From:    donald nicklas
Subject: [Boston-voice-users] August 14 Meeting Announcement
Date:    Wednesday, August 08, 2007 12:01:55 PM

A quick reminder- our regular meeting is next week:

When:  Tuesday, August 14, 2007, 7:30 pm
Where: MIT, Room 2-135
           (directions below)
Topic: Dragon Recognition Accuracy / System Performance
            FACILITATED BRAINSTORMING / PROBLEM SOLVING

"Why is speech recognition software so slow?"

In a controlled environment Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 9 makes
hands-free computing seem attainable & effortless. However, real-world
experience has taught us that hands-free computing is impossible, and
speech recognition software is fraught with frustration because our
systems are slow, and error correction is tedious & time consuming.

Each of us has theories, tactics, and experiences to make this
experience work better. Is your special trick your quad processor
hardware? Your super defragged hard drive? Your lightweight virus
software? Your microphone? The way you use your voice? Special Dragon
tricks that only you know? Zen meditation?

We all know that when Dragon performs below expectations, improving the
situation can be time-consuming & frustrating. Dragon users must learn
how to tweak our systems to improve accuracy & performance by talking
to other users and experimenting. And keeping track of the gains (and
losses!) in recognition accuracy can be MADDENING!

What if there were a comprehensive list to help us systematically
evaluate accuracy and performance and to troubleshoot problems
efficiently? What if this list were made up of ALL of our shared
experiences and know-how?

Please join me as I lead a facilitated brainstorming exercise to
capture best practices from the Boston Voice Users Group. I anticipate
a lively discussion about best practices, including some of my favorite
unsubstantiated theories about what makes Dragon tick. (Good karma, for
instance.) If time allows I'm also interested in having a discussion
about how to measure accuracy and performance consistently. The output
of this process will be a usable set of strategies to improve accuracy
and performance, based on all of our shared experiences bumbling around
alone trying to make Dragon work better.

If you have time before Tuesday's meeting, please e-mail the list  a
quick list of the factors that you monitor and tweak to make Dragon
work well for you. Also, please send me URLs with tips & tricks about
using Dragon effectively. I'll use this information to get us started
on Tuesday.

I look forward to seeing you on 8/14 at 7:30 p.m. at MIT.

Molly Corbett

Boston Voice Users meets at MIT from 7:30 p.m. until
approximately 9:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each
month.

--------------------------------------------
Don Nicklas
Boston Voice Users
http://www.bostonvoiceusers.org/
--------------------------------------------
Directions to room: Go in the main door of MIT, at 77 Mass. Ave. Go
three quarters of the way down the infinite corridor.  Turn right at
Building 4 and follow the main corridor of building 4 all the way to
the end.  Turn left, follow this corridor to the intersection of
buildings 6, 2 and the corridor to the library (the corridor decorated
with murals of jungle animals). Turn right and follow the corridor to
room 2-135. You can also get in from  building 14 (the library) or
Building 8.

For wheelchair access, there is a ramp and door to the left of the
stairs at 77 Mass. Ave. (behind the bus stop)  This entrance gives you
basement level access to the elevator in Lobby 7 (the lobby at 77 Mass.
Ave).
For Directions to MIT, see http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg

Please feel free to cross-post this message.

_______________________________________________
Boston-voice-users maillist  -  Boston-voice-users@harvee.org
http://harvee.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-voice-users
BVU information page: http://www.bostonvoiceusers.org