Entered CNET Catalog: 08/14/2002
SKU: 45P8702
Manufacturer: IBM
Manufacturer description
Designed for executives, professionals and writers who place a premium on fast, effective computer communications, Pro USB Edition comes with a stereo USB headset microphone with a digital signal processor for higher speech recognition accuracy - the most advanced microphone ever included in a ViaVoice software product. Designed for speech recognition, this full-range stereo microphone is great for listening to MP3s, CDs and DVDs as well.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/22/2003
ViaVoice 10.0's VoiceCenter control bar can now be set in Floating mode so that you can drag it into position anywhere on the desktop.
Since version 9.0, ViaVoice's interface, called VoiceCenter, hasn't changed. This thin, toolbarlike strip features just one menu (to access the program's commands and options) and one button (to turn the microphone on or off). There's only one new feature here: you may now opt to float the VoiceCenter rather than docking it to one of the screen edges, letting you position the VoiceCenter anywhere on the screen.
ViaVoice's disk space appetite is as hearty as ever, too; you'll still need half a gigabyte for this program--510MB in our test installations. But that's par for the course among speech-rec apps.
Like most consumer-priced voice-recognition applications, ViaVoice 10.0 offers the usual complement of tools and functions, including voice dictation, a text-to-speech engine, and voice-enabled applications control.
This year, version 10.0 also lets you create voice macros--voice-activated shortcuts, in essence--that work with any Windows application that's installed on your machine. We created one of these always-active macros to pop up any program's Help window whenever we said "show help." Impressive.
ViaVoice dictates directly into a host of apps; in its Options settings, you determine the programs you want.
SpeechPad, the basic writing tool that comes with ViaVoice, is adequate for short jobs, but to get the most from this application, we recommend using it with Microsoft Word 2000 or 2002. Within Word, you can use plain-English phrases, such as "select this paragraph" or "make this 12-point Arial bold" to maneuver through documents, make editing selections, format, and edit. ViaVoice remains the best speech-recognition program for Word users. Try to dictate foreign words and phrases, however, and you'll end up with some odd translations. ViaVoice no habla español--or anything else but U.S. and UK English, for that matter. ViaVoice 10.0 also dictates into virtually any other Windows application.
ViaVoice excels at navigating the Web through spoken commands. Within Internet Explorer (ViaVoice also supports AOL 7.0's browsers), you can call up favorites, scroll through pages, navigate using Back and Forward commands and even "click" links by saying the first few words of the link. We had excellent luck here; ViaVoice rarely failed to recognize a link.
As before, ViaVoice includes text-to-speech skills that can read documents aloud in a robotic voice--handy when you want to hear a playback of what you've written or dictated. Version 10.0 adds some new tricks, too: it now supports digital recorders from Olympus and Sanyo, letting you talk into these recorders, then upload the audio file to your PC, where ViaVoice turns it into typed text.
Though its interface hasn't changed much, under the hood ViaVoice 10.0 has changed for the better. Version 10.0's much improved speech engine significantly increases its speed and accuracy.
Thus, even with just the briefest training, ViaVoice 10.0's transcription abilities impressed us. ViaVoice took dictation on our test jobs--business-style letters, news stories, and short memos--with a 96.5 percent accuracy rate. In a short, 140-word letter, the program made just five mistakes. Although that number may seem high, remember that ViaVoice 9.0 performed impressively with an accuracy rate of 92 percent. This version's 4 percent boost means 10 fewer errors on an average page of dictated text. Kudos to IBM for pushing the accuracy envelope.
When we dictated with ViaVoice 10.0, our accuracy rate was higher than 96 percent. (Errors in red; words dictated in blue.)
ViaVoice isn't perfect, of course--no speech-recognition program is--and its errors can rate high on the Unintentional Comedy meter. When we dictated the phrase "thousands of queries I receive annually" several times, it once came up with this howler: "thousands of Koreans received annually." Ouch.
In addition to its improved accuracy, ViaVoice 10.0's dictation speeds have increased significantly. The lag between saying a word and seeing it on the screen is much shorter than in earlier editions. In our tests, ViaVoice 10.0 generally kept pace with our voice, and when it didn't, words appeared within a second at most. It also recognizes and implements commands more quickly. Of course, we tested ViaVoice on an 800MHz Pentium III system with 256MB of RAM. Slower systems will get slower results.
Version 10.0 also makes it easy to navigate and control your PC and its applications with your voice. ViaVoice pauses only slightly as it recognizes that you're switching from dictation to application control. A little hint: In our tests, we got faster results by prefacing such commands with the code word computer, as in "Computer, file open," which popped up the open file dialog.
