HARDWARE
Ever get the feeling your computer isn't quite listening to you? If you use speech-recognition software, like Dragon NaturallySpeaking or IBM ViaVoice, then you probably spend your day wearing a headset with a boom microphone. That's because headsets do a great job of faithfully picking up your utterances and feeding them into the computer, while simultaneously screening out background noise. Unfortunately, they're also unsightly and uncomfortable, and have an annoying wire that tethers you to the desk.
Andrea's DA-400 Desktop Array lets you cut the cord. Created by one of the world's largest manufacturers of headset microphones, the DA-400 combines an array of four mikes with a high-speed digital signal processor and special DSP software called SuperBeam. The result is a system that can focus the microphones so they listen to you and not background noise or somebody at another desk. The whole affair sits on top of your monitor and plugs in to any computer audio jack.
In my tests with NaturallySpeaking, the DA-400's performance was nearly indistinguishable from that of the headset I normally use. The DA-400 also did a good job screening out extraneous sounds, although not quite as well as my headset.
Nevertheless, I suspect the real use of this microphone will be not voice recognition, but computer telephony and teleconferencing. While I can speak into my headset in a quiet voice - just a little louder than a whisper - I needed to talk to the DA-400 in a normal speaking voice. But with the Andrea and the correct software on your PC, you've got a sound system that can't be matched by any but the most expensive conference-room speakerphones.
DA-400 Desktop Array: $149.95. Andrea Electronics: (800) 442 7787,www.andreaelectronics.com.
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