Windows 7: Touch isn't Microsoft's only next-generation interface technology

While Microsoft’s mult-touch capabilities (and lack thereof) are in the news daily, the company’s speech engine and algorithms don’t often merit a mention.

At the SpeechTEK conference in New York City on August 3, Microsoft officials attempted to explain what the Redmondians have coming in the voice recognition and synthesis space — without going so far as to announce undisclosed products. And yes — before you ask — there is a cloud angle, like there seems to be for every Microsoft product and technology thesee days.

Zig Serafin, the General Manager of the “Speech at Microsoft” group, outlined for SpeechTEK attendees Microsoft’s evolution in speech, a technology area that has been part of the natural user interface (NUI) focus for the Softies since 1993.

In 1999, Microsoft made its first speech-specific acquisition, the speech-toolkit vendor Entropic. In 2007, Microsoft spent $1 billion to buy speech-recognition vendor TellMe. But it wasn’t until a little over a year ago that Microsoft consolidated its various speech-focused products and technologies into the Speech at Microsoft team, whose charter is “bringing speech to everyday life,” Serafin said.

I'm sure they will take the most common moderate/mild speech impediments into account. For people with more serious speech problems, MS needs to make sure that there are always good ol' buttons as a backup. I personally would not enjoy having to vocalize everything I want a given device to do, and I have no speech problems that I am aware of.

I'm not sure if those voice recognition things still do or not. They used tell you that you could say the command or press a number. Now they just say to tell it something. With a couple different ones I've tried pressing the corresponding number (pressing #2 for the second option listed) and it did absolutely nothing. I can't stand the things myself, so I can hardly imagine what she must go through with em.

I think the problem is that in the US they are often calibrated for a mid-west accent, which is considered to be "standard" American English. So, people in any other region, are going to have trouble. Especially those of us in the south and northeast.

I hope they take speech impediments/impairments in to account with this. I know a friend of mine had a nightmare trying to activate by phone because she has a lisp and the automated thing kept asking her to repeat herself.