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

[msddisclaim]

[msdbanner]

You spot a new movie on iTunes that you want to see, and perhaps even add it to your cartLater, you go back to rent or buy the movie but all traces of it seem to have disappeared! It's not in your cart. In fact, you can't find it in iTunes at all. Has this ever happened to you?

It's probably because the movie's due to be shown on TV in the future. CNet wrote about the phenomenon:

Apple is an Internet retailer and Netflix is a Web video rental service, but Hollywood treats them as if they are potential competitors to TV broadcasters.

For those who rely on viewing movies and TV shows on the computer for accessibility reasons, this can be a big problem. Unfortunately, I don't have any solutions for you, but at least now you'll know what's happening.

Website: TV has license to kill movies at iTunes, Netflix

- Ricky Buchanan

Erik Burggraaf wrote a great post on the MacVisionaries list recently about a metaphor which he uses to explain the differences in approach between Mac's VoiceOver screen reader and Windows JAWS and WindowEyes screen readers. He calls it the "Dropped Penny Approach."

Here's what Erik wrote, reproduced with permission and edited slightly for clarity:

The penny drop was an orientation exercise my sister and I had to do when we were kids. It says a lot about the way blind people work versus how sighted people work. Neither approach is wrong, they are just different.

When a penny falls on the ground, a sighted person steps back, takes in the scene at a glance and focuses in on the penny so they can pick it up. This is the approach VoiceOver takes.

When the same penny falls on the ground, a blind person listens to the sound, chooses a point of reference such as a table leg or the toe of a shoe, and circles out concentricly in the direction of the sound until the penny is found. This is the approach taken by Windows screen readers.

While using Windows screen readers, for example, you are on a link which is in a table which is on a web page which is in a browser which is on the desktop. The point of reference is the link, akin to the table leg or the toe of your shoe.

Conversely while using Mac OS X's VoiceOver you are on the desktop, in a browser, on a web page, in a table, on a link filled with text. This approach, like the way a sighted person finds a penny, starts with the overview before dealing with specifics.

Both approaches are good, but blind people are not taught top down or outside in view, which is the way sighted people naturally do things. Blind people are generally taught to view things from the bottom up or from the inside out. In other words, first identify something by its parts and then identify the whole thing based on information about its parts, rather of taking in the full scene at a glance and then zeroing in on each part to see how it fits with the whole.

The new Mac user coming over from Windows may look at the way VoiceOver works and think, "Oh my Lord! That's not intuitive at all!", but of course it is extremely intuitive once you wrap your mind around it.

I'm not personally familiar with Windows screen readers, but I love Erik's analogy as a way to describe the differences in paradigms between the two systems.

- Ricky Buchanan

David Niemeijer of AssistiveWare has put together some videos demonstrating the "Spoken Menus" facility in the new iPod Nanos and uploaded them to YouTube. The visuals in these videos show the screen of the iPod as David navigates around, so if you are vision impaired and interested in how the Spoken Menus sound these will still be of use to you.

This one demonstrates an iPod Nano set to use the English language and the Infovox iVox British male voice "Peter":

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2DsOjMNixc[/embed]

This one demonstrates an iPod Nano set to use the French language and the Infovox iVox French male voice "Bruno":

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II-yhDuvh54[/embed]

- Ricky Buchanan

Lots of good bits of accessibility news this weekend. This is my way of catching up, as I've got a virus or something so individual articles for all these things just isn't happening at the moment.

Firstly Apple's own accessibility website has been completely overhauled. This has been a long time coming, and it's great to finally see proper up to date accessibility information about Mac OS X Leopard as well as the new iPhone and iPods. They put a link to ATMac in too, which I'm inordinately pleased about!

Lioncourt.com have two new guides for VoiceOver users who want to get the most out of GarageBand. That makes three GarageBand Guides now:

1. General GarageBand Introduction
2. Using Multiple Tracks with GarageBand
3. Using Special Effects with GarageBand

Remember you'll need Leopard and iLife '08 for the accessibility you need to use GarageBand with VoiceOver.

The Deafmac blog points out to us two old Apple advertisements which feature the use of ASL - American Sign Language. The first one is about schools using the internet:

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJS46y7pa_k[/embed]

I don't know what date the advertisement was made but apparently the little girl who uses ASL in the advertisement is MarloJo Lovitch and is currently a Gallaudet Univesity student.

The other advertisement seems a bit newer and features Marlee Matlin, a well known Deaf actress:

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr618Y73sJQ[/embed]

I like the use of silence in this one - there's only the occasional soft sound of typing and it's very effective.

So what's new on your side of the world?

- Ricky Buchanan