[MV] Re: Sluggish Computer With ViaVoice 3.x

[Andrew Taylor]

MacVoice Readers:

I have been following the thread regarding ViaVoice being sluggish 
under Panther, and read the comments regarding the state of speech 
recognition on the Macintosh. While I can't comment on the commitment 
Apple or Scansoft might have to the market, I can tell you that 
MacSpeech is alive and well, and continuing to improve its software.

While it is no secret that MacSpeech fell on hard times with the 
dot-com crash a couple of years ago, we never stopped developing 
software or improving our product. iListen is currently at version 
1.6.3, and it is completely compatible with Panther. It is true that 
we do not have the financial resources of Apple, IBM, or Scansoft. 
Today, every dollar we put into product development comes from sales 
revenue. The good news is sales have been consistently improving over 
the past few months.

At the risk of this turning into a product plug, the best way to 
improve the state of speech recognition on the Macintosh is to buy 
iListen, buy upgrades, buy ScriptPaks, and tell everyone about this 
little Mac-only company that has survived where even IBM decided to 
no longer compete. Rest assured, substantial growth for MacSpeech 
will mean accelerated development!

Best Regards,

Andrew Taylor, CEO
MacSpeech, Inc.

>Sounds like we are all basically screwed when it comes to support for
>ViaVoice on Mac OS X ( 10.2.8+ ).  Has anyone spoken with ScanSoft about
>ViaVoice for Mac OS X?  If so, will they be making bug fixes to ViaVoice
>to support Mac OS X ( Panther ) and newer?  I basically sounds like we
>are down to 1 continuous speech recognition product for Macintosh, and
>it is iListen from MacSpeech.  If voice recognition enables you, or your
>a Macintosh enthusiasts that enjoys seeing excellent software available
>on the Macintosh, you should throw your full support behind MacSpeech.
>I know I have.
>
>Thanks...
>
>Todd
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: MacVoice, Speech Recognition List
>[mailto:MacVoice at lists.themacintoshguy.com] On Behalf Of Camner
>Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 8:28 AM
>To: MacVoice, Speech Recognition List
>Subject: [MV] Re: Sluggish Computer With ViaVoice 3.x
>
>
>I can't speak to your other questions, but for me, VV does not play well
>with Panther.
>
>1.  I can't start VoiceCenter directly (I get a "fatal error" in VC). I
>CAN
>start from SpeakPad, which launches VC.
>
>2.  SpeakPad works, but only while it has focus.  As soon as it loses
>focus,
>VV seems to forget about its connection to audio.  When I go back to SP,
>the
>mic isn't recognized.
>
>3.  #2 means that I can't correct.  Once I open the correction window
>and
>put my cursor there, going back to SP means losing the mic.
>
>Thus, for me, Panther and VV are incompatible.
>
>Others may have different experiences.
>
>Robert
>
>On 12/1/03 5:51 AM, "Domains4Days" <Lists at domains4days.com> wrote:
>
>>  For some time now my ViaVoice 3.x,  when active, has been making my
>entire
>>  computer operate much more sluggishly then in the past ( Finder
>Windows
>>  opening slowly etc.).
>>
>>  Jaguar 10.2.8 with a G4 / 450.
>>
>>  I Recently purchased a DUAL 1.25 machine also. After installing
>ViaVoice on
>>  that machine, I first backed up my voice model on the old machine -
>and
>>  moved it over to the new machine and then restored. ( The last thing I
>want
>>  to do is to have to create a voice model from scratch...)
>>
>>  Unbelievably, the new dual machine was also sluggish when ViaVoice was
>>  active.  Lots of waiting -  slow Windows  etc.
>>
>>  Sometime back, I recall being to go into a special window - I think it
>was "
>>  analyze my documents" -  and process previously stored user
>corrections
>  > (from using correction mode) on this page.  After processing - believe
>the
>  > program would work much faster and free things up.
>  >
>  > Q: *  I no longer see that choice anymore - does anybody know where it
>is?
>>
>>  Q:  Does anybody have any  ideas how to speed things up again? (
>without
>>  creating a new voice model ...)
>  >
>>  Q:  does anybody know if ViaVoice 3.x  will work on Panther?
>>
>>  Q:  does anybody know if scan soft will ever update this dying
>application?
>>
>>  Interesting note: if I'm sure some of the list members remember a
>thread
>>  about a year ago -   where if you listened to the ViaVoice audio - it
>had
>>  bad static in the recording.  My g4/450 certainly had that problem.
>Before I
>>  upgraded the new ViaVoice on the new machine - I tested the sound of
>my
>>  voice recordings and - interestingly enough - the static was NOT there
>in
>>  the recording. And for whatever it's worth - some update note mentions
>that
>>  the upgrade changes the recording from 22 K to 44 K to fix the
>problem.  For
>>  any non audiophiles - that basically means that the file sizes of
>saving
>>  audio with your document will be double!
>
>
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>
>  iMic    | Connect virtually any microphone or sound input device via USB
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