speech on computer mouse in english

How to set up and use Windows 10 Speech Recognition

Windows 10 has a hands-free using Speech Recognition feature, and in this guide, we show you how to set up the experience and perform common tasks.

On Windows 10 , Speech Recognition is an easy-to-use experience that allows you to control your computer entirely with voice commands.

Anyone can set up and use this feature to navigate, launch applications, dictate text, and perform a slew of other tasks. However, Speech Recognition was primarily designed to help people with disabilities who can't use a mouse or keyboard.

In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to configure and start using Speech Recognition to control your computer only with voice.

How to configure Speech Recognition on Windows 10

How to train speech recognition to improve accuracy, how to change speech recognition settings, how to use speech recognition on windows 10.

To set up Speech Recognition on your device, use these steps:

• Open Control Panel .
• Click on Ease of Access .
• Click on Speech Recognition .

• Click the Start Speech Recognition link.

• In the "Set up Speech Recognition" page, click Next .
• Select the type of microphone you'll be using. Note: Desktop microphones are not ideal, and Microsoft recommends headset microphones or microphone arrays.

• Click Next .
• Click Next again.

• Read the text aloud to ensure the feature can hear you.

• Speech Recognition can access your documents and emails to improve its accuracy based on the words you use. Select the Enable document review option, or select Disable document review if you have privacy concerns.

• Use manual activation mode — Speech Recognition turns off the "Stop Listening" command. To turn it back on, you'll need to click the microphone button or use the Ctrl + Windows key shortcut.
• Use voice activation mode — Speech Recognition goes into sleep mode when not in use, and you'll need to invoke the "Start Listening" voice command to turn it back on.

• If you're not familiar with the commands, click the View Reference Sheet button to learn more about the voice commands you can use.

• Select whether you want this feature to start automatically at startup.

• Click the Start tutorial button to access the Microsoft video tutorial about this feature, or click the Skip tutorial button to complete the setup.

Once you complete these steps, you can start using the feature with voice commands, and the controls will appear at the top of the screen.

Quick Tip: You can drag and dock the Speech Recognition interface anywhere on the screen.

After the initial setup, we recommend training Speech Recognition to improve its accuracy and to prevent the "What was that?" message as much as possible.

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• Click the Train your computer to better understand you link.

• Click Next to continue with the training as directed by the application.

After completing the training, Speech Recognition should have a better understanding of your voice to provide an improved experience.

If you need to change the Speech Recognition settings, use these steps:

• Click the Advanced speech options link in the left pane.

Inside "Speech Properties," in the Speech Recognition tab, you can customize various aspects of the experience, including:

• Recognition profiles.
• User settings.
• Microphone.

In the Text to Speech tab, you can control voice settings, including:

• Voice selection.
• Voice speed.

Additionally, you can always right-click the experience interface to open a context menu to access all the different features and settings you can use with Speech Recognition.

While there is a small learning curve, Speech Recognition uses clear and easy-to-remember commands. For example, using the "Start" command opens the Start menu, while saying "Show Desktop" will minimize everything on the screen.

If Speech Recognition is having difficulties understanding your voice, you can always use the Show numbers command as everything on the screen has a number. Then say the number and speak OK to execute the command.

Here are some common tasks that will get you started with Speech Recognition:

Starting Speech Recognition

To launch the experience, just open the Start menu , search for Windows Speech Recognition , and select the top result.

Turning on and off

To start using the feature, click the microphone button or say Start listening depending on your configuration.

In the same way, you can turn it off by saying Stop listening or clicking the microphone button.

Using commands

Some of the most frequent commands you'll use include:

• Open — Launches an app when saying "Open" followed by the name of the app. For example, "Open Mail," or "Open Firefox."
• Switch to — Jumps to another running app when saying "Switch to" followed by the name of the app. For example, "Switch to Microsoft Edge."
• Control window in focus — You can use the commands "Minimize," "Maximize," and "Restore" to control an active window.
• Scroll — Allows you to scroll in a page. Simply use the command "Scroll down" or "Scroll up," "Scroll left" or "Scroll right." It's also possible to specify long scrolls. For example, you can try: "Scroll down two pages."
• Close app — Terminates an application by saying "Close" followed by the name of the running application. For example, "Close Word."
• Clicks — Inside an application, you can use the "Click" command followed by the name of the element to perform a click. For example, in Word, you can say "Click Layout," and Speech Recognition will open the Layout tab. In the same way, you can use "Double-click" or "Right-click" commands to perform those actions.
• Press — This command lets you execute shortcuts. For example, you can say "Press Windows A" to open Action Center.

Using dictation

Speech Recognition also includes the ability to convert voice into text using the dictation functionality, and it works automatically.

If you need to dictate text, open the application (making sure the feature is in listening mode) and start dictating. However, remember that you'll have to say each punctuation mark and special character.

For example, if you want to insert the "Good morning, where do you like to go today?" sentence, you'll need to speak, "Open quote good morning comma where do you like to go today question mark close quote."

In the case that you need to correct some text that wasn't recognized accurately, use the "Correct" command followed by the text you want to change. For example, if you meant to write "suite" and the feature recognized it as "suit," you can say "Correct suit," select the suggestion using the correction panel or say "Spell it" to speak the correct text, and then say "OK".

Wrapping things up

Although Speech Recognition doesn't offer a conversational experience like a personal assistant, it's still a powerful tool for anyone who needs to control their device entirely using only voice.

Cortana also provides the ability to control a device with voice, but it's limited to a specific set of input commands, and it's not possible to control everything that appears on the screen.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't get the best of both worlds. Speech Recognition runs independently of Cortana, which means that you can use the Microsoft's digital assistant for certain tasks and Speech Recognition to navigate and execute other commands.

It's worth noting that this speech recognition isn't available in every language. Supported languages include English (U.S. and UK), French, German, Japanese, Mandarin (Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional), and Spanish.

While this guide is focused on Windows 10, Speech Recognition has been around for a long time, so you can refer to it even if you're using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.

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SAM Software Automatic Mouth

What is sam.

Sam is a very small Text-To-Speech (TTS) program written in Javascript, that runs on most popular platforms. It is an adaption to Javascript of the speech software SAM (Software Automatic Mouth) for the Commodore C64 published in the year 1982 by Don't Ask Software (now SoftVoice, Inc.). It includes a Text-To-Phoneme converter called reciter and a Phoneme-To-Speech routine for the final output.

Currently compatible with Firefox, Chrome, Safari + iOS. The conversion was done by hand from the C source code by Sebastian Macke , and the refactored versions by Vidar Hokstad and 8BitPimp

Voice   Generator

This web app allows you to generate voice audio from text - no login needed, and it's completely free! It uses your browser's built-in voice synthesis technology, and so the voices will differ depending on the browser that you're using. You can download the audio as a file, but note that the downloaded voices may be different to your browser's voices because they are downloaded from an external text-to-speech server. If you don't like the externally-downloaded voice, you can use a recording app on your device to record the "system" or "internal" sound while you're playing the generated voice audio.

Want more voices? You can download the generated audio and then use voicechanger.io to add effects to the voice. For example, you can make the voice sound more robotic, or like a giant ogre, or an evil demon. You can even use it to reverse the generated audio, randomly distort the speed of the voice throughout the audio, add a scary ghost effect, or add an "anonymous hacker" effect to it.

Note: If the list of available text-to-speech voices is small, or all the voices sound the same, then you may need to install text-to-speech voices on your device. Many operating systems (including some versions of Android, for example) only come with one voice by default, and the others need to be downloaded in your device's settings. If you don't know how to install more voices, and you can't find a tutorial online, you can try downloading the audio with the download button instead. As mentioned above, the downloaded audio uses external voices which may be different to your device's local ones.

You're free to use the generated voices for any purpose - no attribution needed. You could use this website as a free voice over generator for narrating your videos in cases where don't want to use your real voice. You can also adjust the pitch of the voice to make it sound younger/older, and you can even adjust the rate/speed of the generated speech, so you can create a fast-talking high-pitched chipmunk voice if you want to.

Note: If you have offline-compatible voices installed on your device (check your system Text-To-Speech settings), then this web app works offline! Find the "add to homescreen" or "install" button in your browser to add a shortcut to this app in your home screen. And note that if you don't have an internet connection, or if for some reason the voice audio download isn't working for you, you can also use a recording app that records your devices "internal" or "system" sound.

Got some feedback? You can share it with me here .

If you like this project check out these: AI Chat , AI Anime Generator , AI Image Generator , and AI Story Generator .

VoiceComputer for Dragon features

Ease of use with unrivaled accessibility.

I think it is an essential piece of kit for any serious Dragon user. And if you aren’t a serious Dragon user yet, this is the add-on that will advance you beyond what you ever thought could be possible.

What is not to Love?

I finally found 5 minutes to get this installed and what is not to love? I’ve tried it in our ticketing system and it worked great. I especially like it within Microsoft Outlook.

Making a Difference

You are truly making a difference in the lives of many people who suffer from RSI and other debilitating conditions. I am only 25 years old and otherwise in good health so this has been a huge adjustment. Thankfully, I am able to work part-time with Dragon and using voice computer will help speed up my productivity immensely.

VoiceComputer for Dragon

Voice control that you'll actually love.

Finally, a truly user-friendly and ergonomic way for Dragon users to control their computers by voice.

Compute by Numbers is revolutionary. It's an easy-to-use, hands-free mouse alternative that lets you control your computer and all your applications by simply saying numbers.

VoiceComputer is a hands-free mouse alternative for those who have RSI, Carpal Tunnel, sore hands, wrists, or shoulders and for those who want an ergonomic way to avoid all of this.

VoiceComputer, the easy-to-use and complete hands-free speech application for those with quadriplegia, paraplegia, and other physical challenges

Simple, Accessible. User-friendly.

Try out VoiceComputer with our no risk 30-day money-back guarantee! All you have to lose are your pains and stresses of computer use.

Chances are that you point and click hundreds of times everyday just to control your email. And, you probably click thousands of times a day to control your computer. In addition, you physically stress your entire body by spending hours a day in front of a computer without moving very much.

