The older software used discrete speech which meant distinct pauses had to occur between words. Current software uses continuous speech voice recognition and is capable of recognizing speech up to 160 wpm. It uses what is called a neutral net to learn to recognize voices. Accuracy has improved a great deal in the past few years.

When shopping for voice recognition software be sure to have the answers to these questions:

• What operating system is the software compatible with?
• What amount of memory is required?
• What speed of processor is required?
• What type of learning curve does the software have?
• Will it work with existing word processing software?
• Does it come with a microphone?
• How fast is it?

Here are some Voice Recognition Software packages currently on the market.

Conversa Messenger – A desktop messaging system for small businesses that allows you to access your voicemail, e-mail, and faxes by voice. It’s easy to use and has continuous speech recognition.

Dragon Naturally Speaking Essentials – For ages 9 and up; it provides an introduction to continuous speech recognition with a vocabulary of more than 250,000 terms and 160,000 active words.

Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional – Allows you to dictate up to 160 words per minute, launch applications, complete forms, and do other complex tasks. Dragon also has specialty programs such as Medical Suite and Legal Suite.

Realize Voice – Uses the Whisper speech recognition engine that requires no training, although you can train it to improve its vocabulary. It can open and close windows and carry out basic task functions.

Do a quick search online to learn more about these voice recognition software choices. Do your research and ensure the voice recognition software you choose will meet your needs.