[iBook] Off topic? Audio and OCR help wanted

[gooddog at interlync.com]

This is slightly off-topic, so I hope you'll bear with me. If this  
requires private emails to me to keep it off the list, that's fine.

I'm suggesting to a friend of mine to get a Mac to go along with his  
Windows, so he can dedicate his Mac to two special projects. Here's  
his situation:

He has a boatload of audio tapes of lectures from an instructor, and  
wants to transfer them to a digital format (he hopes there's a way to  
be able to search content in a digital file, but I have no clue).  
He's on Windows, and doesn't have much experience working with/ 
maintaining his own computer as many of us, on various levels, have  
learned to do with our Macs.

With Windows, it seems to me, if you're not inclined to tinker and  
learn, you become dependent on someone else. This can often lead to a  
type of Windows slavery, where the person can't leave Windows for  
fear of "something bad", and then gets hooked up with someone who  
will encourage this dependency knowingly or unknowingly. Make sense?

His other project is recipes. He has a ton of recipes, clipped from  
magazines, newspapers, etc., that he wants to scan, archive, and be  
able to search. He's a private chef, and wants to create a database  
of his recipes and articles. I assume there's a way to create a  
database something has been OCRed, given the proper program, etc.,  
unless I'm smoking crack again.

I suggested he go with a Mac, and get something to use alongside his  
Windows box, and dedicate it to only his projects. This was a few  
months before the Intel Mac news hit. He was psyched about the  
transition, wanted to get a Mac, but needed to wait a while.

In the meantime, the Mac Intel news broke, and when he talked to his  
Windows guy about it, my friend was told to wait a few years until  
the Intel thing had worked out the bugs. Besides, the Windows guy  
said, it's better to wait and get an Intel Mac because you can't be  
sure if Apple will support the old PPC chipped models in the future.  
In the meantime, my friend went with a custom built Windows machine  
this guy built for him.

Since then, we have continued to discuss the sound/recipe project,  
and I have suggested he talk to people who actually know about Macs  
and PCs, who can talk to him about the differences from an informed,  
technical angle. He seems fearful to move away from a PC because of  
comfort. However, he sees me working with Sound Studio (which came  
with one our Macs), and he is rather drooling to do the same. I'm  
sure there's something comparable on Windows (am I dreaming?), but,  
in that case, you are stuck with using Windows.

I just hate seeing him stay with Windows when I understand that the  
Mac side of audio software and interface are so much better, besides  
which, he will continue not to be able to become more independent in  
his computer usage and knowledge.

So the question is, to you all with much more experience than myself,  
what do you think? Is there a way he can do his recipe project on a  
Mac? If so, what program/programs would he use? I assumed it would be  
Adobe Acrobat Pro which has a built in OCR component.

What about the sound situation? I'm aware of Sound Studio, Fission/ 
Audio HiJack Pro, Amadeus, etc. What else am I missing?  I was on the  
Mac Audio list for awhile, but never got much response to questions,  
so I place them before you folks.

I welcome your comments as suggestions.

Again, please email me privately if this is inappropriate for the list.

Thanks in advance.

Mark