Wouldn't it be great if you could control your computer with just a couple of speech commands; were able to stand up, move around and stretch as you worked; and enjoy all this while continuing to use the familiar Windows interface?

The breakthrough!

Now you can control your computer by voice, without pointing and clicking. And it's so easy to learn that you could actually be up and running in a few minutes.

VoiceComputer makes speech control a natural part of Windows by automatically numbering the controls, menus and links on your computer.

With VoiceComputer, you can control your computer by simply saying the number of the application, menu, control or link you wish to access.

For example in the screenshot to your left, you'd be able to control your email application by saying, 49  to open a message 26   to reply to a message 19  to create a new message Drag 53 to 6 2  to drag a message to a folder

This is computer control that you'll actually love!

View a user's demo, product demo, learn more about our amazing speech interface.

It's not only simpler than mouse or touchpad control, it's pain-free, non-repetitive voice control of your computer that will liberate you from your computer. Now you can sit, stand, stretch and move around as you work.

Note: VoiceComputer doesn't 'lock' you into voice control, it lets you control your computer by voice or by any combination of voice, mouse, touchpad or keyboard that's comfortable for you.

*Our VoiceComputer and our Intag Dragon add-ons both feature the Intag speech interface.

"We Brits don't tend to gush very much, however, have got to say VoiceComputer is excellent and worth every penny; it's essentially saved my bacon as it were and allowed me to continue working even though I've got severe RSI."

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The more I use VC the more useful I discover it is.  I'm telling everyone I know about VC."

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Be pain-free at your PC

Computer control, by voice.

The idea behind VoiceComputer was to build the ultimate desktop experience. We re-invented/re-engineered computer control to take the repetitive out of repetitive stress, the stress out of repetitive computing.

Now you use voice control instead of your mouse or touchpad or use your voice in conjunction with your mouse/touchpad .

We make accessibility simple and productive.

Please email us to request an evaluation copy or to ask us any questions!

VoiceTeach, LLC has three principal specializations:

Hands-Free Productivity

Dragon’s core mission is great dictation accuracy. VoiceComputer’s core mission is home and workplace accessibility. That is why we deliver a new world of accessibility, productivity, and ease-of-use. With half a dozen U.S. Patents & Pending Patents, VoiceComputer has reinvented speech computing.

Rehabilitation

VoiceComputer enables our users to return-to-work and school despite physical challenges that range in severity from RSI and carpal tunnel to quadriplegia and other severe physical challenges. VoiceComputer’s unprecedented voice access and control of your computer and applications will completely change what you can do with Dragon.

Return to Work

VoiceComputer delivers a whole new world of accessibility. Accessibility that delivers the highest possible productivity and ease-of-use so that for the first time ever, your company’s or agency’s Intranet sites, Citrix and legacy applications are accessible to your employees without expensive and time-consuming customization.

The Bottom Line: What Results Can I Expect When I Select VoiceTeach, LLC?

Many VoiceTeach, LLC training clients achieve complete hands-free operation of their computers within hour of training. Others strike a balance between speech and manual input for their own optimum control, productivity, and efficiency. Whether that balance is at 50%, 70%, or 100% voice input. VoiceTeach, LLC enables high productivity, reliable operation, and complete satisfaction with the training services that we provide.

By using VoiceComputer in combination with Dragon, our training clients get to take advantage of the full VoiceComputer hands-free system.

In the first hour of training, our trainers provide a full introduction to Intag – the easiest to use and most powerful speech recognition technology.

For users with proprietary applications like Citrix, that are not compatible out-of-the-box with speech, our trainers provide customization. With My Intags, your hard-to-control applications can be customized quickly and easily without the need to create and memorize hundreds of commands.

The VoiceComputer Tutorial Program

Our trainers also provide personalized lessons that incorporate the VoiceComputer Tutorial System which is available to our clients even when we are not. The Tutorial System provides more than 40 hours of lessons and demos and dozens of cheat sheets and At-a-Glance guides that teach you how to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking and help you remember commands. Our Tutorial Program is the first help, demonstration, and tutorial program that is always just a speech command away and will bring you the information you need, when you need it, without blocking your work with unnecessary windows.

Dozens of Other Hands Free Features

Our trainers also utilize a full suite of hands free tools included in VoiceComputer. These features include the VoiceComputer Microphone, commands for fast and easy desktop control, voice copying, voice mousing, and thousands of custom productivity commands.

Why do you need VoiceTeach, LLC?

Our training is designed and personalized to cultivate success. Our mission and passion is to make hands-free computing a reality and we will commit to each client fully to ensure our mission is accomplished.

Since its introduction to the market roughly 20 years ago, speech technology accuracy and ease of dictation has greatly improved. But even now, it is still a tool that requires, at a minimum, basic training and support crafted specifically to the needs of the individual user. While it is the case that some people succeed in their own, they are often the exceptions. Millions of speech software packages have been sold, but how many users give up within weeks of installation. This is largely due to the reality that the applications most workers use today are not fully accessible with speech recognition or require too many complicated commands to be genuinely useful. VoiceTeach’s training and support services make the difference that enables you to succeed. The support starts with careful evaluation and user support. We then determine what hardware is needed and proceed to proper installation and initialization of the speech package. This then concludes with personalized training, thorough documentation, and continued support.

The mouse types while you speak!

Typing & translation & search by speech.

Typing: Hold down the mouse to speak! Your speech would be automatically converted into text output. Speech In, Text Out, Immediately!

Translation: Hold down the mouse to speak in your own language(eg. English), then your speech would be automatically translated and converted into text output in target language(eg. Chinese). One language speech in, Another language text out, Immediately!

Search: Hold down the mouse to speak out what you want the computer to do, then the mouse would do it for you. Eg. open website and search, open software and so on.

100+ Languages Support

No Language Barriers

English (20): Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Saint Kitts, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States.

Spanish (20): Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, International, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Arabic (18): Morocco, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Armenia.

Tamil (4): India, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka.

French (3): Canada, France, Switzerland.

Chinese (3): Mandarin (Mainland), Mandarin (Taiwan), Cantonese.

Portuguese (2): Brazil, Portugal.

Bengali (2): Bangladesh, India.

Swahili (2): Kenya, Tanzania.

Other Languages (39): Finnish (Finland), Afrikaans (South African), Bulgarian (Bulgaria), Catalan (Spain), Croatian (Croatia), Czech (Czech), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), German (Germany), Greek (Greece), Hebrew (Israel), Hungarian language (Hungary), Icelandic (Iceland), Indonesian (Indonesia), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Javanese (Indonesia), Khmer (Cambodia), Korean (Korea), Latvian (Latvia), Lithuanian (Lithuania), Malaysian (Malaysia), Nepali (Nepal), Bokmal (Norway), Polish (Poland), Romanian (Romania), Russian (Russia), Serbian (Serbia), Sinhala (Sri Lanka), Slovak (Slovakia), Slovenian (Slovenia) ), Sundanese (Indonesia), Swedish (Sweden), Thai (Thailand), Turkish (Turkey), Ukrainian (Ukraine)，Vietnamese(Vietnam), Burmese(Myanmar), Urdu(Pakistan)

Dual System Support

Support macOS system and Windows system

Windows XP/7/8/10, MacOS 10.10, and above

Large-capacity Lithium Battery

400mAh large-capacity lithium battery,

1 hour full charge, 200 hours long use

Super Quick Typing

5 times more efficient than keyboard typing,

20 times more efficient than handwriting,

Speech typing speed up to 400 words per minute !

Super Accurate Typing

The speech recognition accuracy can be as high as 99%

Based on high level electronic microphone and Google AI technology

AI speech mouse Your exclusive shorthand-typist

Typewriting Revolution

Free your hands, improve your work efficiency, put you a step ahead of your competition.

AI speech mouse can do more than you expected, not only speech typing, translation and search, but also others as follows…

Picture To Text

Optical Character Recognition(OCR) technology can read the words in the pictures and write them out.

Recording To Text

AI speech mouse can listen to the speech recordings and write out the speech contents.

Speech To Caption

When you make a speech publicly, the AI speech mouse can convert your speech into captions on screen.

This Is One Amazing Mouse

Metallic touch, Ultra-thin design, Premium feature

Packing List

Are You One Of Them?

Ai speech mouse is what you need now, businessman.

Have to type while talking through email, whatsapp, skype…

Office Staff

A lot of annoyed typing work to do everyday

Want to talk with foreigners, but can not speak their languages

The writing inspiration could be interrupted by the keyboard typing. Stop it!

Reading has already taken much of your time, and you don’t want to waste time on keyboard typing

You are not familiar with computer and don’t like keyboard typing at all

Intelligent Double Buttons

Speech Typing & Translation

Speech Button

● Hold down the button to speak

● Speech automatically converted into text instantly

● Speech typing 400 words in one minute

● Recognition accuracy 99%

● 5 times more efficient than the keyboard typing

All in one click!

Translation Button

● Speech translated to foreign language and converted into text instantly

● Real-time translation between different languages

● Supports 113 languages translation

Choose Your Favorite Style

Frequently Asked Questions

How to connect the mouse to the computer.

• Take out the mouse receiver from the mouse back
• Plug the receiver into any USB port of your computer
• Wait for a few seconds
• When the computer recognizes the mouse device, switch on the mouse power
• Now try to click the mouse and use the mouse functions

How to install the mouse software?

• Enter “www.aispeechmouse.com/downloads” in your browser to open te download page
• Choose the proper software according to your computer system, macOS or Windows system, and download
• Double-click the downloaded software and install by click “Next”
• After installation completed, the software will run automatically and a red icon of the software would appears in the taskbar.

PS: If the mouse were not connected to computer, the icon would be in grey color.

How to use the speech typing and translation functions?

Speech Typing

• Hold down the speech button
• Speak, then the text would be displayed in the input field
• Release the speech button, end typing

Speech Translation

• Select the proper languages from the drop-down list
• Hold down the speech translation button
• Speak your native language, then the text that translated into foreign language would be displayed in the input field
• Release the translation button, end typing

Do I need to turn off the mouse power when it is standby?

