Speech-to-text software, sometimes known as dictation software, is something that lets you talk to the computer in some form and have the computer react appropriately to what you are saying. This is totally different to text-to-speech software, which is software can read out text already in the computer.

Command and Control Software

There are two types of speech-to-text software available. One type is called "command and control" and it lets you speak commands to your computer to control it; hence the name. For example, a command that the computer understands might be, "go to the Apple website" or, "tell me the time". Each command is pre-programmed and the computer will only recognise those commands it's been programmed for; you can't use this software to write an email or use iChat for example.

Command and control software for the Mac - known as "Speakable Items" (or sometimes, confusingly, "spoken commands") - is already built into every OS X computer, although most people don't know about it. You don't need to download, buy, or install anything to get this software to work, just a microphone that works with your computer. The main drawback is that the Speakable Items software programmed for English with a standard American accent, and has significant trouble with any other accent. It doesn't function at all with languages other than English.

Some resources for getting you up and running with Speakable Items include:

• Get Siri-like Functionality on your Mac with Speakable Items (video with full transcript available)
• Apple Support Articles about Speakable Items

Dictation Software

The other type of speech-to-text software is usually called "dictation" software. This is the type that lets you write an article like this one, type stuff to your friends in iChat, or type an email. The most common Windows software for speech to text dictation - you've probably heard of it - is Dragon NaturallySpeaking. There is only one dictation-capable speech-to-text software available for OS X which is being updated and developed and it's [msd]. Dictate is the successor to a program named iListen which MacSpeech used to produce.

Like all dictation-capable text-to-speech products, MacSpeech Dictate works very well for some people and very badly for others. Whether it will work for you depends on many things including: how much effort you're willing to put into learning it, how good your microphone is, your age (text to speech usually works less well for children), how much your accent matches what the program expects, and whether your voice changes a lot through the day.

MacSpeech Dictate is also still fairly new software - it was only released on the 15th of February, 2008. In comparison, the premiere speech recognition program for Windows is Dragon NaturallySpeaking which has been in development since the 1980s[1].

When MacSpeech Dictate was originally released it had several major problems which made it unusable for people with disabilities, but most of these have now been resolved:

• There was no good help functions inside the application - this was rectified in Dictate version 1.3
• It didn't learn from corrections - this was rectified in Dictate version 1.2
• Couldn't spell words out by voice - this was rectified in Dictate version 1.2
• Couldn't request individual key presses (such as command-s or command-option-escape) by voice - this was rectified in Dictate version 1.3
• Couldn't be taught new words, such as names or jargon specific to your profession - this was largely rectified in Dictate version 1.2, although some words still resist training
• There was no way to control the mouse by voice - this was finally rectified in Dictate version 2.0.

I tried using the old iListen program a few years ago and could not get results that were useful, an on-screen keyboard was the best solution at the time. Although MacSpeech Dictate is in its early days as a program, its recognition of my particular voice is hugely better than iListen's was. This is not surprising though, as MacSpeech Dictate's speech recognition engine is based on the same engine used by Windows' Dragon NaturallySpeaking - widely recognised as the best consumer speech recognition available.

[msd] requires the requires Intel-based Macintosh hardware and requires Mac OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard) and higher. Thirteen English dialects/accents are supported, and US and UK spelling options. These are:

• US Spelling
  • American
  • American - Inland Northern
  • American - Southern
  • American - Teens
  • Australian
  • British
  • Indian
  • Latino
  • Southeast Asian
• UK Spelling
  • Australian
  
  
  • British
  
  
  • Indian
  
  
  • Southeast Asian

Specialised versions - Dictate Medical and Dictate Legal - are available for dictating in these language areas, and Dictate International is now available and recognises speech in French, German, and Italian. MacSpeech have strongly hinted that Spanish language recognition is next on their agenda.

MacSpeech Dictate is a great program for dictation and some computer control, but it is not something that will let you control the computer completely "hands free". For quadriplegic users and others who need full computer control, you will need to supplement Dictate with use of a mouth stick and keyboard, or a program such as SwitchXS for switch access to functions not available by voice. I highly recommend Dictate though, it's part of my suite of accessibility technology and I use it whenever I am able to.

Website: [msd]

- Ricky Buchanan

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As the Technology Coach for Educational Vision Services, the program in the NYC Department of Education that serves students in our school system with visual impairments, I have been looking for a way to provide students with low-vision access to large print using the iPad. Our students are registered with Bookshare.org but it has been a stumbling block converting the DAISY formatted books into the epub format that can be read on the iPad. While there are numerous options for our students who are auditory or Braille readers, there has been a large disconnect in taking advantage of technology for our students who require large print and alternate contrast for visual reading.

