[MV] Group Dead?

[Jay A. Kreibich]

  My first reply got bounced due to length; let's try again.

On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 12:33:05AM -0700, Randy B. Singer scratched on the wall:
> On Apr 14, 2011, at 12:21 AM, David Nuddleman wrote:
>> At the present time, maybe use of a keyboard for input is sufficient 
>> for most computer users...
>
> It wasn't long ago that hoards of users swore to me that they had waited 
> all of their lives for this type of software.

  Yes! 
  
  ...but then we got it.

  I was one of those people about 10 years ago.  I was looking to do a
  lot writing, including a possible book deal.  Voice seemed like a
  great idea.  I'm good with a keyboard, but voice seemed like a natural
  way to produce a huge volume of words.
 
  So I got a copy of Via Voice for OS X as soon as it came out.  No
  problems with setup, configuration or training.  

  But when I sat down to work, nothing got done.

  The core issue, which was much bigger than the slow response time,
  the poor interface, and the moderate accuracy, was the fact that we
  wanted *transcription* software, but what we got was *dictation*
  software.  And there's a huge difference.

  The promise was that you could talk to your computer, just like you
  might talk to another person.  We were expecting to read a paragraph,
  as if reading out-loud, and get that paragraph back-- punctuation,
  formatting, and all.  But that's not how dictation works.

  In the end, dictation is a skill, not unlike keyboarding or numeric
  input.  And unless you're a lawyer or doctor over 40, chances are
  pretty good you haven't ever developed that skill.  Learning how
  to properly dictate presents almost as much of a learning curve as
  typing...  in some sense it is even harder, as dictation is almost,
  but not quite, like speaking, while typing is completely different
  form writing with a pen, and there is little confusion between the
  skills.

  There are other issues... many of those that were slow hunt-and-peck
  people have finally, after several years, gotten to the point where
  they are comfortable with a keyboard.
  
  There has also been a cultural shift, where it is now permissible--
  even expected-- that an executive or doctor or some such "important"
  person to have a keyboard on their desk (and know how to use it),
  rather than differing all typing to a secretary or assistant. 

  These days, you can't really get through modern life without some
  keyboard skills.  QWERTY is now everywhere, from your phone to the
  self-checkin kiosk at the airport.  You have to know it.

  That ubiquitous nature means we have a whole generation of kids
  growing up with QWERTY keyboards.  Both our sons could type their
  name on a keyboard, without much hunting, by the time they were
  three.  They never question the keyboard as the primary means to
  write large amounts of words.

  Input also tends to happen on multiple devices.  The days of having
  one computer with everything is on it is long gone.  In addition to
  work systems and home systems, we have phones, ebook readers, and
  tablets.  If you want to find a book at the library, you need to
  keyboard.  Even if you have a personal laptop that goes everywhere,
  voice doesn't work at the coffee shop or on the train.



  My personal case goes further...  I'm just young enough that I
  learned to "write" on a computer.  At this point, I can type an
  easy 75 WPM-- if I know what I'm trying to type... which is
  rarely the case.  I tend to write in an extremely non-linear way,
  constantly moving around words, sentences, and paragraphs.  It is
  part of my writing process.  It works on a keyboard; it doesn't work
  with dictation, which is extremely linear.  A few years back when I
  got another book deal, I never even considered looking at dictation
  software (http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596521196).  Considering
  most of the book was written on a ~$300 netbook in a coffee shop, 
  dictation would have never worked anyways.

  So, in the end, I think there is much less of a need or demand for
  dictation software.  I'm glad it is there, especially for those that are
  physically unable to use more traditional input devices.  But until
  the interface evolves to where the interactions are conversational
  (e.g. Star Trek), many of us can do what we need to do faster and
  easier with a standard keyboard.


  ...Which is really quite odd, which you consider how primitive it is
  to have 100+ on/off switches that we bang away on.  Out of all the
  human/computer interactions... mice, keyboards, graphical displays,
  audio, etc.... the keyboard is both the most commonly used and the
  most primitive-- and the most completely unchanged, going back to long
  before computers.

   -j

-- 
Jay A. Kreibich < J A Y  @  K R E I B I.C H >

"Intelligence is like underwear: it is important that you have it,
 but showing it to the wrong people has the tendency to make them
 feel uncomfortable." -- Angela Johnson