Frequent Questions We have speech recognition quality headsets which have been tested with our TalkingDesktop software. Nothing is more frustrating than having to repeat commands with a generic headset or microphone. Questions Ok I just installed the software, what should I do next ? Tell me about speech technology and dictation programs Can several people talk to Talking Desktop on the same computer Can I use an array microphone with Talking Desktop What word processors can I dictate into Can I use AOL and Talking Desktop at the same time. I want to activate Concept Voice Email What about Netscape Navigator or Opera Will my regional accent cause a problem. Do I have to read text passages so that Talking Desktop learns my voice. Can I still use my keyboard and mouse. How large is the vocabulary. What should be my screen display resolution Is a USB headset better than an Analog headset What is a USB pod How much memory do I need Can I use other voices with TalkingDesktop Ok I just installed the software, what should I do next 1. At the top left corner of the Main Ring, select Speech Module. At the top left of the Speech module window is the name of the user whom the computer is listening for. 2. If this is not the name that you read the text training passages with, select your name from the list of names below for whom user profiles exist (meaning these are user names who have Read Training Text passages so that the computer learns their voice) 3. In Speech Module, select Microphone Settings and complete the microphone wizard. This sets the sound level of your microphone. 4. In Speech Module, select Read Training Text, select another text passage to read so that the profile of your voice becomes easier for the computer to understand. Tell me about speech technology and dictation programs Dictation is just one of the many abilities that Talking Desktop brings to your computer. Our software comes with a wealth of features that provide application control, music, information retrieval and much more. Our unique usage of speech technology allows true enjoyment of the windows environment and gives your computer a reason to be on 24/7 providing news, stocks, email, information and fun. We do recommend that you do enough voice training so that Talking Desktop recognizes your voice easily. Speech recognition does require alot of system resources and dictation requires practice. This is new cutting-edge technology that does make mistakes and sometimes requires you to repeat things. Our studies have shown that it takes people time to get use to telling their computers verbally what to do and change their mindset from traditional mouse clicking and menu hunting. After using Talking Desktop for awhile, you will wonder how you would ever go back. Can several people talk to Talking Desktop on the same computer Yes absolutely. Users can have their own voice profiles to interact with Talking Desktop. The speech recognition system was designed for a variety of voices and ages. Can I use an array (far field) microphone with Talking Desktop Yes, we have tested many array microphones with the software and results in quiet environments are quite acceptable. What word processors can I dictate into Talking Desktop will dictate text into just about any word processor. To begin dictating say DICTATION, to end, say DICTATION to turn dictation off. Can I use AOL and Talking Desktop at the same time Yes, you can use AOL and Talking Desktop at the same time. Installing Talking Desktop will not interfere with your AOL E-mail. You would continue to use your AOL E-mail and use all of Talking Desktop's abilities. I want to activate Concept Voice Email 1. At the bottom right of the Main Ring is Program settings, Say "Program Settings" to open that window. 2. On the right of the Program Settings window, enter 45 in the input field where it says, 0 means Concept Email is off. The 45 means that the Voice Email program will look for new email every 45 minutes. Entering a number other than 0 activates the concept voice Email module. 3. Say "Program Settings" to close that window. 4. Say "Shutdown Program" to shut down the TalkingDesktop program so that the next time TalkingDesktop starts, the Concept Email options will appear on the Main Ring. Note: At least one Email user account must be setup in Outlook Express. The Voice Email module uses this (default) email account when sending or receiving email. What about Netscape Navigator or Opera Installing Talking Desktop will not interfere with the operation of Netscape Navigator or Opera. You can surf the web with Netscape Navigator or Opera and still use all of Talking Desktop's features. Will my regional accent cause a problem The speech recognition system is designed for regional english accents. If english is not your mother tongue then we suggest you read all of the voice training passages. Do I have to read text passages so that Talking Desktop learns my voice. Yes, you should try to read all of the text passages so that Talking Desktop can establish a voice profile for you. The more you read, the better recognition you will get. When you setup a new user (Create User Profile), try to read 1 text passage the first day, (about 10-15 minutes) then a different text passage each day until they have all been read under that user name. It may take longer this way but its easier than doing all the reading text at the same time. Can I still use my keyboard and mouse. Yes, you can use your mouse, keyboard or voice at the same time. How large is the vocabulary. Speech recognition uses a standard 100,000 word vocabulary and a custom vocabulary which allows an unlimited number of words to be added by the user. What should be my screen display resolution. Make sure your screen display is at least 1024 by 768 From your desktop menu, follow these steps: Click icons - My Computer, Control Panel, Display, then click the tab Settings. You should see a slider at bottom right of window, move to 1024 by 768 pixcels Is a USB headset better than an Analog headset. There are advantages to USB, but an inherent increased accuracy is not one of them. If you have a headset, soundcard and computer combination that works well, going to a USB will not necessarily improve things. What is a USB pod The USB Audio Converter (or pod) converts the analog signal of your voice ( using an analog headset with 3.5mm plugs which fit any standard soundcard. ) to digital for transmission through the USB plug. Although this seems like a great feature, we did not notice any difference in the sound quality when using the USB converter, or when plugged directly into the computer's soundcard. If you have a laptop computer that doesn't have a soundcard or microphone and speaker jacks, then this might be a good choice, since a sound card is not required, just plug it into your laptop's USB port. How much memory do I need Talking Desktop runs fine with 256 MB of Ram for most users. For those of you who continually run multiple applications at the same time and want maximum speech recognition performance, we suggest 512 MB or more. Can I use other voices with TalkingDesktop Yes, in addition to the three (3) voices that come selectable with our software, we enable you to select other text-to-speech voices on your computer that meet the SAPI 5 standard. Some vendors of SAPI 5 compatible voices include Cepstral, ATT natural voice and Neospeech.