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Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

withaqua.com

31–40 of 90 posts

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#31

This looks like it'll slurp up all your data and upload it into a cloud. Thanks, no. I want privacy, offline mode and source code for something as crucial to system security as an input method. "we also collect and process your voice inputs [..] We leverage this data for improvements and development [..] Sharing of your information [..] service providers [..] OpenAI" https://withaqua.com/privacy

Agreed.

This is where I bounce (out of this discussion).

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#33

This looks like it'll slurp up all your data and upload it into a cloud. Thanks, no. I want privacy, offline mode and source code for something as crucial to system security as an input method. "we also collect and process your voice inputs [..] We leverage this data for improvements and development [..] Sharing of your information [..] service providers [..] OpenAI" https://withaqua.com/privacy

I totally agree, I created BetterDictation (.com) exactly because of that. Offline was a super important requirement for me.

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#34
This is super impressive, great job!

Side-comment of something this made me think of (again): tech builds too much for tech. I've lived in the Bay before, so I know why this happens. When you're there, everyone around you is in tech, your girlfriend is in tech, you go to parties and everyone invariably ends up talking about work, which is tech. Your frustrations are with tech tools and so are your peers', so you're constantly thinking about tech solutions applicable to tech's problems.

This seems very much marketed to SF people doing SF things ("Cursor, Gmail, Slack, even your terminal"). I wonder how much effort has gone into making this work with code editors or the terminal, even though I doubt this would a big use-case for this software if it ever became generally popular. I'd imagine the market here is much larger in education, journalism, film, accessibility, even government. Those are much more exciting demos.

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#36

This looks like it'll slurp up all your data and upload it into a cloud. Thanks, no. I want privacy, offline mode and source code for something as crucial to system security as an input method. "we also collect and process your voice inputs [..] We leverage this data for improvements and development [..] Sharing of your information [..] service providers [..] OpenAI" https://withaqua.com/privacy

First thing I looked for and read: the FAQ.

No mention of privacy (or on prem) - so assumed it's 100% cloud.

Non-starter for me. Accuracy is important, but privacy is more so.

Hopefully a service with these capabilities will be available where the first step has the user complete a brief training session, sends that to the cloud to tailor the recognition parameters for their voice and mannerisms... then loads that locally.

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#37

This looks like it'll slurp up all your data and upload it into a cloud. Thanks, no. I want privacy, offline mode and source code for something as crucial to system security as an input method. "we also collect and process your voice inputs [..] We leverage this data for improvements and development [..] Sharing of your information [..] service providers [..] OpenAI" https://withaqua.com/privacy

And man it's another monthly subscription. I'm not mad at them for finding a gap in the market and putting a business around it. I'm mad at Apple for leaving that gap... hopefully built in voice dictation improves quickly.

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#38

This looks like it'll slurp up all your data and upload it into a cloud. Thanks, no. I want privacy, offline mode and source code for something as crucial to system security as an input method. "we also collect and process your voice inputs [..] We leverage this data for improvements and development [..] Sharing of your information [..] service providers [..] OpenAI" https://withaqua.com/privacy

And man it's another monthly subscription. I'm not mad at them for finding a gap in the market and putting a business around it. I'm mad at Apple for leaving that gap... hopefully built in voice dictation improves quickly.

Is there a gap in the market? It's being rapidly filled with the likes of MacWhisper, etc., which offer local-only, one-off pricing.

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#39
I’ve been using this for a while now and I really enjoy it. I ran into a semi-obscure bug and emailed them and they basically fixed it the same day.

I do wish there was a mobile app though (or maybe an iOS keyboard). It would also be nice to be able to have a separate hotkey you can set up to send the output to a specific app (instead of just the active one).

Re: Show HN: Aqua Voice 2 – Fast Voice Input for Mac and Windows

#40
post #39

I’ve been using this for a while now and I really enjoy it. I ran into a semi-obscure bug and emailed them and they basically fixed it the same day. I do wish there was a mobile app though (or maybe an iOS keyboard). It would also be nice to be able to have a separate hotkey you can set up to send the output to a specific app (instead of just the active one).

thanks! We're working on iOS, but it's tough to get the ergos right given all of Apple's restrictions and neglected APIs.
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