How many times have you told your computer to do something and you really wish it would do it?  I know I have a few times... :)  Well, In Windows Vista you can use voice commands to make your computer do all kinds of things.  Navigation of the Start menu, opening and closing programs and general navigation though out the OS.

In this InkShow I give a quick overview of Voice Command and speech recognition.  I cover the basics and don't get into some of the more advanced features (that's another InkShow), but if you have never seen it in action, this video will show you what it can accomplish.  I take a look at opening and closing program, menu navigation, starting up OneNote and dictating a couple of lines and then also take a look at how you can navigate thru multiple windows that are running on your computer.

Speech Recognition Key Features in Vista:

Commanding
"Say what you see" commands allow you to naturally control applications and complete tasks, such as formatting and saving documents; opening and switching between applications; and opening, copying, and deleting files. You can even browse the Internet by saying the names of links.Featured in demo

Correction
Efficiently fix incorrectly recognized words by selecting form alternatives for the dictated phrase or word or by spelling the word. Featured in demo

Dictation
Dictate emails and documents and make corrections and save your work by voice. Featured in demo

Disambiguation
Easily resolve ambiguous situations with a user interface for clarification. When you say a command that can be interpreted in multiple ways, the system clarifies what you intended.

"How do I" help (U.S. English only)
You can say "How do I" followed by a task you want to perform with your computer. For example, "How do I change my desktop background?"

Innovative user interface
The new user interface provides a simple and efficient experience for dictating and editing text, correcting mistakes, and controlling your computer by voice.

Interactive tutorial
The Interactive speech recognition tutorial teaches you how to use Windows Vista Speech Recognition and teaches the recognition system what your voice sounds like.
Learn how

Personalization (adaptation)
Ongoing adaptation to both your speaking style and accent continually improves speech recognition accuracy.
Learn how

Support for multiple languages
English (United States), English (United Kingdom, German (Germany), French (France), Spanish (Spain), Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Plantronics 400 DSP Headset I use this daily

Click To Play