About
TALKING TECHNOLOGIES
Voice Recognition, Text-To-Speech, Microphones, and Technical Support.
This is an information resource, a shopping guide, and a technical reference, about voice recognition software, text-to-speech software, suitable microphones, and a contact zone for a wide range of related topics.
Speech recognition and voice synthesis are inexpensive and accessible technologies. For example, L+H Voice Xpress features continuous dictation and natural language control. Talk Back lets your computer read text to you – in British English. Talk Mics are close-talk pressure-gradient mics, designed for voice recognition, and probably the best you can buy.
And if you need advice before buying, or you’re having problems, or you just want to know more about talking technologies, our technical support pages are free – 24 7. Or you can call, fax, or email.
TALKING WITH COMPUTERS
So, how can we, and how should we, talk to computers. And how can they talk to us, and what will they tell us. Are we interesting and are they interested.
It’s already quite easy to talk to computers, and let them talk back. It doesn’t get the prize for conversation but, soon, talking with machinery, androids, and bio-technology, will become a natural dialogue.
However, since most of you don’t know any androids and would rather just skip the typing and give your eyes a rest, we’re going to look at products that you can buy and use now. They’re inexpensive, and cost much the same as most off-the-shelf software.
They’re easy to use, like toasters or telephones. Of course, it’s OK to fail at things sometimes but, if you can’t use them, it’s almost certainly something you’re doing wrong, or not doing right. Or your PC is set to auto-destruct.
So, what’s going to stop you trying out some of this technology? It could change the way you relate to your computer. You might even enjoy it.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
You can forget typing and chasing the mouse. Just talk to your computer, a bit like talking to a friend, and put your words on screen. Change your mind, punctuate, edit, and format.
It doesn’t mean that you can speak carelessly and capriciously and then expect the computer to fix it for you. Remember that, in this human-computer relationship, you’re still supposed to be the clever one.
Do you remember in the film 2001 how Dave talked to the computer Hal 9000. Using current technology, the simple way would be to say, in the middle of ordinary conversation, ‘open the pod bay doors please, Hal’. The wrong way would have been ’stop dictation – switch to flight pod – bay doors menu – open – enter key – continue dictation’.
It doesn’t mean, yet, that you can just flick a finger at the screen and say ‘make that bit under the other thing sort of, bigger, and the same colour as my beach towel’.
Well – you get the idea.
HOW TO GET AROUND THESE INTERNET PAGES
The Talking Technologies Web Project is very comprehensive. It’s probably one of the largest voice technology references you’ll find, excluding technical document libraries or archived chat rooms.
To help you find your way through all this information, we’ve used pink ‘clickers’, similar to those on any audio/video system. It’s just Click And Go.
All the pages can be reached from one page – Connections. To help keep you on track and out of trouble, there’s usually a Connections clicker at the bottom of every page. So you shouldn’t get lost.
THE TALKING TECHNOLOGIES WEB PROJECT DESIGN
The Talking Technologies Web Project makes full use of the advanced features of modern web software. Although most of the images are small, and should appear on screen very quickly, we’ve assumed that you’ve not set your web software options to over-ride graphic and colour content, and that your display will register the X11 range of 216 colours supported by Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Mosaic.
If you want to print out something for reference, the black background isn’t ideal and, for other reasons, it will all look a bit manky. We’re working with digital information and are really trying to avoid bits of paper. But you can just copy the text and paste it into WordPad or something. Sorry.
There are no promotional banners, no pop-up consoles, no frames, no adverts, no misleading links, and no fake counters saying we’ve been visited by more people than exist.