ATMac

Speech-to-Text Compilation

• “Text to Speech” or “Speech to Text”?
• Speech-to-Text: Dictation software for OS X
• Voice Commander
• MacSpeech Dictate is highly recommended
• MacSpeech Dictate 1.2 Upgrade Released
• MacSpeech Dictate Instructional Videos
• Voice-Activated Mouse Clicks with MacSpeech Dictate
• MacSpeech Dictate Global Commands List & Cheat Sheet for 1.2.1

Speech dictation has been around for the Macintosh for years. There has been IBM’s ViaVoice and MacSpeech’s iListen. I never tried ViaVoice but I did purchase iListen when it initially came out back in 2000. In short, I hated it. The accuracy was so awful that it was such a chore to use it. I was so turned off by it that I never bothered upgrading it over the years because I didn’t think it would matter that much.

When MacSpeech announced Dictate I was cautiously optimistic mainly because it was going to be a whole new program rather than just an update to iListen. But what was really intriguing is the revelation that MacSpeech had licensed the same award-winning speech recognition engine from Nuance that was used in the excellent Dragon NaturallySpeaking for the PC. But I still hadn’t actually convinced myself to buy it until MacSpeech announced their “cross grade” program, which allowed me to update my iListen application to version 1.8 then purchase MacSpeech Dictate at the great price of $79. I couldn’t resist. So a few clicks later I had ordered MacSpeech Dictate and was enthusiastically waiting for it to arrive.

In the meantime, I needed to buy a microphone that would work well with Dictate. MacSpeech has several microphones available for purchase on their website that have all been thoroughly tested with Dictate. Most of these microphones are headsets, which MacSpeech seems to favor over desktop microphones. But there are a few other options, including the very reasonably priced MacMice MicFlex USB Desktop Microphone. Most disabled people, like myself, have trouble getting headsets on and off. It would just be something else that we have to ask somebody to do for us. Personally, I’d much prefer to be able to ride up my computer and just start speaking without having to worry about getting another headset on and off. I already have to get my Headmaster Plus on, which is solved by hanging it from the ceiling with fish line so I can just drive up under it and guide it onto my head with my right arm. So there’s really no room for another headset. That’s why the MicFlex is perfect for me. With its flexible arm I can move it around to whatever position I need it to be. And as long as there’s not a ton of noise in the background it works perfectly fine.

But now it’s the most important question. How accurate is MacSpeech Dictate? So far I’d say about 95% accurate which is more than acceptable in my book. They say 99% but I’ll take 95% any day. It has trouble with names, like my last name for example (natch instead of Natsch). It also has trouble with slang terms. For example, when I’m playing the MMO Clan Lord it doesn’t understand some of the jargon associated with the game. It would help in these situations if Dictate offered the ability to spell out words like could be done in iListen. Apparently MacSpeech plans to add this feature in a future update. The program also does not allow you to correct a word by selecting it and choosing from a number of options. This feature is also going to apparently be added in a future update.

Anywhere you can type on your Mac you can dictate into with MacSpeech Dictate. However, most of the time I’ve been using TextEdit. Dictate includes its own notepad but it behaves strangely when I try to make corrections using KeyStrokes [ed: KeyStrokes is an on screen keyboard]. So I dictate into TextEdit and then copy and paste from there. It works quite well.

Dictate also has a “command” mode. In this mode you can control almost every facet of your Mac if you wish. For example, you can switch applications, open applications, insert before and after selected text, take screenshots, use scroll bars, and so on. While this is pretty cool and all it’s not really useful to me because I can do all of these things just as easily, if not easier, with my Headmaster Plus. But those that need such a feature should be pleased with how it works.

I’m still going to use the excellent KeyStrokes for situations when there’s too much background noise, for editing, and with certain applications like games. But in the short time I’ve used MacSpeech Dictate it’s become clear how much more productive this program is allowing me to be. I can write articles, like this, probably three or four times faster than I could with KeyStrokes. I can type pretty fast with KeyStrokes but that just can’t compare with typing as fast as I can talk. MacSpeech Dictate has made huge difference to me and I highly recommend it to anybody who thinks they might benefit from speech dictation.

- Paul Natsch