NALscribe (new voice to text) app for Mobile & IPad

Yeah Heather, I do… iPhone Pro, iPad Pro, iMac i7, MacBook M2 Pro, I am a bit of a Apple freak, I like quality, and Apple exudes that… I also have a Windows 11 i5 Laptop, specifically for Phonak Target Software, for self programming my aids But, in my younger days, I built my own computers… Eventually, I realised, no matter how big a PC I built, nothing quite needs to be with an ultra fast CPU, and ultra slick RAM, reliability became my watchword, alongside quality, processing speed wasn’t a consideration anymore as they where all relatively fast… For instance my iPhone 12 Pro… Last year, my 2 years was up, so I planned an iPhone 15 Pro, I usually upgrade my iPhone every couple of years or so, I normally buy new, but I wait till a an iPhone has been out for 6 months or a year, before I commit to buy, its usually a lot cheaper by then, if you shop around! But at the backend of 2023, I was hesitant, I liked my iPhone 12 Pro, it was still slick, and fast, it took good images, and in its case, it still looked new, but the battery had degraded enough to be annoying! I could have easily changed the battery myself, but I also like to support the local small shops, so I paid around £50 to the phone repair shop, to install a “New Battery”, I went back an hour later, and it was done, and what a difference, approximately 50% more runtime, faster charging up time, it was indeed a better battery than the original! My only gripe, was it wouldn’t update, Apple tries to block updates (illegally IMO) if you install 3rd party batteries, but thankfully there is a workaround, once you know how, it now updates perfect… I have tried Android phones in the past, suffice to say, I am not keen on these That NALscribe, seems very slick, I will try it out over the next few weeks, its free, so if its no use, you aren’t out of pocket Cheers Kev

You are preaching to the choir I do have a old Windows gaming laptop that I mostly use for the increasing rare times I need an actual computer but aside from that we are an Apple house with our iPhones and iPads doing most of the heavy lifting. I used try really be into gaming and building my own computers too but now that software is my job I just want stuff that works at home, I spend enough of my day debugging and troubleshooting!

Seems there are quite a few captioning apps on the App Store - funny I never thought to check before! I wonder how they differ from each other and the built in Live Transcription that is in iOS 17. I mostly only talk on the phone with my husband (everyone else texts) but it could be useful when we are doing a group FaceTime with my in-laws.

I guess it was made for Iphone … not very intuitive on a non Iphone … seems to only work with a phone call … not face to face. Or I am just to stupid to find that option.

This is sooooo helpful !! I have to communicate cell phone to cell phone in a noisy environment at work (hospital ED) and lots of folks have heavy accents, which are the two hearing situations I have most trouble with if my hearing aids are not connected by bluetooth. I struggled to make NALscribe work on the highly regulated work phone, but using the beta iPhone Live Captions function works a charm !!!

I am glad you are getting some benefit from this app @JulieP… Hopefully, NALscribe will help elevate some of the stress at work, anything that can improve communication in a challenging listening environment, can only create, a slightly more positive experience… Take care, cheers Kev

@kevels55 it looks like Julie is using the iPhone beta Live Caption function I was talking about earlier - especially with locked down work phones it can be hard to install unapproved 3rd party apps so having the functionality built in to the iPhone now is a benefit in those cases. It doesn’t allow copy and paste or saving so the other apps may have some advantages even so depending on your needs.

Note: I previously called the iPhone functionality live transcription but it’s actually called live caption - it seems different apps and platforms have different names for the same thing and I get them mixed up

You can, I believe “Jailbreak” them Dave? Although, I have never felt the need… So I would not know where to start… @Heather_R is a software expert, she is a far better person to ask than me, when I start having problems with my iMac, I just wipe it clean, remove the Operating System completely, and reinstall a new clean version, I did this a few weeks back, as my iMac wouldn’t update, and no access whatsoever to the App Store, occasionally it would crash, it’s coming up on 10 years old (Late 2014) i7 processor, 32gig of RAM, 27in screen, that’s the second time over the years, I have had the iMac, that I have wiped it completely, the Apple Cloud reinstalls everything, like photos, videos, bookmark’s etc’, it’s like you have a new computer, albeit a new 10 years old one, as slick & fast as it was in it’s hay day I am most certainly not an expert Dave, I know enough to get bye, and anything I am unsure of, Google & YouTube are my friends I would indeed consider saving hard for a newer Mac Dave, or newer to you… I save first, then consider the options, new or second hand, second hand is usually my preferred choice, new is when all else fails… I will consider first, the CPU or Computer Processor Unit, i5, i7, i9, M1 or M2 are all excellent CPU’s in ascending order, a minimum of 8gig of RAM (Random Access Memory) is next, but 16gig, or 32gig is obviously much better… 64gig is a dream machine! Next up is the Hard Drive, my minimum requirement would be 256gig of SSD (Solid State Drive) obviously the bigger the better, 512gig is ideal for me, 1 or 2tb is another dream machine! A Fusion Drive is okay though, IMO… It is certainly not rocket science, and more of a common sense thing, but basically the higher end the component’s are, they command a high end price, even second hand, especially so with Apple, they last! I buy a lot of stuff on social media, (Facebook) there are bargains to be had, and most folks sell on their to get rid of stuff they don’t use, they aren’t looking for profit, just looking for some of their money back… A 14 year old Mac, is fine, but it is going to go at some point, nothing lasts forever… I rarely drink nowadays, I don’t smoke anymore, I vape though, I make my own vape, house is paid for, cars & vans also paid, so I have no major outgoings, I don’t have a credit card as I don’t believe in them! I save if I want something… Cheers Kev

@DaveL 14 years is pretty old, even for a Mac, I usually find after 10 years it gets harder and harder to keep them working well and as you notice, eventually Apple stops supporting it and even the websites no longer work well on such old browsers.

My question would be what you use your iMac for and whether you truly need another iMac or if an iPad or lower cost laptop would work. In the US you can get an 9th gen iPad brand new for $250 but not sure about Canada. Are you committed to staying with Apple or would you be willing to look at Windows or Android laptops/tablets?

I would like to somehow set “Live Ttanscribe” to work with internal sounds. Although the application does not support it, but maybe there is an application that would enable it, to imitate the sound of the microphone for that application. I find it useful when listening to podcasts, it can also be useful when listening in a foreign language.

Thanks Kev

I’ll get a keyboard for the iPad Air.
Your words help.

DaveL

@kevels55 I hate to be a party pooper, but I’ve been using this app when needed since it was released during Covid in November 2021. So not exactly new for me…

It was developed in Australia, this could be the reason I got it in 2021. I’ve found it extremely useful for myself, and very easy to use. Also it’s FREE….

https://g3ict.org/headlines/australia-new-app-developed-for-persons-with-hearing-impairment13

Just an anecdote that’s almost on topic.

I had a physiotherapy appointment a few days ago. The guy’s very good at what he does but… a complete mumbler. I’m down to one hearing aid, the room was very reverberant… I was getting close to nothing of what he was saying, to the point where it was almost a waste of time being there. It was more for advice than treatment.

At one point I was on the couch and a light bulb turned on in my head. I asked him to hand me my phone, tapped the shortcut for the Android equivalent of this app, and the session was saved. Seriously. I spent the rest of our time reading his speech off the phone. Surreal but effective.