The first thing I noticed is that while the iBooks app is great, it doesn't provide the flexibility in adjusting text size and contrast that is available in the free app Stanza. I tested it with several visually impaired students and determined that Stanza was preferable for reading books on the iPad.

Calibre is a free, cross-platform e-book convertor. While it won't recognize DAISY, it will recognize HTML documents. Firefox can open up the XML file in the DAISY book folder downloaded from Bookshare. Using Firefox, you can convert the XML file to an HTML file that Calibre recognizes and retains most of the book's format, including images in the DAISY book. This is particularly useful for NIMAC sourced textbooks that rely heavily on graphics.

During the Welcome Wizard, I set up Calibre to save files to an eBook folder I created in my Documents folder. While I chose the iPad as my Output Profile, it did not stick and had to be selected again in Calibre's Common Options Preference pane. The Base Font size can be adjusted in the Common Options Preference pane as needed by the intended reader. Calibre takes the HTML file and converts it to an epub file, saving it in a folder sorted by the author.

I wanted to find a way of transferring the epub book to the iPad without having to worry about syncing the iPad each time. Dropbox proved to be perfect for this. A teacher can share a folder with the student and use it to transfer the book to the iPad wirelessly. This is especially helpful the majority of our students are served using the itinerant model and the teacher can get the book on the iPad remotely.

While Dropbox cannot open the epub, it will transfer the book to the Stanza app. Once in Stanza, the text can be adjusted to the reader's preference for size and contrast. The iPad's built in Zoom can provide even further magnification if needed.

I understand this is a bit laborious and I am looking for a method to automate the process. I needed a way that would work on both Macs and Windows as our schools are cross platform. I also wanted to focus on a method using free software as we are a school system and budget is a concern.

What you need

Note that all of these applications and apps are free.

• On your own computer, install these - they will all install correctly on Windows, Mac, and Linux-based computers:
  • Firefox
  • Calibre
  • Dropbox
• Onto the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch where you want the books, install these (links are directly to the App Store):
  • Dropbox
  
  
  • Stanza

After you have unzipped the downloaded book from Bookshare, these are the steps to take on your own computer:

1. Open Firefox. Use the File>Open File command and open up the XML file in the Bookshare book's folder.
2. In Firefox, select File>Save Page As. Navigate to your preferred folder (I created one called eBooks for this purpose), rename the file to the book's title with the extension ".html" and in the Save As drop down box, select Web Page, Complete. Quit Firefox.
3. Open Calibre. Add the HTML file you created in step 2 to your Calibre library. For larger NIMAC books, especially ones with lots of graphics, this can take a long time. You will need to add the author's name as this is not picked up by Calibre.
4. Select the book in the Calibre library list and choose the Convert Book icon. You can adjust the Base Font Size by clicking on the Look & Feel icon in the left pane. Click the OK button to process it.
5. Navigate to the author folder created by Calibre. Open the book folder and find the .epub file created by Calibre. Transfer it into your Dropbox.

The next steps must be taken on the iPad (or iPhone or iPod Touch) where you want the book to be read:

1. Open the Dropbox App on the device. Select the book you transferred in the previous step. After Dropbox attempts to open it on your iPad, you will get a message that Dropbox cannot open the file. This is fine. In the upper right hand corner of the screen, select the "Transfer to" icon. Select Stanza from the list.
2. Stanza will open up and import the book. You can now read it the book in Stanza, adjusting the font, text and background colors to your preference. Images will not be magnified but you can use the iPad's Zoom feature to enlarge them if necessary.

- David H Cohen

I've been using Dragon Dictate 2.0 for Mac for about two weeks along with Growl. Overall, I'm glad I upgraded although there are still some problems with the system.

Installing the upgrade was very easy. In fact, I still have MacSpeech Dictate 1.5.9 on my computer because while I paid for an upgrade what I got was a new copy of [dd] 2.0. When you go to upgrade one of your profiles from a MacSpeech Dictate profile you will have to redo the training but it doesn't take long.

Once you have Dragon Dictate 2.0 installed you will notice minor cosmetic changes in the interface. Overall, you should be able to dictate just as you did before. Most of the changes seem to be additions rather than changes or subtractions. Also, Growl version 1.2 can be used to notify recognised text rather than having a window always visible on the screen. Later versions of Growl do not work as well at this time.

I primarily access my computer using Zoom and was hoping that the new Mouse Grid feature would enable me to use my mouse less. While Mouse Grid is fairly easy to use, even for someone with low vision, it depends on there being "clicks" of the mouse. So, I haven't been able to use it to look around my screen.

