Newsgroups: comp.speech
From: imurphy@synonym.demon.co.uk (Ian Murphy)
Path: lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk!pipex!demon!synonym.demon.co.uk!imurphy
Subject: Re: Dragon,Kurzweil
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Date: Fri, 15 Jul 1994 10:13:45 +0000
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Firstly, apologies for the tardiness in replying to this post.

In article <41.1276.2330@syncomm.com>
           paul.wilson@syncomm.com "Paul Wilson" writes:

> Ian, thanks for the reply.  While I didn't explore in detail the native
> command and control features of either DICTATE or LISTEN, it appeared to
> me that with DICTATE for Windows that at least the top menu bar
> functions were under DICTATE's control when the demonstrator was showing
> me the use of DICTATE within Word Perfect 6.0.  I believe I may have
> even asked him whether sub-menu functions were supported without the
> need to create voice macros.  Are you sure?

To include information from menus you have to create yourself command
files in Dragon.  We created an awful lot of files here to test the
product and found them reasonably easy to create.
  
> 
> What is the Angoss Smartware system?  Did you mean that to use DICTATE
> with a database manager such as ACCESS or PARADOX, one needs the Angoss
> system?  Everyone I spoke with from Dragon indicated that no adapter
> was needed for DICTATE. I'm interested in seeing whether one can use
> a product like DICTATE in a time-efficient way to do data entry, query
> formulation and execution (including native support for procedural
> language commands and functions for that particular database software),
> and report creation and execution.  I can't imagine any of these speech
> recognition products are really close to having the kind of features
> which would make them really useful for heavy duty database work, but
> I'm curious just the same.
 
The Angoss Smartware system is an integrated package and what they have
done is include a specific API which you can use to tie voice tightly to
your programs.  I have been working here on a review of the product but
currently have no takers from magazines.  For navigation of products,
providing you have a menu file that is one thing, for writing your  
programs by voice that is another, but when you want users to use specific
small sets of keywords, with your own menus within a bespoke application
then that is something else.


> By the way, I saw in a recent issue of PC Week that there is an
> organization with the name something like the Speech Recognition Windows
> API organization (just a guess as to whether that is correct name).  The
> article was referring to the fact that Word Perfect had just joined.  I
> also keep seeing in articles referring to compaines like Dragon and
> Kurzweil that they are partnering with companies like Word Perfect to
> use their (Word Perfect's) API.  Have you heard similar things.

The are currently 2 voice API's out there.  Microsoft have launched their
API but it is currently only a command and control API.  The other group
who you mentioned above have the support of Kurzweil, Dragon, IBM, Novell
(incl Wordperfect) and a number of other vendors.  Their aims are very
different from Microsoft although they have stated publicly that they will
incorporate whatever Microsoft produces.

Currently each supplier implements voice in a different way.  IBM use a
dictation windows whilst Kurzweil and Dragon work into the product.  The
nexy area is correction.  IBM stores a sound image file whilst Dragon and
Kurzweil (I like to swap the order around to stop them getting jealous!),
use a limited word window.  This makes the IBM product potentially more
advantageous, particularly to a journalist or writer who will be looking
up references and who will not want to lose a potential thread because
they have to keep correcting or else cause problems with their voice model.


I'm currently waiting on a white paper from WordPerfect but this was promised
some 4 weeks ago and nothing has yet materialised.  I will be chasing them
next week.  When it arrives I will get it keyed and, if they agree, will
post it here.

> 
> Would be interested in reading your article(s) when they are published
> if they are in a publicationb I can get.
> 

The only way you will get it in the US is by being a subscriber to PCSA as
US mags currently think that only their journalists in their labs can
possibly look constructively at a product.  I may well post a large
addendum to the FAQ once the mags who are paying me have printed.

-- 
Ian Murphy
