How to use dictation in Mountain Lion

One of my favorite new features in OS X Mountain Lion isn’t reminders or Messages – they’re pretty awesome in their own right. Instead, I’ve been using the dictation and speech tool.

If you’re not familiar with this feature, what it does is it lets mac users speak to their mac – when composing emails, performing a Google search, writing a Microsoft Word document, sending and posting a status update in Facebook – among other applications.

To help you use dication in Mountain Lion, I’ve put together instructions along with a short video walking you through how to use dictation in Mountain Lion.

Continue reading How to use dictation in Mountain Lion

App of the day: Google Goggles

Google Goggles logoToday’s app of the day doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s from a company we know very very well – Google. They have come up with an app for both Android and iOS users called Google Goggles, that let’s you use your voice to search the web! Now I know what you’re thinking, that’s it? Nope.

Google Goggles, in addition to offering voice search, this app also let’s you take a photo of something and it will search the web for that item – I know, it’s mind-blowing how it works!

For those of you who need to see this in action, I’ve included a short video below along with my thoughts on this app below.

Continue reading App of the day: Google Goggles

How to teach Siri to tweet for you on your iPhone 4S

For those of you who have tried Siri, Apple’s breakthrough voice recognition software, it’s pretty amazing. It’s great for composing text messages, making calls, and sending emails. Unfortunately, it doesn’t let you interact too much with the apps on your Apple iPhone 4S.

In addition to saving you time by letting you compose tweets using voice recognition, Siri gives you the ability to compose an email; however, you cannot open other apps, such as Twitter and send a tweet.

That’s where this helpful tip comes in. Not only can you use Siri for composing an email, opening websites and setting reminders, but you can save yourself some time by composing tweets too — when you’re on the way to meet up with friends, walking from the building to the car, even when you’re driving (let’s hope you use a hands-free bluetooth headset).

Here’s how to teach Siri to tweet for you from your Apple iPhone 4S – in just 5 steps.

Enable text messaging

Turn on Twitter mobile settingsOn your computer, visit Twitter and enable text messaging. To do this, login to Twitter > Click Settings (top right corner), and then mobile. For those of you have unlimited texting with your mobile provider, this feature works great for you. If you are limited with your text messages, this might not be the best option.

Enter your phone number

Twitter mobile phone settingsOnce in the mobile settings section, enter your iPhone 4S mobile phone number with area code in the field labeled "Phone number." Click 'activate phone.'

Verify your phone

Once  you've setup Twitter to allow for mobile updates, the next thing you need to do is verify your phone. To do this, send a text message to 40404 (if you're in the United States) with the word "GO"

Create a Twitter contact

Add Twitter as an iPhone 4S contactOn your iPhone 4S, create a new contact. In the 'first name' field, enter "Twitter."  Add a phone number - put in 40404 (United States). If  you are in a different location, here's a list of Twitter shortcodes to choose from.

Have Siri send a tweet

Send a tweet from SiriTo use Siri, either hold the home button or put the phone up to your ear. When you hear a beep, say "text Twitter." Tell Siri what to tweet and then send it. Should you need to edit your message beforehand, you can do so as well before you send it.

Continue reading How to teach Siri to tweet for you on your iPhone 4S