In 1984, when Apple introduced the Macintosh, the computer introduced itself by speaking to the audience.

Ever since those heady days, the Macintosh has been able to speak to you.

Yes, there’s a personality inside your iMac and iBook that’s eagerly waiting for you to turn him (or her) on. Have you ever had one of those frustrating days when everyone just ignores you? No worries as you can now talk to your Mac and it will gladly respond every time.

Possibly your Mac is already set up to alert you every time you make a mistake —the speaking alert.

Assuming you have OS 9, go to the Apple menu, then select Control, Panels and scroll down to Speech. Under Options, first select Voice and then choose your preferred voice. Play around with the speed as this will make your Mac sound more natural.

Listen to the Mac using text to speech. Open Simple Text and type a short paragraph. Go to the Sound menu and click Voice. You have a selection of about 25 voices from the bizarre Cellos to the sweet Princess.

Then click Speak All to get your Mac to read out loud.

Now how about those talking alerts? In the Speech Control Panel, just select the required Option, Talking Alerts, but this time you can customise your Mac further.

For example, the time lapse before speaking can be adjusted, different alerts can appear in order or at random, and you can even record your own alerts by selecting Edit Phrase List and clicking Add.

Let’s talk
Now let’s talk to your Mac. Select the Listening option. You have a choice to either press a key before speaking to your Mac or saying a name.

I have a built-in microphone in my PowerBook, but iBook owners will have to select External Mic and don’t forget to plug one in.

Now you need to select the actions you want your Mac to do when you speak. Select Speakable Items in the Control panel and switch it on. Soon your Mac’s character will appear before your very eyes.

If you wish to change your Mac’s character, select Feedback from the Options menu. You can choose from nine characters. Also check out the recognised alerts. These inform you whether your Mac really understands you.

So what do you say to your Mac? Do you want to access the Internet? Simply say: "Macintosh, Open Internet Explorer."

If you go to the Apple menu and select Speakable Items, you will see all the commands you can immediately use. You can browse the Internet, go forward and backward, scroll up and down, and even access visited pages (if you make them speakable).

But the greatest application of speaking to your computer is checking your e-mail. You can open mail, delete and send simply by speaking to your Mac.

That’s cool, isn’t it?

Michael Vallance is from the Mac Users Group of Singapore.
Its website is at www. macuser.org.sg/

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