TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
A quick addition to the posting last week about the marvels of Apple's
"Plaintalk" speech recognition software:
1. Yes, the software does work. I spoke to an AV Mac at a computer
show two years ago, using only the built-in microphone. With a cheap
microphone, an awesome amount of white noise from the crowd, and no
training time, the software recognized my voice and did what I asked
it to. Look for better integration of the software with the new Mac OS
to be released in early 1996. Windows 95? What Windows 95?
2. Disclaimer: The previous posting may have led you to believe that
PlainTalk is some breakthrough in artificial intelligence, as in Star
Trek. Wrong! Plaintalk is a sort of "macro recorder", and nothing
else. When you yell "launch PageMaker!" at your Mac, it won't do
anything unless you've showed the Plaintalk software what you want it
to do once it recognizes what you said. This is relatively simple
programming, but it's programming nonetheless. Moreover, the more
commands you ask the software to learn, the slower the response.
--Geoff Hart geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
#8^{)}
