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Speech & Voice Recognition

Overview

Both Mac OS X and Windows XP contain built-in speech and voice recognition technology. Voice recognition can be used to control your comptuer by using spoken commands, as well as for dictation (although neither OS X nor XP includes this. Dictation is an optional install of Microsoft Office for XP). Both operating systems can also read system dialogs aloud to you.

You can find computer parts including speakers to listen to online music and streaming music on your PC today.

Voice Recognition

Mac OS X

OS X has excellent support for voice recognition. Enable "speakable items" in the Speech pane of System Preferences, and your computer will begin listening for voice commands. A floating palette is provided for feedback, so you can easily see if the computer heard you. You can optionally have it listen only if a key is pressed, or even after you say a keyword (like "computer") so that the computer ignores any speech that isn't directed at it. There's also a Speakable Items palette that shows you what commands the computer knows; and you can add your own commands as well.

OS X supports full menu navigation via speech (see above). For example, if you say "file menu", the File menu of the current application will pop open. Then say, for instance, "Open", and the Open command will be selected. Unfortunately, this behavior does not extend to submenus.

OS X can also navigate the buttons on application dialogs (Save, Cancel, etc.).

Speakable Items are extensible as well. The Speakable Items folder can contain XML files that associate spoken commands with keyboard shortcuts. "Make this bold," for example, sends Command-B; "Copy this to the Clipboard" sends Command-C.

The Speakable Items folder contains an Application subfolder, which in turn contains a subfolder for each application on your system. This allows you to create spoken commands that apply only to specific applications. In addition, OS X's VoiceOver utility allows a highly granular method of controlling every aspect of your user interface with your voice.


VoiceOver navigation settings

All voice commands apply to the frontmost application.

Windows XP

While Windows XP Tablet Edition supports voice recognition to control your computer with your voice, XP Home and Professional do not. Users of XP Home or Pro who want voice recognition will need to purchase Microsoft Works or Office.

Speech Synthesis

Mac OS X

OS X supports system-wide voice synthesis, and has over a dozen voices in its speech repertoire. OS X allows you to specify how little or how much you would like the computer to speak:

  • Speak dialogs and alerts (see next section)
  • Speak selected text (when asked)
  • Speak the entire user interface (all elements, buttons, highlighted or selected items, typed text, etc.)

Speak selected text (when asked)

Check the Speak selected text when the key is pressed check box in the Text to Speech tab of the Speech preference pane. You can have the computer announce when an application requires your attention, speak the text under the mouse (menus, dialogs, and buttons, but not document text), or speak selected text when you press a hot key of your choosing.

The Services menu, contains a Speech option to start or stop speaking text; however, this selection is dimmed in non-Cocoa applications. This issue is diminished by the fact that OS X can speak the selected text of any application when your hot key is pressed.

Speak the entire user interface

Enable VoiceOver to have OS X speak the entire user interface to you.

Windows XP

XP's Speech Synthesis program is called Narrator, and it can be accessed by typing Windows-U.

Narrator

Narrator can read aloud menu commands and dialog box options, announce events on screen, and read typed characters. It includes one voice, Sam. Narrator is not capable of reading selected text.

Microsoft Excel supports speaking the text of spreadsheet cells (Tools > Text to Speech > Show Text to Speech Toolbar). Microsoft Word does not seem to support such a feature for text documents.

Talking Dialogs

Mac OS X

Check Announce when alerts are displayed in the Text to Speech tab of Speech preferences, and your Mac will speak all alerts out loud.

spoken dialogs.png

Listen to OS X speak a Save dialog (MP3) using:

You can specify which voice to use, as well as set a delay before speaking the alert.

Windows XP

XP's Narrator speaks dialogs, although it also speaks the contents of every foreground window, which makes this feature somewhat useless (if not annoying) when you have many open windows on the screen and you simply want it to read an open dialog. Narrator will identify the dialog as such, and will announce its title, contents, and buttons. It will identify the buttons as such, and will read their text twice.

Listen to XP speak a Save dialog (MP3)

Conclusion

OS X's speech and voice recognition capabilities are arguably more advanced than XP's. While OS X has thorough support for voice recognition, XP Home and Pro lack included support entirely. OS X also gives the user much more control over narration, letting one specify what aspects of the interface they would like read aloud. XP's Narrator has far fewer options, limiting its usefulness. XP also lacks an ability to read selected text. OS X ships with 21 included voices (although some are arguably more practical than others), compared to XP's one.

Mac OS X: 8
Windows XP: 3

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