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You can work by talking into your PC with IBM's updated voice recognition program (and no one will say you're crazy if you're heard muttering aloud to yourself), but it takes some getting used to.

IBM is shipping ViaVoice for Windows Release 10, designed to keep your hands free at least some of the time. This newest version offers no major new features, but IBM says it's based on a new speech engine and it blocks background noise better. The program allows you to dictate and edit letters and e-mail, plug numbers into spreadsheets, navigate programs, browse the Web, and run custom macros--all by talking into a microphone. It might sound liberating, but you still need to reach out for your mouse and keyboard.

Before you can start yakking, you need to install the software, set up the microphone, and run your system through ViaVoice's audio quality test. You also have to make sure your PC can handle this beefy program. System requirements are standard for most speech recognition apps: You need to have a Pentium II-300 (or a Pentium III-600 if you have Windows Me); at least 64MB of RAM (192MB for Windows XP), and at least 510MB of hard drive space available.

Headset Matters

I tested the $200 ViaVoice Pro USB Edition. It comes with a high-quality noise-canceling stereo headset microphone from Plantronics, the DSP-300--a big plus (the USB headset costs $89 retail). As bundled headsets go, the DSP-300 is pretty fancy: It's sturdy yet lightweight, and it has a handy panel on the cord with volume controls and a mute button that lights up. And because it's a USB mike, you don't have to worry about the class of sound card you have.

The headband is far from flimsy and feels comfortable, but it doesn't offer much flexibility (other than the ear pads moving up and down a bit), so you're stuck with how it sits on your head. Another downside: The microphone boom is fixed. You can't move it closer to your mouth, for example, and the boom must be on the right side of your face (you can't turn the headset backwards if you prefer the boom on the left side).

Getting Acquainted

After your mike is hooked up and you get a thumbs-up on your PC's sound quality, ViaVoice will allow you to start dictating. This is unusual, as most speech recognition apps insist that you do some training or 'enrollment' to familiarize the program with your voice before you start dictation. I immediately dictated a few e-mail messages, and the recognition was pretty impressive.

Not surprisingly, , accuracy improved after I completed the first round of training. The minimum amount of training involves reading passages aloud for about 10 minutes--I chose to read excerpts from Treasure Island.

You can see your oral ramblings turn into text on the screen in SpeakPad (ViaVoice's proprietary app), all Office XP and 2000 apps, and AOL and other e-mail programs. Accuracy kept improving with subsequent training stints. But ViaVoice came back with some amusing boo-boos along the way. For example, when I said "chores" ViaVoice churned out "jurors," and "applications" became "abdications." Making corrections on the fly is a bit wearisome: You say "select [flubbed word]," "correct that," and then you must either verbally spell the correct word or manually type it into the correction box. Or you can just type the correction.

Issuing Commands

ViaVoice lets you move through the menu commands simply by calling out their names (you say "Edit, Select All," for instance). Occasionally, however, ViaVoice didn't catch on. It interpreted this as dictation rather than instructions, so the word edit and other command terms sometimes appeared in my document.

Opening and closing apps (you say "start program, Outlook Express" or "go to Outlook Express"), minimizing and maximizing, and basic Web browsing worked like a charm. Utter "check my mail," and Woodrow, ViaVoice's animated pencil character, will appear on your screen. In an eerie computerized voice, Woodrow checks your default e-mail program, tells you how many messages are in your in-box, and reads them to you. I tended to mute Woodrow whenever he popped up, but perhaps others will like him.

ViaVoice has some nifty macro options. You can set up fairly simple voice macros--you type up the text you want to appear when you say "insert my poem," for example. Or you can create complicated ones (involving common keystroke patterns or unique voice template forms). Though you'll spend a fair amount of time with your mouse and keyboard on these, it's worth it in the end.

Don't Quit Training

Overall, ViaVoice did a good job following orders, and it listened well to my utterances most of the time. As with all speech recognition programs, training is key: The more time you take to acquaint ViaVoice with your speech patterns, the better the accuracy will be.

ViaVoice is not going to give you hands-free computing--nor should it. The keyboard and mouse will always be far more efficient for certain tasks. But if you have problems typing or if you need an alternate way to accomplish tasks--like composing e-mail messages or giving your hands a breather while moving around Internet Explorer--ViaVoice is a viable option.

At $200, it's rather pricey, but you can choose among other ViaVoice family members: a $30 Personal Edition, a $60 Standard Edition, and a $100 Advanced Edition. These other versions scale back on the features and have non-USB headsets. If you already have ViaVoice USB version 7, 8, or 9, IBM promises to have an upgrade available later in September for $100.

Oh, and if you're interested in buying ViaVoice and saving a little cash, check Big Blue's Promotions for the latest on ViaVoice rebate offers.

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