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Posted by HarshawJ in Musings
on Friday, September 30, 2005 03:52:44 AM
in a "okay" mood.

Voice Recognition

OK so computer nerd. Today a triangle experiment with Microsoft office. Built in the Microsoft office is a voice recognition system that supposedly will translate what you speak directly into type. Since I’ve been playing around with voice over IP and other different Internet technologies that figure to know what I give this a try to. So this blog entry is being written completely with the voice recognition provided by Microsoft office.

It didn’t do too bad of a job but I’ve found that when I got tired it did tend to make a few errors. It’s actually not too bad but it’s strange just dictating what you’re thinking I find that the full of my speech is not necessarily the same low as one I would write. Sometimes it gets the words correct sometimes it doesn’t and sometimes it just interprets me completely will. But you know what if you have it and you have the time to train it maybe it’s worth doing if you’re one of those people who do not like to type. It certainly times faster than I can that still is strange getting used to just speaking about typing.

So I apologize in advance if this entry is a little hard to read but like I said it was dictated without me having to type a single word. It really is a hoot. And it is really surprising how much it’s correct if you think about it.

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Comments

Posted by HarshawJ on
09/30/05 11:52:41 AM

Well, if you have Microsoft Office 2003, then you have it already. All you will need now is a mic. I suggest a headset with a mic. I am using an Altech-Lansing (I think about $30 at your local Best Buy) and that works fine.

This will not however reduce the need for editing. You have to speak the punctuation or add it when you are done.

- JB

Posted by HarshawJ on
09/30/05 05:02:22 PM

No Screaming at this will not do at all. In fact, the nore you yell, the worse i gets. I guess it woud also be a great teacher of patience.

- JB

Posted by HarshawJ on
09/30/05 05:18:33 PM

It is like screaming a a dog who pissed the carpet hours ago.... it just does not sink in... the yell, not the piss, that has ruined the carpets already.

:JCool: - jb

Posted by TxRose on
10/01/05 01:15:24 AM

Wow! That is fascinating!!! I have noticed the mic portion of MS Office Professional 2003; however, I had not experimented with it. Hmmmm.... now, besides using Google Talk, I now have two reasons in getting a mic/headset!!! Interesting too that it can pick up which synonym to use in the composition, or does it??? Do you have to go through and edit it later????

TxRose

Posted by TxRose on
10/01/05 01:30:49 AM

Question: BTW, how fast do you "type" now using the dictation/mic method?

Just curious....

TxRose

Posted by HarshawJ on
10/01/05 01:58:50 AM

QuietEyez,

It is trippy doing it. You have to think before you talk. It is interesting to note that typing is a whole diferent way of communicating. It uses a diffent part of the brain than talking does. When we talk we do not compose our speech in the same manner, this is why our tying voice is usualy different from our speaking voice.

Try it sometimes, it is hard to compose as you speak, and hard to speak what you composed, though the later is far easier since it was already processed by you once.

- JB

Posted by HarshawJ on
10/01/05 02:14:07 AM

TexasRose,

In the case of the above entry, I did not touch it at all. Word does have an ability to find the correct words by context. So when you are dictating, it is auto correcting as it goes. It will also adjust sentence structure and word order, correct grammar and the whole nine yards.

The problem is that in creative and free form writing you are never as structured as Word wants to be. While it will be as informal as allowing contractions, it will not use slang and colloquialisms. Also, special jargon as we use in blogland are totally unknown to the dictionary. Even a word like blog will not enter correctly and you need to spell it out. And there lies other problems.

Finally, using the voice commands to edit is next to impossible.

As for the speed, well I would say that it is about 30 words a minute. I got it to go faster, but it required letting it run after several seconds AFTER I stopped speaking. It makes for difficult composition. Since I can generally type form between 40 and 60 words a minute, it is not all that good.

Now it says to speak normally, that when you strings of words it works better, and again interestingly enough, this is correct. But it is uncanny to talk knowing you are being transcribed, you want to look at it. I would assume that is you did not watch it processing it would work better, just like normal dictation.

One last consideration, if you dictate a letter and you spend more time editing it than you would have just typing it, then you were better off typing it. This is the case with voice recognition, it is not worth the editing time it take after dictation.

- JB

Posted by TxRose on
10/01/05 02:25:55 AM

Hmmm... generally, once I put a thought down, I don't go back and edit it too much, although I might do it occasionally for emphasis or clarification.

I can see, however, if you are trying to compose a research paper or longer story that you are trying to create, unless you tackle it in small portions.