The standby power consumption of mouse is very low, so you don’t need to turn off the mouse power usually, but it is recommended to turn off the power when you carry the mouse in a travel.

I lost the receiver of black mouse, can I use the receiver of white mouse instead?

Yes. The mouses and the receivers are compatible for any pair, so white mouse receiver can also be used for black mouse.

Is there any battery inside the mouse?

Yes. The mouse contains a rechargeable lithium battery of 3.7V-450mAh inside. It can not be replaced by 1.5VAAA alkaline battery.

Latest Driver Software Of Mouse

Please download the software according to the system of your computer

Windows 7/8/10

Mac os 10.14 +, available, get quote now online.

7 days delivery + 12 months guarantee + No MOQ + OEM available

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• News & Blogs

Keyboard and mouse alternatives and adaptations

Last updated: May 2023

Contents include

• 1. 1. A note on ergonomics
• 2. 2. Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth?
• 3.1. Ergonomic keyboards
• 3.2. Smaller, compact keyboards
• 3.3. Numeric keypads
• 3.4. Keyboards with larger keys
• 3.5. Keyboards with more visible keys
• 3.6. Modifying the keyboard appearance 
• 3.7. Other specialist keyboards
• 3.8. Keyguards
• 3.9. A note on touch-typing 
• 4. 4. Typing without a keyboard
• 5.1. Alternatives to the standard mouse
• 6. 6. Gaming controllers
• 7.1. Lap trays and other supports
• 8. 8. Useful contacts

1. A note on ergonomics

Being physically comfortable when using your technology is extremely important and extends beyond having a keyboard or mouse that is comfortable to use. Poor posture, over-stretching or discomfort can result in aggravating existing conditions or in developing longer-term issues such as Repetitive Strain injuries (RSI’s). Good posture and comfortable working are important for everyone and finding something that works for you is obviously more important in preventing problems than in reaction to them.

2. Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth?

When it comes to things like keyboards and mice (peripherals) wireless normally means Bluetooth and most computers, laptops and phones have Bluetooth built in. Some keyboards and mice may have their own receiver (called a ‘dongle’) that plugs in to a USB port on your computer in order to connect, others will need to be ‘paired’ (instructions for this will be included with the product). Although Bluetooth keyboards and mice will need batteries (or have rechargeable batteries built-in) they will often last for many months and will give you plenty of warning when they need charging or replacing.

3. Keyboard alternatives

The standard computer keyboard is designed to be used with two hands and has a number pad on the right-hand side, which obviously favours right-handed people.

Alternatives to the standard keyboard include:

• ergonomic keyboards
• smaller, compact keyboards
• separate numeric keypads
• keyboards with larger keys
• high-contrast keyboards
• early learning keyboards
• more specialist keyboards – braille, chording and expanded devices
• typing without a keyboard

Ergonomic keyboards

Some ergonomic keyboards are on a fixed curve, on others, the two halves are hinged in the middle so the angle can be adjusted and on some the two halves are completely separate and only joined by a connecting wire.

Smaller, compact keyboards

A compact keyboard frees-up desk space and allows you to bring your mouse (or other things you use) closer to your centreline, which helps to reduce the chance of strains by over-extending.

As they are smaller, compact keyboards can fit more easily between the arms of a wheelchair and are often more comfortable to use for single-handed users.

Numeric keypads

Keyboards with larger keys

Keyboards with more visible keys

Modifying the keyboard appearance 

Other specialist keyboards

For more information, see Making your keyboard easier to use 

A note on touch-typing 

Whether you are using a physical keyboard or touchscreen we’re keen to stress the value of learning touch-typing skills for which there are many training packages available. 

For adults we recommend: 

• English Type www.englishtype.com 
• KAZ kaz-type.com 

For children we recommend: 

• Nessy Fingers www.nessy.com/uk/product/nessy-fingers 
• Dance Mat Typing www.bbc.com/bitesize/articles/z3c6tfr

4. Typing without a keyboard

You do not have to use a physical keyboard to control or type on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Possible alternatives include using:

• an on-screen keyboard
• voice recognition (speech-to-text)
• an eye tracking system
• a head tracking system

For more information, see: Using on-screen keyboards

Voice recognition is a practical way of controlling your computer and a very efficient means of getting information down. Voice recognition (speech-to-text or dictation) is useful for people who can find typing difficult, painful or impossible, but it can also by-pass issues with things like spelling or grammar and so can be a great help to people with learning differences like dyslexia.

For more information on voice recognition see My Computer My Way; Talking to your device . We also have a factsheet; Voice Recognition - An Overview .

Switches work well with cause and effect programmes that require simple choices but are in no means limited to this; skilled operators have few restrictions to what they can do.

Eye tracking and head tracking systems tend to operate an onscreen keyboard using the mouse so are included in the mouse section below.

5. Mouse alternatives

There are many different types of mice available and it is important to choose one that fits the hand well and feels comfortable and easy to use. Often it takes a little while to get used to using a new type of mouse and can feel a little clumsy at first.

Alternatives to the standard mouse

Eye tracking systems track eye movement, using it to plot the position of the cursor on the screen. Dwelling on a location triggers a ‘click’. This can be used to control programmes as well as to type when used with the on-screen keyboard.

Tracking eye movement means that the cursor does not need to be driven around the screen and so is typically much faster than head movement tracking. Although initially designed for use by people with very limited movement, eye tracking hardware and software is now relatively inexpensive and can present an interesting alternative for people experiencing temporary or situational disabilities; for example, a parent could hold their baby and still be able to interact with their computer. 

Foot mouse systems are typically designed to use both feet. One foot controls the cursor using a slip-on puck on a mat. The other foot controls switches, often with single and double click or other options controlled by separate buttons.

6. Gaming controllers

7. Other equipment

It is important to have your screen positioned at a comfortable level to minimise bad posture and the risk of injury. We recommend your screen is directly in front of you so you do not have to twist your body and should be approximately an arms-length away with the top of the screen roughly level with your eyes.

Other equipment such as monitor-raisers and monitor arms allow you to raise the height of a screen. Laptop stands can also be helpful but may require you to have a separate keyboard and mouse. 

Tablets can also be mounted on flexible arms viewing comfort, but this is not always practical, as they are normally controlled with the touchscreen. 

Lap trays and other supports

Arm or wrist pads placed in front of the keyboard can be helpful when resting from typing and can help to reduce discomfort and strain. You can also get wrist ‘donuts’ that are worn around the wrists like bracelets and provide support wherever you are working.

8. Useful contacts

There are many suppliers and manufacturers of ergonomic equipment; below are a list of companies with specialist knowledge who may be able to offer additional advice if needed: 

• Hands-free computing: www.hands-free.co.uk/  
• Posturite: www.posturite.co.uk/
• Contour: contour-design.co.uk/
• Evoluent: evoluent.com/
• Tobii (Eye Gaze): www.tobii.com/group/about/this-is-eye-tracking/
• Glassouse (Head tracking): glassouse.com/
• Microsoft (Gaming Controller): www.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-one/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller

9. How AbilityNet can help you

My computer my way.

My Computer My Way is an AbilityNet run website packed with articles explaining how to use the accessibility features built into your computer, tablet or smartphone. The site is routinely updated as new features and changes are made to the Windows, MacOS, iOS, Chrome OS and Android operating systems. The site is broken down into the following sections:

• Vision – computer adjustments to do with vision and colour
• Hearing – computer adjustments to do with hearing, communication and speech
• Motor – computer adjustments to do mobility, stamina and dexterity
• Cognitive – computer adjustments to do with attention, learning and memory

Use it for free at mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk

Advice and information

If you have any questions please contact us at AbilityNet and we will do all we can to help.

• Call: 0300 180 0028 Please note: calls to our helpline number cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number and count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls, and AbilityNet does not receive any money from these calls.
• Email: [email protected]

IT support at Home

If you’re looking for in-person support, you can book a free visit from one of our disclosure-checked volunteers. Many of our volunteers are former IT professionals who give their time to help older people and people with disabilities to use technology to achieve their goals. Our friendly volunteers can help with most major computer systems, laptops, tablet devices and smartphones.

https://abilitynet.org.uk/at-home

Copyright information

This factsheet is licensed by AbilityNet under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. View a copy of this license at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

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• Accessibility and Aging
• For maintaining independence

The Best Dictation Software

By Kaitlyn Wells

Dictation software makes it easy to navigate your computer and communicate without typing a single phrase.

This flexibility is great if you simply need a break from your keyboard, but it’s especially important for people with language-processing disorders or physical disabilities. Firing off a quick text or typing a memo can be difficult—or even totally infeasible—if you have limited hand dexterity or chronic pain, but this kind of software can make such tasks a relative breeze.

After considering 18 options, we’ve found that Apple Voice Control and Nuance Dragon Professional v16  are more accurate, efficient, and usable than any other dictation tools we’ve tested.

Everything we recommend

Apple Voice Control

The best dictation tool for apple devices.

Apple’s Voice Control is easier to use and produces accurate transcriptions more frequently than the competition. It also offers a robust command hub that makes corrections a breeze.

Buying Options

Upgrade pick.

Nuance Dragon Professional v16

The best dictation tool for windows pcs.

Dragon Professional v16 is the most accurate dictation tool we tested for any operating system—but its hefty price tag is a lot to swallow.

But the technology behind dictation software (also called speech-to-text or voice-recognition software) has some faults. These apps have difficult learning curves, and the inherent bias that humans program into them means that their accuracy can vary, especially for people with various accents, sociolects and dialects like African American Vernacular English, or speech impediments. Still, for those able to work within the technology’s constraints, our picks are the best options available for many people who need assistance using a word-processing tool.

Apple’s Voice Control comes installed with macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, so it’s free to anyone who owns an Apple device. In our testing, it produced accurate transcriptions most of the time, especially for speakers with standard American accents. Competing tools from Google and Microsoft averaged 15 points lower than Apple’s software in our accuracy tests. Among our panel of testers, those with limited hand dexterity loved Voice Control’s assistive-technology features, which made it easy to navigate the OS and edit messages hands-free.

