Technology News

Google Chrome was launched yesterday and I had some spare time– so I downloaded it and had a poke around.  Google claims that this browser is faster, more secure and will establish a “base” for all Internet applications to run on. The browser is open source, boasts a new JavaScript engine and many improvements to the user interface typically found on browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Ultimately, I think Google built this browser for many of their own reasons that they do not punt in their media releases.:

• Google is drawing closer and closer to the limit of what they can do when it comes to building applications for a web browser. As applications such as Gmail , Google docs and Google apps get more and more advanced in the pursuit of competing with their desktop software counterparts, they will need a more advanced flexible framework to operate under.
• Google’s drive of “indexing the world’s information” has hit somewhat of a brick wall.  They’ve indexed just about everything except information derived from user behaviour.  One of the ways to gather information about user behaviour is to build a browser that tracks it.  Now, integrated with the other solutions that Google provides, this information can be used to produce better search results, better spam filtering and more user centric applications.
• The fact that Google did not previously own the foundation upon which its business relied was a threat to its sustainability.  Google established relations with Mozilla but this only reduced the risk marginally.  In order to secure the future of its business, Google backward integrated into the browser market.

Taking a look at the actual browser, I find that it is in fact faster — especially with any site involving JavaScript like Facebook , Youtube and others.  It has a more instantaneous feel to it, rather than the “click and load” type usually experienced by the browsers.  It has a couple of the other useful features — like a list of your most recently visited sites appearing when you open a new tab, an integrated search and URL bar , and a much more skeletonized user interface.

The content inside the browser really comes out at you, without the bulk of menus, toolbars and the like.  Like most demons bent on destruction, I actually tried to crash the browser, trip it up and slow it down. I failed miserably in this regard.  Google’s new method of running each tab as a separate process meant anything I tried resulted in a “sad face” screen appearing while the rest of the browser carried on its merry way.

I use a couple of applications where the browser automatically has to reload itself every few seconds, and certainly in IE and Firefox this created the problem where the whole browser was unusable until these processes had finished.  Now, with Google Chrome , I can carry on working in another tab with out opening a whole new browser window.

Google chrome is currently in beta, and a lot of the plug-ins that I use with Internet Explorer and Firefox are not compatible yet.  Unfortunately, plug-ins such as Roboform and the Webmaster plug-in are essential to me.  I will move over to using Google chrome completely when these applications become available.

I am using the new Dragon Naturally Speaking program from Nuance to dictate this review. What this means is, I’m talking through my microphone to the computer and it is writing exactly what I am saying.

This is the brilliant thing about technology. It just keeps getting better. The fact that I can control my computer with nothing but my voice is absolutely amazing. The Dragon Naturally Speaking software has in the past, has been somewhat erratic and error prone.

For instance with each dictated line, I used to have the correct at least two or three words, or often a string of nonsense that the software had put together. Now it seems I can type with my voice fairly efficiently. The new version, Dragon Naturally Speaking 9, is leaps and bounds ahead of the other versions or indeed, any other speech recognition product on the market..

For a start, it has a 99% accuracy rate after just a few minutes of training. I literally installed this program, and after no longer than five minutes of dictating some training material, it is working with around about a 96% accuracy rate.

I purchased the professional version of the software, which comes with a number of other features such as reading from text, transcribing prerecorded voice and integration with a number of popular Windows software programs such as Microsoft word.

I believe that, with this software, technology has entered a new age in terms of speech recognition. For instance, now the disabled and those having problems using the keyboard or mouse to control their computer will be able to effortlessly navigate around their Windows operating system. Often, the speech recognition program does not format or style the text as you wish, and this has to be done manually, but this is a small glitch in an otherwise perfect system.

Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 comes in several versions, including a medical and legal version tailored to the specific professions. However, all the versions run in the same speech engine, so you get the same accuracy with all of them. And the basic version is only $ 99, which renders it in the reach of most computer enthusiasts.

I would definitely recommend getting Dragon naturally speaking 9. At long last, Nuance has developed software which actually works, regardless of your accent or origin. I would give the product a 8/10.