Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Peachpit Learning Series

Speech preferences: Tell your Mac what to do

For years your Mac has had the capability to do what you tell it to do. You can even play your Chess game (found in the Applications folder) by speaking the playing board spaces out loud (see the Chess help files).

Use the Speech system preferences. When you turn on “Speakable Items,” a round microphone window appears, as shown below. You can choose to make it listen only when you have the Escape key pressed (or any other key), or make it listen only when you first say a keyword (the default, as shown below, is “Computer”). Turn on “Speakable Items,” hold down the Escape key, and say, “What time is ...