But while the experience that Voice Control provides was the best we found for Apple devices, it often misunderstood words or entire phrases spoken by testers with regional or other American accents or speech impediments such as stutters. Although such accuracy issues are expected for speech-recognition modeling that has historically relied on homogenous data sources , other tools (specifically, Nuance Dragon Professional v16 , which is available only for Windows) performed slightly better in this regard. Apple’s tool may also lag slightly if you’re running multiple processor-intensive programs at once, which our panelists said slowed their productivity.

At $700, Nuance Dragon Professional v16 is the most expensive speech-recognition tool we’ve found, but it’s the best option for people who own Windows PCs. Professional v16 replaces our previous Windows PC pick, the now-discontinued Nuance Dragon Home 15 . It offers added functionality for those working in finance, healthcare, and human services—and is probably overkill for most people. (If you need a free PC option, consider Windows Voice Recognition , but know it has significant flaws .)

Like its predecessor, Professional v16 involves a learning curve at first, but the Dragon tutorial does a great job of getting you started. Our panelist with language-processing disabilities said Dragon was one of the most accurate dictation options they tried, and the robust command features made it possible for them to quickly navigate their machine. Like our Apple pick, Dragon had trouble with various American dialects and international accents; it performed better for those testers with “neutral” American accents. It also struggled to eliminate all background noise, though you can mitigate such problems by using an external microphone or headset. Although Dragon produced the fastest transcriptions of any tool we tested, this wasn’t an unqualified positive: Half of our panelists said that they preferred slower real-time transcriptions to Dragon’s sentence-by-sentence transcription method because they found its longer pauses between sentences’ appearance on their screen to be distracting.

The research

Why you should trust us, who this is—and isn’t—for, how we picked and tested, the best dictation tool for apple devices: apple voice control, the best dictation tool for windows pcs: nuance dragon professional v16, other good dictation software, how to use dictation software, should you worry about your privacy when using dictation software, the competition.

As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I’ve spent five years covering complex topics, writing articles focusing on subjects such as dog DNA tests , blue-light-blocking glasses , email unsubscribe tools , and technology-manipulation tactics used by domestic abusers . I was an early adopter of dictation software back in the early aughts, with a much less polished version of Nuance’s Dragon software. Like other people I interviewed for this guide, I quickly abandoned the software because of its poor performance and difficult learning curve. Since then, I’ve occasionally used dictation and accessibility tools on my devices to send quick messages when my hands are sticky from baking treats or covered in hair product from my morning routine. While writing this guide, I dictated about a third of the text using the tools we recommend.

But I’m not someone who is dependent on dictation tools to communicate, so I consulted a variety of experts in the AI and disability communities to better understand the role that this kind of software plays in making the world more accessible for people with disabilities. I read articles and peer-reviewed studies, I browsed disability forums that I frequent for advice on my chronic pain, and I solicited input from affinity organizations to learn what makes a great dictation tool. And I brushed up on the latest research in AI technology and voice-recognition bias from Harvard Business Review , the Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute , and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Speech Accessibility Project , among others.

I also chatted with Meenakshi Das , a disability advocate and software engineer at Microsoft, and Diego Mariscal, CEO of the disabled-founders startup accelerator 2Gether-International , about the limitations of dictation tools for people with various disabilities. I discussed the ethics of artificial intelligence with Princeton University PhD candidate Sayash Kapoor . I attended a lecture by Kapoor’s advisor, Arvind Narayanan, PhD , entitled “ The Limits Of The Quantitative Approach To Discrimination .” I spoke with Christopher Manning , co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University, about the evolution of dictation software. And I consulted with Wirecutter’s editor of accessibility coverage, Claire Perlman, to ensure that my approach to this guide remained accessible, nuanced, and reflective of the disability community’s needs.

Lastly, I assembled a testing panel of nine people with varying degrees of experience using dictation software, including several with disabilities ranging from speech impediments to limited hand dexterity to severe brain trauma. Our testers also self-reported accents ranging from “neutral” American to “vague” Louisianan to “noticeable” Indian.

Assistive technology such as speech-to-text tools can help you do everything from sending hands-free texts while driving to typing up a term paper without ever touching your keyboard.

We wrote this guide with two types of users in mind: people with disabilities who rely on dictation software to communicate, and people with free use of their hands who occasionally use these tools when they need to work untethered from their keyboard. However, we put a stronger focus on people with disabilities because dictation software can better serve that population and can ultimately make it easier for them to access the world and communicate.

Users with limited or no hand dexterity, limb differences, or language-processing challenges may find speech-recognition software useful because it gives them the freedom to communicate in their preferred environment. For example, our panelists with learning disabilities said they liked to mentally wander or “brain dump” while using voice-recognition software to complete projects, and they felt less pressure to write down everything perfectly the first time.

Still, our approach had limits: We focused on each tool’s ability to integrate with and edit text documents, rather than to verbally navigate an entire computer screen, which is a feature that some people with cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, quadriplegia, and other neurological disabilities need—especially if they have no speaking issues and limited or no motor control. Our picks offer some accessibility features, such as grid navigation, text editing, and voice commands, that make using devices easier, but not everyone who tested the software for us used those features extensively, and the majority of voice-recognition software we considered lacks these premium options.

Aside from the absence of accessibility features, there are other potential hindrances to these software programs’ usefulness, such as how well they work with a range of accents.

The biases of dictation software

Speech-recognition software first became increasingly available in the 1980s and 1990s, with the introduction of talking typewriters for those with low vision , commercial speech-recognition software, and collect-call processing, according to Christopher Manning , co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence . But “speech recognition used to be really awful,” he said. “If you were an English-Indian speaker, the chances of it [understanding you] used to be about zero; now it’s not that bad.”

As we found in our tests, an individual’s definition of “bad” can vary widely depending on their accent and their speaking ability. And our AI experts agreed that the limitations of the natural language processing (NLP) technology used in dictation software are laid bare when faced with various accents, dialects, and speech patterns from around the world.

Sayash Kapoor , a second-year PhD candidate studying AI ethics at Princeton University, said that NLP tools are often trained on websites like Reddit and Wikipedia, making them biased against marginalized genders and people from Black, indigenous, and other communities of color. The end result is that most dictation software works best with canonical accents, said Manning, such as British and American English. Our experts told us that some speech-to-text tools don’t have fine-grain modeling for different dialects and sociolects, let alone gender identity, race, and geographic location.

In fact, one study found that speech-to-text tools by Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft exhibited “ substantial racial disparities ,” as the average word-error rate for Black speakers was nearly twice that of white speakers. This limitation affects not only how easily speakers can dictate their work but also how effectively they can correct phrases and give formatting commands—which makes all the difference between a seamless or painful user experience.

Inherent bias in speech-recognition tools extends to speech impediments, as well. Wirecutter approached several people with stutters or other types of speech and language disabilities, such as those resulting from cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s disease, about joining our panel of testers. But most declined, citing a history of poor experiences with dictation tools. Disability advocate Meenakshi Das, who has a stutter, said she doesn’t use any speech-to-text tools because more work needs to be done industry-wide to make the software truly accessible. (Das is a software engineer at Microsoft, which owns Nuance , the company that produces our pick for Windows PCs .)

Both Das and Kapoor have noticed a trend of accelerators working to close the bias gap for people with accents, speech impediments, and language-processing disabilities in order to make it possible for those groups to use dictation tools. In October 2022, for example, the University of Illinois announced a partnership with Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and nonprofits on the Speech Accessibility Project to improve voice recognition for people with disabilities and diverse speech patterns.

But until truly inclusive speech-to-text tools arrive, people in those underserved groups can check out our advice on how to get the most out of the software that’s currently available.

We solicited insights on speech-to-text tools from our experts and read software reviews, peer-reviewed studies, disability forums, and organization websites to learn what makes a great dictation tool.

We identified 18 dictation software packages and compared their features, platform compatibility, privacy policies, price, and third-party reviews. Among the features we looked for were a wide variety of useful voice commands, ease of navigation, the presence of customizable commands and vocabulary, multi-language support, and built-in hint tools or tutorials. Those programs that ranked highest on our criteria, generally offering a mix of robust features and wide platform availability, made our short list for testing:

• Apple Dictation ( macOS , iOS , iPadOS )
• Apple Voice Control ( macOS , iOS , iPadOS )
• Google Assistant on Gboard
• Google Docs Voice Typing
• Microsoft Word Dictate
• Nuance Dragon Home 15 (discontinued)
• Windows Voice Recognition
• Windows Voice Typing

We defaulted these tools to the American English setting and rotated using each tool for a couple of hours on our computers and mobile devices. Afterward, we graded their performance on accuracy, ease of use, speed, noise interference, and app compatibility. We placed an emphasis on accuracy rates, performing a series of control tests to see how well the dictation tools recognized 150- to 200-word samples of casual speech, the lyrics of Alicia Keys’s song “No One,” and scientific jargon from a peer-reviewed vaccine study . From there, we advanced the dictation tools with the highest marks to our panel-testing round.

Nine panelists tested our semifinalists over the course of three weeks. Our diverse group of testers included those with disabilities ranging from speech impediments to limited hand dexterity to severe brain trauma. They self-reported accents ranging from American to Catalan to Indian. All the panelists had varying degrees of prior experience with dictation software.

Meet our testers:

• Aum N., 34, who works in quality assurance and has an Indian accent
• Ben K., 41, an editor with a “moderate” stutter and a “standard” American accent
• Chandana C., 64, an analyst with a “noticeable” Indian accent
• Claire P., 31, an editor with a musculoskeletal disability called arthrogryposis
• Davis L., 27, an audio producer with a “vague” Louisianan accent
• Franc C. F., 38, a software engineer from Spain
• Juan R., 52, who survived a car accident that caused severe brain trauma and now has limited short-term memory and limited reading comprehension
• Polina G., 49, an engineering manager with ADHD
• Vicki C., 33, a software engineer with a shoulder injury and repetitive stress injury

The panelists sent text messages, drafted emails, and coded software using the various speech-to-text tools, after which they provided extensive notes on their experiences and identified which tools they would feel comfortable using regularly or purchasing on their own.

