In another small step toward creating a voice-enabled Web, Microsoft Tuesday released to developers a test version of its tools for building applications that can be controlled over the Internet using voice commands.
As expected, the company made available the beta version of its .Net Speech SDK [Software Development Kit] Version 1.0. Used with Microsoft's Visual Studio .Net developer tools, the SDK is designed to add voice to the list of methods for inputting data, which includes the mouse, keyboard and stylus.
The tools are intended to "help jump start the industry" for building speech-enabled Web applications, such as an airline Web site that allows users to make reservations by talking into a microphone on their computer, said James Mastan, group product manager for Microsoft's .Net speech technologies group.
The .Net Speech SDK can be used to retool an existing Web application developed with Microsoft's popular developer tools, a benefit that Mastan said would spur its use. Features of the SDK include workspaces for programming applications, as well as for creating the spoken questions and answers that a voice-enabled application would need to understand.
Microsoft was scheduled to detail the tool Tuesday at the AVIOS - Amerian Voice Input and Output Society - Speech Expo in San Jose, a four-day event focusing on products and technologies that incorporate speech recognition, as well as products for voice over IP.
Microsoft is targeting a wide range of developers with its speech tools, Mastan said. One important segment is those who already develop voice-enabled applications that are accessed by telephone, such as those used for telephone-based banking and reservation systems.
Commonly used in call centers, voice applications designed for use over a telephone typically can't also be accessed through a Web browser, Mastan said. Instead, call centers must build separate applications for the phone and for the Web. Using the .Net Speech SDK, a single application can be designed that users can access over the Web as well as by phone, he said.
"It sounds like Microsoft is going to take steps to make this easy for developers to actually implement," said Jeff Snyder, vice president and chief analyst for research firm Gartner.
While speech technology is still young, Snyder predicted that voice-enabled applications will be pivotal in the future evolution of the Web.
"It allows a user to maneuver (through the Web) much more quickly and comfortably. The idea is to make the experience easier for the user, and that's really what speech enablement is all about," he said.
The tools come with a test release of a voice-enabled version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser. That software, which will be made generally available to end users with the final release of Microsoft's tools, will allow developers to test the applications they build.
The final version of the .Net Speech SDK is expected to be released by mid-2003, according to Mastan. That version will also be capable of building voice-enabled Web applications that can be accessed through Pocket Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Web browser for small computing devices.
Microsoft has designed the developer tool based on a specification called SALT, or Speech Application Language Tags, which is expected to be submitted to a standards body by year-end. SALT was created by an industry group known as the SALT Forum, whose founding members include Microsoft, Speechworks International, Cisco and Intel.
In addition to the list companies already affiliated with the group, 19 members were added to the list Tuesday, bringing its total membership to 43 companies, Microsoft said.
Still absent from the list of companies who have given the nod to the SALT specification is Nuance Communications, a competitor to Speechworks and one of the leading makers of speech recognition technology. Nuance has backed a separate technology standard called VoiceXML.
The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.
