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Dasher 3.2.0 released

Submitted by stro on Tue, 2003-11-18 13:14. Gnome Accessibility
Gnome Accessibility

Version 3.2.0 of the Dasher predictive text entry application is now available for download, with binary packages (currently for Debian and Solaris).

This version is the first release of the new stable branch, and is aimed at the GNOME 2.4 and 2.5 desktops (but will continue to work happily under 2.2). New features include integration with the GNOME accessibility framework and gnome-speech, and the ability to enter text directly into other applications. Screenshots can be found at http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/images/Solaris.png - that's Dasher running under Sun's Solaris GNOME happily (sorry about the fonts, they look lovely locally...)

We're planning on moving over to GNOME CVS in the very near future (having been somewhat caught up in finishing off this release), so translation shouldn't be a problem. On a slightly separate note, I'm going to be in Toronto next week with the aim of meeting up with the GOK team - with a bit of luck, we'll be able to come up with some interesting ideas for integration of the text-entry technologies.

Re: Dasher 3.2.0 released

Submitted by Anonymous George on Wed, 2003-11-19 17:10.

Sorry to be pedantic here, but there is no dictionary in Dasher - instead there's a probabilistic model of the language which learns which words seem 'right' and which seem 'wrong' based on a large example text that it looks at before you use it, and the text you enter. This gives it the advantage that you can write anything - you aren't limited to things in the dictionary as you are with some predictive systems - but valid words are a lot easier. This also means that it learns your writing style, and any names or technical words that you use a lot. However, the whole thing works so well that most people get the impression that there must be a dictionary somewhere.

And yes, I'd definitely recommend giving it a go - you reall do need to try it out to appreciate how it works.

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