[MV] IBM ViaVoice 3 and 10.4.7

[Robert Marks]

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
>> _______________________________________________
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>> 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
>
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>
> Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random  
> stuff:
>         http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984