speech recognition & e-mail messages probs !!!

In article <7F5ABF01-A623-4629-AC5C-9D4B7CE76EB5@xxxxxx>,
andy t <andyt@xxxxxx> wrote:
Great, anything that works, that is my attitude.


You have something that works, Vista Speech Recognition.

You have invested 3 months, plus a lot of effort, you
pretty well know a lot of its quirks.

I think all Grant and I are suggesting is that you play
with Dragon, to make certain that you get the best possible
software for your situation.

Like you posted, you HAVE to use speech recognition, so why
not make certain that you have the best software available,
being you will be "stuck with it" until hell freezes over.


Bummer! Dragon does not do that, fortunately for me.


Bummer, and you really like VSR? ;-) ;-) ;-)


Heck, with Dragon I can say "New Paragraph" or
"Next Paragraph", Dragon honors both.


WHOA !!! Big misunderstanding there Andy.

(bang your nose against the bed to punish yourself) <g>


"Do Not Listen" is totally different, it is the command
that should be used. (does VSR have "Do Not Listen"?)

"Do Not Listen" leaves everything on the screen, it merely
turns off the microphone.

You can still see your partially completed document onscreen.

ONLY way to get your microphone to work again is to say:

"Listen To Me" - - - nothing else will get mic to work.





Now if you REALLY want to put your computer to sleep,
with Dragon still open and running, it is a major operation,
requiring getting a special utility to get OUT of sleep mode
at a pre-scheduled time.

Where to obtain such a util for Windows, I do not know.

Obviously you can not press a key to wake up the computer.

Okay, so let's ignore sleep for the time being, and try
something a bit less drastic.




So here is what I experimented with on your behalf, just to
show you the trouble I can get into.

Dragon Pro open and running on a Vista partition...

Furthermore, I have my Vista screen saver set to give me
a blank (black) screen after one minute of inactivity.


1) I said "Stop Listening"

Now I continued talking after that, but as far as Dragon
was concerned, nothing was happening.

2) After one minute of my jabbering, my screen went black,
just as I had pre-set it to do.

3) With a black screen, I said "Listen To Me", whereupon
my screen magically sprung back to life.

One Big Problem -

Somehow the document I wanted to dictate into had "lost focus",
which means that the document was kind of grayed out, so I
could no longer dictate into that document.


4) Spoke this command, "Move Cursor Right", the cursor slowly
started moving towards the grayed-out document window.

5) When the cursor arrived inside the document, I said "Click".


The document regained its normal appearance due to my "clicking",
which meant that I could continue dictating into that document.


....none of which might do you any good, because the Preferred
version of Dragon may not have these advanced commands.

Grant, if you are reading this, does Preferred have cursor
and mouse commands?


Enough of this nonsense, back to responding to your questions.


Unfortunately for all of us, no present day speech apps can do
a very good job handling "homonyms" like 2, too, to, two.

From my dictionary:

homonym (noun)
**************
each of two words having the same pronunciation
but different meanings, origins, or spelling.

cents, sense, scents

red, read (both pronounced as "red")

see, sea, C

bee, be, B

or, oar, ore





Now you can train Dragon to do this:

"he wanted to go to the party"

....which Dragon "hears" as one long word of many syllables:

"hewantedtogototheparty"


Once Dragon hears that, you can tell Dragon to actually print
any text you want it to print, at least using the Pro version.






Where Dragon and all speech apps get into trouble is:

"I wanted to." ...versus... "I wanted two."

Dragon and all others are not smart enough to figure out
which one of those you want.

It is easy for humans to do so, because they just look at
the surrounding phrases, such as:

"I did not jump. I wanted to"

- - - versus - - -

"I wanted two. He gave me one."


I doubt it. I am a grouchy anti-social cuss, but I monitor
many speech forums so will see what you post there.


Bottom line, continue using VSR as it is obvious you are
proficient with it, but play with Dragon, if for no other
reason than to make dead certain that it will not
significantly improve your situation.

I would hate it if you wound up working harder with poorer
results, just because Grant and I failed to alert you to
the Dragon alternatives.

