Need suggestions on a program

[HTM~TheGame]

I'm looking for a program that accepts verbal commands, say through a mic, then caries out those commands. For example, if I speak into the mic and say "open Microsoft Outlook", the computer would respond and say "very well", or something like that, or I could say "launch UT" and I would get a response that says "Launching UT" you get the idea. Basically I am looking for a program that you can interact with by voice and it talks back, and will carry out commands that you ask it to. Now, I do not know of any programs that I have came across, or know if there is even such a thing right now. But if there is, can anyone offer me some suggestions or list the name(s) of that type of program? (freeware preferably, but would be willing to pay for it as well) All suggestions welcomed, if there is even such a thing. Thanks for your time guys.

[HTM~ZenEye]

Google knows everything.

Dragon naturally speaking is "the best" but it's also very far from free. There are other voice command softwares out there but I have not used any of them. Ask google.

[HTM~TheGame]

I have heard of dragon naturally speaking, but I thought that program just typed what you spoke, in a word program. I'm looking for something that responds to voice commands, like you tell your computer to perform a task, like launch a program and it responds and launches what you want it to etc. Does Dragon do that? I only thought it captured your voice and typed it out in some type of word program.

[HTM~ZenEye]

You can narrate, create macros to launch programs and lots of other stuff. My knowledge is limited but i played with dragon years ago and it had lots of neat features, too bad it costs an arm and a leg these days.

It came with simple navigation commands which you would train your voice to, like "open" "close" "minimize foreground window" etc. The thing i disliked about these type of programs is the training period. It has to get to know your voice and how you speak. Otherwise it's accuracy in dictation is bad.

Dragon is one of the oldest programs, but i'm sure there are others out there which are freeware, I searched for some one night but other than dragon there was not much. You can get a demo of Dragon to try for 15-30 days i think. As far as the system talking back, i don't know if Dragon has this feature but you might be able to create macros to do this.

Poke around see what you find on download.com.

[HTM~TheGame]

Thank you very much for your advice Zen, I may look into trying out the trial. I know that I saw a special for that program for $29.99, but it was probably a limited time offer. I can't remember if it was from newegg or tiger direct where I saw it for that price. But I can always try the trial as you suggested, I really appreciate your info. Thank you. If anyone else has any suggestions, please post, I would appreciate it.

[HTM~TheGame]

I am looking for something along the lines of this TalkingDesktop It's not exactly what I was looking for, but it is pretty close.

[HTM~TheGame]

I wonder how good Windows 7 speech recognition is? It looks like it can do what I want it to, control your computer by voice, and execute commands by voice and it is already built into Windows 7. Here is what Microsoft says it can do:

What can I do with Speech Recognition?

You can use your voice to control your computer. You can say commands that the computer will respond to, and you can dictate text to the computer.

Before you get started using Windows Speech Recognition, you'll need to connect a microphone to your computer. Once you've got the microphone set up, you can train your computer to better understand you by creating a voice profile that your computer uses to recognize your voice and spoken commands. For information about setting up your microphone, see Set up your microphone for Speech Recognition.

After you've got your microphone and voice profile set up, you can use Speech Recognition to do the following:

*

Control your computer. Speech Recognition listens and responds to your spoken commands. You can use Speech Recognition to run programs and interact with Windows. For more information about the commands you can use with Speech Recognition, see Common commands in Speech Recognition.
*

Dictate and edit text. You can use Speech Recognition to dictate words into word-processing programs or to fill out online forms in a web browser. You can also use Speech Recognition to edit text on your computer. For more information about dictating text, see Dictate text using Speech Recognition.

What do you guys think? Anyone know of a better program that can control windows functions and execute commands as stated above by voice?

[HTM~ZenEye]

The extent of my knowledge on the subject is: Dragon naturally speaking is the shit. It just costs too much.

[Freak]

Did win7 ever add more voices? I use text to speech in game so I don't miss everything that is said but the 1 voice just sucks. lol

[HTM~.:Q:.]

I have Win 7 and the only voice I see is "Anna".

[HTM~TheGame]

Did win7 ever add more voices? I use text to speech in game so I don't miss everything that is said but the 1 voice just sucks. lol

This is the opposite. Instead of text to speech, you give the computer commands with your voice, and it does what you tell it to, like execute programs, type what you say etc.

I have Win 7 and the only voice I see is "Anna".

Where is this "Anna"? I would very much like to meet her.

[HTM~Par]

[FONT="Georgia"]I wonder how good Windows 7 speech recognition is?

It is not too bad, I used if for a bit to play around with it. Not the best, but pretty good if you want something simple. The funny thing is I made my computer sounds Ocarina of Time themed, and you'll never guess what sounds the speech recognition made (Hey, listen!)

[HTM~TheGame]

Nice! I dunno why, but I always liked Navi from Ocarina of Time, that cute little fairy. (I don't want to hear any jokes, you goat lovers)

[HTM~ZenEye]

Navi has saved my ass many times, I love that lil fairy. How else would I know a boss's weak point?