2001: A Home Office Odyssey - Technology Information

Home Office Computing, Sept, 2000 by David Haskin

Since market leader Lernout & Hauspie bought its arch competitor Dragon Systems last year, L&H's Voice Xpress Professional 5 ($150; 800-843-1224, www.lhs.com) is the obvious choice. Not only does the program turn your spoken dictation into editable text in all your applications, it's smart enough to ignore any "umms" and "ahhs" along the way. Moreover, L&H is gearing up to release a product that speech-enables Web devices: You'll be able to ask your tablet to go off to the Web and bring back news on a client's company, which is read to you in a human-sounding voice.

And that's just the start of the conversation. The JFax.com universal messaging service lets you dial a toll-free number to listen to your e-mail, while BeVocal (www.bevocal.com) provides everything from driving directions to stock quotes and flight information read over the telephone. IBM has even stirred its ViaVoice technology into its Web server via the VoiceXML standard, so you can listen to Web pages on your wireless phone.

Alternative Operating Systems

Microsoft's Windows. Net rebirth isn't due until 2002 or probably later, and "Whistler" the code name for the long-awaited operating system merging Windows 95/98/Me with Windows 2000-was supposed to arrive this holiday season, but Redmond's rethinking and renaming it Windows. Net 1.0 caused more delay.

You're happy enough with Windows and its huge software selection that you've no immediate plans to switch, but Apple-loyal artist Linda is delighted with the improved multitasking and snazzy interface of Mac OS X, and several of your formerly Windows-using friends have kissed the "blue screen of death" goodbye for the stability and speed of Linux packages like Caldera System's OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4 ($40; 888-GO-LINUX, www.caldera.com).

Even with such defections, Linux hasn't budged Windows from its dominant place on the desktop--but that seems to matter less and less.

The Gateway/AOL and Intel Dot. Station Internet appliances use Linux, while the Qubit tablet uses a BeOS variant called BeIA. You've even heard a radio commercial for Adomo (www.adomo.com), which offers a Linux-based "home information system" consisting of a home server plus wireless terminals placed throughout the house.

In an increasingly Web-based world, what matters is quick, convenient access to information, not the operating system or silicon that gets you there.

DSL: Fast and Faster

Many technologies you're using in 2001 are dependent on high-speed Internet access, with digital subscriber line (DSL) phone service increasingly outshining cable access for that honor. Companies like Motorola have created "soft DSL" counterparts to previous years' software-based, bargain-priced 56Kbps modems or Winmodems, so DSL compatibility--like l0Mbps phoneline home networking--is standard equipment on the motherboards of more and more PCs.

As for speed, while you're probably enjoying download rates between 256Kbps and 768Kbps for your affordable DSL connection, turbo-speed DSL is just around the corner ... or is it?