Hi Will,
it sounds like you have XP narator turned on.
From XP help;
Utility Manager overviewUtility Manager enables users to check an
accessibility program's status and start or stop an accessibility program.
Users with administrator-level access can designate to have the program
start when Utility Manager starts. Users can also start accessibility
programs before logging on to the computer by pressing the Windows logo key
+ U at the Welcome screen.

The built-in accessibility programs available from the Utility Manager are
Magnifier, Narrator, and On-Screen Keyboard. Narrator, a text-to-speech
program, starts when Utility Manager opens. This gives users who are blind
or have impaired vision immediate access to Utility Manager.

Using Utility Manager, you can tell Windows to automatically start
accessibility programs each time you log on to your computer, when you lock
your computer desktop, or when Utility Manager starts. For example, you can
specify that Magnifier start automatically the next time you log on to your
computer. This eliminates the need for you to go through the steps of
opening Magnifier each time you log on to your computer.

I hope this helps.

Mike Baynes
It is a good day if I learned something new.
Editor MikesWhatsNews http://www.mwn.ca/
*********** MIKE"S REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

Date:    Tue, 18 May 2004 11:16:08 -0400
From:    Will Stephenson <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Microphone madness

Hello!

I have a client with an interesting problem (laptop with Windows XP home):
when he is typing in Word (XP), sometimes the program freezes for a few
seconds, then throws all the typed letters onto the screen all in a rush.
Stranger yet, sometimes letters appear that he hasn't even typed! My
immediate suspicion was an overactive microphone.

As we went through (over the phone) the various settings places in XP for
sound and microphone (volume icon in the system tray, sound and audio in
control panel, language in control panel), I found that there seemed to be
no way to actually turn the microphone off (the mute button was not able to
be unchecked). Since we were on the phone, I followed on my system and found
the same results.

The questions: Is there a way to turn a microphone off (we have turned sound
off completely which seems to do the trick)? And is there some setting in
Windows or in Word that controls this speech to text phenomena? There seems
to be no taskbar language bar issues here - again, that I can find.

Thanks for your help and thoughts!

Will Stephenson
mailto:[log in to unmask]

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