people with macs!?

Question

ok so i just got a mac a few weeks ago. and on it theres this thing where you can talk into the mic, and a voice wil answer but everythime i try to ask a question it doesnt ansr. it only answers to the question what time is it. does anyone know what this thing is for and how to use it?

Answer 1

My computer doesn't recognize spoken commands or is slow to respond
If your spoken commands aren't being recognized or the computer is slow to respond, try the following:

If you're trying to use the spoken commands in the Speakable Items folder, make sure Speakable Items is turned on in the Speech Recognition pane of Speech preferences.
Make sure you say commands in a calm voice that's not too soft or too loud. Watch the sound level meter in the speech feedback window. If it shows only blue, you are speaking too quietly. If it's red, you are speaking too loudly.
Make sure you're using the right listening key and listening method. For example, if the microphone in the speech feedback window is dimmed, you need to press the correct listening key before you can speak commands. Or if you've turned on continuous listening and the microphone in the speech feedback window is active, you may also need to say a keyword before the computer will listen for commands. To see your listening settings, choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Speech. Click Speech Recognition, then click Settings.
If the sound in your environment changes, press the listening key one-half second before saying a command.
If you move your computer to a new environment, press the listening key 5 to 8 seconds before saying a command. Try saying a simple command (for example, "What time is it?") or one that has worked consistently in the past. You may need to adapt speech recognition to your environment again.
Avoid background noise. If you use speech recognition in a noisy environment, you may need to purchase a special noise-canceling microphone.
If you use continuous listening without requiring a keyword before your commands, and are working in a noisy environment or having a conversation, speech recognition may become slow or less accurate. If this happens, turn off continuous listening, or require a keyword before your commands.
You may be trying to use a command that isn't recognized in the current application. For example, you can use the “Go to my favorites folder” and “Go to my home directory” commands only when you are in the Finder. You can use the “Add sender to favorites” command only in Mail. To see what commands you can use, speak the command "Open the Speech Commands window." (As you switch applications, the list of commands changes to show only the commands you can use while the current application is active.)
If spoken commands seem not to work after a dialog or other window opens in an application, try opening a menu in the application.
If an application-specific command is no longer visible in the Speech Commands window, you may need to recreate the Speakable Items folder for that application. Make sure the application whose spoken commands are not working is not running. Then speak the command "Open Speakable Items folder." Drag the folder for the application from the Speakable Items folder to your desktop. Open the application again (this creates a new folder for this application in the Speakable Items folder). Then drag the spoken commands in the application's old folder on your desktop to the new application folder in the Speakable Items folder.

Answer 2

Hello suferchic,

I'm not sure how the Mac's Speech Recognition set-up works, but I've heard that there's a certain amount of time required for your Mac to learn what you're saying, or what your commands are.

You probably know this but the Speech Recognition preferences settings are in the System Preferences under the System heading. Inside the Speech icon you need to get into Speech Recognition tab to play with the settings.

There should be a discussions area of the Apple web site:

http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?search=Go&q=Speech+Recognition

Another thing you could try is going into the Help menu command and type Speech Recognition inside the text field. There will be all kinds of things about this feature.

Answer 3

Call Apple tech support.