Writing by Speaking
As a quadriplegic, I do all of my computer work by voice. That's not odd these days, but it is pretty unusual for people with a Mac computer. Why is that? Well, for the PCs there is a program called Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and the Mac version is called Dragon Dictate for Mac. Sounds like it shouldn't be any different, but there is a vastly dramatic difference! The version for PCs is mature and well developed with many advanced features. I used it for 15 years, but when I switched to an iMac I was rudely awakened by the fact that Apple has done relatively little to improve their speech recognition and dictation tools since they were introduced years ago. Although they have made dramatic improvements in tools for people who are deaf and blind or even people who use switches, their hardware remains relatively inaccessible for people with disabilities like me who need to use a computer hands-free. So, this edition of the blog is to get as many of you as possible to spread the w...