IBM's ViaVoice on Macintosh OS X and Windows XP

[Damien Fox]

  I second that--I have a PowerBook G4 with an 867 MHz processor/640MB 
running OS 10.3 with ViaVoice and no significant problems.  The dual 
867 MHz G4 Tower I used previously was definitely faster, but the 
PowerBook is still quite functional.

My roommate, also a law student, suffers from repetitive strain 
injuries as well.  We both find ourselves dictating entire papers and 
creating course summaries on a daily basis.  That is, we create a 
variety of documents from e-mail's to term papers, Both of us doing 
almost exactly the same work.  We have both been using ViaVoice for 
nearly a year now.

  While I use my PowerBook, he uses a Dell 1.7 gigahertz/256MB machine 
running Windows XP with the Windows version of ViaVoice.

  our recognition success rate and satisfaction with the program is 
virtually identical.  That is not to say the programs themselves are 
identical, however.  The Windows version of ViaVoice provides, in my 
eyes, two main advantages over the Macintosh version.  first, it allows 
correction in any application, not just speakpad.  This means he 
actually uses the correction feature, while I do not as I dictate 
directly into AppleWorks.  second, the Windows version of ViaVoice 
provides superior dictation speed when dictating in Microsoft word.  I 
do not know why, but this is a fact.

  In conclusion, I argue that the actual recognition rates are the same 
on both platforms, at least when using IBM's ViaVoice.  The Windows 
version provides better correction and better integration with 
Microsoft word ( if you consider that an advantage ;-))

  furthermore, the Windows version of IBM's ViaVoice came with a much 
nicer looking USB headset than the Macintosh version.  it seems to 
function equally well, but I have not tried to switching headsets to 
see if the work on each other's platforms.

Program stability, however, seems better on the Macintosh than on 
windows.  This is not a scientific assessment but based on our mutual 
rantings in the hallway when our respective programs refuse to 
cooperate.

Installation is also significantly easier ( at least in our situation 
and experience) on the Macintosh than on the Windows version.  My 
roommate was an avid Windows gamer, yet still had difficulty setting up 
Ibm's ViaVoice on his Dell Computer.

  finally, the Windows version of IBM's ViaVoice is cheaper than the 
Macintosh version.  I don't remember the prices now, but I remember he 
paid less than I did by I think 40 or $50.

In the end, the advantages of using a Macintosh outweigh the slight 
interface advantages of the Windows version of IBM's ViaVoice, given 
that the most important consideration of recognition accuracy seems to 
be identical.

  while voice recognition software is not yet where I think most of us 
would want it to be, there are ways to improve recognition accuracy and 
one's satisfaction with the program.  fully training the system, 
performing corrections, adding words to the vocabulary, and maybe even 
going to some voice coaching lessons will all help make the program 
work better.  As a side note to all the law students out there, the 
legal add-on pack for IBM's ViaVoice is generally useless for 
Canadians, as It mostly focuses on American abbreviations and contains 
very Latin terms.  I added about 50 legal terms to my vocabulary and 
that seems to work just fine.

  if you like your Mac but don't like your voice software, switching to 
a PC will not help you, unless Dragon dictate ( or whatever it's 
called) is significantly better than IBM's ViaVoice.  This may change 
in the future: from what people have been saying on this list looks 
like IBM's ViaVoice has been orphaned on the Macintosh, and our only 
future hope is iListen from MacSpeech.

For now, however rest assured that so long as you have a working system 
( in my case a new PowerBook with the latest operating system) your 
Macintosh works roughly as well as its Windows counterpart.


On Dec 1, 2003, at 5:09 PM, David K. Wehe wrote:

>
> Is this the "grass is greener" syndrome?  I haven't heard from many 
> people who have experienced SR on both the Mac and Windows -- at least 
> given both a serious shot and lived to report on any significant 
> differences.  The real question to me is accuracy ... not whether a 
> particular software program has better macros or user interface.  If I 
> seriously thought that speech recognition was significantly more 
> accurate using Windows rather than the Mac, I'd buy a Windows machine.
>
> David.
>
>
>
>>
>>
>> I wonder how anyone who really needs speech recognition can use the 
>> Mac platform anymore.  My question to this list is how much you feel 
>> you are sacrificing to use SR on the Mac rather than Windows?
>>
>
> ----------
> <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/MacVoiceFAQ.html>.
> Send a message to <MacVoice-DIGEST at themacintoshguy.com> to switch to 
> the digest version.
>
> iMic    | Connect virtually any microphone or sound input device via 
> USB
> Dr. Bott | Now $35.00      <http://www.drbott.com/prod/iMic.html>
>
> MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only 
> $879! Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! 
> <http://www.macresq.com>
>
> iListen by  | Dictate or Transcribe your next email (or anything else).
> MacSpeech  | Buy iListen 1.5 for $99. Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X!
> at Dr. Bott |      <http://www.drbott.com/prod/macspeech.html>
> at Dr. Bott |      <http://www.drbott.com/prod/macspeech.html>
>