This week I decided to write about my experiences setting up voice recognition software on my laptop. The idea for this week’s blog came from a discussion we had in class last week. Someone said (I’m not sure who, it may have been our professor), keyboards will soon be obsolete on computers. Furthermore I do not type very fast and I thought it might be useful to have this type of software on my computer so that I would be more efficient writing papers.
When I purchased my computer last year I noticed that there was voice recognition software installed. However, I was unsure of the quality of the program; voice recognition software for Windows Vista. So I searched on the Internet for potential voice recognition programs and found that the windows software was rated fairly high. The other software applications and I found cost about 60 to 150 dollars. So I decided to set up the software on my computer instead of paying additional money.
After purchasing a headset with a microphone I went through the setup process for the software. During this process I learned how to use the software and the various commands which cover everything from placing a, or opening Microsoft word. It took me about 90 minutes to go through the process during which time the computer learned how I pronounce words. It was a relatively pain free process.
For my first attempt at using the software I “wrote” this blog entry. The first part of a blog is the corrected version and the second part is a version that came out as I spoke it to the computer. If I caught mistakes while reading I made the necessary corrections. If I did not catch them or if the mistake was a word like it and or misuse of a word I let those errors remain. Overall I enjoyed the experience of setting up the software and am excited about not having to type. Has anyone else had experience with the software? If so what has it been like to use this type of a program? There a lot more things I have to learn and I look forward to experimenting more with the software so that I can become even more efficient “writing” papers.
Results: 15 mistakes out of 380 words = 96% accuracy rating. See uncorrected version below.
This week I decided to write about my experiences setting up voice recognition software on my laptop. The idea for this week’s blog came from a discussion we had in class last week. Someone said (I’m not sure who im and then our professor), keyboards will soon be obsolete on computers. Furthermore I do not type very fast and I thought it might be useful to have this type of software on my computer so that I would be more efficient writing papers.
When I purchased my computer last year I notice that there was voice recognition software installed. However I was unsure of the quality of the program; voice recognition software four windows best to. So I searched on the Internet for potential voice recognition programs and found that the windows software was rated fairly high. The other software applications and I found cost about 60 to 150 dollars. So I decided to set up the software are EMI Computer instead of paying additional money.
After purchasing a headset with a microphone I went through the setup process for the software. During this process I learned how to use the software and the various commands which cover everything from placing a, or opening Microsoft word. It took me about 90 minutes to go through the process during which time the computer learned how I pronounce words. It was a relatively pain free process.
For my first attempt at using the software I “wrote” this blog entry. The first part of a blog is the corrected version and the second part is a version that came out as I spoke it to the computer. If I caught mistakes while reading I made the necessary corrections. If I did not catch them or if the mistake was words like it and or misuse of a word I let those errors remain. Overall enjoyed the experience of setting up the software and an excited about not having to type. Has anyone else had experience with the software? If so what has it been like to use this type of a program? There a lot more things I have to learn I look forward to experimenting more with the software so they can become even more efficient “writing” papers.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Teleportation would be ridiculously expensive
I wanted to continue my discussion about teleportation this week by examining the costs (as in money) associated with this technology. Assuming for a moment we could build a device powerful enough to teleport a person, (Theoretically teleportation is possible, for proof read about EPR correlation) it would be ridiculously expensive. Let me explain. For illustration purposes, lets compare teleportation of human to sending a fax. Looking at the process, a fax is converted from atoms (ink on a paper), to bits (digital reproduction), sent (teleported), converted back to atoms (ink on paper) once the fax arrives. Additionally, from a bandwidth/processing perspective, sending a 2 or 3 page fax is not very data intensive.
So lets examine the process of teleporting a human. The first step would be to scan (digitize)every molecule in the human body and the human body has as many molecules as the sands of the sea, or so it seems. To be exact, 10^28, that is, 10 followed by 28 zeros of molecules! If this scan could be performed, we would send the digital information to some receiver, most likely via the internet or some other type of connection. If this were possible, then the digital information would have to be reconstructed, each molecule would have to be placed within 1 nanometer of its original location! There is not enough computing power in all of the computers in the world, combined, that would allow for this type of 3-D scan.
But, if it were possible, it would require the most powerful computers. Thus, teleportation would be a very expensive process. Which leads to a recurring theme of my blogs and our new media class. The digital divide, the gap between the haves and the have nots. I wonder how big the digital divide would be if we get to this point of human teleportation? I wonder how this (teleportation and the resulting increase in the digital divide) would change society?
So lets examine the process of teleporting a human. The first step would be to scan (digitize)every molecule in the human body and the human body has as many molecules as the sands of the sea, or so it seems. To be exact, 10^28, that is, 10 followed by 28 zeros of molecules! If this scan could be performed, we would send the digital information to some receiver, most likely via the internet or some other type of connection. If this were possible, then the digital information would have to be reconstructed, each molecule would have to be placed within 1 nanometer of its original location! There is not enough computing power in all of the computers in the world, combined, that would allow for this type of 3-D scan.
But, if it were possible, it would require the most powerful computers. Thus, teleportation would be a very expensive process. Which leads to a recurring theme of my blogs and our new media class. The digital divide, the gap between the haves and the have nots. I wonder how big the digital divide would be if we get to this point of human teleportation? I wonder how this (teleportation and the resulting increase in the digital divide) would change society?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wouldn't it be nice if we could teleport
I am having difficulty scheduling time to return home this Christmas, with work, school, writing my thesis, and other papers I am submitting for conferences and trying to stay in decent shape for next summers triathlon season. I may end up flying home for a weekend during Christmas, if I can find a flight.
Consequently, I began reflecting on teleportation and how simple this would make travel. (For a movie based example of teleportation see Jumper, not such a great movie, but the idea of teleporting is wonderfully portrayed) Think about it, if you could teleport, you could live anywhere. I could go home during the hoiliday season every night leading up to Christmas, and any other night. I could live on the Gold Coast of Australia and attend school/work in CT. This ability would instantly negate the need for any type of transportation, planes, cars, trains, buses, bikes, etc. Imagine the money saved from purchasing transportation in all its forms. Roads would become obsolete, as would airports, and train stations.
I will talk more about the science aspect of this next week, but would this ability be something beneficial to society? What would be some long term effects?
Consequently, I began reflecting on teleportation and how simple this would make travel. (For a movie based example of teleportation see Jumper, not such a great movie, but the idea of teleporting is wonderfully portrayed) Think about it, if you could teleport, you could live anywhere. I could go home during the hoiliday season every night leading up to Christmas, and any other night. I could live on the Gold Coast of Australia and attend school/work in CT. This ability would instantly negate the need for any type of transportation, planes, cars, trains, buses, bikes, etc. Imagine the money saved from purchasing transportation in all its forms. Roads would become obsolete, as would airports, and train stations.
I will talk more about the science aspect of this next week, but would this ability be something beneficial to society? What would be some long term effects?
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