.NET news » Multimedia

Just when you thought there wasn't anything new that you could do with a webcam, along comes this article, which shows you how to exploit the AVICap Windows class so you can integrate on-demand screen captures into your applications.

{ End Bracket }: Building Voice User Interfaces

Speech-enabled applications require specialized grammars that clearly define the types of input they're expected to parse and understand. Find out how to build grammars by walking through the process of building a grammar for an order status retrieval system that lets callers retrieve orders by voice.

Online Article: Multimedia Control

If you've ever tried to find classes in the .NET Framework that allow you to play audio and video, you may have noticed the gaping hole where this functionality should be.If you think Microsoft has finally gotten around to fixing this glaring omission in version 2 of the framework, you're only partially correct. While some basic audio capabilities will be provided (as described later in this article,) they still leave a lot to be desired. On the other hand, the free MediaPlayer component provided with this article demonstrates a more feature-rich solution to your multimedia needs-and it's compatible with all versions of the .NET Framework.

Windows Vista includes powerful speech capabilities, exposed through a number of new APIs that let your users interact with your apps using speech rather than with a keyboard or mouse. Robert Brown shows you how to take advantage of these APIs.

Online Article: Building Speech-Enabled Applications with ASP.NET

While sleepless the other night, I was channel surfing and ran across a rerun of the 1968 science fiction classic "2001: A Space Odyssey."If you haven't seen this movie, it's definitely a must see. HAL, one of the main characters of the movie, is a slightly psychotic speech-enabled super computer. HAL is responsible for steering the Discovery spacecraft on its ill-fated Jupiter mission. As I watched the movie I was completely amazed at HAL's abilities. HAL handled press interviews, played a wicked game of chess, has varied opinions on art, controls life support, and can read lips. Not to completely destroy the movie if you haven't seen it, but I have to say that I am grateful that most of the movie's predictions aren't true. However, like the HAL of 1968, speech-enabled applications have become a core requirement for both corporate and commercial developers. In this article, I'll help you explore the Microsoft Speech Platform that comprises the Speech Application Software Development Kit (SASDK) and Microsoft Speech Server 2004. I'll also show you how you can use these technologies with Visual Studio 2003 to both build and deploy speech-enabled applications.