June 2004 NGTVoice

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical 7.3
Motion Computing M1400 Tablet PC
MagniTalk 73.8x.1
JSay Standard 2
Olympus DS 330/3000 Digital Recorders
NGT Speaks at International Dyslexia Association Conference
VoicePro Midtower Redesign
Accessible Website Design
NaturallySpeaking Discussion List

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical 7.3

Next Generation Technologies, Inc. has recently had the opportunity to deploy Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical suite in a multi-clinic (general practice and specialty) environment. Over the years, we have refined our training model for deployment of this application within the medical environment, and at this juncture we were able to get many of the doctors and providers up and running after an initial two training sessions. While there is still some technical ground to cover, we credit the ease of implementation and transition from traditional transcription resources in part to the excellence of the NaturallySpeaking Medical Suite 7.3 software application. Overall accuracy in general medicine/family practice has been remarkable, and we provided Trigram specialty language models to modify the Medical suite for the specialty practitioners. I would encourage clients using earlier versions of Medical suite to upgrade, and for individuals "sitting on the fence" now maybe the time to make the move to speech recognition transcription technology. Please see the item below regarding our Tablet PC technology.

The M1400 Tablet PC

Motion Computing (San Antonio, Texas) recently introduced its M1400 Tablet PC which supports View Anywhere technology and includes onboard microphone array technology. We've not have a chance to test is technology internally, and are currently using the M1300 Tablet PC as our standard configuration. Although this platform technology supports analog input with speech recognition software it is our recommendation that anyone wishing to speech input technology (with or without voice output technology) on this Tablet PC use a USB input device. I'm currently using my Motion M1300 Tablet with a VXI Talk Pro Express microphone running through an Andrea USB converter. I've had good results, and in spite of a few "hiccups" I'm experiencing relatively few problems with this new platform. I did find that running the NaturallySpeaking Acoustic Optimizer (Medical Suite version 7.3) after approximately three weeks of use significantly improved my throughput accuracy and speed of speech to text transmission.

MagniTalk 73.8x.1

Next Generation Technologies, Inc. recently released the upgrade version of MagniTalk (integration software for Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Zoomtext Magnifier/Reader). The new version 73.8x.1 supports Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version 7.3 and all 8.x versions of Zoomtext Magnifier and Reader. NGT has recently completed on-site training for a number of individuals using the new MagniTalk technology. Our field experience indicates that most people wishing to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Zoomtext together will find MagniTalk a significant enhancement to their user experience. In addition to commands allowing for direct manipulation of the Zoomtext UI, purpose built commands (such as "View System Tray," etc.) can provide improved access to some of the NaturallySpeaking tools. Also, some of the product recommended configuration changes can reduce intra application conflicts that may arise from overlapping hotkeys and functions.

J-Say Standard 2

Next Generation Technologies, Inc. has started shipping J-Say Standard version 2.0. This integration technology from T&T Consultancy (Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) is a keyboard driven solution that provides interoperability between Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred and Professional and Jaws for Windows version 4.51 and 5.0 (.844). NGT will be working with T&T Consultancy to localize the training and support material for the US market over the next few months. Many users will appreciate the fact that the product comes with a Braille support manual as well as supporting audiocassette materials. Product pricing is $US 345.00.

Olympus DS 330/3000 Digital Recorders

We have had the opportunity to work extensively with Olympus digital recorders that are supported by Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Often, clients ask the difference between the Olympus DS 330 (List Price: $159.00) and Olympus DS 3000 (List Price: $399.00). Several key differences are: the 3000 has removable SmartMedia allows the user to easily increase the amount of available dictation time, or to provide the SmartMedia to an administrative assistant using a standard SmartMedia player or the transcription hardware package available from Olympus for easier administrative support/transcription correction with this technology. In addition, the onboard microphone of the 3000 seems better suited to high-volume dictation were accuracy is a critical component of the resulting product. It is our recommendations that for most high-volume Professionals using digital recording technology in conjunction with Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech input technology, that they will find that the DS 3000 is a more appropriate tool. However, individuals using this technology occasionally, particularly for notetaking (as opposed to software transcription), should find that the DS 330 is appropriate for their needs and cost-effective. Both devices have easy to manage controls on the side of the device, like a traditional handheld dictation tool.

NGT to Speak at International Dyslexia Association Conference

NGT Inc. President Ed. Rosenthal will be presenting "Using Speech Recognition Technology with Students with Learning Disabilities" at the upcoming International Dyslexia Association conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be held this November 2004. This presentation will summarize some of the practical fieldwork that Next Generation Technologies, Inc. personnel have garnered over the last several years working with students in both public and private educational settings. In addition to discussing speech recognition as a standalone technology to presentation will talk about using speech technologies in conjunction with other assistive technologies that are synergistic with the speech input technology (e.g. Inspiration, TextHelp, Wynn, etc.).

VoicePro Midtower Redesign

We have recently evaluated several new components for inclusion in our proprietary VoicePro Midtower (which is the heart of our Midtower line supporting speech input and voice output technologies). Some of the product changes include: a new Midtower case design with simpler access to the front side USB connectivity, utilizing the MSI 478/645 Ultra Pro motherboard, switching to the GForce 4 72067 video card, and cleaner integration of the internal cabling. With improved speed of all of the components, we find that our proprietary speech in/voice out and related assistive technology applications are performing better than ever on this platform.

Accessible Website Design

Over the years we’ve received many compliments on the NGT web site design, and its overall accessibility. Our brilliant webmaster, Pace Arko, has recently concluded a large corporate endeavor and has limited capacity to help one or two individuals or small businesses create or update their web sites. Interested parties may contact Mr. Arko or send mail to me, Edward Rosenthal.

NaturallySpeaking Assistive Technology Discussion List

We've been generating some good traffic on the NaturallySpeaking Discussion List which was established in March of this year by the University of Washington. Its purpose is to provide a forum for groups and individuals using Dragon NaturallySpeaking technology as an assistive technology. I'm sure that there are more NGT friends and clients that would benefit from access to this terrific resource.

We hope that everyone has a pleasant start to their summer season and we'd all like to thank you for the opportunity to be of service, everyone at Next Generation Technologies, Inc.

Page Last Updated: Sunday, June 01, 2008

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