Mark-

Hi Andy,

I just read your last post; glad that your "text to speech" feature is working again.

I think you will find that DNS is easier to work with, compared to VSR, at least most people do. I've been using it for several years and I'm very happy with it. But it does have its peculiarities and sometimes it can be a little frustrating. Like any software.

I'm also glad to hear that you're going to join the KnowBrainer forum. I just looked through the members list under a, I found 180 names listed. They're in no particular order didn't see your name as far as I could tell. However when you post a question (probably in the Vista speech section or the Dragon NaturallySpeaking section) I'll see it in my daily perusal. When you sign up for the forum they'll ask you to fill out a profile. Most people don't give much information, and it's not necessary to say anything about your location or any other details unless you want to. At this point you haven't purchased any software so you can't say what you using other than VSR. You could say something about your computer such as the type of CPU and CPU speed (for example: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz) plus how much RAM you have. Of course you can't say what type of microphone you have because you don't have one (other than the internal microphone).

I think there is an option somewhere which says you will accept private messages. I hope you check that in the affirmative, and then I can send you a private message with my e-mail address. There is an option to give your private e-mail address, normally I don't do that because I don't like my e-mail address publicized. I feel it's private unless I give it to someone. You never know but it's always possible spammers may be collecting e-mail addresses from various places on the Internet, another reason not to publicize your e-mail address.

Regarding the free software I mentioned:

The software is the KnowBrainer program. That is the main product of the KnowBrainer Company and the normal price is $200. It is a program of macros (voice operated commands to control your computer) designed to make "hands-free" computer operation possible for anyone. Recently Lunis Orcutt, out of the kindness of his heart, has offered a free copy of the KnowBrainer program to any handicapped person. He has provided a form on his website which a person must fill out to qualify. There are some requirements to prove a person is truly handicapped. It's not too difficult to meet his requirements. However the first thing you will need is a copy of DNS. KnowBrainer works with DNS so you have to know how to operate DNS before KnowBrainer is useful to you.

You could buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking from KnowBrainer Corp. in the USA or you could buy from IT-Speaking Co. in the UK. I believe you should check the price at both places. It's often more convenient to buy locally because the shipping costs are less.

If you want to do little bargain-hunting you could buy Preferred version 9 from KnowBrainer Corp. which the last time I looked they're selling for $99, which is a reduced price because version 10 has just been released. If you want to buy version 10 at a later date you can get a discount if you send in the CD from version 9. Also it might make Lunis a little happier if you buy something from him when he gives you a free copy of KnowBrainer. But I don't think it's necessary because there are no conditions attached to his free offer.


You would receive the free KnowBrainer program by e-mail. There is no fear of catching a virus when you download it because all KnowBrainer's transmissions are guaranteed absolutely virus free, so not to worry. If you have a high-speed Internet connection it probably won't take more than about 2-3 minutes to download it. But before anything happens you have to submit the form and get approval from Lunis. After you join the KnowBrainer forum you will be able to find all the information; but if you can't, let me know and I will send you the direct link.

Grant

Hi Mark,

To answer your question about mouse control and cursor control with the Preferred version, as far as I know it's available. The reason I say that is because I correspond regularly with someone who uses DNS Preferred and has very little use of her hands so she does move the cursor with voice control. They're also ways of positioning the cursor much like you would do it with the mouse. But I've never tried any of these systems so I don't know how they work. There is also a software program which is an add-on to DNS that enables better mouse control. I read about that on various forums.

Also in regard to the question about switching between DNS and WSR, below is a copy of something from a Yahoo group forum on Microsoft speech recognition. (it's in the remarks of someone who uses both programs for several different languages and switches between them):

"On the other hand,
if you need multilingualism very often, the combination of DNS + WSR is
very powerful, since it is very easy to switch between WSR and DNS,
i.e., between at least two languages. Switching takes 1-2 seconds
(turning the mic off in one application and turning it on in the other)"

The way it works you have both programs running and you control which one you use by which microphone you have turned on. Actually it's the same microphone in both cases.

