Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : INTC -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lee Penick who wrote (795)	11/17/1997 2:54:00 AM
From: Mark Brophy	Respond to of 990

Technology marches ever onward. Today's $1000 PC will cost $750 in 12 months. Today's $1250 PC will cost $1000 in 12 months and will be sufficient for speech recognition. All you need is a cheap non-MMX Pentium and 64M of DRAM, both of which are becoming very cheap quickly. The market is shared by Dragon, IBM, and Kurzweil. Microsoft will get a share from leveraging their OS position. The government will whine that it's unfair to succeed in the software business. Microsoft will learn that it's necessary to grease the palms of politicians and hire a lot of lawyers and lobbyists.

To: Lee Penick who wrote (795)	11/17/1997 6:03:00 AM
From: KENNETH R SANDERS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 990

I am dictating this post to you on my new Dragon software. I have only had it for three days. But it is very impressive. I needed it because I am a lousy keyboard operator. It will take some time to become proficient, however, it is a lot of fun. Based upon my experience, so far, I would recommend you try it.

To: Lee Penick who wrote (795)	11/17/1997 9:37:00 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 990

Lee, more evidence that speech recognition is gaining serious momentum... IBM Says It's Been 'Big Year' for Speech Software By DAVID EVANS c.1997 Bloomberg News LAS VEGAS -- International Business Machines Corp. expects to sell 2 million copies of its speech recognition software in 1997, a senior executive said in an interview. Most will come pre-installed on new computers, although about 750,000 units will be purchased in the aftermarket, Ozzie Osborne, general manager of IBM Speech Systems, said in an interview at the Comdex computer industry trade show in Las Vegas. ''It's been a very big year for us,'' Osborne said. Sales for the dictation software took off after IBM lowered its entry-level price below $100 a year ago. That's 90 percent cheaper than a less powerful product that it sold two years ago, which required installation of a special card in the user's computer. In June, IBM introduced a continuous speech product, ViaVoice, that it says will accept 70 to 100 words per minute of naturally spoken dictation, with up to 95 percent accuracy. The company estimates that it's captured a 68 percent market share for voice recognition software in the U.S., and a higher share overseas, Osborne said. ''Wherever you have a hands-free environment where a keyboard is not practical, speech is obvious,'' Osborne said. For example, IBM is demonstrating an ''Internet'' car at Comdex, configured so the driver can send and receive electronic mail and control some vehicle functions by voice. IBM's latest speech software release, ViaVoice Gold, was introduced last week. It sells for $125 after a rebate and comes with a 22,000-word vocabulary. A ''vocabulary expander'' feature will automatically increase the vocabulary up to 64,000 words, by automatically browsing through a computer's memory to find the user's most frequently used words and names. ViaVoice Gold also has a text-to-speech function that ''reads'' text. Another feature permits hands-free navigation of the Internet. The software requires a 166-MHz processor with MMX, 32 megabytes of RAM, a sound card and Windows 95. Continuous speech software is also offered by Dragon Systems, Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV, Voice Control Systems Inc. and Motorola Inc. It's under development by a number of companies, including Microsoft Corp., Philips Electronics NV, BBN Corp. and Fonix Corp. ______________________________________________________ Lee, I can't believe Microsoft let this market slip through their fingers. It goes to show even a big behemouth like IBM can be a nimble player at times. I agree, once the bugs are fully worked out. Speech recognition is going to be a HUGE user app. Intel will no doubt benifit tremendously. Michael