Filed under: Software
MacSpeech update something worth talking about
MacSpeech Inc. unveiled a new update to its well regarded speech recognition application for the Mac today. The release of version 1.3, available immediately by download, has some significant enhancements and fixes. To test this new release, I've dictated this review into our browser-based content management system without much trouble. I had to correct a couple of uncommon words, but that is easily done in the spelling mode.One of the interesting features of the new version is a 'cache document' command that will allow MacSpeech to read a document's contents in order to navigate that document, and to enter and edit text. This improves MacSpeech Dictate's ability to work with any document, including documents not created with the program itself. MacSpeech has also greatly improved the help system and added several visual enhancements that will allow users to see the status of the program and the mode it's operating in.
The new 'press the key' command will input a specific keyboard key. This allows using modifier keys, such as Control, Option, and Command. MacSpeech Dictate has always had a strong speech recognition engine, but was sometimes weak in the software that surrounded it. Early on, the company distributed some bad install disks, but that was quickly remedied.
MacSpeech Dictate requires an Intel-based Macintosh computer with a minimum of OS X 10.4 .11 or 10.5 .2 or higher. Here is a link to more details of the update.
MacSpeech Dictate had its last update in November of 2008, when version 1.2.1 was released. Existing users of the program will be prompted to do the update the next time MacSpeech launches. In my case, the update worked well, and without incident.
MacSpeech Dictate is US $199.00 direct from the developer or at retail including the Apple online and brick and mortar stores.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Unknown said 7:58PM on 2-24-2009
this post reads like an advertisement :P
Reply
Ray said 8:37PM on 2-24-2009
No wonder it reads like an advertisement. It is. Most software and
hardware companies send out free "samples" to important bloggers, or
even pay, to get their advertisements disguised as "articles". This
is obviously the case, even if the writing lacked greatly in
enthusiasm. Too bad!
pListOFF said 8:54PM on 2-24-2009
If an article isn't exactly Pulitzer prize winning, and because it happens to say a product does what it claims… this makes it an advertisement? Did you ever stop to consider that maybe the product works as expected? Isn't that what people want?
There is nothing "obviously" correct about your assessment.
Reply
Howmanoid said 9:17PM on 2-24-2009
I work in marketing. We pay for "favorable" reviews all the time. It's a common practice. They're called "advertorials". This piece is light on anything critical and doesn't make any attempt to measure things like recognition performance. It only makes a very vague reference to "correct(ing) a couple of uncommon words). Something that you wouldn't expect to be perceived as a real product flaw. Could either be a very light-weight review, kind of a "first-look" (but those are normally call out as such) or indeed a pay for piece.
Reply
Klemens said 2:11AM on 2-25-2009
Geeeeerman version pleeeaaasee!
Reply
Jash Sayani said 4:14AM on 2-25-2009
Dosen't Mac have a pre-build version of a Speech app like Vista's ?
Reply
SubGenius said 11:36AM on 2-25-2009
“Speakable Items,” built into Mac OS X and located in System Preferences, lets you control the computer using your voice instead of the keyboard. And you don’t have to train your Mac to use it. You can use Speakable Items to navigate menus and enter keyboard shortcuts; speak checkbox names, radio button names, list items, and buttons; and open, close, control, and switch among open applications.
If you want to perform speech dictation on your Mac, you need to purchase MacSpeech Dictate.
"Speakable Items" has been a standard feature of the Mac OS since the 1990s before even OS X or Windows XP was available.
Jash Sayani said 3:41PM on 2-25-2009
@SubGenius: Thanks. That explains everything. Speakable items sounds great, will try it out...
Don't need a dictation app right now.....
Josh Kaufman said 9:48AM on 2-26-2009
I picked up MacSpeech Dictate a week or so ago, and I'm pretty impressed. Recognition isn't perfect, but it's much better than I expected it to be. I write a lot, and it's most useful for banging out a crappy first draft - talking out loud is a great way to avoid the "intimidating blank page" issue. It's also nice to be able to give your hands a break from typing every now and again.
Reply