To arrive at our picks, we combined the panelists’ experiences with the results of our control round, as well as recommendations from our experts.

Price: free Operating system: macOS, iOS, iPadOS Supported languages: 21 to 64 languages , depending on the settings, including Hindi, Thai, and several dialects of English and Italian.

Apple Voice Control is easy to use, outperforms major competitors from Google, Microsoft, and Nuance, and offers dozens of command prompts for a smoother experience, an especially helpful feature for people with limited hand dexterity. Because Voice Control is deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem, it’s more accessible than many of the other tools we tested. It’s available for free in macOS , iOS, and iPadOS ; you can activate it by going to Settings > Accessibility on your preferred device. Once you activate it, you may notice that it works similarly to the Dictation and Siri functions on your phone. That’s because they use the same speech-recognition algorithms. This means the learning curve inherent to all speech-to-text tools is marginally less difficult with Voice Control, particularly if you’ve used Dictation or Siri before, as they’re already familiar with your speech patterns. (If you’re wondering how Dictation and Voice Control differ, Dictation is a speech-to-text tool that omits the various accessibility and navigation functions of Voice Control.)

In our tests, Voice Control routinely produced more accurate transcriptions than the competition, including Nuance Dragon, Google Docs Voice Typing , and Windows Voice Recognition . In our control tests, it was 87% accurate with casual, non-accented speech. Comparatively, Dragon was 82% accurate, while Windows Voice Recognition was only 64% accurate. Google Docs Voice Typing performed on a par with Voice Control, but it failed at transcribing contractions, slang, and symbols much more frequently. Most of the tools we tested, Voice Control included, were about 10% less accurate during our jargon-rich control tests that included scientific words from an immunology study. (One notable exception in this regard was Dragon, which showed no noticeable drop-off with more technical language.)

Half of our testers agreed that they would regularly use Voice Control, and that they would even pay for it if they relied on dictation software. Specific words they used to describe the software included “accurate,” “good,” and “impressive.” Still, our real-world tests pushed Voice Control to its limits, and the software often misunderstood words or phrases from testers who had diverse accents or stutters. Unfortunately, such accuracy issues are to be expected for speech-recognition modeling that has historically relied on homogenous data sources. But Voice Control’s performance improves the more you use it , so don’t give up immediately if you find inaccuracies frustrating at first.

Apple’s assistive technology was a standout feature for our testers with limited hand dexterity, as it allowed them to navigate their machines and edit their messages hands-free. These command prompts have a challenging learning curve, so you’re unlikely to have a flawless experience out of the gate. But asking “What can I say?” brings up a library that automatically filters contextually relevant commands depending on your actions. For example, selecting a desktop folder produces a short list of prompts related to file access (such as “Open document”), while moving the cursor to a word-processing tool brings up “Type.” The interface allows you to quickly sort through the relevant commands, a feature that some panelists found useful.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Our panelists with accents experienced mixed accuracy results using Apple Voice Control. Testers with nonstandard English accents or speech impediments said that the performance of Apple’s software improved when they spoke slowly. “When using it to type, sometimes it got things quite off,” noted panelist Franc, a native Spanish and Catalan speaker who tested the software in English. Similarly, my own experience dictating this guide proved challenging: I found that I had to overenunciate my words to prevent Voice Control from capitalizing random words and mistyping the occasional phrase.

Our panelists agreed that Apple Voice Control was the slowest tool they tested for transcribing text, though that difference in speed was a matter of seconds, not minutes. Sometimes speech-recognition software processes a complete sentence, rather than single words, before displaying the text on the screen, a tendency that about half of our panelists found frustrating. “It was really distracting to wait to see whether [Voice Control] had picked up what I said,” noted tester Vicki, who has a repetitive stress injury that makes typing difficult.

Wirecutter’s editor of accessibility coverage, Claire Perlman, who also served on our panel, echoed this sentiment. She said the lag time was marginal at the start of her session but became noticeably painful the longer she used the software. Claire also noted that her 2019 MacBook Pro, equipped with a 1.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, overheated while running Voice Control for extended periods. “The lag that I’m experiencing now is very distracting and makes me feel like I have to slow my thought process in order to have it typed correctly,” she said. We attempted to replicate this issue with a 2019 MacBook Pro equipped with a 2.6 GHz six-core Intel Core i7 processor, and after an hour of use we found that Apple’s Speech Recognition process fluctuated between occupying 54% to 89% of our CPU and that Apple Dictation’s usage ranged from 1% to 35%, confirming that the robust platform requires a lot of processing power. That said, you may find that the lag disappears when you close other CPU-intensive programs, such as Chrome or a game.

As we previously mentioned, successfully wielding Voice Control’s command prompts requires experience and finesse. Testers who read through the quick-start guide and watched YouTube tutorials reported the easiest experience. “There is a learning curve,” said tester Chandana, who has an Indian accent. But the software’s “What can I say?” screen was a big help, Chandana said: “I was able to use many functions that I wanted to use before but did not know that I could.”

Lastly, Voice Control works best within Apple’s own apps, and some people may find that inherent limitation challenging or annoying. “I found it to be more accurate in Pages and iMessage than Google Docs and WhatsApp,” Claire noted. In just one example, although Voice Control correctly captured dictated commands such as “Select line” or “Delete ” in Pages , it couldn’t execute them in Google Docs.

Price: $700 per license Operating system: Windows Supported languages: English, French, Spanish (depending on purchase region)

Nuance Dragon Professional v16 is the best option for Windows PC users because it surpasses the Microsoft Word and Windows dictation tools in accuracy, quickly processes and displays transcriptions, and offers a helpful training module and selection of command prompts to get you swiftly up to speed. Unlike most other dictation software in our tests, it worked well with technical, jargon-heavy language, an advantage that could make it useful for people who work in the sciences. (While we only tested the now-discontinued Nuance Dragon Home 15 for this guide, Professional v16 uses the same technology while making it easier to dictate large amounts of data in a corporate setting. Plus, if you’ve used earlier versions of Dragon in the past, you’ll be happy to know that this version of Dragon represents a significant improvement over previous generations.)

Our panelists said that Dragon was one of the most accurate speech-recognition tools they tried, describing it as “extremely accurate,” “reliable,” and in at least one case, “flawless.” Wirecutter’s Claire Perlman, who has arthrogryposis , said, “I was truly blown away by the accuracy of Dragon. It had only two to three errors the whole time I used it.” Our control tests found similar results. Dragon was 82% accurate in transcribing casual speech (slightly behind Apple Voice Control, which produced 87% accuracy), and in transcribing technical language, it didn’t exhibit the steep decline in accuracy that we saw from other software, including Apple’s Voice Control and Dictation tools.

Dragon’s transcriptions appeared with minimal lag time on testers’ screens, whereas tools like Otter and Windows Voice Recognition took twice as long to produce phrases or sentences. But panelists found Dragon’s sentence-by-sentence transcription to be a mixed bag. Some testers preferred to see entire phrases or sentences appear simultaneously on the screen. “The speed combined with the accuracy meant that I did not feel like I had to pay constant attention to what was happening on the screen and could instead focus on my thoughts and writing,” Claire said. Other testers preferred real-time, word-by-word transcriptions: “There were definitely moments where I was sitting there drumming my fingers and waiting,” said Wirecutter editor Ben Keough. Dragon lets you adjust for less lag time or better accuracy by going to Options > Miscellaneous > Speed vs. Accuracy. But we didn’t notice a difference in performance when we changed this setting during our control tests.

Like all the dictation software we tested, Dragon requires a bit of know-how to get the most out of its features and achieve the best performance, but its multitude of accessibility voice commands were a favorite feature among our panelists. Unlike most of the options we tested, Dragon launches with a brief tutorial that walks you through how to use it, from setting up the best microphone position to dictating text to using punctuation prompts.

You can revisit the tutorial at any point if you need a refresher, which panelist Juan found helpful with his traumatic brain injury and short-term memory problems. “The tutorial gives you a good start on its functionality,” he said. Wirecutter’s Claire Perlman noted, “I used to use Dragon years ago, and back then, training the system to recognize your voice was an onerous process. This time, I found the whole setup and training process genuinely helpful and very quick. And I felt like I could really operate it hands-free.”

The biggest drawback to Dragon is that it costs $700 per license. The experts we spoke with said that this barrier to entry may make using this software infeasible for many people who are disabled, including those who are on a limited income because they can’t find remote work that accommodates their disabilities. Additionally, having to download and enable the software can be a hassle that reminds people with disabilities that their situation is an afterthought in the digital age—especially in comparison with Apple Voice Control or even Windows Voice Recognition, which are integrated into device operating systems.

This software is compatible only with the Windows desktop operating system; you can’t install it on Android, Apple’s operating systems, or ChromeOS. (That is, unless you partition your hard drive, but in that case you run the risk of slowing down the operating system, which one panelist with a drive partition experienced.) Users can subscribe to Dragon Anywhere ($150 a year), which works with iOS and Android devices. But because our panelists didn’t test Dragon Anywhere, we can’t comment on its usability or accuracy.

Dragon isn’t a speech-recognition tool that you can use right out of the box—the first time you load the software, it prompts you to complete a series of short tutorials. This means it’s important to set aside some time getting to know the program before rushing to write, say, an overdue memo or term paper. (That said, regardless of the speech-to-text tool you choose, we recommend familiarizing yourself with it before diving into a text-heavy project.)

