Talking to your computer is one thing, dictating to it quite another, and having it talk back to you is something from science fiction.

Or is it? About nine years ago I attended a presentation by an IBM scientist featuring a film of a man of the future returning home from work. He asks his computer for a report on "his" (i.e., the computer's) day. "Your mom called," said the PC, "and I told her you'd get back to her when you return from your business trip. I told the collection agency that your check was in the mail, then I mailed it -- I hope you don't mind.

"I changed your dentist appointment to Tuesday, because you had a conflict with your long skiing weekend, and I called Sally and invited her to dinner on Friday. So how was your day?"

The theoretical tools for that kind of computing were, the scientist assured me, known. Only the practical methods of implementation were lacking. Given the fragile state of the art, where typical Windows-based computers crash regularly, even if research labs could produce such technology tomorrow we would have no common platform on which to run it.

But as we discussed last week, useful and inexpensive voice recognition products are available today. The one I'm trying out is ViaVoice Office 98, by IBM, and I'm impressed far beyond my expectations.

There are considerations to contemplate before spending the 50 or 100 bucks for one or another version of ViaVoice. Have you ever dictated a letter before? Dictating, whether to a live stenographer or a machine, requires a different mindset than writing or typing, and does not come easily to everyone. Few of us are in the habit of dictating letters, speaking abstractly to the air, and are unfamiliar with its conventions.

Some of the difficulties typical users are likely to encounter with voice recognition software are the same ones they might find with dictating correspondence to a secretary -- the difference being that a good secretary will write what you meant, not necessarily what you said.

We are not used, in everyday life, to what Victor Borge used to call "phonetic punctuation," nor to sprinkling our statements with "comma, period, exclamation point, new paragraph," which you must do if the result of dictation is to be comprehensible. Fortunately, correcting a dictated document is easy and sort of fun with ViaVoice 98.

Utilizing a function called "Outloud," ViaVoice will read your document back to you. This is a much more effective method of proofreading than reading it oneself, as we tend to read what we thought rather than what is on the printed page. While dictating, select up to 200 words, say "Dictation," then, "Play this," to hear the playback.

You may have the whole document "read" back to you by a variety of "actors," from a child to adult (or even elderly!) male/female, with almost endless options of pitch, speed, depth, breathiness and volume. I selected a talking infant with the voice of "Grandma," which some folks may think appropriate to my writing style.

It will take patience to train the software, and yourself to use it effectively. But I have had a glimpse of the future, and it isn't what it used to be.

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