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Using PDAs for Dictation?
SunPin asks: "I'm a writer that is 99% dependent, due to fine-motor disabilities, on voice dictation. I've been a dictation user since 1990. My preference is 'discrete' speech because of very low resource consumption and its effectively infinite flexibility. Over the years, my computer use has de-evolved to programming, FTP, email (Mozilla), word processing (OpenOffice) and Ricochet. Drop the game and there's nothing that I shouldn't be allowed to do on the go. The problem is that I can't. Back in 1990, the requirements for IBM VoiceType were: DOS, 8MB RAM, 10MB of drive space with one of those new-fangled scorching 386-16MHz processors... not exactly demanding by today's standards and, unless I'm outright wrong, not demanding by today's PDA standards. Why hasn't it occurred yet?"
"In the disability offices of the hundreds of universities across the US, such software would be a major money saver because not all students need a high-powered laptop. While natural speech is great from a marketing perspective, it is simply impractical for general use and cannot adapt to mildly noisy environments. IBM, L & H and Microsoft have all given me the run-around. IBM refused to entertain the possibility. L & H is on life support, in a deep coma. Only Microsoft had a remotely positive response saying that they were testing natural recognition in Mandarin Chinese in their Beijing research office. Does anyone believe in keeping it simple, anymore?"
There's no market for it?
Frankly, people with disabilities are a minority. And those without dont want to go to a restaurant full of jackasses talking to their PDAs (cell phones are bad enough).
There may exist a lucrative niche market for this sort of thing, but I don't see how anything short of lobbying the government to legislate this stuff into existence changing anything. After all, thats why mcdonalds has a wheelchair ramp.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
If your using linux, check out the advice on this page!
Just curious, but was the haphazard spelling of your comment supposed to be making some point about the historic problems of voice recognition, or do you really spell (type?) that poorly? If it's you, you might want to invest in voice recognition software for yourself (one with built-in grammar correction might be good too).
If it was the former, then you should know that most of the VR problems were with homophones, such as your use of 'forth' instead of 'fourth' and rarely would it involve inserting additional phonemes into words such as an additional 't' in equiptment or putting a 'd' in happens.
Work for Change & GET PAID!
A PDA that takes "dick"tation!
Why pay for a PDA? Sounds to me like the guy just spend the money and get an electronic robot suit. And probably one of those penis pumps too. What else could you possibly need?
in os X, a typical mac-like day for a mac user.
... ... ... ... .:explicitive:. ... .:explicitive:.ing time. .:explicitive:.ing macintosh.
User: Tell me a Joke
Mac : Knock Knock
User: Who's there?
Mac :
User: [slower] Who's there?
Mac : Tank
User: Tank Who?
Mac :
User: [angrier]Tank Who?
Mac :
User: [more angrier]Tank Who!!?
Mac :
User:
Mac :
User: [slower, calmer]Tank Who?
Mac : You're Welcome
User: About
Mac: Creating Word Document
[crash!] [free-fall] [clunk]
Mac: This sure is a Pretty street, dave.