Although Dragon was the most accessible and accurate Windows-compatible dictation software we tested, it still faltered in its transcriptions at times, especially for testers who didn’t use a dedicated microphone or headset. Nuance recommends buying its Dragon USB headset ($35) or Dragon Bluetooth headset ($150) for the best experience and says that users can improve the program’s accuracy rate by making corrections to text via voice prompt and running its Accuracy Tuning feature to optimize its language models. Judging from our testing, we can say that any high-quality dedicated mic that’s positioned correctly will improve your results. Even so, one panelist who used a wired headset noticed that Dragon could not capture diverse names like “Yeiser” but had no issues with traditionally Anglo names like “Brady.”

Finally, this dictation software is available in only three languages—English, French, and Spanish—a stark reminder that accessibility isn’t always accessible to all. Within those constraints, you can specify a language region to ensure that the spelling matches your preferred region, such as Canadian English versus American English. (The ability to purchase a preferred-language license may vary depending on where you live .)

If you want a free Windows-compatible option: Consider Windows Voice Recognition . In our tests, its accuracy rate was 64% compared to Dragon’s 82%, but like Dragon you can train Windows to better understand your voice the more you use it. Other free tools we tested that had subpar accuracy rates can’t be trained, including Google Docs Voice Typing .

Our panelists agreed that no dictation software is perfect, but for the most part, such programs’ functionality improves the more you use them. Here’s how to get the most out of your speech-to-text tool:

• Take the tutorial. Seriously. Some of these tools have difficult learning curves, with specialized commands for numerals, punctuation, and formatting. Before dictating your memoir, make sure to review the software’s instruction manual and keep a list of its command shortcuts nearby.
• Set your primary language. Less than half of the tools we tested allow you to set your primary language if it’s outside the country of origin. But if your tool has this option, make sure to use it. This can make the difference between the software transcribing theater or theatre , or even recognizing your accent at all.
• For immediate accuracy, enunciate. For long-term success, speak naturally. Many dictation tools offer vocabulary builders or claim to learn your speech patterns over time, so don’t force yourself to sound like a machine—unless you want to use that stiff voice every time you dictate.
• Consider a dedicated microphone. Speech-to-text tools, including our top picks, work better when you keep your mouth close to the microphone and work in a quiet environment. In general, you can cut out the majority of background disturbances and transcription misfires by using a dedicated external USB microphone or a wireless or wired headset that crisply captures your voice.
• Pay attention to the on/off switch. Some of these tools go into sleep mode after a few seconds of silence, or they may pick up side conversations you don’t want to transcribe. If you pause to collect your thoughts or turn around to answer a colleague’s question, make sure the dictation tool is on the right setting before you speak.

You give up some privacy when you speak into a microphone so that a speech-to-text tool can transcribe your words. As is the case when you’re speaking on the phone, anyone nearby may hear what you say. And many dictation tools feed your audio into their learning algorithms to improve their service or to sell you something. In some cases, a company may even turn over all of your speech-to-text recordings and transcriptions to law enforcement. Ultimately, if you’re dealing with sensitive data and have another means to communicate—which we know isn’t possible for many people who need these tools—it’s best not to share your information with a speech-to-text program. Of course, we could say the same thing about sending unsecured texts or uploading documents into the cloud, too.

Here’s what the makers of our picks do with your data:

Apple’s Voice Control processes dictations and commands only locally, on your device , so no personal data is shared or saved with a third party. But some information that you speak into sibling programs Dictation and Siri may transmit to Apple’s servers. (Because many people, including several of our panelists, use Dictation and Siri, we concluded that the differences are worth calling attention to.)

Typically, Apple can’t access Dictation and Siri audio recordings that you compose on your device unless you’re dictating into a search box or the service requires third-party app access. Apple may collect transcripts of Siri requests, dictation transcripts, IP addresses, and contact information to perform app tasks, improve its services, and market its products. And anytime Apple interacts with a third-party app, such as a transcription service for meeting notes, that voice data may be sent to Apple, or you could be subject to that app’s separate terms and conditions and privacy policy. When you opt in to Apple’s “Improve Siri and Dictation,” the audio recordings and transcripts that Apple saves are accessible to its employees , and data is retained for two years, though the company may extend retention beyond that period at its discretion.

Apple also uses your audio and transcripts to market products and services. You can opt out of allowing Apple to review your audio files under System Settings ( Settings on mobile devices) > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements ; you can delete your six-month history by going through System Settings ( Settings on mobile devices) > Siri & Search > Siri & Dictation History . With iOS 14.6, however, according to Gizmodo , Apple may still collect some analytics data even if you opt out.

As for information shared with third parties, certain providers must delete personal information at the end of the transaction or take undisclosed steps to protect your data. And Apple may disclose your information to law enforcement agencies as required by law.

Nuance, which owns Dragon software, routinely collects dictation data. The service can access any sensitive information you dictate, including medical records or proprietary information, and doesn’t always require your direct consent to do so. For example, in its privacy policy , Nuance says, “If we are processing personal data on behalf of a third party that has direct patient access, it will be the third party’s responsibility to obtain the consent.” And “snippets” of audio recordings are reviewed by people who manually transcribe the data in order to improve Nuance’s services. Nuance retains data for three years after you stop using the services, and you can request that the company delete your data record .

Additionally, although Nuance collects electronic data such as your IP address and registration information to market its products, the company says it doesn’t sell customer data to third parties. However, Nuance affiliates and partners may have access to the data through its sales division or customer service division. And like Apple, Nuance may share personal data to comply with the law .

Beyond considering dictation software in particular, be sure to examine the data-retention policies of any software you’re dictating into (whether that’s Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or whatever else), which fall under the maker’s own privacy practices.

Apple Dictation ( macOS , iOS , iPadOS ) performs similarly to our pick, Apple Voice Control, but it lacks the robust features that many people want in a speech-to-text tool, including key command functions.

We can’t recommend Microsoft Word Dictate  or Otter due to their transcription lag times and subpar accuracy rates, which ranged from 54% to 76%, far behind Apple Voice Control’s 87% and Dragon’s 82%. Additionally, Otter’s platform is not a great choice for document dictation, as it doesn’t integrate well with word-processing tools; it’s better suited for live-event closed captioning.

The Braina Pro tool was popular in the mid-aughts, but its website is outdated, and it hasn’t had any user reviews in years.

The Google Assistant on Gboard interface works only with Gboard-compatible mobile devices, which means it’s useless to desktop users and anyone who doesn’t own an Android or iOS smartphone.

In our tests, Google Docs Voice Typing failed to accurately capture sociolects and casual speech. It also doesn’t work well for people with speech impediments, has poor formatting features, and is nearly impossible to use for anyone who can’t access a mouse and keyboard.

IBM’s Watson Speech to Text is a transcription service that charges by the minute after the first 500 minutes. And the free plan deletes your transcription history after a month of inactivity. We think those shortcomings are enough to disqualify it.

Windows Voice Typing isn’t as robust a tool as Windows Voice Recognition, and we found its accessibility commands to be limiting.

We considered several Chrome-specific apps, including Chromebook Dictation , Speechnotes , and SpeechTexter , but we skipped testing them because of their limited features and usage restrictions that made them inaccessible to most people.

We also considered the following options but quickly learned that they’re designed for specific commercial uses:

• Amazon Transcribe is built for commercial products.
• Speechmatics is designed for commercial products, such as live transcription for video conferences, so it’s too expensive and inaccessible for the average person.
• Suki Assistant is designed for medical dictation.
• Verbit offers transcription services for businesses.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.

Meenakshi Das, disability advocate and software engineer, Microsoft , text interview , September 30, 2022

Sayash Kapoor, PhD candidate, Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University , phone interview , October 6, 2022

Christopher Manning, co-director, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University , Zoom interview , October 5, 2022

Diego Mariscal, founder, CEO, and chief disabled officer, 2Gether-International , Zoom interview , October 26, 2022

Steve Dent, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Google to improve speech recognition for people with disabilities , Engadget , October 3, 2022

Su Lin Blodgett, Lisa Green, Brendan O’Connor, Demographic Dialectal Variation in Social Media: A Case Study of African-American English (PDF) , Proceedings of the 2016 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing , November 1, 2016

Prabha Kannan, Is It My Turn Yet? Teaching a Voice Assistant When to Speak , Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University , October 10, 2022

Allison Koenecke, Andrew Nam, Emily Lake, Sharad Goel, Racial disparities in automated speech recognition , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , March 23, 2020

Speech Recognition for Learning , LD OnLine, “Tech Works” brief from the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) , August 1, 2010

Arvind Narayanan, The Limits Of The Quantitative Approach To Discrimination , James Baldwin Lecture Series, Department of African American Studies, Princeton University , October 11, 2022

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Kaitlyn Wells

Kaitlyn Wells is a senior staff writer who advocates for greater work flexibility by showing you how to work smarter remotely without losing yourself. Previously, she covered pets and style for Wirecutter. She's never met a pet she didn’t like, although she can’t say the same thing about productivity apps. Her first picture book, A Family Looks Like Love , follows a pup who learns that love, rather than how you look, is what makes a family.

