Autor: Gregorio Kus (Grego_at_RMnet.IT)
Data: Thu 25 Apr 1996 - 07:13:43 MET DST
Talk to Your Computer with IBM's Next Version of OS/2 Warp
Merlin Is Made Easy with Speech Recognition, GUI Improvements and Better
Internet Integration
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Apr. 23, 1996...Are you talking to your computer,
yet? That's the question IBM is asking thousands of software
application developers this week at the IBM Technical Interchange
developer's conference in Nashville, Tenn. The company today unveiled
an early copy of the next version of OS/2* Warp, code-named Merlin.
Integrating IBM's latest VoiceType* technology in speech navigation and
dictation, an improved user interface which includes an enhanced version
of the Lotus SmartCenter, and easier-than-ever Internet access, OS/2
Warp "Merlin" will be the first major Intel-based operating system with
built-in speech recognition and will take the concept of ease-of-use to
an entirely new level.
"IBM has just raised the bar on operating system ease of use," said
Kathryn Dzubeck, executive vice president of Communications Network
Architects, Inc.., a computer consultancy in Washington, D.C.
"Human-centric versus machine-centric input will provide a major
productivity increase for corporate and consumer PC users."
Talk, Don't Type
Built-in speech navigation and dictation capabilities in Merlin will
allow OS/2 users simply to tell their computers what they normally would
have to type or execute with a mouse. The navigation portion will allow
people to vocally navigate through menu bars and objects on the desktop
in order to do things such as open files and launch applications, or pop
onto the Internet hands-free with a simple phrase like 'Jump to CNN Home
Page.' Working with a computer has never been so easy, and using a
computer has never been so much fun. The dictation component will allow
users to dictate memos and other documents and then paste them into word
processing or e-mail applications. With this technology, doctors will
be able to review X-rays or examine patients and dictate their findings
directly into a computer. Insurance agents can vocally process claims.
Attorneys can create legal briefs while flipping through research
materials. And business professionals can dictate electronic memos
while simultaneously reading through hard-copy documents.
"We believe that speech recognition in computers will be the next major
industry breakthrough when it comes to ease-of-use," said Wally Casey,
vice president of client product management in IBM's Software Group.
"Just as the Macintosh changed the industry when it introduced a
graphical user interface, OS/2 Merlin will alter the way people interact
with computers -- from new computer users to business professionals to
anyone who wants quick and easy Internet access."
The Technology Behind the Talk
Based on IBM's latest VoiceType technology, speech recognition in Merlin
will run with any common OS/2-supported sound card, like Sound Blaster,
which comes as a standard feature in most audio-enabled PCs. By
integrating industry-leading VoiceType technology into the OS/2 base,
IBM is offering customers an incredible value.
With years of IBM research behind it, the speech technology in Merlin
has advanced to a point where it is very easy to use. Merlin will be
speaker-independent, meaning the computer will understand what most
users say, without any training. And it even will know the difference
between words with the same pronunciation yet different spellings, like
to, too and two. Merlin also will come with a continuous navigator,
allowing users to speak as they normally do, without inserting pauses
between words, in order to navigate through the desktop and menus.
The navigation vocabulary in Merlin will include common desktop
navigation words. Dictation will come with a base vocabulary of 10,000
words and will allow the addition of up to 42,000 more unique terms.
Customers also may purchase separate vocabularies for professions like
healthcare and law. And speech will be supported in six languages:
U.S. and U.K. English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.
Application Support
This week at its developer conference, IBM is meeting with application
developers to rally support for speech-enabled OS/2 applications.
Currently, any OS/2 Presentation Manager (PM) object will automatically
work with the VoiceType navigator. PM objects include menu-bar
headings, drop-down menus and buttons on the screen.
IBM will be delivering a developer toolkit later this year, which will
allow solution developers to add a richer set of speech functions to
their applications.
"I'm excited about the new opportunities that will be created by
integrating VoiceType into the OS/2 base," said Jim Karn, operations
director for Pittsburgh-based Alien Robotics, a solution developer that
voice enables software using IBM's VoiceType Dictation on a number of
operating system platforms. "This will open up an entirely new level of
solutions that we will be able to create for our customers and a whole
new set of business opportunities for our company."
As with previous versions of OS/2, IBM will provide premier technical
support for application developers through its Solution Developer
Program.
New User Interface and Internet Enhancements Contribute to Ease-of-Use
Merlin will boast more than just speech recognition. It also will sport
a cleaner and more logical user interface with visual enhancements like
three-dimensional shadowed icons, 256 colors, an array of customizable
bitmaps and backgrounds, an attractive system font that reads well on
laptop computers and customizable colored tabs in a newly-designed
settings folder.
The WarpCenter...
IBM has taken the best of the SmartCenter technology from Lotus and the
LaunchPad from OS/2 Warp to create the new OS/2 WarpCenter. The
WarpCenter is an object-oriented icon ribbon on the desktop in Merlin
that will allow users to quickly and easily launch and group programs
and check on the status of their systems. It includes a "Warp button"
that dynamically creates a view of everything on the computer desktop, a
task list that indicates which programs are currently running, status
indicators for disk space and battery power, a calendar, clock and
timer.
Users will be able to customize their WarpCenter simply by dragging and
dropping icons onto it and then grouping those icons into trays. A tray
could group any combination of objects: folders, applications, even
icons representing World Wide Web pages.
With the WarpCenter visible at all times in any application, users could
launch a new application, check the contents of a drive or even jump
onto the World Wide Web without minimizing the space within which they
currently are working. The WarpCenter also can be deactivated if the
user so prefers. Merlin will include other features, like superior
networking capabilities, great security and OpenDoc run-time support,
that should distinguish it as the operating system of choice for the
connected consumer to the large enterprise customer. Merlin will go
into beta later this quarter and become generally available in the
second half of this year. ###
* OS/2 and VoiceType are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM
Corporation. All other product and service names may be trademarks
and/or service marks of their respective owners.
For Internet users, IBM offers complete information about the company,
its products, services and technology on the World Wide Web. The IBM
home page is at http://www.ibm.com. The fastest, easiest way to find
any information about IBM software is to go to the IBM Software home
page at http://www.software.ibm.com. The IBM Fax Information Service
allows you to receive facsimiles of prior IBM product press releases.
Dial 1-800-IBM-4FAX and enter "99" at the voice menu.
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------
a teraz sie posypia gromy na moja glowe
Grego
-- /------------------------------------------------------------------ Gregorio Kus Grego_at_RMnet.it Grego_at_cyberspace.org ROMA, Italy http://www.RMnet.it/~grego Grego_at_FreeNet.hut.fi
To archiwum zostało wygenerowane przez hypermail 2.1.7 : Tue 18 May 2004 - 12:42:52 MET DST