voice

InSpeak - The Voice Chat Communicator is the freeware version of inSpeak's premium chat app. It's got a lot going for it, including good audio quality for voice communications, decent security, and an emphasis on customer support, even for free members. The freeware also offers other features from the paid nickname version, though with some limitations. For example, you can view up to six Webcams, use handwriting in messages, add up to 1,000 contacts, display a colorful icon, customize your space, create rooms, and more. It helps to have someone to chat with, though, and inSpeak has … Read more

Martin Scorsese has become the latest celebrity enlisted by Apple to talk up Siri in a TV commercial.

The commercial, which premiered today, shows the movie director posing rapid-fire questions at the iPhone 4S voice assistant in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Following in the footsteps of Samuel L. Jackson, Zooey Deschanel, and John Malkovich, Scorsese is shown using the feature to review his calendar, reschedule appointments, locate friends, and check local traffic.

The commercial concludes with Scorsese telling Siri how much he likes her and saying that "she's going places."

As happy … Read more

Quick housekeeping note: I'll be taking the day off tomorrow, so I'll see you back here on Wednesday. Here's a great freebie to tide you over until then!

Talk is cheap, right? How about this: For a short while, talk is free.

Vonage Mobile (Android|iOS) is a voice over P app that lets you make free calls (and send free texts) to other Vonage app users.

You can also use it to call landline and mobile phones -- but normally this costs money. For a limited time, however, you can use Vonage Mobile to make free calls to landline and mobile phones.… Read more

Siri was hailed as a innovation when it was unveiled with the iPhone 4S. But do iPhone owners still talk to her?

In a column for yesterday's New York Times, writer Nick Bilton said he believes the romance may have soured between Siri and her users.

Initially enthused about the new voice assistant, Bilton found that too many of his conversations ended up in a failure to communicate, with Siri either unavailable or unable to provide the right information. And he doesn't seem to be the only one having communication problems with Siri.

Bilton also noted that many … Read more

This Thursday, it's time to train your brain to win the gold in multitasking:

Seems to be the season for security breaches. This time, it deals with a subsection of Yahoo, called Yahoo Voices. Hackers posted more than 450,000 login names and passwords of Voices users, and it was said to be done as a wake-up call to Yahoo and others to step up security. The Voices section of Yahoo was slacking in security and did not hash passwords or require complicated strings.

CNET's Declan McCullagh wrote a program to comb through the most frequently used passwords … Read more

What a difference a month makes. (This is an update of a post I wrote a month ago, almost to the day.)

Landlines? Pffft. I haven't used one for years. And why would I when I'm already paying for broadband Internet service, which has more than enough bandwidth to carry my voice? All I need is a voice-over-IP adapter.

There are lots of options here, including well-known ones like MagicJack and Vonage. But there's another product that's just as good, if not better -- and it's on sale.

Today only, and while supplies last, 1SaleADay … Read more

The Google Places iOS app has a new name and new features.

Redubbed Google+ Local as of yesterday, the travel app now offers iOS users several handy, new options.

First up is voice search. You can speak the name or description of what you're seeking.

For example, saying the phrase "Mexican restaurants" displays a list of places serving Mexican cuisine in my local area. Uttering the words "Dunkin' Donuts" shows me a list of all Dunkin' Donut establishments nearby. And speaking the name of a local restaurant calls up its specific listing. Simply tap the … Read more

Skype for Windows Phone received an update today that makes some minor improvements to smooth the experience for users of the VoIP service Microsoft acquired last year.

The changes to the app include enhancements to the contact list, which now displays all contacts that have at least one phone number in the list. You'll also now be able to edit a phone number using the dial-pad before making a call.

The release comes with some minor bug fixes as well. An issue that would end a Skype call if another incoming call or a calendar notification came up has … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--In-car voice recognition technology has come a long way, but there's much room for improvement. One problem voice-recognition technology faces is that is that there's only so much memory and processing power available in the dashboard at any given time, which has to be shared with navigation, media playback, traffic data, and other infotainment functions. Spansion, a company best known for providing flash memory products to OEMs, thinks it has the solution in its newly unveiled Spansion Acoustic Coprocessor, claimed to be the first of its kind.

The Spansion Acoustic Coprocessor is basically a system on a … Read more