Dragon Dictate is much more stable than MacSpeech Dictate. I can now use websites that involve Flash, such as YouTube, with Dragon Dictate running. It is still a good idea to save your profile regularly but crashes seem more infrequent.

The Available Commands Window has had some changes. More choices are now listed. Some of the commands seem shorter. This makes it easier for someone like me whose disability affects their voice and breathing. Most of the commands work beautifully. The only one I've had trouble with is "reply to this message" in Mail.

One thing that has not been fixed is that I'm still experiencing small words like "the" and "A" being recognized when I am not speaking. Admittedly, part of this may be caused by my use of a Plantronics 995 headset, which is not approved. Clearing those words with "scratch that" can cause glitches with what I'm doing. Oddly, muting the microphone with the headset doesn't always stop this problem so I strongly recommend putting Dragon Dictate to sleep when you won't be using it for a few minutes.

Overall, I would recommend Dragon Dictate 2.0. The increased stability alone makes dictation easier. Plus, with the increased number of available commands and Mouse Grid I think that Dragon Dictate will be more useful for those who have trouble using their hands rather than just preferring to speak.

- Lisa Connor

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There was a special Apple event in Cupertino on the 20th of October entitled "Back To The Mac". We were treated to a plethora of Mac-related announcements which have plenty of fantastic accessibility implications. I'm going to briefly run down what each announcement was, and why it matters for Mac accessibility.

State Of The Mac

Firstly Apple's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tim Cook told us how the Mac was faring as a platform and the news is very good. There are more Mac users and Mac developers than ever before, and Apple is making plenty of money off all of us. The full information is available in MacLife's article: State of the Mac: "The Momentum Has Never Been More".

Why does this matter for accessibility: Firstly, there's no danger that Macs and OS X will be going away which is of course good! The iDevices and iOS are great but they don't do everything that everybody needs and it wouldn't be good if OS X disappeared at this point.

The fact that Apple as a company is making plenty of profit, despite the world economy, is good news for accessibility because unfortunately accessibility progress is often one of those not-very-visible things which tends to be cut back if a company hurting. This is obviously not something that Apple users need to be worrying about just now!

iLife '11

The newest edition of the iLife suite (including iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand) will be iLife '11, and is available immediately. Improvements to the iLife suite include full screen modes for iPhoto, more ways to create iPhoto slideshows, audio filters and a 'movie trailer' mode for iMovie. GarageBand will sport some timing "fixer" technology knows as GrooveMatching and Flex Time, as well as new amplifiers and instrument lessons for aspiring piano and guitar players.

It wasn't announced on the day of the event, but Maccessibility reports that iLife '11 also sports significant accessibility improvements, especially accessibility improvements in GarageBand. They don't cite their sources but Maccessibility are known for generally being accurate.

iLife '11 requires that you use the Snow Leopard operating system, and is available now for US$49 for an individual installation and US$79 for a family pack.

FaceTime Now Available For Mac

FaceTime, the video phoning application available on the iPhone 4 and newest iPod Touch, is now available for the Mac computer also. The downloadable version is still in beta so it may have a few problems, but it has been reported by members of the MacVoiceover list to be fully accessible to VoiceOver users.

Because FaceTime can be used to call people via a regular mobile phone number as well as via an email address, and is available on the very portable iPhone 4, it has been eagerly used by the Deaf community for video phoning. Having the service available on the Mac will be a huge bonus to Deaf users who don't have access to an iPhone 4 but know people who do, as well as to others who have family and friends with iPhone 4 or the new iPod Touch which also uses FaceTime.

FaceTime is free for Mac users and you can download it right now!

OS X 10.7 Lion Preview

After OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard will be OS X 10.7 Lion, expected to be available in mid 2011.

Lion will import some of iOS's good features back into OS X, including more multitouch gestures, a new Mac App Store, app home screens, full-screen apps with no menu bar at the top, auto save and apps that resume where they left off when relaunched.

Some of these things have accessibility potential for those with neurological impairment: things like auto-save and resuming where you left off when you launch an app make memory problems less of a problem. The simplicity of getting apps via a Mac App Store which takes care of downloading and installing for you means there's one less infrequently-done task to learn and remember, a bonus for those new to the Mac as well as an accessibility boon.

Multi-touch gestures that match those used on the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone will be great for some users - I use the mouse extensively myself and find gestures are fantastic. Unfortunately these require a high level of fine motor control in multiple fingers, so multi-touch is generally not very accessible to several groups including those who must use a stylus or a mouth stick, and are completely out for those who can't use a trackpad but need an alternative pointing device such as a joystick or trackball. Hopefully all multi-touch gestures will be implemented with keyboard equivalents so that users aren't left out in the cold.

