NET RESULTS:Weary of typing or unable to use a mouse and keyboard? Programs that recognise voices can make life very easy, writes KARLIN LILLINGTON

MOST PEOPLE seem to have a fascination with voice-recognition software, although not that many use it.

Yet perhaps no single change can bring as much relief to those who suffer from any kind of repetitive strain at the computer than shifting as much of the burden of typing as possible over to the ease of dictation. For anyone who regularly needs to write or transcribe notes, voice software also makes this job not just easier but much more fun.

From conversations with people who find out that I use voice-recognition software all the time – and they always have lots of questions – it’s pretty clear that the major barrier is perception, a perception stuck in the past. It used to be that computers weren’t all that powerful and didn’t have all that much memory. And so a memory- and resource-hogging application like speech recognition struggled to work. Typical problems with early products were that they needed huge amounts of training, and then often weren’t particularly accurate. They also could run very slowly, and cause everything else to run very slowly.

But these days, you’d have to be running a pretty old computer not to have a model that can run voice software.

I started using voice software, a product called MacSpeech Dictate, about a year ago, after reviewing it for this column. At the time, Mac voice software lagged behind PCs, the best being based on an excellent speech engine from a company called Dragon. MacSpeech Dictate had acquired the rights to use the Dragon engine for a Mac product and, for the first time, a really good voice product was an option for Mac users. I loved it.

I was interested to read towards the end of last year that MacSpeech had been acquired by Nuance, the company that owns the Dragon product line for PCs (Dragon Naturally Speaking), and had released a new version of Dictate for the Mac which the company claimed had been overhauled. I was eager to try this version, not least because I have reached a pain point where I can barely use a keyboard at all.

When you buy this software package, it comes with a new Plantronics headset. I found this was a bit too sensitive on my laptop but it worked fine straight out-of-the-box on my Mac desktop (some fiddling with settings resolved issues with the laptop). For those who have the older product, the new version will use your existing profile but you need to train in the software. For newcomers, just follow the directions and you’ll be guided through the set-up.

For anyone wondering whether to make the investment in the upgrade – which can be downloaded directly from the Nuance website – I would say definitely do it. This new version has so many useful changes and features that it’s like running a new piece of software. First of all, many commands have been simplified and are easier to remember (one of my problems with the older version is there are so many things you can do with it and I could never remember even a tiny fraction of the commands. Now they are more intuitive.)

You can now tell the program to put punctuation around certain words with a single command rather than having to go back and insert individual punctuation marks, eg just say “put quotes around ”. You can even create command shortcuts.

But some of the most interesting changes have come with how you can use this program to run your entire computer or the web. For example, you can tell the program “Search Google for ‘election results Ireland’” and a Google window will immediately pop up with that search. You can also search your own computer using the same command.

There’s also a new feature called MouseGrid that enables you to move your cursor all over your computer desktop and perform clicks without having to touch your mouse or keyboard.

You can also tell the computer to move the cursor two inches to the right, or five inches up. Once you have the mouse where you want it, just tell it to mouseclick, and it performs that function.

You can also use menus to a certain degree, but apparently not as comprehensively as the PC version of this program. But as it stands, these additions mean for someone like me, who needs to stay as far away from the keyboard and mouse as possible, or for anyone with a physical disability, your computer is pretty much totally controllable by voice. For anyone with back problems, you can easily stand and move about and can use a wireless headset if you want.

Although Dragon Dictate easily uses word-processing programs like Word or Pages, it actually is most accurate if you use the bundled Pad program. A disadvantage is that this program has no word count.

The other small quibble I have carries over from the older version. You need to pick an accent for the program (Irish isn’t offered), and the accent ends up having to match the regional spelling choice. I don’t understand why it isn’t possible for me to choose an American accent (which actually might be a better option for a lot of Irish people) and British spelling.

But these are minor issues. Overall these voice programs have been a real-life lifesaver – enabling me to avoid using a keyboard and mouse almost entirely.

Upgrades (at about €50) or new software (€220) are available from Nuance.co.uk, or boxed software from Compu B stores in Ireland. Boxes include a headset.