                              IN CUBE Voice Command
                                 for MS-Windows

                                  Release Notes
                                  Version 1.13

                                November 22, 1994


Release Notes:

     These release notes describe the expanded features of IN CUBE and serve
to supplement the documentation.

     The release notes, in "Write" format, are installed with the sample
lexicons as the file "release.wri".  An ascii text version is installed as
the file, "release.txt".  The release notes are also now available within IN
CUBE's on-line help system.


Microphone Connections

     Microphone connections vary among audio boards. Check the board
manufacturer's documentation. Listed below is some information on popular
boards.

SoundBlaster - Dynamic and electret (self-powered) microphones with 2 or 3
conductor plugs will work.

Microsoft Sound System- Dynamic microphones don't work with this audio board.
This board uses a uniquely wired condenser microphone which is powered from
the jack.

MediaVision - The Pro Audio Basic board has mono microphone input. A 3
conductor plug will not work. If you are using a microphone with a 3
conductor plug like the Audio-Technica PRO 8 supplied by Command Corp., use
a stereo to mono adapter. Radio Shack Cat. No. 274-368.

Logitech Soundman - Same as MediaVision.


Command Keystrokes:

     When entering key sequences into the "keystrokes" field, keep in mind
that the characters associated with control keys are case sensitive.  For
instance, entering a "{Ctrl}b" results in a lower case "b" with the control
key depressed.  Upper case characters are expressed as shifted characters. 
Entering a "{Ctrl}B" results in a "b" with BOTH the control and shift keys
depressed.  Some applications will perform different actions for these two
different cases.

     The "Other keys" scroll list in the lexicon edit windows contains three
options for executing an "Enter".  The "Enter" selection chooses the keypress
for the "Enter" key adjacent to the "qwerty" keys.  The "Num Enter" selection
chooses the keypress for the "Enter" key located on the numeric key pad.  The
"Return" selection enters the code for an ascii "Carriage Return".  This
"Carriage Return" is also equivalent to a "{Ctrl}m".  Use the "Return"
selection to perform a carriage return for applications running in a DOS
command shell window.


Class Identifiers:

     Class identifiers are defined when an application registers one or more
"window classes".  Class identifiers are used by the "class" command in
command mode for locating windows to be raised or opened.

     To determine the class name of a window, click the left mouse button on
the "Window Class" button located in right side of the "New Command" and
"Update Command" dialogue windows.  The cursor will then change to cross-
hairs.  Move the cross-hairs to the title bar or icon of the desired window. 
Clicking any mouse button will then enter the class name of the window into
the keystroke line.  See the IN CUBE on-line help entry on "Window Class" for
more information.


Audio Device Drivers:

     Some device drivers and audio subsystems provided by various
manufactures do not permit opening the audio wave input device immediately
after closing the audio wave output device without yielding the processor in
between.  IN CUBE has been enhanced to work with these drivers by avoiding
the conditions which cause these drivers to fail.

     Some audio device drivers introduce an inordinate amount of time when
switching directly from input mode (record) to output mode (playback).  This
can introduce an unacceptable delay associated with the microphone "beep" as
the voice operated microphone switched is turned on and off.  To work with
these audio drivers, the audio beeps may be disabled from the menu selection
"options->beeps->microphone".  The status of the microphone switch can be
determined by observing the color of the lips icon.


Audio Device Access Contention:

     Most audio device drivers do not permit "sharing" the audio device. 
Also, due to hardware limitations on most boards, the audio input (record)
and audio output (playback) are mutually exclusive.  The standard access
arbitration convention to such exclusive devices normally follows an "acquire
and hold" methodology which means that an application acquires or opens the
audio device and holds it while in use.  Other applications requesting
service from the device get an error when trying to open indicating that the
resource is already allocated.

     IN CUBE now utilizes a "yield on demand" convention for arbitrating
access contention for the audio devices.  When another application requests
service from either the audio input or audio output device, IN CUBE
voluntarily surrenders the audio device.  This occurs transparent to the
other application, requiring no specialized protocol or knowledge on the part
of the other application.  When the other application is finished with the
audio device and returns the resource to the system, IN CUBE then reacquires
the audio device for it's own use once again.

     This has the effect of permitting any arbitrary system module or
application, unrestricted access to the audio input (wave-in) and audio
output (wave-out) devices while maintaining the operation of the speech
recognition subsystem.  When the audio input is allocated to another
application, the recognition subsystem is in a stand-by mode and recognition
is disabled.  For boards and device drivers enforcing mutual exclusion of
audio input and audio output, this also applies when the audio output is
allocated to another application.

     When the audio input is not enabled for IN CUBE to utilize, the
microphone disappears from the lips on the IN CUBE icon.  If the system uses
the audio board to "beep" or if another application requests the audio device
for playing sounds or recording messages, the microphone disappears and
recognition is disabled until the audio device becomes available for IN CUBE
once again.


Copyright(c) 1994 Command Corp. Inc.
