Dr. Dobb's Journal July 1997
Whether or not you think speech is the next great user interface, speech-enabled applications are coming. Even the exhibitors at Advanced Speech Applications & Technologies (ASAT) '97 were surprised by the number of developers moving from booth to booth, looking for the best tools to speech-enable applications.
The highlight of the exposition was Dragon Systems' natural speech recognition. Traditional speech-recognition applications require users to speak discretely, pausing between every word. Dragon Systems' latest offering recognizes continuous speech, allowing users to speak naturally. The system requires 18 minutes of training and is speaker dependent.
While Dragon Systems' new system might make dictation more attractive for text input than typing, it doesn't explain the rapidly growing interest in speech-enabling personal computer applications. Part of the appeal seemed to stem from the use of Microsoft's OS as a development platform. Several exhibitors demonstrated telephony applications using Microsoft's TAPI. Others showed how more nontraditional applications (such as a car diagnostics program that you could interact with while working underneath the vehicle) could be written in scripting languages like Visual Basic.
Mostly, however, developers seemed to express interest in speech recognition because it's there. Everyone is buying new computers these days that have more than the minimum hardware required to run speech applications, and the plethora of offerings exhibited at this conference showed that speech can be integrated into applications relatively easily and quickly.
-- Eugene Eric Kim
In a recent report, the market-research firm Strategic Focus projected the Internet/ intranet software market will grow from $2.6 billion in 1996 to over $7.2 billion in the year 2001 at a compounded annual growth rate of 23 percent. Among the 15 software market segments analyzed, the fastest growing segment was web-server software, followed by electronic commerce and web-application development tools. In the web-server software market, Strategic Focus found that Netscape currently holds the highest market share at 11 percent in 1996 (measured by the revenue dollars generated), followed by Microsoft (8 percent), Novell (8 percent), and IBM/Lotus (7 percent).
-- Jonathan Erickson
Researchers at Texas Instruments have come to the aid of visually impaired computer users by developing a display that creates renewable, raised dots on computer monitors and other screens. Marvin Cowens, Alan Gilkes, and Larry Taylor have been awarded a patent for the system which can be used to generate Braille "characters," thereby enabling the visually impaired to read the display. Current generation Braille displays rely on expensive and cumbersome mechanical pegs and moving parts.
According to the patent, the TI invention "consists of a matrix of small cavities, each containing a positive and negative electrode, and filled with...polar organic gel responsive to electric fields." An elastomeric film is then stretched over the matrix and voltage is applied to individual cavities, causing the gel to expand and create a raised dot on the film. The dots are the standard Braille size of 1.5 millimeters, but can be adjusted.
-- Jonathan Erickson
Intel and AMD have announced they've settled yet another trademark dispute, this time over AMD's use of the "MMX" tag in marketing its AMD-K6 chip. Intel claimed that MMX is a brand name, describing Intel-developed graphics, audio, video, and communications technology. Under terms of the agreement, AMD can use the term, but must acknowledge Intel's ownership of the trademark.
-- Jonathan Erickson
California's Sacramento County Courthouse is the latest legal venue to install QuickCourt, an interactive information kiosk made by North Communications (http:// www.infonorth.com/). The system offers court information in English or Spanish and, with the touch of a button, can produce forms for users filing on family law matters -- such as dissolving or nullifying a marriage -- or small claims. Comparable systems are already in operation in Arizona and Utah. In addition to QuickCourt, North Communications produces other touch-screen systems for aiding the public in dealing with the long arm of the law, such as the AutoTouch driver-testing system, a Traffic School alternative for some Los Angeles County traffic violators, and AutoClerk, an ATM-like kiosk that accepts payments for traffic citations.
-- Deirdre Blake
What was a civil battle between California-based Avant! and Cadence Design Systems recently moved into the criminal arena, when the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office filed felony charges of conspiracy and theft of trade secrets against several Avant! executives. The two companies have been sparring in civil courts since 1991, when several Cadence employees left the company to form Avant! Corp. Both companies produce chip-design software. The D.A. claims criminal charges are the result of an investigation by its High Technology Crimes Unit, which has reportedly found evidence that the defendants used stolen Cadence technology to develop competing products. Interestingly, in regard to the civil suit, Avant! claims that the U.S. District Court issued a ruling favorable to Avant! in March. The federal judge in that case found no use of misappropriated code in Avant!'s wares and rejected Cadence's motion to enjoin the sale and support of Avant!'s products. Avant! President Gerald Hsu denies all charges and stated that he "believe[s] that the D.A.'s office has been misled and misinformed by other parties in this matter." For Cadence's part, company president Joe Costello stated, "Cadence, the victim of these charged crimes, is pleased that the D.A. has decided to prosecute Avant!," adding that Cadence intends to continue pursuing the civil action against Avant!, as well.
-- Deirdre Blake