September / October 2000

Magazine Features

Continuous Dictation

Speech technology is finding a home as an input device for interfacing with the Internet, opening even more utilization doors for our segment of the electronic revolution.

Developing with VoiceXML: Language and Platforms

THE LANGUAGEAs its name suggests, VoiceXML is a variant of the Extensible Markup Language. Like XML, VoiceXML is basically a set of tags that, when embedded in a text document, describes the contents of the document. A program called an interpreter reads a VoiceXML document, deciphers the content based on the tags, and presents the information to the end user in the manner specified.

Doctor's Orders

In recent years speech recognition technology has seen such marked improvements in accuracy rates, specialized vocabulary development and CPU processing speed that it has become a factor in improving productivity in many vertical markets. Thousands of doctors, lawyers and financial analysts have discovered that speech recognition can be a reliable and quick means to get from spoken word to written output. Market analysts say the medical industry is the leading vertical market for speech recognition.

Doctor, Doctor

Two major speech technology corporations - Lernout & Hauspie and Philips Electronics NV - recently made big waves in the industry with their purchases of medical transcription businesses.

From E-Commerce to V-Commerce: The Voice Portal Revolution

Speech-enabled Internet portals, or voice portals, are the next logical evolutionary step in the convergence of computer telephony and the Internet.

Making Text-to-Speech Work

It is becoming common to see telephony applications that use speech to give mobile users access to information that they would not be able to retrieve otherwise, such as e-mail, news items or stock quotes.

Speaking Frankly

In the speech recognition dream, you can talk to your computer transparently and freely without wearing something on your head and without a cord dangling down from your ear. The first crop of desktop array microphones has arrived, moving us closer to the speech ideal as they deliver on their promise of cord-free dictation.

Speech Reconnaissance

During the last few months I have been asked many questions concerning our goals for Speech Technology Magazine. Simply put, we want Speech Technology Magazine to develop into the speech technology industry's information portal.

Wearable Computers

In the broad spectrum encompassed by speech technology, wearable computers have to this point quietly moved from their own small niche. That niche, however, is beginning to draw its own share of attention by posting significant growth of its own.

Forward Thinking

Combining Technologies I

The idea that technologies can be used together to produce more flexible, accurate, powerful and friendly systems is certainly not new. It has been receiving increasing attention in the computing industry as a result of the availability of multimedia devices and fast, powerful processors.