Hacker News Reader

In 1999 IBM released a free version of ViaVoice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_ViaVoice). IBM sold ViaVoice in 2003 and all distribution functions passed to ScanSoft, now called Nuance (http://www-01.ibm.com/software/pervasive/viavoice.html). Does IBM still own the whole stack, or is it based on Nuance code?

Are there plans to open up parts of the older voice technology and contribute it e.g. to CMU Sphinx?

View on HN

We only gave up the shrinkwrap product; the core technology stayed with IBM.

Sorry, I missed the question at the bottom. We were very proud of ViaVoice at the time but to make an obvious point, the technology has moved on a lot over the past ten or so years...

The old ViaVoice can't compete with Watson Voice & Nuance but would be a good alternative to existing open source voice technology that is years behind. It's highly unlikely that IBM would release such tech, nevertheless it would be appreciated.

We are flattered by the interest and will look into it; obviously given no one has looked at this for years, it is not a likely possibility.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com