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A very good morning to one and all present over here . Respected guests and my dear friends , today I will be giving speech on the topic “COMPUTER”

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| | | | | | | My Wordlists Legacy activities       Wordsmyth     Standard   Lookup History maUs '); else document.write(' '); --> mice any of numerous small rodents or marsupials that usu. have long, furless tails, small round ears, and pointed faces. : any of numerous small rodents or marsupials that usu. have long, furless tails, small round ears, and pointed faces.', '', '');"> : any of numerous small rodents or marsupials that usu. have long, furless tails, small round ears, and pointed faces.', '', '');"> a timid, shy person. (informal) a swelling in the area of the eye, caused by a blow; black eye. in computer operation, a small hand-held device that can be moved on wheels or ball bearings on a surface to move the cursor on a screen, or that can be moved along the lines of a drawing to reproduce the drawing on a screen. : in computer operation, a small hand-held device that can be moved on wheels or ball bearings on a surface to move the cursor on a screen, or that can be moved along the lines of a drawing to reproduce the drawing on a screen.', '', '');"> : in computer operation, a small hand-held device that can be moved on wheels or ball bearings on a surface to move the cursor on a screen, or that can be moved along the lines of a drawing to reproduce the drawing on a screen.', '', '');"> Subscriber feature   maUz '); else document.write(' '); --> mouses, mousing, moused to stalk and catch mice, or to hunt about as if for mice. mouselike (adj.) mouse pad: a soft pad under a computer mouse. See   , , , , , Subscribe for ad-free Wordsmyth and more Speech, voice activation, inking, typing, and privacy Your privacy is important to us. That’s why we give you control over your privacy settings for online speech recognition and inking and typing personalization features in Windows. To learn more about these features, read the following sections. Microsoft provides both a device-based speech recognition feature and cloud-based (online) speech recognition technologies.  Turning on the Online speech recognition setting lets apps use Microsoft cloud-based speech recognition. Additionally, in Windows 10, the Online speech recognition setting makes it possible to use dictation within Windows. Turning on speech while setting up a HoloLens device or installing Windows Mixed Reality allows you to use your voice for commands, dictation, and app interactions. Both device-based speech recognition and online speech recognition settings will be turned on. With both settings turned on, and while your headset is turned on, the device will always be listening to your voice input and will send your voice data to Microsoft cloud-based speech recognition technologies. You can turn off these settings at any time by going to Start > Settings > Privacy > Speech on your HoloLens or Start > Settings > Mixed Reality > Audio and speech if using Mixed Reality on a Windows device. Learn more about speech in Windows Mixed Reality When you use cloud-based speech recognition technologies from Microsoft—whether enabled by the Online speech recognition setting or while you interact with HoloLens or voice typing—Microsoft collects and uses your voice recordings to provide the service by creating a text transcription of the spoken words in the voice data. Microsoft will not store, sample, or listen to your voice recordings without your permission. For more info, see How does Microsoft protect my privacy while improving its speech recognition technology?   You can use device-based speech recognition without sending your voice data to Microsoft. However, the Microsoft cloud-based speech recognition technologies provide more accurate recognition than the device-based speech recognition. When the Online speech recognition setting is turned off, speech services that don’t rely on the cloud and only use device-based recognition—like the Narrator app or the Windows Speech Recognition app—will still work, and Microsoft won’t collect any voice data. To learn more about the speech data that is collected when you use Cortana, see Cortana and privacy . When we collect data, even when it’s to make your device work better for you, we want to make sure you have the information necessary to make choices about how and when that data is used. Here are steps you can follow to manage your settings for speech recognition. How to control your speech settings To control online speech recognition Do one of the following: In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings    >  Privacy    > Speech . In Windows 11, go to Start > Settings   >  Privacy & security  > Speech . Change the  Online speech recognition , setting to On or Off . To control whether voice clips are contributed for improving online speech recognition in Windows 10 Go to Start > Settings   >  Privacy    > Speech . Under Help make online speech recognition better , select one of the following: Start contributing my voice clips Stop contributing my voice clips Note:  This setting is not available on all versions of Windows 10. Where the setting is not available, your voice clips will not be contributed to improve speech recognition. To learn more about contributing voice clips, see  How does Microsoft protect my privacy while improving its speech recognition technology? To control speech recognition on HoloLens Go to Start > Settings >  Privacy > Speech . Under Speech recognition , switch the setting to On or Off . To control speech recognition for Mixed Reality Go to Start > Settings >  Mixed Reality > Audio and speech . Under Speech , change the Use speech recognition setting. Voice typing In Windows 11, dictation has been updated and renamed as voice typing. Like dictation, voice typing uses online speech recognition technologies to power its speech-to-text transcription service. You no longer need to turn on the Online Speech recognition setting to use voice typing. You can also choose to contribute voice clips to help improve voice typing. If you choose not to contribute voice clips, you can still use voice typing. You can change your settings anytime in voice typing settings. Microsoft will not store, sample, or listen to your voice recordings without your permission. For more info, see Learn more about Microsoft and your voice data.     To start using voice typing Press the Windows logo key  + H or select the mic button on the touch keyboard. Select the mic button . To control whether voice clips that are used for voice typing are contributed for improving online speech recognition in Windows 11 If you are using a hardware keyboard Open voice typing by pressing the Windows logo key + H. Select Settings  and do one of the following: To start contributing voice clips, select Learn how to start contributing voice clips To stop contributing voice clips, select Learn how to stop contributing voice clips If you are using the touch keyboard Open voice typing by selecting the mic button on the touch keyboard. To start contributing voice clips, point to Help us improve voice typing , and then select Learn how to start contributing voice clips To stop contributing voice clips, point to You’re contributing voice clips , and then select Learn how to stop contributing voice clips Note:  If you’re using a work or school account, the ability to share voice data isn’t available, but you can still use voice typing. Voice activation Windows provides supported apps with the ability to respond and take action based on voice keywords that are specific to that app—for example, allowing Cortana to listen and respond when you say “Cortana.” If you’ve given permission for an app to listen for voice keywords, Windows will be actively listening to the microphone for these keywords. Once a keyword is recognized, the app will have access to your voice recording and can process the recording, take action, and respond, such as with a spoken answer. The app may send the voice recording to its own services in the cloud to process the commands. Each app needs to ask you for permission before accessing the microphone. An assistant app may send voice recordings to its services and collect the recordings for other purposes, such as improving its services. For more details, see the privacy statement for the assistant app. Microsoft does not collect voice recordings on behalf of any third-party apps for which you have allowed voice activation. When an app's voice assistant is ready to be activated with a spoken keyword, the microphone icon will appear on your taskbar. In Windows 11, it looks like this: Once an app's voice assistant is activated and actively listening to provide a response, the info on your taskbar will change to look like the following screenshot for Windows 11, which in this case shows that Cortana has been activated: Voice activation can also be turned on when the device is locked and the screen is off. Once an app is activated with a voice keyword, it will be able to continue listening to the microphone. Even when your device is locked and your screen is off, the app can activate for anyone who speaks near the device and have access to the same set of capabilities and information as when the device is unlocked. Voice assistant will behave differently depending on the sleep setting you've chosen for your device or the type of device you're using.  If you have a laptop or tablet Go to sleep after a period of time When the screen is on (default) Voice assistant won't respond after the device goes to sleep Never go to sleep When the device is plugged in Voice assistant will always respond if the device is plugged in If you have an all-in-one Go to sleep after a period of time When the screen is on Voice assistant won't be able to respond after the device goes to sleep Never go to sleep When the device is plugged in (default) Voice assistant will always respond if the device is plugged in There are a few exceptions to the behavior described above: If you have a laptop or tablet and your device is in battery saver mode, voice assistant will not be able to respond. If you have a laptop or tablet that comes with a built-in virtual assistant that supports hardware keyword detection—such as Alexa or Cortana—voice assistant will always respond, and will even wake up your device when it's on battery power and asleep. To view and change your sleep settings, do one of the following: In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings   >  System  > Power & sleep . In Windows 11, go to  Start > Settings   >  System  > Power & battery . To view and change your voice activation settings, do one of the following: In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings   >  Privacy    > Voice activation . In Windows 11, go to  Start > Settings   >  Privacy & security  > Voice activation . To see what permissions have been given to the app that would be available when the device is locked, do one of the following: In Windows 10, go to Start  > Settings  > Privacy   and check the different settings under the App permissions pages. In Windows 11, go to Start  > Settings  > Privacy & security  and check the different settings under the App permissions pages. How to control voice activation settings in Windows 10 To change whether the apps listed on this settings page can be activated using a voice keyword  Go to Start > Settings   >  Privacy   >  Voice activation . Switch the Allow apps to use voice activation setting to On or Off . To change whether the apps listed on this settings page can use voice activation when the device is locked  Go to Start > Settings  >  Privacy   >  Voice activation . Switch the Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked setting to On or Off . To change whether an individual app can be activated using a voice keyword   Turn each app on or off where it appears under Choose  which apps can use voice activation . If Allow apps to use voice activation is turned Off for your user account, you will need to turn it On before you can turn this setting on or off. Under  Choose which apps can use voice activation , select the app and switch the setting that allows the app to respond to keywords to  Off . To change whether an individual app can use voice activation when the device is locked   Turn each app on or off where it appears under Choose which apps can use  voice activation . If Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked is turned Off for your user account, you will need to turn it On before you can turn this setting on or off.  How to control voice activation settings in Windows 11 Go to Start > Settings  >  Privacy & security  >  Voice activation . Switch the Let apps access voice activation services  setting to On or Off . Expand the Let apps access voice activation services setting. Switch the Let apps use voice activation when device is locked setting to On or Off . If Let apps access voice activation services is Off , you will need to turn it On  before you can turn this setting on or off.  