The Art of Computing, Naturally

Some say that Bill Gates tyrannizes the world of PC users. I disagree. The tyranny we all live under is the tyranny of the personal computer itself. Like a puffed up dictator, the PC governs the way we work with complete totality, commanding us to "click here" or to "type in there." We are constantly changing our work style to suit the needs of a machine. Isn't it about time that the machine adapted to our needs? Fortunately, a growing number of applications aim to help us take control of our virtual desktops.

So-called "natural computing" programs - such as software that lets you speak to your PC or that identifies you to your computer - promise to increase computer security, to reduce carpal-tunnel syndrome, to boost productivity, and to make working with PCs a lot less frustrating.

Is all of this great stuff ready for prime time? Not quite. But some of it is good enough to accomplish specific tasks - enabling people, for example, to write reports by speaking to their PC instead of pounding away on their keyboard. So hang in there. I'll show you what's "natural," and what's not, about these newfangled programs and devices.

Its Master's Voice

Speech-recognition software has been a hot market since Dragon Systems released its NaturallySpeaking software last summer. IBM chimed in with a similar product, ViaVoice, soon afterward. Both programs run on Windows, and both enable you to dictate your ruminations instead of typing them into your PC. The results can seem magical - but think about your needs before buying either of these programs.

NaturallySpeaking Preferred ($159) and ViaVoice Gold ($149) both claim an accuracy rate of 95%, but in my experience, the rate is closer to 90%. Which means that 1 out of 10 words comes out wrong. For example, one program wrote "might mail" when I said "email." Such miscues are funny at first but infuriating later.

The companies also claim that the programs can handle up to 150 or 160 words of dictation per minute. Don't believe them. My best efforts produced about 90 words per minute. With enough caffeine in me, I can type nearly as fast - and with fewer errors.

These caveats aside, NaturallySpeaking and ViaVoice can be godsends. For people suffering from carpal-tunnel syndrome, they can bring relief from the pain of typing. And the software is certainly good enough for those who work in a quiet, enclosed space. (Noisy, open office environments can reduce the programs' accuracy considerably.)

Of the two packages, I found that NaturallySpeaking Preferred was slightly better at following my dictation than the IBM product. When necessary, I could also quickly edit text by using simple voice commands, such as "scratch that."

While ViaVoice Gold sometimes made me resort to mouse and keyboard action to make edits, it proved equal to most tasks. Its strong suit is its ability to communicate easily with other programs, including Word, Corel, Excel, WordPerfect, and SmartSuite. (Dragon's software works with Word 97 and WordPerfect.)

If one of these programs fits your work environment, use a system with at least a 200-MHz Pentium processor and 64 MB of RAM.

Coordinates: NaturallySpeaking Preferred, Dragon Systems Inc., 800-437-2466, http://www.naturalspeech.com; ViaVoice Gold, IBM Corp., 800-825-5263, http://www.ibm.com/viavoice

Read My Finger

Quick: recite all your passwords, pins, and security codes. You might be able to do it, but I sure can't. Like most people, I use obvious PINs, or else I come up with hard-to-crack passwords and write them down. And that makes me vulnerable to hackers and plain old-fashioned thieves. The good news is, I don't have to remember all that data anymore, now that a new method of personal identification is at hand.

Fingerprint-identification systems - once limited to the realm of "Mission: Impossible" - have come to the PC. One of the most usable of these so-called "biometric" security devices is the BioMouse Desktop Fingerprint Scanner ($299). Slightly larger than an ordinary desktop mouse, it plugs into a parallel port and uses software that works with Windows 95 or 98, Windows NT, and several flavors of Unix. The BioMouse stores "data points" that make a match with your finger.

You can use any finger you like. Just give the system three impressions of it, and you're all set. You can then use a "fingerprint logon" in place of your Windows password.

Comparable to the BioMouse is the SecureStart/98 ($679) for Windows 95 or 98, a fingerprint reader that plugs into a serial port. As with the BioMouse, you enroll your finger of choice, and the device locks out anyone who can't offer a print of that finger.

This package costs more than the BioMouse - in part because its fingerprint-identification unit, made by Sony, contains its own processor and memory bank. The SecureStart/98 folks are also working on a version that could send fingerprint templates over the Internet, thereby identifying you whenever you want to log onto a secure Web site.