{The music of the micro}

{Voice capabilities makes its way to the desktop...}

Text-based E-mail on office networks is yielding to its natural and
efficient vocal successor, voice mail. Executives are learning that voice
messaging is faster, carries the power of inflection, and requires less
keyboard skill. Now Artisoft products take a step further in networking's
sonic boom with the new ArtiScribe Digital Dictation System, the newest
product in the NetMedia product line. It combines the Artisoft Sounding
Board adapter and nearly any PC network to create a powerful business
productivity tool. Using Sounding Board and its telephone style handset,
ArtiScribe allows a user to dictate directly into his computer. The digital
recording is instantly placed in a queue for later transcription at another
node, where a transcriber uses Sounding Board and its headset.  On the
transcription end, the system accepts spoken commands such as {"stop,"}
{"play"} and {"back"} to control the playback.

The ArtiScribe Digital Dictation System will be available in a two-station
starter kit (which includes two Sounding Boards, a handset, a headset and
software for two stations) for $499 in ISA bus, $699 for Micro Channel
Architecture.  A one-station software-only version of ArtiScribe is priced at
$149. The system becomes available this summer.

At the same time, Artisoft's existing voice products are being upgraded
to version 1.1. The new Artisoft Sounding Board adapter is an update from
the LANtastic Voice Adapter. A key new feature is SoundPUP, a software
tape recorder that pops up from DOS as a TSR (terminate and stay
resident) program to record a sudden flash of insight, either related to the
application currently in use, or as just an unrelated notepad to catch that
fleeting great idea before it's gone. It is also provided as a Windows
application. Sounding Board offer exceptional clarity in sound, surpassing
AM radio transmission. It will be compatible with Microsoft Windows in real,
standard and enhanced modes, and will include programmer's tools to
encourage development of new applications. Individual Sounding Boards
with handset sell for $99 each in ISA bus versions and $199 for Micro
Channel.  

For programmers, the Artisoft Voice Programmer's Interface is a $75
toolbox for incorporating voice and sound into software applications.  VPI
is an improvement on the clean design and outstanding performance that
won acclaim in its original release. The VPI subroutines provide the means
for adapting Sounding Board to third party applications quickly and easily,
including all three modes of Microsoft Windows. VPI will support
QuickBASIC, dBASE, Turbo-C and Turbo-Pascal, in addition to the earlier
version's support for Microsoft C and MASM languages. The price of VPI
has been kept to a bare minimum, to make Artisoft's voice programming
tools accessible to as many developers as possible. Look for Sounding
Board and the ArtiScribe Digital Dictation System this fall.