I agree with your remarks to Andy about the trouble with homonyms. But I also find that Dragon is very good for correcting things, because you say "select -- (the phrase with the wrong word), and immediately you get a list of phrases with several choices, one of which is usually the right word. You can set the lists for up to 10 choices, and pick the one you want by saying "choose 5" or whatever number is appropriate.

I find I can move the cursor anywhere I want verbally by moving it up down a line and moving it left or right by the telling it the number of characters or the number of words and the direction I want to go. But most of the time I do it with the mouse because I have my hand on the mouse all the time. How lucky I am that I can do this. Actually I sit back about 5 or 6 feet from my 20 inch monitor in my reclining chair and I have the mouse pad either on the arm of the chair or in my lap. What a luxury..

Andy -- regarding turning DNS on and off by voice command, I seldom use that function. When I'm finished I exit the program and usually put the computer in standby mode. When I come back I touch any key to wake it up and then use the mouse to put cursor on the Dragon icon and click it to start the program. So I'm no help on this question. However I know the problem has been solved by others because there are many people who cannot use their hands and do everything by voice control. If you post a question I'm sure you'll receive lots of help on the KnowBrainer forum.

I also suggested contacting Mr. Graham Hendry at his company (IT speaking). You might give him a call on the telephone if possible. From what I hear he is very helpful and could give you information about controlling your computer; he often works with handicapped people.


Grant

PS. Here's the information from his website with details about his company, ITSpeaking.com

Proprietors: Graham Hendry and Barbara Hallam

IT Speaking is a ScanSoft® Premier Applications Solutions Partner. This means that we have had to demonstrate extensive experience and knowledge of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® product line and of Microsoft Windows®, including passing a Dragon examination, before providing speech recognition solutions and support.
Also as a Microsoft featured Independent Training Provider we have considerable experience in implementing Microsoft® Office solutions.

We want you to obtain the maximum benefit and productivity from speech recognition in the shortest possible time and would prefer to discuss with you, at an early stage, the most appropriate solutions for your individual business, professional or personal needs.

Consultancy Services:

Software Solutions: We can advise on integration and compatibility of speech with your current operating system, Office or other application.

Hardware Solutions: We can evaluate your current computer hardware and recommend any upgrades necessary to achieve maximum productivity from speech recognition. In particular we can advise on the most appropriate microphones for the user’s location and voice.

Integration: We can design and implement custom templates and macros or modify third party add-ins to improve your workflow when using Microsoft® Office or other applications - both at your computer and "on the road."

Custom Vocabularies: We can assist you to prepare specialist speech recognition vocabularies for your individual areas of expertise.

Contact us for advice on your individual requirements.

Through our technology partners we are also able to provide PCs, notebooks and other hardware specifically designed or selected for speech recognition.

For Purchases and further information about speech products and training email: speech@itspeaking.com, for all other enquiries please email info@itspeaking.com. Telephone & Fax (+44) (0)121 444 4270 (office) or (+44) (0)7973 120534 (mobile). See our Terms and Conditions of Sale prior to purchase.

Internet:
ITSpeaking - Speech Recognition Specialists UK

Postal Address:
54 Avenue Road
Kings Heath
Birmingham
B14 7TJ
United Kingdom

In article <44CA4BB2-AE16-4194-AD5F-9EE6D03127DF@xxxxxx>,
andy t <andyt@xxxxxx> wrote:
Great , Andy - just a few more random suggestions now.

1) Before this thread scrolls off, create a document
with Note Pad or whatever, and pluck out all the
suggestions from these l-o-o-o-n-g posts that are
valuable to _you_ , to consult for future reference.

2) Ask in KnowBrainer about how to use your voice to
control physical devices, such as:

A) moving a microphone boom
B) dialing a phone
C) controlling a Japanese personal robot
D) preparing a food snack
E) inserting your body into a strong mechanical
voice controlled exoskeleton so you can
terrorize your neighborhood

F) launch the Space Shuttle by voice commands


Er, perhaps that last two items are too much?



