A lot of people have carpal tunnel. I'm rapidly becoming one of those people. I've had to switch to a trackball mouse (i should have years ago, they're great... better than a mouse for videogames.. but anywho).
What I'd like now is a voice recognition gadget that plugs into a USB2.0 port. It would have software that could be re-programmed or updated through the USB port, but primarily it would just listen to you, and send what it interprets as plain text or button presses.
Why have it as a seperate unit? Because it wouldn't drain processor power, it could be positioned closer to you that a stupid generic computer microphone (maybe a clip on, like lecturers use?), but MOST importantly, it would be compatable with ALL software functionality.
Most programs, except for word processors, don't accept common Voice Recognition programs very effectively. Some programs have started having their own voice recognition software built in, but its shoddy at best, and uses memory and processor resources. Hotkeys might not seem that exciting to you, but using them via voice would be a thrill to me.-- obnoxious, Feb 23 2004 There is a huge problem here. if this system is designed to work with all/most software then it would be cumbersome and complicated. I think the inbuilt system is there for a reason.-- nomadic_wonderer, Feb 23 2004 I don't play videogames currently. I did when I made the switch to a trackball mouse (which was just due to having a little red spot on my wrist from frequent rubbing).
Secondly, there isn't an inbuilt system for nearly any software. The only standard is keyboard and mouse input. If the device decoded what you said and sent in keypresses instead of strings of text, it would work with any application designed for keyboard use.
I'm not talking about long lengths of text, like dictating a letter. Software for that has already been baked. I'm talking about something more useful and generic for any situation, such as "Hold Control. Hold Shift. Delete."-- obnoxious, Feb 23 2004 random, halfbakery