28. RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
To find RemoteApp and Desktop Connections, type remote in the Control Panel Search box. This is a new Control Panel feature that you can use to access programs
and/or desktops (remote computers or virtual systems) that have been
made available by your network administrator. This feature is also
connected with the new Windows Server 2008 R2 features for RemoteApp
and Desktop Connections where RAD feeds provide a set of resources and
these feeds are presented through this tool in Windows 8.
29. Sound
Customizing your sounds is a nice way to
personalize your Windows 8 environment settings. The Sound group, found
in Hardware and Sound, is where you can configure sound and recording
options depending on the sound devices you have installed. The
Playback, Recording, and Sounds tabs are the same as they were in
Windows 7.
The Communications tab helps Windows to
automatically adjust the volume of different sounds when you are using
your PC to place or receive telephone calls. You can mute all other
sounds, reduce the volume by 80 or 50 percent, or do nothing at all.
30. Speech Recognition
Speech Recognition has two primary functions:
• To allow you to control the computer by giving specific voice commands.
• To allow you to dictate text or have
text read back to you in a Text-to-Speech (TTS) manner. The Speech
Recognition tools provide you with the ability to train your computer
to work with your voice or simply to train yourself to use the right
commands to operate your computer.
Do you type fast? If not, pay attention to
this section. For many, Speech Recognition works a whole lot faster
than typing. If you’re dictating, it gives you a chance to close your
eyes and just talk to the computer, concentrating on your topic as the
computer types every word you say. Later, when you have the main points
down on the page, you can go back and correct any mistakes by using
your keystrokes.
Before you start with Speech Recognition,
your microphone has to be set up properly. In Control Panel, click Ease
of Access Center and then choose Set Up Microphone. Complete this
wizard to set up your microphone. If you have a choice between two
microphone styles, go with a headset. This works much better with
speech recognition and doesn’t pick up as much background noise.
Once you have completed the setup, go
straight to the Speech Tutorial. Here’s why: The tutorials let you see
how speech recognition works from all angles. Even better, you need to
speak the commands to make it work. Meanwhile, as you get familiar with
the commands, you not only learn the program, the program learns you.
Speech Recognition begins to keep a voice profile on how you speak.
Your accent, tone, pace, and style are “learned” by Speech Recognition.
In fact, if someone else speaks into the microphone, the accuracy of
Speech Recognition drastically declines. The system literally knows
your voice.
Speech Recognition is available only in
English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and
Traditional Chinese. You can change the language setting from the
Advanced Speech options in the Control Panel.
Some users might want to set up their
microphones and just jump right into Speech Recognition. The following
Let Me Try It shows you a few things to do to get started right off the
bat.
Using Speech Recognition
The following steps show you how to use only
your voice to control your computer and dictate a paragraph to it. You
need a computer microphone to complete this exercise.
1. Make sure your microphone is plugged in and working correctly.
2. From the Start screen right-click on the screen.
3. Click the All Apps button that appears on the lower-right corner of the screen.
4. Select Control Panel.
5. Choose Ease of Access.
6. In the Speech Recognition group, click Start Speech Recognition.
7. Move the Speech Recognition bar to the top of your screen.
8. Clearly speak
“Start Listening” into your microphone. This turns on the Speech
Recognition. The Speech Recognition readout says Listening.
9. Say “Open WordPad.” WordPad opens with the cursor blinking.
10. Say “Watch the computer type when I speak.”
11. Say “Select Sentence.” This highlights your entire sentence.
12. Say “Bold.” The sentence changes to boldface.
13. Now dictate a paragraph to your computer and see how accurately it transcribes it.
In Windows 8, Speech Recognition allows users
to interact with applications that are not specifically written with
speech recognition in mind. If you are using a Microsoft product, such
as Word, the tools work flawlessly (for a speech-to-text application,
that is). If you are using other applications that are not compatible,
a separate text box opens. You can speak into it and then insert the
text to your application afterward.
Previous users of Speech Recognition find
that the voice commands are largely—if not entirely—unchanged. And
while the speech recognition was very good in Vista and Windows 7,
Windows 8 seems to raise the bar a notch. For new users, print out the
Speech Reference Card available in the Speech Recognition Group in
Control Panel. From here you find simple commands to control your
computer and commands to use during dictation.
If you still want even
greater accuracy, select Train Your Computer to Better Understand You
in the Speech Recognition group in Control Panel. This helps improve
dictation accuracy.
During computer downtime, Speech Recognition
can optionally review documents and email on your computer for commonly
used words and phrases. This, too, can help improve recognition
accuracy. A privacy statement is available online to help ease your Big
Brother fears.
In the left pane of the Speech Recognition
group, you can configure your recognition options by clicking the
Advanced Speech Options link, which opens the Speech Properties dialog
box. If more than one person uses Speech Recognition from the same user
account, the Recognition Profiles area includes a New button you can
click to add a new user’s voice profile.