The Mac App Store could also make it easier to spread the news about accessible apps and apps to aid accessibility, as has happened with the existing App Store. This would undoubtedly be a good thing, but I am concerned that app developers may be the losers in this new scenario - several things about the iOS App Store are very difficult for developers to manage and I wouldn't like to see developers give up on their accessibility apps for the OS X platform because of App Store issues. Hopefully this will not be an issue, but it does concern me. We won't have to wait long to find out: The Mac App Store will be launching for Snow Leopard within 90 days!

Also new to OS X Lion will be Launch Pad: a new way to launch apps from your desktop, similar to how it's already done on the iPad. This means that users can keep commonly used apps right in front of them without cluttering up the dock - another win for easy usability which also helps those with neurological issues.

A final new feature called Mission Control was also described but I can't tell you how easy it is to use because I didn't understand it! It has elements of Spaces, Expos and the Dashboard all mixed together, and I hope it's useful.

New MacBook Air Models

Two new Macbook Air laptops were announced, one 13.3 inch model and one 11.6 inch model. These don't have touch screens but were described by Steve Jobs as what happens when "an iPod hooks up with a MacBook"!

The 13 inch model is a tiny 2.9 pounds, and it shares many great features with the iPad: the ability to instantly start up, offering great battery life (7 hours of use has been quoted), amazing standby time, solid state storage with no optical or hard drives, and it's thinner and lighter than ever. The 11.6 inch model is pretty much the same, but with more of the "smaller and lighter" at only 2.5 pounds, and with a bit less battery life because there's less battery fitting in there.

For those who find the iPad is not accessible due to their disabilities, or those who just don't like typing on an iPad, these new laptops look to be a fantastic option. With instant start-up they will be great for taking notes in class, for use as communication devices, and other situations where waiting a few minutes for your laptop to boot just isn't sensible.

Having only solid state storage ("flash memory" like your iPhone, iPad, or camera has) and no hard drive or CD/DVD drive means the laptops are small and light but also that they have very few moving parts except the keyboard itself - Apple hasn't said so but I strongly suspect they will be more robust because of this. We've seen how much an iPod Touch or iPad can survive being dropped or otherwise battered around in daily use - imagine a laptop that would probably be OK if knocked off a desk or wheelchair tray! And of course smaller and lighter laptops mean less mounting equipment is needed for those with special positioning requirements.

I think that these new laptops will be "the iPad for switch users", and others who need non-standard input devices that the iPads don't cope with yet. I still hope, of course, that the iPad will grow into coping with a wider variety of input devices but these new MacBook Air devices are a "mid point" between the regular MacBooks and the iPads in terms of size and weight. You can get a glimpse of it in MacLife's First Look at the 11.6" MacBook Air article.

The 11.6-inch MacBook Air starts at US$999 with 64GB (US$1199 for 128GB) while the 13.3-inch model starts at US$1299 with 128GB and is also available with 256GB for US$1599. Both models are shipping now.

And so...

All in all, these announcements are a huge win for accessibility for Macs and Mac users in multiple ways. I am thrilled to see that Apple's commitment to accessibility continues unabated, and that their passion for Universal Design rubs off in the direction of accessibility so very often.

Which announcement are you most excited about? I really really wish I could get myself one of those teeny tiny laptops, but in the absence of a spare thousand dollars I'm most excited about OS X 10.7 Lion and the new iLife '11. Those are things I can actually use, and use soon.

Here's to the future!

- Ricky Buchanan

Guest post by Blake Watson.

I've tried a lot of remote apps, but for me, HippoRemote gets the nod. Once you go through a surprisingly painless setup process, HippoRemote will connect to your computer and hand the reins over to you. Your iPhone is now a fully-featured multi-touch trackpad. Tap the keyboard button at the top of the screen and HippoRemote will provide you with a standard iPhone keyboard with some extra features attached. Explore further, and you will see that HippoRemote turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an advanced media browser that lets you interact with some of the coolest media programs on your Mac, including the built in stuff like iTunes and Front Row as well as third party apps like Boxee and Hulu Desktop. Let's walk through some of HippoRemote's features. HippoRemote comes in a few different flavors, so we'll be looking at HippoRemote Pro.

