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My need for voice recognition
software.
By Andy
In order for me to
participate with the world of written information. I need voice
recognition software and text to speech software. As I have
multiple impairments at include severe dyslexia. I've been
using voice recognition software since 1994 and found this type of
assisted technology very useful. Although it can be a
nightmare at times. Sometimes placing words in my sentences
that I haven't said. Other times how ever hard I try
pronouncing words very carefully the voice recognition software still
gets it wrong.
Some days I use my voice recognition
software and it's recognising words I saying very accurately.
Psychologically this is very good for me and I feel much more confident
about participating with written work. Then on other days the
voice recognition software doesn't seem to be recognising what I'm
dictating very well at all. Then it feels like very hard work
to dictate small amounts of work and I just want to give up with it
all. I often think on these days that I wasn't born to
participate with the world of written information.
Another
difficulty I have is the sheer speed of computer equipment and software
developments requiring almost constant updating to newer
stuff. However the latest technology doesn't always provide
what's needed. Ideally I would like to sort of "pick and
mix"! However software and hardware often doesn't like
this. New software doesn't always want to work with older
software or equipment and likewise knew equipment doesn't mean its
going to work with older equipment or software. I find some
older technologies work much better however I need to participate with
that what others are using and this can often lead to problems.
Most
people use computers today and perhaps most people have computers at
home now. However disabled people have been using computers
for a very long time. Disabled people were very quick to
realise that computers and other technologies provide them a degree of
independents and an opportunity to participate within society more
easily. Drawing the 1980s most disabled people I knew used
computer equipment at home possibly 20 years before other members of
society. Disabled people pushed the computer technologies to
the limit and I often wonder whether technology would be wear it is
today if it wasn't for disabled people.
I certainly
think that's the case for voice recognition software. At the
beginning of the 1990s voice recognition software was about
£10,000-00p pounds. Not many people were interested
in this software due to the high price. However for disabled
people it meant independents. Imagine if you were severely
disabled perhaps paralysed from the neck down unable to move any part
of your body underneath your chin. However your able to talk
everything else has to be done by carers or medical staff. So
you are totally dependent on other people doing everything for
you. Now think how valuable voice recognition software would
be if you were in that situation. You would have the ability
to use a computer without other's helping you to a degree.
Find information to read or control things in your home via the
computer and dictate text into documents. Now perhaps you can
see for some disabled people voice recognition software would be worth
£10,000-00p or even more.
Sometimes
I got the feeling talking to software companies developing voice
recognition software that there only customers were disabled people. It
seemed like disabled peoples needs were well looked after within the
design of voice recognition software. Then the price came
down and down and I remember buying a boxed voice recognition software
package for £12 in 1998. Voice recognition software
was then designed for the general public and today I wonder is the
disabled customer is forgotten about.
Now my main
needs for voice recognition software is due to my dyslexia and I often
find the newer versions harder to use. The older versions of
voice recognition software doesn't work so well with newer operating
systems. I would personally like to use open source software
and use the Linux operating system. Unfortunately there isn't
any dictation voice recognition software for Linux although there are
some developments and there is command speech recognition software for
Linux.
Some time ago I started an on going
discussion title "is there voice recognition software for
Linux?" On the Hi2u 4 people with hidden impairments, web
site. If your interested in following this issue please news
the following link.
http://www.hi2u.org/discussions/voice4linux.htm
If
you have any ideas that you think maybe of help for me please feel
welcome to contact me just look for contact info link on the site map
of this site.
Andy
6th March 2009
