LONDON, UK, August 29, 2000 IBM today announced its new ViaVoice for Windows, a new family of voice recognition software that can make talking to your computer easier, faster and more accurate than ever before. The ViaVoice for Windows, Release 8.0 family consists of two products - Standard and Pro - which are designed to the meet the needs of the first time to the most advanced computer user, whether at work or at home. New enhancements include: faster setup time; improved correction capabilities and expanded command and control features for voice-navigation of the desktop. The base vocabulary has also been increased from 100,000 words to 150,000, including post codes and 21,000 more proper and place names According to internal tests performed by IBM, these enhancements combine to make ViaVoice for Windows the most accurate IBM voice recognition product to date. In addition, a new voice template tool, called ViaVoice Documents, can make it faster and easier to dictate into e-mail, forms, memos, briefs and fax templates. Voice Marks, a new text-to-speech feature, allows users to save time and keep working while ViaVoice confirms that the spoken macros a user has chosen are completed. IBM predicts that the percentage of PC users deploying voice technology on their systems will grow to 30% by 2002. A UK survey on an earlier version of ViaVoice found that users were up to 53% faster than if they typed, so Personal Computer users who spend on average one hour per day typing documents or e-mails could save three working weeks over a full year. With the announcement of Release 8, even these impressive productivity gains are exceeded. "IBM believes that voice technologies will transform the way that humans interact with computers and the Internet. The first place to effect this transformation is by making the computing device that people use most -- the Personal Computer -- more effective," said Krishna Nathan, Director of IBM Consumer Voice Systems. "When equipped with ViaVoice for Windows, the human voice becomes the natural interface to a Personal Computer and the system becomes easier to use, more accurate and more productive - for the most advanced user right down to the newest user..” The ViaVoice for Windows, Release 8.0 Product Family ViaVoice for Windows, Release 8.0 includes two offerings -- Standard and Pro. Features of each include: ViaVoice for Windows, Pro Edition offers the greatest power for maximum efficiency and productivity. New capabilities include the ViaVoice Documents feature that can help users dictate into established templates to make repetitive tasks and text entry quick and easy, and ViaVoice Marks, which uses Text-to-Speech technology or prerecorded audio to playback acknowledgment of user's simple closing and address macro formatting. ViaVoice for Windows, Pro supports Windows 2000, NT 4.0, Me, 98 & 95. ViaVoice for Windows, Standard Edition is ideal for the user who is primarily interested in dictating text into Microsoft Word or ViaVoice SpeakPad, IBM's speech-enabled word processor. It is ideal for quickly creating e-mails, letters or homework. Users can now carry out basic Web commands by voice, like ‘surf’, or ‘back’ to drive Microsoft Internet Explorer. The Standard Edition offers all the enhancements and improvements to the engine for improved accuracy found in the Pro Edition product. ViaVoice for Windows, Standard Edition supports Windows Me, 98 & 95. Pricing and Availability - From mid October 2000, ViaVoice for Windows, Release 8.0 solutions will be sold through major retail and office supply stores throughout the UK, ShopIBM (www.ibm.com/shop), independent professional solution providers, other select online vendors, mail order catalogs and additional distribution channels. Italian, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese languages are planned for availability in late 2000, and US English will be available from September 5th, 2000. The suggested retail price of ViaVoice for Windows, Standard Edition is £39.99 and ViaVoice for Windows Pro Edition is £99.99. Minimum System Requirements ViaVoice for Windows Pro requires: Ÿ Intel Pentium 300 MHz processor and 256K L2 cache or equivalent (including AMD-K6 with 256K L2 cache) with Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 5 Ÿ Intel Pentium III 600MHz and 256K L2 cache (including AMD-K6 with 256K L2 cache) with Microsoft Windows Millennium (Me) Ÿ 64 MB RAM for Windows 95/98/Me/NT 4.0; 96 MB RAM for Windows 2000 Ÿ Windows 95, 98, Me, NT Workstation 4.0 or Windows 2000 compatible 16-bit sound card with microphone input jack Ÿ 510 MB of available hard drive space Ÿ Quad-speed CD-ROM drive or faster ViaVoice for Windows Standard requires: Ÿ Intel 266 MHz processor and 256K L2 cache or equivalent with Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me Ÿ 64 MB RAM for Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me Ÿ Windows 95, 98 or Me compatible 16-bit sound card with microphone input jack Ÿ 460 MB of available hard disk space Ÿ Quad-speed CD-ROM drive or faster About IBM Voice Systems IBM voice recognition technology is based on 30 years of speech recognition research and development. With a portfolio of more than 100 patents, an established R&D business that included researchers worldwide and a robust, proven speech technology available in many languages, IBM is a leader in speech recognition. IBM is the global leader in providing access to data through end-to-end voice integrated solutions that enable organizational effectiveness for e-business development. For more information about IBM Voice Systems, visit the World Wide Web at http://www.ibm.com/software/voice.
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