Using speech to text is painful. Nevertheless, the tool is a blessing. Without speech to text, I would be unable to write these articles.
I am currently using some program that comes built-in with the Mac OS. The error rate is about one word per sentence. So, I have to constantly edit everything I right.1
To edit, I have to use the keyboard. So my process is far from hands-free. However, I am able to take off a huge load on my hands. This prevents me from having a flare up the following day after writing.
I would like to get back to programming, but there are a lot of difficulties that I foresee using speech to text for coding. The tool as far as I can tell is more useful for writing prose.
The other problem with speech to text is that I have to use either a Mac or Windows program. As far as I know, the open sores versions of speech to text are absolute garbage. At least that was my experienced with Talon. This means I will have to program on my Mac.
But these are hurdles that I simply may have to overcome. Programming has more thinking and planning involved than actual typing anyways. Perhaps the severe limit I have on my ability to make inputs into the computer could help me write better software.
- I'll leave that misspelling there so you can see what I'm dealing with. [↩]