Voice in SL?

I would also like to mention the added advantages and accecability options that voice chat can allow for those not so able at typing, those with physical disabilities and those with simply crap typing skills lol
I have a chronic illness and when my hands ache I can't come in to SL even if I'm just sitting around chating to friends because my hands are too cramped to type with. If I had the option to use verbal chat I'd love it.

I'd love to see VR software translating any chat to text so those who choose not to hear voices can still read the chat - just my thoughts

Andale I am sorry to hear about the difficulty you have with your hands, mine is simply that I am as you put it a 'crappy typist'.

But even if you are aan excellent typist the efficiencies realized by doing something else with your hands as you speak or listen is amazing. The best example of this is one of the most critical resources in Second Life, education.

It is very infective and sometimes downright impossible to follow a class with typed chat, especially a 'hands on' class where you are following the educator by doing something at the same time. Blocked chat bubble, missed reading or sequence, or even the cursed 'lag' all lead to a discontinuity in the learning process.

An excellent example of this is Anna Adamant''s experiment with voice using TeamSpeak technology at her Elpenor Mature Sandbox - Peacefu, Elpenor (190, 46, 39). I went to a lesson on Wednesday. It was great! Not only did it go faster and and learn faster but it was a treat to hear the voices of other people that I know, like Anna's sweet souther accent.

I did not have a microphone setup but I was able to download the software client and run it so that I could listen, I still had to type but experience was still better. I am on a Mac so the software is available to both PC and Mac users and it is free.

If you would like to 'witness' this process, get the software, and come to her Sandbox today at 1:00 PM PST/SLT today. Anna will not be doing another for awhile because she has real world obligations for several weeks but she would like to use it in the future. Others in Second Life should consider this sound option until Sl can bring ib their own.

Link for TeamSpeak and TeamSpeex software...

http://www.goteamspeak.com/

After the Second Life Telecommunications System went belly up, Skype presented itself as a wonderful alternative. I, and others, use it both inworld and out. It makes cooperative building so much easier, and you don't have to fight off the constant Pizza spam. So to each, decide for yourself, but don't condemn because we use another tool available.

Zyog, you use Skype now, in SL? I did not know you could do that, please, please tell me all that you know give me voice, let me hear...

PS I am on a Mac, if that matters.

Sounds like a job for a speech-to-text app that does keyboard emulation for the transcribed text.