The Keyboard

The keyboard behavior of HippoRemote is arguably the best available on a remote app. Most standard iPhone keyboard behavior is present. For example, spacing after a period or a comma will change the keyboard from the punctuation layout back to the alphabet layout. Tapping the shift key once will keep it activated until you tap a letter, then it is deactivated. If you want CAPSLOCK then double tap the shift key to activate it, then tap it once when your done. These behaviors are the Apple standard, but many remote apps do not use them because of the way characters are sent to the computer. I find that these behaviors are important because they increase typing efficiency.

In addition to replicating iPhone's standard keyboard behaviors, HippoRemote takes advantage of iPhone's built-in ability to predict what you are writing. HippoRemote displays what you are typing in a text field on the phone at the same time that it is sending it to your computer. If you misspell a word, you can tap on it to see substitutes and HippoRemote will make the correction on your computer automatically. HippoRemote also displays a list of the last few strings you've typed. Touching one will re-type that string.

Besides standard keyboard layouts, HippoRemote provides arrow keys and modifier keys (command, option, etc.) as well as the full range of function keys.

HippoRemote adds one feature that I haven't seen in other remote apps: it has support for TextExpander Touch. TextExpander Touch allows you to create snippets of text that can be automatically triggered by specified shortcodes (eg, "fn" could expand to your full name). You don't need TextExpander on your Mac for these to work, as TextExpander Touch expands the snippets before they're sent to the computer.

The keyboard supports vertical and horizontal orientations. And in the Basic or Lite versions of HippoRemote, the keyboard and the trackpad can be displayed at the same time.

Multi-touch trackpad

The multi-touch trackpad features left and right mouse buttons as well as the ability to use tapping, two-finger scrolling and other gestures. If you are like me, and have trouble using more than one finger, you will appreciate HippoRemote's unique scroll button. By moving your finger from the bottom of the screen to the middle, you activate a scrolling knob that allows you to scroll by moving your finger in a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion. That means you can use one finger to scroll without the need to look down.

Like the keyboard, the trackpad supports vertical and horizontal orientations.

Profiles for Remote Control Panels

HippoRemote Pro can change its interface based on what application you are using. For example, I am currently in the Mac OS profile. At the bottom of the trackpad area, there are several buttons that allow me to do things like trigger Spotlight and Expose or run macros that control volume, press eject, open Dashboard and other functions. Switching to the iTunes profile provides a control panel for manipulating playback. Switching to the Pandora profile allows you to control the Pandora web app. There are dozens of profiles installed with HippoRemote and more can be added from inside the app itself. If you are technically inclined, there are instructions for making your very own profiles.

Extras

On top of all these great features, HippoRemote includes a native web browser and Twitter client. You can even open links from HippoRemote's Twitter client directly in your Mac's web browser.

Different Versions

HippoRemote comes in three flavors: HippoRemote Lite (free, ad-supported), HippoRemote Basic ($1.99USD), and HippoRemote Pro ($4.99USD). Unfortunately, it's a bit confusing as to what features are found in which versions. For the purpose of this review, I used the Pro version. If you are looking to replace a keyboard, I recommend getting the Pro version. At about five bucks, you'll be getting all of HippoRemote's features at a fairly inexpensive price compared to most assistive technology software. However, if having the trackpad and keyboard display simultaneously would be useful for you then you will want to grab the basic version.

If you need to know about a specific feature and you can't find it on the HippoRemote website, feel free to contact the developer. He actually has an interest in making HippoRemote even better for people with disabilities and will value any feedback you provide. That being said, you can always send me an email too.

Alternative Apps

Here are some other apps that are similar to HippoRemote. Depending on your needs, one of these might work better for you. I have these apps installed on my iPhone. Although I am not planning to review them at the time of this writing, you can email me if you have questions about them.

Rowmote Pro, $4.99USD, by Evan Schoenberg

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, can simulate the Apple Remote Control including support for dozens of applications.

TouchPad, $4.99USD, by Edovia, Inc.

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, great user interface, Windows compatible, media remote.

Touchpad Elite, $0.99USD, by iTeleport LLC

Good keyboard behavior, can type locally and then send a paragraph at once, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote.

Air Mouse Pro, $1.99USD, by R.P.A. Tech, INC

Optional accelerometer-based "air" mouse activated by physically moving the iPhone/etc in the air, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote, separate iPad compatible app.

Conclusion

If you can operate an iPhone or iPod Touch, you might find that typing with HippoRemote is faster and more efficient than typing with an onscreen keyboard. And as an added bonus, you get some powerful, easy-to-use controls for interacting with popular media applications. And if you happen to be a Windows user, you're in luck. HippoRemote is compatible with Windows and Linux as well as Mac OS X.

- Blake Watson