Recently I have started using Microsoft Vista. I initially came to Vista kicking and screaming. I, like many others, swore by Windows XP and I admit I somewhat bought into the hype of the Apple computers commercials.
Honestly? I have been very pleased with this operating system. One of the things that I really like in Vista is the speech recognition function. With a microphone headset I was able to dictate and edit this entry. Now, I will not kid you. It takes time to set up the speech recognition and sometimes it can be very, very frustrating. But I liked the ability to be able to dictate to the computer and have it respond.
One of the great master storytellers was Erle Stanley Gardner. On the 50th anniversary DVD edition of Perry Mason, there is a small clip of Gardner writing a scene to one of his stories. “Writing” is not exactly the correct term, because Gardner dictated all of his stories. When I saw him dictating his story I said, “Wow!”
What I have since discovered, however, playing with this program, is that it is harder to dictate a story than to type one. The drabble that I did late last week was dictated using speech recognition. Honestly? It was slower than if I had typed it, but dictation has its high points and provides a certain amount of satisfaction when you see what you dictated formatted on the screen.
I like the speech recognition in Vista, but I can’t wait for that day when I can say to the computer, “Tea! Earl grey! Hot!” And actually get it. 🙂