Some Windows 7 add-ons for speech recognition

Hi friends,

I have Repetitive Strain Injury, so I use speech recognition a lot. I think the speech recognition in Windows 7 is great, although I miss some things in it.
For those who also have RSI, or just want to use the voice, I found two add-ons that I think is pretty interesting.
The first add-on is the Windows Speech Recognition Macros, you can group several speech commands at once with it. The only drawback is clicking anywhere on the screen with your voice. Windows default "mouse grid" takes a lot commands to move and click. For this issue, I found another add-on for clicking anywhere that is pretty fast. It is a tiny add-on called Voice Finger (http://voicefinger.cozendey.com), and by the way I'm using it right now.
For those who are sick of the WSR "mouse grid", I think this is good news.

I hit a dead link but I found it at:
http://www.download3k.com/Install-Voice-Finger.html

I have only played with the voice recognition software but I went ahead and got these to add to my testing.

Thanks for the infos.
I use a 100€ software called Natural Dragon 11. It is worth the money, as it is fast and reliable. It rarely makes mistakes, but it is really a speach-to-text software, even though it has the common voice commands.

Cheers,
Fire Cat

Has anyone tried the WSRToolkit?

MTM

Curious as to how those voice programs work, is it like saying "open file" , "move to" sort of commands? What is your input device, webcam?

I have headphones with a microphone boom, but if your webcam includes a mic (mine doesn't) that would work.

If you have a microphone then give it a try for yourself, Win 7 comes with it built in. Just type SPEECH in the Start Menu search and you should see "Windows Speech Recognition". It will run through some screens to make sure your mic is set up and then offer some lessons.

I would, but I am still metaphorically speaking 'Windowless' or should that be 'Microsoftless' , still running Linux till I hear back from my Techy mate who took my drive away. Re: "stuck on endless boot cycle saga"

I see, said the blind man peeing into the wind, it all comes back to me now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mychael Curious as to how those voice programs work, is it like saying "open file" , "move to" sort of commands? What is your input device, webcam?

WSR (Windows Speech Recognition) is able to command and control your computer and able to recognize your speech as text. It is fairly simple to use but best results require:

1. Good enunciation of each word. Speak like a news broadcaster
2. Speak in phrases because the system is not only listening for the sounds of each word, but comparing each word to the words around it for context clues. Think of the word to (two, too). How does the speech recognition software know which one to use in, "Two boys went to a doctor because they ate too much food." It knows by the context of surrounding words.
3. A good sound card or USB pod. Some sound cards built into computers are not well shielded and pickup electronic noise. This will distort the signal and make it difficult for the system to understand your words.
4. A good close talk microphone that eliminates background noise.

WSR understands commands very well. You can easily say, "Go to bottom," "Switch Application," etc. etc. There is a very powerful feature called, "Show Numbers." This willl enable you to navigate to any button, drop down list or link on a web page.

For more information on WSR, read, Getting Started with Windows Speech Recognition which has a link on the page.

Marty

Basically, all speech software have two distinct uses. One is to command the computer, it is what the software I mentioned in the first post was all about.
The other main use is to dictate texts, which is a bit more difficult, both for the speech engine, and for the user to enunciate it clearly and correctly.
I also think that, for the heavy speech user, an USB headset is a must.

ps: depending on the software you are working, "show numbers" does not work all that great.