Created in early 2004, UNEASYsilence aims to deliver daily coverage of offbeat & generally geeky news. Subscribe via RSS or Email.

READING single

Voice activated Mac OS X Front Row

Posted in Apple, Cool by Derek at 5:30 pm
closeThis post was published 2 years 9 months 30 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.

Dylan pointed me out to a tip which will provide Mac OS X users with a convenient voice activated method of running Front Row. The walk-through explains the steps necessary to get the functionality working and is one worth implementing for anyone who might have their hands full.

Make sure “Listen continuously with keyword” is set to on and the keyword is Computer. Now turn Speakable Items on and say the following command “Define A Keyboard Command” a dialog box will pop open asking for a set of keyboard strokes. Hold down Command and press Esc it will show up as Command+Esc if so click ok. Where it says “By Saying this Phrase” type in the phrase you wish to use. In my case Open Front Row. Click on the Any Application radial and click Save. Once you have done this go back into Keyboard & Mouse and turn the shortcut back on. Once this is ready say “Open Front Row” and front row should open. Say it again and it should close. You can set up another command using “Close Front Row” if you would like.

A fairly basic setup that many people might overlook. The voice activated featured built into Mac OS X are generally an overlooked feature. The key is activating the necessary Front Row application shortcut CMD+Esc using an audible keyword.

One Response to “Voice activated Mac OS X Front Row”

  1. Raffi says:

    Any chance that making OS X listen constantly for the key words would use up CPU and cause unnecessary heat for my Macbook?

Additional comments powered by BackType