There's a good chance that you'll never need ViaVoice's tech support; the program is amazingly straightforward. But if you do, you can scan the extensive online FAQ, submit questions via e-mail, or call the help desk weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT. Phone support is a free toll call for the first 30 days, after which you'll have to pay $35 per incident or $3 per minute. When we called to ask about ways to improve our recognition rate, we got through to a tech almost immediately, and he gave us several smart suggestions.
If ViaVoice doesn't recognize a word, the included support tools and wizards let you "train" the program to improve its skills.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2
User Rating: 
9/10
Tremendous productivity enhancement. Exceptionally useful software package.
Pros: Excellent recognition quality after a short set up period. Can dictate nearly as fast as you would normally talk with excellent accuracy. Reads aloud text of letters, email, reports.
Cons: Takes additional time to train special technical jargon and acronyms. Interface to correct and proof dictation occasionally buggy.
Review:
Overall this is a great piece of software. I've been using ViaVoice for a number of years. Versions up until 9 were problematic and not particularly big timesavers, because of glitches in recognition, correcting dictation, etc.
Version 9 was a big improvement over previous versions although still didn't completely hit the mark of what I was looking for. I think IBM hit the jackpot with version 10 Pro - it is excellent. I have been very happy with the results I've been able to achieve. With the exception of having to train new acronyms, I can dictate a report, memo, letter, or email response in about as much time as it takes me to talk. Biggest benefit is not only the time saved, but also the fact that my stream of consciousness doesn't get interrupted by the need to stop and type or write something down - I dictate just as I would normally speak. Overall it has increased my productivity, saved me time, and increased the quality of my work. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for voice recognition software. Also recommend reading the system requirments before picking which version to buy. Only the Pro and advanced versions work on XP Pro. Pro, Advanced, and Standand should all work on XP Home. Version 10 Pro has worked for me on both XP Pro and XP home, although as I recall I needed to download a patch to get it to load.
Version 9 was a big improvement over previous versions although still didn't completely hit the mark of what I was looking for. I think IBM hit the jackpot with version 10 Pro - it is excellent. I have been very happy with the results I've been able to achieve. With the exception of having to train new acronyms, I can dictate a report, memo, letter, or email response in about as much time as it takes me to talk. Biggest benefit is not only the time saved, but also the fact that my stream of consciousness doesn't get interrupted by the need to stop and type or write something down - I dictate just as I would normally speak. Overall it has increased my productivity, saved me time, and increased the quality of my work. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for voice recognition software. Also recommend reading the system requirments before picking which version to buy. Only the Pro and advanced versions work on XP Pro. Pro, Advanced, and Standand should all work on XP Home. Version 10 Pro has worked for me on both XP Pro and XP home, although as I recall I needed to download a patch to get it to load.
User Rating: 
1/10
Not supported by Xp Home Edition SP2
Pros: not supported by SP2 therefore it is useless to me
Cons: Not supported by Xp Home Edition SP2
Review:
By all accounts, this software is wonderful. However, low and behold my brand new Dell that runs XP home edition SP2 will not work with VV 10.
Scansoft will not take the product because it was not sold be a authorized dealer and the dealer has not gotten back to me yet.
This is a problem to avoid. Scansoft recommended that I buy Dragon version 8. I would have thought that IBM would have responded to that, so far, IBM is sending me to scansoft in an endless loop.
Scansoft will not take the product because it was not sold be a authorized dealer and the dealer has not gotten back to me yet.
This is a problem to avoid. Scansoft recommended that I buy Dragon version 8. I would have thought that IBM would have responded to that, so far, IBM is sending me to scansoft in an endless loop.
Updated
IBM graciously offered to send me version 10.5. However, it took calling National Headquarters to get them to do that. Prior to that only Scansoft knew anything about the product. I am not aware that version 10.5 is for sale. Suffice it to say, if you are running Service Pack 2 you need to wait for Version 10.5 or buy Dragon's software.
IBM graciously offered to send me version 10.5. However, it took calling National Headquarters to get them to do that. Prior to that only Scansoft knew anything about the product. I am not aware that version 10.5 is for sale. Suffice it to say, if you are running Service Pack 2 you need to wait for Version 10.5 or buy Dragon's software.
Updated
Scansoft warned me that 10.5 would not work and they are correct. I am seriously thinking of trashing this idea completely. Perhaps I will go to Dragon.
Scansoft warned me that 10.5 would not work and they are correct. I am seriously thinking of trashing this idea completely. Perhaps I will go to Dragon.
