Speech to type

[D Hagens]

Hi I was wondering if anyone uses or knows of a free program that will convert speech to type.
My mom has Parkinson's disease and I notice many times that she has problems typing to the point where she has to give up.
I've heard of speech recognition programs that will convert speech to type and I think that Word has one but I really have no idea where to look.
Any help would be appreciated. 

[SwampDonkey]

Windows XP

Go to the Start button. Click on Help and Support. In the search box type "speech to text" On the left of the window is a series of links under the title Pick a Task. Click on "Add Speech Recognition" and follow the instructions in the navigation window.

See how that works.

[D Hagens]

 Thank you SwampDonkey

In Win 7 it's a bit different but when I get back I will play with it.

Be nice to see my mom keep on writing her letters when her hands can't work for her.

[DouginUtah]

As far as commercial products are concerned, it's pretty much a one-product world for speech to text. That product is Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Here are a couple of links to learn more about it:

http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/products/product-comparison.asp
http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/products/editions/standard.asp

If you could find V. 10.0 at a discount, the upgrade to 10.1 is free. V. 10.1 is certified to run on Windows 7. Otherwise the standard version is $99 from Nuance.

If you do try DNS let us know how it works.

As for Windows 7, if you go to Start > Help and Support and search for speech to text you will access the built-in speech to text program. You have to have a microphone connected to your computer to access the program.

[DouginUtah]

I just spent an hour going through the Windows 7 speech recognition tutorial. I am very impressed. I've got to print out a list of all the commands though.

[D Hagens]

I just finished the voice recognition setup, which was almost like having a real job. :D
I find that it has a tendency to finish my sentences and I'm guessing that's a setup issue.
From what I see this is a pretty big program with many options so this should be interesting.
Wonder what happens to a guy if he has a few drinks and thinks that this program might help him type!

[SwampDonkey]

As far as I recall Microsoft spends a lot of money making software for the disabled. So, often it's just best to use what's already on your computer. ;)

[D Hagens]

As far as I recall Microsoft spends a lot of money making software for the disabled. So, often it's just best to use what's already on your computer. ;)

Yes the more I go through MS software that comes with Win 7 the more I see how much time and effort that they put in to this.