iListen: Voice Activated Software by MacSpeech

I started using iListen (version 1.7) when I developed tendonitis in my elbows. As a freelance writer, I couldn't afford to stay off the keyboard for the four weeks rest that my physical therapist recommended. Other than hiring someone to take dictation, voice activated software seem to be my best option. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, most of the time) I use a Mac operating system, and most of these programs are available only for PC.

The software costs less than a hundred dollars (or more, if you purchase the version that includes a microphone head set; otherwise, you need to purchase the head set separately.)

It was easy to get started - after a couple of tries of getting the right microphone (a USB microphone head set is required - I ordered mine directly from MacSpeech's web site) - and the program led me through the basic steps for creating my own voice profile.

Unfortunately, the going got rougher after that. A downloadable dmg file showed just how easy it was (or should have been) to dictate your documents and correct them.

You simply dictate into the program a series of short texts designed to train the program to understand the sound and cadence of your voice. More dictation is theoretically supposed to create more accuracy in the program. In other words, while you are training the program, the program is training you. While I have noticed some improvement in the program's accuracy over time, the going gets a little frustrating when iListen recognizes startlingly large words (like "startlingly," for instance) yet can't seem to get a handle on the little ones.

The program has returned some amusing misstatements. I dictated "bring a dish," and the program recognized it as "brain dead." It can also be a problem when you are writing technical documents: "probiotics" was recognized as "probed by Alex."

The editing function designed to correct these missteps is straightforward, however. A spoken command opens a separate window where the user can proofread word-for-word and make the necessary corrections. While the program has a rather large vocabulary, any words that it does not understand made be corrected using the program's spelling mode. The fun part about this is that the recognized spelling protocol for iListen is the military alphabet (think "Top Gun" - Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.). Amuse your friends by learning how to spell like a fighter pilot!

There are some good points. The cost, for one. And it only takes up approximately 80 MB of space, far less than its ancestral memory hogs. I also like the option that allows for multiple users. Each person who plans to use the speech program can create his or her own voice profile. (MacSpeech recommends that users be over 14 for best accuracy, and several people have told me that the program seems to understand women's voices more accurately than men's.

You can also train iListen to take dictation from a digital voice recorder. So if you need to dictate text away from your computer, when you return you simply plug in your digital voice recorder (assuming you've already created a voice profile for digital recorder use) and off you go.

As mentioned before, the accuracy can be a problem, as can the speed. I've found it most useful for replying to e-mail and dictating short documents. The more I dictate into the program, the slower the processing becomes, as does the error rate. I couldn't imagine dictating a long article or novel using this program. An inquiry to MacSpeech's customer service department about this issue got the reply that it's either a font problem (which it wasn't) or something wrong with my computer (which there wasn't.)

So my workaround when dictating a large document is to break it up into smaller documents, say, of about five healthy paragraphs or so. Also, two program-specific "ScriptPaks" (voice command modules that can be used with a specific program) that I downloaded from MacSpeech's web site failed to work. To be fair, they only vouch for these modules' accuracy when used with the exact version of the program noted.

To make the going easier, I'd also recommend printing out the user's guide PDF and putting it into a 3-ring binder, for easier reference to the many commands you will need to use.

Overall, it's not a bad program, once you and it get up to speed. And it's better to be able to get words into the computer than not be able to do it all. And much cheaper than hiring someone to take dictation.