair it with tape. > > That having been said, the Plantronics .Audio 85 is a folding > microphone that performed as well as the standard microphone we ship > with iListen and almost as good as the VXi TalkPro. It is built for > portability (and it is stereo, so it work's great on iPods, too!). > > Regarding BlueTooth, we have yet to find a BlueTooth microphone that > will work with iListen. All of them we have tested have an 8kHz > sampling rate and iListen needs at least 16kHz to get good accuracy. > We are working with VXi to try to come up with a solution involving > their recently introduced BlueParrott, but so far we have nothing > positive to report. -- Thanks - RevDave CoolCat@hosting4days.com [db-lists]