Several years ago I fell and permanently injured the nerves in my right hand, so too much keyboard time can literally cramp my style. Hoping to ease the strain, I recently tested the latest versions of three popular voice-recognition software packages: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 9 ($899), IBM ViaVoice Pro USB Edition, version 10 ($189.99), and the speech-recognition software included in the Ultimate version of Microsoft's new Vista operating system ($399). I tried all three systems on notebooks and desktops running various versions of Windows XP's small-business edition. I used them for everything from dictating e-mail to composing formal marketing pitches. Each system started easily at the click of an icon. But before they would follow my orders, I had to teach them my speech patterns by reading several scripts that appeared onscreen.

Barry O'Sullivan, head of Cisco's Voice Technology Group, told Reuters the company wants to add more sophisticated voice-recognition technology to its products aimed at helping office workers communicate more flexibly. He was not sure if the network equipment maker would develop such technology internally or through partnerships or acquisitions. In the past however Cisco hasn't been one to wait too long to jump on a technology it considers hot.

And from the sounds of it, voice recognition is showing up a lot more on Cisco's radar: "We'd like to be able to do things like search for stored conference calls, and intelligent tagging of voice," O'Sullivan told Reuters. "There's a $30 billion market opportunity out there. We're all circling around it with different strengths and we all want a piece of the pie."

Stemming from a well-established board in the more right-wing areas of the online gaming world, a user who nailed the Wii-Mote speaker news months before the E3 announcement claims Nintendo will make the voice-to-text technology an absolute standard in all elements of Wii online, reflective of it's security-conscious stance towards gaming and communication over the Internet.

It's certainly true that speech recognition has a devoted user base, especially among differently abled workers. The technology has long helped those who aren't able to see their computer screens well or at all, and so rely on speech recognition to read a Web site for them, or help input a word processing document. It has also proven useful for people with repetitive stress injuries and other people unable to use a keyboard and mouse.

And in the future, POS hand-helds will be even more efficient. Ameranth Wireless Inc. was recently awarded patents for its handwriting and voice-recognition devices. While both will decrease time spent navigating through screens, Keith McNally, CEO, believes voice recognition holds the most promise. "When you speak, you don't lose eye contact. It's a more natural experience."

Charles Jorgensen is working to solve both problems, using an uncanny technology called subvocal speech recognition. Jorgensen demonstrates it at his offices at NASA's Ames Research Laboratory in Mountain View, Calif. He attaches a set of electrodes to the skin of his throat and, without his opening his mouth or uttering a sound, his words are recognized and begin appearing on a computer screen. The Ames lab has already used subvocal commands to drive a car around a virtual city in a computer simulation and to Google the Web using nothing but unuttered search terms and commands.

...Each program is different. Though the courses are demanding, they are taught differently. Less "chalk and talk," more hands-on experiences and technology, such as voice-activated computers.

"This isn't some watered-down curriculum," Johnson said. "We push our students somewhere between frustrating and challenging ... that's where true learning happens."