>Then there's the bloody>annoying Microsoft voice used for speech (Sam, Mike and>gang)...wish there was a way to turn those off and just have>it play a click sound or something when/if it recognizes a>phrase...ugh. That speech synthesis doesn't sound much better>than the old "Say" program on my Amiga 500It's obvious from your statement you haven't taken the time to read any of the documentation in the Help menu. If you had you would realize that it is possible to edit, add, or delete any voice command or response. It's very easy to do and works very well.I purchased Voice Buddy as well as their headset with mic and the program works flawlessy. I began by reading the Help menu extensively and then went through one training session and started using it and it worked great the first time. The hardest part for me was trying to remember the voice commands. So I decided to customize some of them to something shorter and easier for me to remember. As an example, I changed the command "Set mixture to idle cutoff" to "Engine shutdown" and deleted the voice response all together. I have customized most of the commands I use and have deleted most of the responses (I didn't care for the voices either or the long winded responses)and replaced some of them with a simple voice response of "Check" i.e. Command: "Gear down" Response: "Check". This way I can verify that the command was heard by getting a much shorter and less annoying respond.As far as being in a quiet room when flying, I wish I had that luxury but with four kids and a dog that's not usually possible. But that has not affected the accuracy of Voice Buddy. And if I want to talk to somebody while flying I just issue the command "Go to sleep" and Voice Buddy will not recogize any commands until I say "Voice Buddy wake up".I think you did a pretty thorough trashing of an excellent product when in reality the problem appears to be with you and your equipment. I don't mean to be rude but you could've solicited advice from others here or contacted eDimensional support (and possibly done a little reading) before so quickly casting judgment on this product. I think you and Voice Buddy would have been much better served.JR

Well Jimmie,I feel for you in terms of perceived promises of "virtually training-free use". (Your words) that is almost like saying you don't have to memorize (voice) commands. ;-)If you are truly that unhappy with it, perhaps ask them for a refund and see what happens.Thanks for posting your experience, and good luck with it. Let us know how it all turns out.As for memorizing commands, I have about 230 Commands in one profile I use, and while you may not have to memorize keys, these types of programs do require you, IMHO, to memorize voice commands in order to get good functionality.All you have done is switch memorizing key commands for memorizing voice commands. You still need to memorize no matter what some say, IMHO.Start by printing up your key commands list in MSFS2004. And then I also printed up my Profile for Shoot, which I keep nearby. I'd guess I have close to about 70 or so memorized, and the rest I use the sheet just like I would if I was using the keyboard. What these programs do is cut out the keyboard commands, and SUBSTITUTE the memorization of key commands for memorization of Voice Commands. Simple as that. I don't have voice buddy, but with shoot, I did have some concerns with the speech engine randomly jumping around. (That was also with a desktop microphone) I no longer have that concern except one in a while. It still happens occasionally, but it is minimal.It may have more to do with the MS Speech engine than any of the programs that utilize the engine, but I have read where others using this particular program have experienced some of the same concerns you have.As for another user asking you to contact support. That may be a good idea, they also have a Knowledge base on their site, maybe check there.But guess what, from their original site, it appears there are no specific Forums to ask questions in, so any high traffic forum like this one should produce results.Going through support may solve your problem, and it may not, but making others aware of a potential problem with any software is a very noble deed, IMHO.I do hope you take some of the advice in this thread, and judging by the number of reads, it is likely by asking your question, others here have been helped or learned about speech recognition or other Freeware speech programs they can try before plopping down some dollars or euros.As for others contemplating a purchase, as always buyer beware, and I advise beware of companies that promise things that may not turn out to be what you think they meant by their statement. LOOK for DEMO's instead, and ask the company for a demo copy, they may be able to send you a time expiring beta or something. Worth a shot if they want you as a cuctomer.Thanks for posting it. I appreciate it.Regards,me,... ....

>Don't want a headset since I already use good heaphones>(Technics RP-DJ1200). Might look into getting another mic>though $13 seems a bit cheap for a mic and I doubit would be>any better than the one I have. Years ago OS/2 added voice recognition. The beta testers got a free headset, one with a noise canceling microphone. It's not how much you pay, it's how apprriate the headset/mic is for your needs. I've never paid more than $3 for one. Besides the free one I got with OS/2, I got a free one just for requesting it from some site. A couple of months ago I picked up a Koss headset for $2.95 on 'closeout'. Ron

Happy to provide it.I just hope more people discover speech recognition, as it is pretty good technology. Not perfect, but nothing is, no matter what the hype.Regards,me,... ....

"It's not how much you pay, it's how apprriate the headset/mic is for your needs"So the $150 "interview" microphone would not be any better and potentially worse than the $10 "voice recognition approved" one?I still want a standalone mic rather than a headset though. I know for certain that a cheap headset would not sound as good as my current headphones."All you have done is switch memorizing key commands for memorizing voice commands. You still need to memorize no matter what some say, IMHO."Yes, but memorizing is only half the work. When you're busy configuring the aircraft for landing and hand-flying the ILS, and you need to talk to the virtual ATC, it's very handy to just be able to say "ATC" followed by "" without ever letting go of the stick or looking away from the monitor. Normally, I have to reach for the Show ATC key followed by the correct number key. I often have to look away from the monitor to find the correct key as the keyboard is placed in an awkward position to make room on the desk for the stick and charts.I suppose different people's memories work differently, too. Some may be better at remembering key-combinations and others may be better at remembering words or whole phrases.I won't do anything further with this program until I can get hold of another mic which will probably after christmas unless I can find one in a local store.To anyone else thinking about trying voice recognition - get a free program like Shoot - if it doesn't work with your voice/setup, you can safely assume that the payware programs won't work either. I can't say that Voice Buddy offers any significant added features over Shoot, either so if a free program works well for you, stick with it.

This reply is at the bottom of a LONG list of replies and will never be seen but I purchased the VOICE BUDDY and the headset/mike that they recommended (Plantronics)and it works correctly about 95% of the time. I no longer use it as I found I prefered to use to keyboard instead of all of the talking. Jerrycwo4