3) Create a "To Do" list of important things we have
_not_ discussed here, such as backup/restore of
your computer by voice, and a list of priorities
on how to get the most out of speech recognition
by doing first things first, ignoring stuff that
is not likely to pay off in this lifetime.

4) Research guys like Steven Hawkins, to see how he
manages to make great gooey gobs of money, despite
being in worse shape than most quadriplegics.
(can not use his voice, for example)

I Googled with: astrophysics + "Steven Hawkins"


Story Time
**********
This does not have too much to do with you, but it
shows the general line of thinking that you might
pursue to get stuff working with Windows and speech,
by purchasing utilities that allow you to do stuff
like the things described below.

On the Mac end of the personal computer spectrum, I have
things rigged so that I can do a bunch of stuff by remote
control, which is a lot easier to do on a Mac.

For example, I can do these things:

1) turn on a distant Mac from its cold power-off condition,
either by a pre-arranged schedule, or by a simple phone
call to the dead powered-off Mac (it works!)

2) remotely install control software on a _distant_ Mac that
does not already have such remote control software,
such that I can control that distant Mac, and the distant
Mac can control _my_ Mac, including seeing each others
active screen

...or we can even control each others Mac simultaneously,
such as I can send a file to him, _while_ he is sending
a file to me, simultaneous two-way traffic

3) on my own Mac, by voice I can shut the Mac off completely,
then the Mac later will miraculously turn itself on from
a dead cold start, and allow me to control it by voice

(unfortunately, all the speech control apps for a Mac
are lousy, inaccurate, very poor compared to Dragon)

4) if the distant Mac freezes, I can even push the main
power button on that distant Mac "by hand", so to speak,
to get it to recover from the nastiest sort of freezes



When I am on the road, from my hotel room I can even
turn on/off my home sprinklers, monitor my home security
cameras, adjust the home air conditioning, operate my
home printers and fax machines. In the near future, I will
add capability to admit service personnel through the front
door, and keep them under surveillance while they are working.

Heck, when the Japanese improve their personal robots a bit
more, I will have one of them board a U.S. aircraft bound for
Heathrow airport in the UK. Robot will show its credit card,
rent a Mercedes, nip over to your house and say "Howdy".

Might even talk the robot into typing on your keyboard.

Mark-

Very good Mark, I loved the comments you made, (made me laugh!)

I particularly loved the fact and vision of the PC making me a food snack,
lol.

Alas, by the time the PC can do all of the things that you mention by remote
control, I will be dead. Besides, I already have a program for doing the
physical things, It's called the "Wife", she is my Dragon Naturally Speaking
lol!

A few questions for you:-

1. Before this thread "scrolls off" what does that mean? Does it mean that
these
threads and posts will eventually be deleted?

2. How do I highlight only a section of a message or post using VSR? At the
moment, I know how to cut and paste by VSR, I right click and pick
"select all".
But how do I select only the parts of a message or document that I want
and
paste them in where I want in other applications or programmes?
Such as "notepad" or "wordpad" as you mention, with VSR?

3. Can I put in passwords (my own) using VSR? Or can you with DNS?

BTW, the commands for launching the Space Shuttle, I did that back in "69
after doing a routine exercise in "Nam.

Oh, and BTW, when the robot gets here, I will have a bed made up and a pint
of oil ready!! :-)
--
andy t


"Mark Conrad" wrote:
--
andy t


"Mark Conrad" wrote:

Another question guys,

This is a different but, common question.

It's the backup and restore question.

I know you should backup and restore your files and folders and I know how
you do this (although I have never done it yet). I am a little confused
though. I have been advised to backup and restore my files and folders onto
a cd. I understand that, sounds sensible to me. I have also been advised to
backup my files and folders on to my hard drive (so that I can revert back to
an earlier point in time). So if I download something that is malicious, or
for any other reason my PC starts running slow, I can backup and restore to
the restore point that I created at that time? Or should I do both?

Thanking you,
--
andy t :-)


"andy t" wrote: