Shameless Self-Promotion

It’s a tough ‘ol world everywhere, and here is no exception. In the continual struggle to keep the wolves at bay I’ve taken up a second calling, Product Spokesperson.

I’m touting the merits of a real bargain on ebay.

With this...

...makes you wanna buy one right now don't it?

Speech recognition

I discovered a new feature that came with my notebook, speech recognition. Right now I'm dictating this article by talking into a microphone and watching the text show up on the screen. It's an easy way to be able to dictate without typing. According to the documentation, the more you use it, the more it learns your speech patterns.

The tutorial sets up the audio levels, and teaches you the basic commands. I'm enjoying this feature, since while I like to write, I'm a hunt-and-peck typist.
Not only can you dictate, you also do commands, access the operating system, navigate through programs, and fill out forms. You can surf the Internet without touching a key or moving the mouse.

By the way, my new notebook is the Hewett Packard TX-2 with TouchSmart technology. The touchscreen capability is amazing, and along with speech recognition, it'll allow me to do things I never thought possible. All the things I would normally do with a keyboard and a mouse, I can do now, with speech commands, and touching the screen.