This Story Posted:
June 18th, 1999

 
 

[4:20 PM]
Cruise Control Adds Voice Control With New Plug-in
Walnut Systems have released a new plug-in for Cruise Control that allows the automation software to be controlled by voice. According to Walnut Systems:

Walnut Systems today announced a new plug-in that further enhances the power and flexibility of their Cruise Control Software. The Voice Agents plug-in adds speech recognition capabilities to Cruise Control, enabling users to easily create any series of voice-triggered tasks without having to program or write complicated scripts.

The Voice Agent plug-in enables users to graphically create voice-triggered automated tasks made up of any series of actions. These automated tasks can be as simple as checking e-mail, or as complex as telling the computer to in one command log onto the Internet, download a complete stock portfolio, print the results, and then log itself off!

Voice Agents uses Apple Computer's proven PlainTalk(TM) voice recognition technology, which requires no training to recognize a user's voice, and provides accurate recognition in real-world environments. About Cruise Control

The first commercial independent-automation program for the Macintosh, Cruise Control features user-friendly drag and drop operation, making light work of mundane tasks. Users simply drag the icon for the desired task onto the appropriate "agent" window tab such as the calendar to schedule automatic operations. Any task that is performed mechanically and repetitively can and should be automated with Cruise Control. Tasks may be scheduled for one time operation, repeated hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, during idle periods, or triggered by voice command with Voice Agents. Tasks can even turn on the computer to perform operations in the middle of the night, or can shut down a user's computer after work, if the user forgets. Multiple tasks are easily combined to create complete automated solutions.

The Voice Agents plug-in requires Cruise Control and a PowerPC equipped Macintosh. It is available for $29 from the Walnut Systems website.

The Mac Observer Spin: That's very cool sounding! Cruise Control is an excellent piece of software and the Mac Observer will be releasing a review of the program shortly. The ability to add even limited voice recognition to the software will be an excellent boon.

Walnut Systems