ViaVoice Millennium Ed./Mac

by IBM

Product Features

• Easy to learn & use
• Use your natural speech
• 260,000-word dictionary

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00003IE9R
• Item model number: 11K6157
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 10, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,322 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #63 in Software > Business & Office > Communication > Voice Recognition
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk

With IBM's ViaVoice Millennium Edition, it is at long last possible to use voice-recognition technology to dictate documents straight into your Mac. Why hunt and peck at the keyboard when you can talk to your Mac?

ViaVoice does so much more than Apple's built-in speech recognition that it's in a different league. Almost anything you can do with the keyboard in a word processor, ViaVoice lets you do by speaking into its headset microphone. Rather than laboriously typing out what you want to say, you can just talk as you think, making creating documents both fast and fun. The first thing you find when you open the ViaVoice box is the iMac-inspired headset microphone. This microphone is not only well made and stylish, it also lets you match its colored panels to the color of your Mac.

The accuracy of ViaVoice depends on the computer building up a voice model for each person who uses it. Because of this task, installing and setting up the software takes much longer than for most applications. However, IBM has created one of the most intuitive and fun setup routines of any Mac software package. Every detail has been thought of, right down to showing you a photograph of the back of your individual Macintosh model to help you connect the microphone. Building up your personal speech model isn't just simple; it's also fun, with ViaVoice asking you to read scripts on the screen out loud, including excerpts from Alice in Wonderland. The more scripts you read, the more accurate ViaVoice becomes, and you can go back at any time and run the voice analysis again to improve this accuracy.

One limitation of ViaVoice is its integration with word-processing software. You can't actually dictate straight into popular programs such as Microsoft Word or AppleWorks, but must instead use ViaVoice's SpeakPad. However, once the document is finished, it can be transferred into your favorite word processor by simply speaking the "Transfer to ..." command. Also, users should note that ViaVoice requires a G3 or G4 processor, such as is found in the iMac and all current Macintosh models.

ViaVoice is ideally suited to users whose keyboard skills aren't quite at the touch-typing level yet or who are physically unable to use a keyboard with ease. In these cases, ViaVoice can speed up the process of writing documents dramatically. Children, in particular, will find that it makes writing homework essays much more fun. Even the occasional speech-recognition mistakes can be fun, as you watch the strange things that ViaVoice types in place of the names of friends and family! --Daniel Jardine, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description

These days, just owning a Macintosh sets you apart from the crowd. You like to think your own thoughts, go your own way. Chances are you often find yourself burning with new ideas, but your fingers can't keep up with your brain, right? No problem. With ViaVoice, just speak to your Mac and your thoughts are on the screen. OK, maybe not everything you do on your computer is for fun. But with ViaVoice for Mac, even such tasks as an overdue report or the letter you owe Aunt Edna can become faster, easier, and a lot more interesting. And because more than one person can use ViaVoice for Mac on the same computer, maybe you can get someone else to dictate that letter.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Mere Novelty, Short Of Pure Utility, December 28, 1999

By 

turkeyneck "turkeyneck" (Santa Monica, Kalifornia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ViaVoice Millennium Ed./Mac (CD-ROM)

While Apple has offered ambitious attempts of its own at system-level speech recognition on the Macintosh for several years and even at present, it has been wise to promote IBM's entry into the Mac space. IBM has renowned chops in the voice rec department and proves it admirably with ViaVoice for Mac 1.0.

Initial training of the application requires a certain amount of diligence but is eventually rewarded by a remarkable accuracy and flexibility in the transcription process. It will require some patience and a conscientious effort by the user to accommodate the very complex nature of computer-based voice recognition. We may be but a year from 2001, but ViaVoice will not turn your computer into 'HAL' by any estimation. A combination of careful speech and fingers close to the keyboard may prove to be the most practical strategy when using this product.

It should also be noted that--as is ever the case with CPU-intensive applications such as ViaVoice--current-generation, high-performance hardware is recommended if not realistically required for optimal results.

No doubt ViaVoice will be improved in future versions, but this initial effort is already a marvel of software engineering. And it's a true 'Mac-savvy' product. I commend IBM for some fine work.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent software, approaching perfection., February 4, 2000

By 

Brian D. (Blacksburg, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ViaVoice Millennium Ed./Mac (CD-ROM)

I found this software beyond reproach. In only one day I was writing letters to people with about 95% accuracy. Since then it has improved to about 99%. This is a very smart piece of software that improves itself constantly, becoming ever more accurate. The secret is to put on a voice like that of a documentary host, speaking clearly and learning to accentuate your words properly. Since getting this software I have increased my own linguistic ability. Unless you like to speak gutter slang and slur your words you will find this software to be a real time-saver.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talk about a killer app!, March 25, 2000

By 

Bob Bradford "mixwiz" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ViaVoice Millennium Ed./Mac (CD-ROM)

Why is this application not in headlines everywhere? It is absolutely astounding, almost like magic. Like the box says, "revolutionary, not evolutionary." I decided to give it a try after seeing that it won Macworld 2000 "best of show" this year.I think this product signals the beginning of a whole new era in user interface. Just amazing.