Comments on: Windows 2 Apples Episode 24 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/ Apple and Microsoft commentary from the perspective of a long time Microsoft user. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:42:29 +0000 http://podbean.com/?v=3.2 by: George Gray http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90924 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:59:23 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90924 I had not realized there was such a compatibility problem with Office 2007. That is disappointing, especially considering how tight they are otherwise. I guess they spent more time making it look pretty 'Vista-like' than they did in other areas. Thanks for the heads up. Microsoft's Live Search for Windows Mobile has excellent voice recognition. I have a Motorola Q with WinMo 5 and installed the live search. I used it on a trip recently and the accuracy was pretty impressive. I had not realized there was such a compatibility problem with Office 2007. That is disappointing, especially considering how tight they are otherwise. I guess they spent more time making it look pretty ‘Vista-like’ than they did in other areas. Thanks for the heads up.

Microsoft’s Live Search for Windows Mobile has excellent voice recognition. I have a Motorola Q with WinMo 5 and installed the live search. I used it on a trip recently and the accuracy was pretty impressive.

]]> by: Sam http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90560 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:48:32 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90560 Thanks for the kind remarks. I still find the Vista Speech engine a well kept secret. It has a few major issues I hope Microsoft will address posthaste. The most pressing is the lack of support for all Microsoft 2007 applications. The glaring lack of support for Messenger and Excel make Vista a less attractive option for disabled. I understand Bill Gates is committed to Voice Control and conversion technologies and have fingers crossed the issues with some key Microsoft Applications will be addressed soon. Sam Thanks for the kind remarks. I still find the Vista Speech engine a well kept secret. It has a few major issues I hope Microsoft will address posthaste. The most pressing is the lack of support for all Microsoft 2007 applications.

The glaring lack of support for Messenger and Excel make Vista a less attractive option for disabled. I understand Bill Gates is committed to Voice Control and conversion technologies and have fingers crossed the issues with some key Microsoft Applications will be addressed soon.

Sam

]]> by: George Gray http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90387 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:59:48 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-90387 Once again, a great show. I wish more product were as thoghtful and upfront as yours. Too often, people (myself included) let personal opinion get in the way of a true product review. I'm a little in replying, but just wanted to share my thoughts with you. I have played arount a bit more Vista's speech recognition. It works well, but have found that it is less accurate when you have a fan running about two feet from your microphone. Oh well. Keep up the good work! Once again, a great show. I wish more product were as thoghtful and upfront as yours. Too often, people (myself included) let personal opinion get in the way of a true product review. I’m a little in replying, but just wanted to share my thoughts with you.

I have played arount a bit more Vista’s speech recognition. It works well, but have found that it is less accurate when you have a fan running about two feet from your microphone. Oh well.

Keep up the good work!

]]> by: Sam Caldwell http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-89735 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:33:40 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-89735 Thanks for your kind comments. We are going to follow up with a few more and perhaps one or two comparing Vista Speech with MacSpeech Dictate. Sam Windows 2 Apples Thanks for your kind comments. We are going to follow up with a few more and perhaps one or two comparing Vista Speech with MacSpeech Dictate.

Sam Windows 2 Apples

]]> by: Bernard Ramsey http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-89282 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:04:33 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-89282 Sam, What an excellent video. I commented on Youtube on how much I enjoyed it and linked to it at my site. Concerning the deleted or cut text bug, you are correct. If using Dictate to move around a document and/or cut and paste text by voice command, this is certainly a problem. While the voice recognition feature of Dictate is great, its ability to do the above could pose serious problems for users unable to do the above by mouse or keyboard. Hopefully this will soon be corrected in a future release. Great work! Sam,

What an excellent video. I commented on Youtube on how much I enjoyed it and linked to it at my site. Concerning the deleted or cut text bug, you are correct. If using Dictate to move around a document and/or cut and paste text by voice command, this is certainly a problem. While the voice recognition feature of Dictate is great, its ability to do the above could pose serious problems for users unable to do the above by mouse or keyboard. Hopefully this will soon be corrected in a future release. Great work!

]]> by: Bernard Ramsey http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-87980 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:01:30 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-87980 Wow, what an incredible write-up! In my experiences with iListen, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and Dictate, I agree with you that "Once installed and “trained”, I immediately noted accuracy had been dramatically improved over that seen in iListen and the equal of what I am accustomed to when using the Windows version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking." I also agree with your comment about it not having a useable correction scheme limiting the usefulness of the program. In my experiences working with Dictate, I still find myself occasionally at the keyboard, fixing leading space errors, or with my mouse selecting text for Dictate to correct. Hopefully they will come out with the correction features like Dragon in the not too distant future. Wow, what an incredible write-up! In my experiences with iListen, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and Dictate, I agree with you that

“Once installed and “trained”, I immediately noted accuracy had been dramatically improved over that seen in iListen and the equal of what I am accustomed to when using the Windows version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.”

I also agree with your comment about it not having a useable correction scheme limiting the usefulness of the program. In my experiences working with Dictate, I still find myself occasionally at the keyboard, fixing leading space errors, or with my mouse selecting text for Dictate to correct. Hopefully they will come out with the correction features like Dragon in the not too distant future.

]]> by: Chuck Rogers http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-87237 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:38:43 +0000 http://inetsynch.podbean.com/2008/03/14/windows-2-apples-episode-24/#comment-87237 Sam: I certainly didn't "blame" the Mac OS and in no way did I infer Mac OS X is somehow less robust or less functional than Windows. In fact, quite the opposite is true. It is much easier to develop for Mac OS than Windows. You totally misunderstood my comments. Here's the deal: Windows hasn't changed much in the way it handles text since Windows 95/NT, which happened about 14 years ago. Dragon has been around that entire time and has had all those years to work out how to deal with all the different methodologies used by developers of SELECTED applications. MacSpeech Dictate, by contrast, is in its infancy. The same methods used by Dragon for manipulating text in an application don't apply to Mac OS X. It is in no way because Mac OS X is in any way not as capable. It is simply that the methods used to manipulate in text under Windows simply don't work with Mac OS X, which means all of that has to be written from scratch. Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc. Sam:

I certainly didn’t “blame” the Mac OS and in no way did I infer Mac OS X is somehow less robust or less functional than Windows. In fact, quite the opposite is true. It is much easier to develop for Mac OS than Windows. You totally misunderstood my comments. Here’s the deal:

Windows hasn’t changed much in the way it handles text since Windows 95/NT, which happened about 14 years ago. Dragon has been around that entire time and has had all those years to work out how to deal with all the different methodologies used by developers of SELECTED applications.

MacSpeech Dictate, by contrast, is in its infancy. The same methods used by Dragon for manipulating text in an application don’t apply to Mac OS X. It is in no way because Mac OS X is in any way not as capable. It is simply that the methods used to manipulate in text under Windows simply don’t work with Mac OS X, which means all of that has to be written from scratch.

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist MacSpeech, Inc.

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