digital dictation explained > Digital Transcription Of course there is no point in dictating your work, if there is no way to transcibe it. For most busy people, the most effective way is using a human, as many find speech recognition systems too complicated and inaccurate. For secretaries, digital transcription systems are muchh preferred to the tape based transcribers. The sound is much better and they can allocate their work much better. All the manufacturers offer their own versions of transcription kits, and you might even find that the Olympus will accept the Philips files for example. However not all files are compatible, so unless it is critical that you have the same system setup as the author, many people are finding that universal transcription kits are helpful. These include WAVpedal and StartStop to name two available. Essentially the foot pedal and headset and connected to the secretaries' PC and the software will allow easy playback. Some manufacturers such as Dictaphone, Philips and Grundig will have a box that connects to the PC and then the foot pedal and headset is connected to the box. This box will have a soundcard built into it. This is a helpful feature especially if the secretaries PC does not have a soundcard, or has a poor soundcard built into it. Virtual Secretaries There are many secretaries who are known as cyber secretaries, or virtual secretaries. These are people who have set themselves up to recieve dictation from various sources, and in particular via the internet or email. They can be very useful if you do not employ a full time secretary, or to cover for holidays and illness. Here is a list of a few companies I have worked closely with recently: www.gladwin-services.co.uk www.thescottishoffice.co.uk www.ols-uk.co.uk www.dscribe.co.uk www.talksendtype.co.uk written by Nick French