Viavoice using built-in microphone

[Martin Gregory]

Tiring of the jesting of my colleagues "How's air traffic control going today?" when using a headset microphone for ViaVoice, I abandoned my Andrea NS-7100  microphone and began speaking directly into the built-in microphone of my G4 Powerbook.  Speaking from 12 to 15 inches from the microphone in an area that is only moderately quiet (various machinery noises, fans, and distant conversations)  I was surprised to find recognition accuracy not much worse than with the microphone headset.  What I lose in recognition accuracy seems almost balanced by the virtual disappearance of the innumerable intercalated small words that ViaVoice includes when I use the headset microphone. 

I wondered whether anyone else had tried this?   I know is not supposed to work without a noise-canceling microphone and a very constant distance from the mouth to the microphone.   However, maintaining a distance of between 12 and 15 inches from the microphone is proportionately less variation than the 3/4 to 1 inch that might occur with a headset microphone.  I am not sure that I can maintain even that degree of consistency in placement of the headset microphone.

Martin

ViaVoice 3.0.2
TiBook G4 800 MHz, 768 Mb
10.2.3


Martin Gregory, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology
University of Utah Health Sciences Center
martin.gregory at hsc.utah.edu
Phone 801 581 6709
Fax 801 581 4343