Cool Mac Gear

MacSpeech iListen 1.2 includes the following new features (per MacSpeech release):

Performance. Dictation in iListen 1.2 is considerably faster than previous versions. Dictation is fast and reliable, even into Database Systems such as FileMaker Pro. Try it out, no other equivalent product is faster than iListen.

Stability. Core improvements have made the software more reliable than before

Command Set Editor. Editing is easier, you can drag and drop commands between Command Sets. We've also added the ability to Import and Export Commands, great for backups and for sharing new Commands between Profiles.

What Can I Say! Substantial Improvements in Performance makes this invaluable tool even easier to use! The new User Interface makes using and finding those hard to remember Commands a breeze. Don't forget, you can double click a Command to use it, as well as using your Voice.

Typekey Helper. New and Improved for MacOS 9.2.2

New features introduced in iListen 1.1:

Correction iListen 1.1 allows you to correct mis-recognized words by saying "Correct That!" iListen will walk you through the correction process, and then ask if you want to adapt your profile to learn the corrections when you close the document. (You can also say "commit correction" at any time to adapt your voice model immediately.)

Learn My Writing Style. You can add new words to your profile by having iListen 1.1 analyze text documents you have written. You can analyze other types of documents if you have the MacLinkPlus translators installed.

One Shot Commands. You can now say "One Shot Command" while in Dictation Mode and iListen will switch to Command mode for one command, then automatically switch back to Dictation Mode.

"Scratch That" improvements. Saying "Scratch That!" now deletes the last utterance instead of the last word. (The last utterance is the last phrase you said, as determined by when your last pause in dictation was.)

New "Scratch Word!" feature. You can now say "Scratch Word!" to erase the last word iListen thought you said.

New "Caps On" and "Caps Off" commands replace "Begin Capitalization" and "End Capitalization."

Sound files are no longer retained after initial training is analyzed. This makes user profiles much smaller, and allows training stories to be re-read to improve accuracy as you become more comfortable with the program.

Additional Navigation by voice commands in Dictation Mode.

Faster Mode Switching. Switching between Command, Dictation, and Spelling modes is much faster.

Enhanced support for Microsoft Word 2001. MacSpeech add-in provides faster dictation in Word documents.

LanguagePak support. iListen 1.1 includes support for non-US languages, which can be added by purchasing MacSpeech LanguagePaks. Visit our web site for more information on which languages we intend to support and for information on availability. (We are working on LanguagePaks now.)

iListen offers dictation, editing, formatting and simple speech navigation with any application.

If you find you are repeating yourself a lot, create a text macro with those words. Then you can "type" those words with a single phrase or single word.

iListen also provides simple speech navigation. You can press buttons and control the mouse by voice.

iListen is available with a high quality preamp and microphone headset. This is not the cheapest headset, but a well-made, long-lasting headset. MacSpeech has just Reduced pricing on Analog Stereo Headsets to $45.

For those of you who wish to work smarter, not harder there are also voice activated AppleScripts. You are able to create complex scripts (a series of commands) to automate repetitive tasks. You can also create scripts to do simple things such as open a stationary file or send email.

Our What Can I Say window shows you the commands you can currently say.

When you dictate numbers, we automatically type numbers out in the proper way.

Feature Summary
• Continuous Speech Recognition — Dictation in normal tone of voice and at a normal pace using the Philips FreeSpeech 2000 speech engine
• Direct Dictation — Dictate, edit and format text directly in any application
• Text Macro Capabilities — Insert (up to 32,000 character) standardized or predetermined phrases and text - with a single spoken phrase
• Speech Navigation — Open, close and control applications and navigate the desktop by speech
• Large Vocabulary — Active vocabulary of greater than 30,000 words. Backup vocabulary of 300,000 words developed in cooperation with Oxford University Press provides more words
• Command and Control — Speech control of the computer through built-in normal language and individually created commands
• AppleScript Compatible — Ability to take advantage of Apple's built-in scripting language
• Internet Ready — Surf the web with your voice
• Multiple User Support — Multiple users create their own speech profiles on the same computer

Return to iListen 1.2 Review

Charles W. Moore

Cool Mac Gear