Turn each app on or off where it appears under Apps that have requested voice activation access . If Let apps access voice activation services is turned Off for your user account, you will need to turn it On before you can turn this setting on or off. Under  Apps that have requested voice activation access , select the app and switch the setting that allows the app to respond to keywords to  On or  Off . Expand an app where it appears under Apps that have requested voice activation access . Select or clear the Use even when my device is locked check box for the app. The setting for the app will need to be turned On before you can select or clear the check box. Inking and typing personalization As part of inking and typing on your device, Windows collects unique words—like names you write—in a custom word list saved to your account, which helps you type and ink more accurately. This word list is available to you in other Microsoft products when you sign in. To turn off inking and typing personalization and clear your custom word list In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings   >  Privacy    > Inking & typing personalization and under Getting to know you , switch the setting to Off . In Windows 11, go to Start  > Settings   >  Privacy & security  > Inking & typing personalization and switch the Custom inking and typing word list setting to Off . Need more help? Want more options. Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more. Microsoft 365 subscription benefits Microsoft 365 training Microsoft security Accessibility center Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge. Ask the Microsoft Community Microsoft Tech Community Windows Insiders Microsoft 365 Insiders Was this information helpful? Thank you for your feedback. svg]:fill-accent-900 [&>svg]:stroke-accent-900"> New device enables tongue-controlled mouse cursor By Andrew Paul Posted on Jun 7, 2024 3:05 PM EDT 3 minute read Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) advancements have grabbed headlines in recent months but there’s another, far more accessible body part that can help people with physical disabilities navigate computers—the tongue. One MIT graduate’s company is now offering MouthPad , a device described as “a teeth retainer with a bunch of sensors” that allows users to control a computer cursor just by using simple movements within their mouth. According to a recent MIT News profile, Tomás Vega, CEO and co-founder of a company called Augmental , has had a lifelong interest in adapting technology to aid human capabilities after first developing a stutter at five-years-old. Following an internship with Neuralink , Vega began to wonder if he could design a similar device but without the expensive, intricate, and potential “limitations” that come with BCIs. [Related: 85% of Neuralink implant wires are already detached, says patient .] “A brain implant has the highest potential for helping people in the future, but I saw a number of limitations that pushed me from working on it right now,” Vega said in a recent profile . After some more consideration, he realized there may be a novel workaround to complex surgical implants.   “We have a big chunk of the brain that is devoted to controlling the position of the tongue,” said Vega. “The tongue comprises eight muscles, and most of the muscle fibers are slow-twitch, which means they don’t fatigue as quickly. So, I thought, ‘Why don’t we leverage all of that?’” Vega’s and Augmental’s result is MouthPad, a highly sensitive, 3D-printed microfabricated retainer that uses dental-grade materials and electronics to ostensibly create a computer mouse for your mouth. Using your tongue as the controller, a user can scroll in all directions, right-click by making a sipping motion, and left-click by applying pressure to their palate. Because of its high degree of customization, MouthPad can also be adapted for users with less physical control of the muscle, such as biting, clenching, and other movements alongside neck- and head-tracking. “Our hope is to create an interface that is multimodal, so you can choose what works for you,” said Vega. “We want to be accommodating to every condition.” Moving forward, Vega and Augmental are seeking FDA approval to expand on MouthPad’s capabilities to encompass robotic arm and wheelchair control. With clearance from the FDA, MouthPad will also become reimbursable for many people’s medical insurance policies to widen the number of potential users. Future iterations could also integrate more physicality like whispers and small internal speech organ movements—a major step forward for patients with difficulty speaking due to issues such as impaired lung function. UPDATE 06/14/202410:35AM: This article has been updated to better describe the MouthPad device. Latest in Health How ‘psychics’ use psychology to create the illusion of telepathy how ‘psychics’ use psychology to create the illusion of telepathy. By Chris French / MIT Press Reader Social media bans could deny teenagers mental health help Social media bans could deny teenagers mental health help By Daniel Chang / KFF Health News Get the Reddit app A place for learning English. 英語の学びのスペースです。 Un lugar para aprender Inglés. مكان لتعلم اللغة الإنجليزية. Un lieu pour apprendre l'Anglais. Ein Ort zum Englisch lernen. Is this real? Do you, native speakers, say mouses or mice? By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy . Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account. Enter a 6-digit backup code Create your username and password. Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it. Reset your password Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password Check your inbox An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account Choose a Reddit account to continue 309 IMAGES 10 lines on Computer Mouse||10 lines essay on Computer ||English essay Definition of a computer mouse in english / essay on mouse 10 Lines on Computer Mouse /Essay on Mouse in english/ Essay on Computer Mouse/ 10 Lines on Mouse 5 lines on Computer Mouse in English Definition Of Mouse 5 COMPUTER Mouse || MOUSE Sentences|| COMMENTS Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC How to start voice typing. To use voice typing, you'll need to be connected to the internet, have a working microphone, and have your cursor in a text box. Once you turn on voice typing, it will start listening automatically. Wait for the "Listening..." alert before you start speaking. to navigate through the voice typing menu with your keyboard. Use the mouse with voice Voice access is a feature in Windows 11 that enables everyone to control their PC and author text using only their voice and without an internet connection. For example, you can open and switch between apps, browse the web, and read and author email using your voice. For more information, go to Use voice access to control your PC & author text ... The Best Speech-to-Text Apps and Tools for Every Type of User Dragon Professional. $699.00 at Nuance. See It. Dragon is one of the most sophisticated speech-to-text tools. You use it not only to type using your voice but also to operate your computer with ... How to set up and use Windows 10 Speech Recognition Click on Speech Recognition. Click the Start Speech Recognitionlink. In the "Set up Speech Recognition" page, click Next. Select the type of microphone you'll be using. Note:Desktop microphones ... Computer mouse A computer mouse is a handheld hardware input device that controls a cursor in a GUI and can move and select text, icons, files, and folders. For desktop computers, the mouse is placed on a flat surface such as a mouse pad or a desk and is placed in front of your computer. The picture to the right is an example of a desktop computer mouse with ... Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice Voice access uses modern, on-device speech recognition to accurately recognize speech and works even without the internet. To share feedback or suggestions about voice access, go to the Feedback Hub under Accessibility > Voice access. Use the Windows logo key+F to quickly open Feedback Hub. You can also find the Feedback Hub link in the voice ... SAM: Software Automatic Mouth Sam is a very small Text-To-Speech (TTS) program written in Javascript, that runs on most popular platforms. It is an adaption to Javascript of the speech software SAM (Software Automatic Mouth) for the Commodore C64 published in the year 1982 by Don't Ask Software (now SoftVoice, Inc.). It includes a Text-To-Phoneme converter called reciter ... Voice Generator (Online & Free) ️ Note: If the list of available text-to-speech voices is small, or all the voices sound the same, then you may need to install text-to-speech voices on your device. Many operating systems (including some versions of Android, for example) only come with one voice by default, and the others need to be downloaded in your device's settings. ... Voice control you'll actually love VoiceComputer is a hands-free mouse alternative for those who have RSI, Carpal Tunnel, sore hands, wrists, or shoulders and for those who want an ergonomic way to avoid all of this. VoiceComputer, the easy-to-use and complete hands-free speech application for those with quadriplegia, paraplegia, and other physical challenges. Simple, Accessible. Build A Voice-Controlled Mouse In 5 minutes The below command moves the mouse pointer from its current position to (100,100) position and it takes 0.25 seconds to do so. The next command simulates double click with an interval of 0.25 seconds between the two clicks. pyautogui.moveRel(100, 100, duration=0.25) pyautogui.click(button='left', clicks=2, interval=0.25) AI Speech Mouse English), then your speech would be automatically translated and converted into text output in target language(eg. Chinese). One language speech in, Another language text out, Immediately! Search: Hold down the mouse to speak out what you want the computer to do, then the mouse would do it for you. Eg. open website and search, open software and ... Keyboard and mouse alternatives and adaptations 3. Keyboard alternatives. The standard computer keyboard is designed to be used with two hands and has a number pad on the right-hand side, which obviously favours right-handed people. Alternatives to the standard keyboard include: ergonomic keyboards. smaller, compact keyboards. separate numeric keypads. Free Text to Speech Online with Realistic AI Voices Text to speech (TTS) is a technology that converts text into spoken audio. It can read aloud PDFs, websites, and books using natural AI voices. Text-to-speech (TTS) technology can be helpful for anyone who needs to access written content in an auditory format, and it can provide a more inclusive and accessible way of communication for many ... Speech on Computer 10 Lines Speech on Computer. 1) A computer is an electrical device that executes commands issued by the user. 2) A "programme" is a set of instructions delivered to a computer by the user. 3) The first mechanical computer was constructed by "Charles Babbage" called an "Analytical Engine"; hence, he is recognised as the "Father of the Computer". Translate by speech On your computer, go to Google Translate. Choose the languages to translate to and from. Translation with a microphone won't automatically detect your language. At the bottom, click the Microphone . Speak the word or phrase you want to translate. When you're finished, click Stop . Windows Speech Recognition commands Press Windows S. Perform an action in an app. Right-click; Press Windows Z; press ctrl B. Select an item by its name. File; Start; View. Select an item or icon. Click Recycle Bin; Click Computer; Click file name. Double-click an item. Double-click Recycle Bin; Double-click Computer; Double-click file name. The 2 Best Dictation Softwares of 2024 The best dictation tool for Windows PCs. Dragon Professional v16 is the most accurate dictation tool we tested for any operating system—but its hefty price tag is a lot to swallow. $699 from ... 10 Lines Essay On Computer Mouse In English For Students A computer mouse consists of a small object with two buttons: the right button and the left button. These buttons are used to click and select items on a screen. A computer mouse also has a scroll wheel to scroll the page on the monitor. The two main types of mouse are optical mouse and mechanical mouse. The optical mouse uses an electronic eye ... Speech on Computer Best Speech on Computer For Students in English. Computer Short Speech and Long Speech Intro, Body, Conclusion. 100% FREE Exercise & Practice for CBSE, NCERT and ICSE ... The computer parts are divided into two devices i.e. input (eg- keyboard, mouse) and output devices (eg- monitor, printer). Computer are classified into two categories- by ... mouse mice. definition 1: any of numerous small rodents or marsupials that usu. have long, furless tails, small round ears, and pointed faces. definition 2: a timid, shy person. definition 3: (informal) a swelling in the area of the eye, caused by a blow; black eye. definition 4: in computer operation, a small hand-held device that can be moved on ... Speech, voice activation, inking, typing, and privacy Microsoft provides both a device-based speech recognition feature and cloud-based (online) speech recognition technologies. Turning on the Online speech recognition setting lets apps use Microsoft cloud-based speech recognition. Additionally, in Windows 10, the Online speech recognition setting makes it possible to use dictation within Windows. New device enables tongue-controlled mouse cursor One MIT graduate's company is now offering MouthPad, a device described as "a teeth retainer with a bunch of sensors" that allows users to control a computer cursor just by using simple ... 'It was the one great mistake in my life': The letter from Einstein On 2 August 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a letter that would result in the Manhattan Project, and one of history's most significant, and destructive, inventions - the atomic bomb. Is this real? Do you, native speakers, say mouses or mice? I can confirm - through personal experience having had a short conversation with her - that in the Queen's English, the plural of computer mouse is mouses. I would just say "grab the keyboard and mouse for each computer". I usually hear "mice" for both, but there is the odd person who says "mouses" for computer mice. assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis