3 Mobile Apps for Converting Voice to Text

There are hundreds of apps that let you search, write emails, take notes and set appointments with your smartphone. But, for some people, the small size of a phone's keyboard or touch screen can be limiting and difficult to use.

If you have trouble seeing the small type, have a lack of finger dexterity or just think better out loud, you might benefit from a tool that allows you to convert spoken words to written words. Here's a look at three different speech-to-text apps that can help you get things done with a lot less hassle:

1. Dragon Dictation. This app has only one button. Simply tap it and start talking. Dragon Dictation handles the rest. The text appears after you finish dictating, so it might take a little getting used to. But once you get the rhythm, you can process lengthy emails and other documents with a high degree of accuracy in one of 30 different languages or dialects.

Once the app has transcribed your speech, you can send it out via email or copy and paste to another application. You can also post directly to Facebook and Twitter, or save your text to use later on. Best of all, the app is free for the iPhone and iPad but it does require a network connection to work.

2. Evernote for Android. Evernote was designed to help you keep track of ideas and inspirations. You always could use the app to record audio notes such as lectures or meetings, but now it also allows you to turn those audio files into text.

Unlike Dragon Dictation, Evernote saves both the audio and the text file together so you can use the app's search ability to find a recorded note. The app can be a handy tool for recording all your thoughts at the end of each day. Say what's on your mind, then sort through the data later.

The app is free, but because Evernote uses Google Android's text transcription service, you do need to be online to use it.

3. Voice Assistant. This newly redesigned app has a fast access feature that makes it even easier to post to Twitter, Facebook or email. Switch on your preferred option and Voice Assistant converts your transcriptions to the proper format without additional clicks.

Use the auto copy feature to send your transcriptions to other apps such as Google Search, YouTube, Evernote or Pages. You can also send your transcription straight to a wireless printer.

Voice Assistant uses intelligent speech recognition so it learns with every use. It also has grammar correction and on-screen editing with suggestions for corrections.

The app costs 99 cents and is available for the iPhone and iPad.

How to Get Rid of Sunstroke

Two Methods:Helping Someone with SunstrokePreventing Sunstroke

Sunstroke is a serious condition and should not be taken lightly. Sometimes called heat stroke, sunstroke happens if the body is exposed to hot temperatures for prolonged periods of time, causing one's temperature to rise to 105 degrees fahrenheit or higher.^[1] If you are suffering from heatstroke alone or are assisting someone else, there are basic steps you can take. Your first goal is to lower the body's temperature slowly. If you can successfully do this early enough, your body will naturally recover. If you suffer from a heatstroke long enough, there are serious repercussions. If at all possible, get medical attention promptly.

Method 1 of 2: Helping Someone with Sunstroke

1. 
   1
   Call emergency services. Depending on the symptoms and the person, you may wish to call your primary care physician or 911. Pay close attention to symptoms. Prolonged heat stroke damages the brain, causing anxiety, confusion, seizures, headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, hallucinations, coordination problems, unconsciousness, and restlessness. ^[2] Sunstroke can also affect the heart, kidneys, and muscles.^[3] It’s better to be safe than sorry. Call emergency services if you observe any of the following symptoms:

   • Signs of shock (ex. bluish lips and fingernails, confusion)
   • Loss of consciousness
   • A temperature over 102F (38.9C)
   • Rapid breathing and/or pulse
   • Weak heartbeat, lethargy, nausea, vomiting, and dark urine
   • Seizures. If the person is having seizures, clear the area for the patient’s safety. Place a tongue depressor or something similar in his mouth to reduce the risk of him biting his tongue. If you can, place a pillow under his head so it does not bang on the ground during the convulsions.^[4]
   • If milder symptoms persist for an extended time (longer than an hour), make the call.^[5]
2. 2
   Avoid medications. Our first instinct is to take medicine when we don't feel good. If you are suffering from sunstroke, certain medications will only make the situation worse. Don’t use medications for fever like aspirin or acetaminophen. These can be harmful during a heatstroke because they may increase bleeding. Medications for a fever work well on someone with an infection, not on someone with heat stroke.^[6]

   • Don’t give the person anything by mouth if he is vomiting or unconscious. Anything that enters the person’s mouth could become a choking hazard.^[7]
3. 
   3
   Cool the person down. While you wait for emergency services, get the person to a shady, cool (preferably air-conditioned) area.

   • Help the person remove any extra clothing (hat, shoes, socks) to aid in the cooling process.
   • Get the person into a cool bath, shower, stream, or pond if possible. Avoid very cold temperatures. The same goes for using ice, which may also mask the signs of a slow heartbeat and cardiac arrest.^[8] Do not do this if the person is unconscious. You can put a cool, wet rag on the back of the neck, on the groin, and/or under the armpits. If you can, mist and fan the person to promote evaporative cooling.^[9] Either mist the person with cool water or place a wet sheet over their body before fanning them; this will cause evaporative cooling, which is faster than simply wetting the person.
   • Do not rub the person’s body with alcohol. This is an old wives' tale. Alcohol cools the body too quickly, which can result in a dangerous temperature fluctuation. Rub the person’s body with cool water, never alcohol. ^[10]
4. 
   4
   Replenish fluids and electrolytes. Have the person sip either Gatorade or salty water (1tsp salt per qt water) to counteract both dehydration and the loss of salts through sweating. Don’t allow him to drink quickly, which can induce shock. If you don't have any salt or Gatorade, plain water will help also.^[11]

   • Alternatively, you can administer salt tablets. Doing so can help balance electrolytes. Follow the instructions on the bottle.^[12]
5. 
   5
   Have the person stay calm. When the patient stays calm, the patient can help.^[13]Minimize agitation by breathing deeply. Focus on other things besides your sunstroke. Anxiety will only make your blood pump faster, raising your temperature a little more. Read How to Calm Yourself During an Anxiety Attack for more pointers.

   • Massage the person's muscles. Massage gently. Your goal is to increase the circulation in the muscles.^[14] Muscle cramps are one of the early symptoms of sunstroke. Usually the calf areas are most affected.^[15]
6. 6
   Lay the person down. One of the most prominent effects of sunstroke is fainting. Protect against fainting by laying the person down.

   • If the person does faint, turn him onto his left side with his left leg bent for stabilization. This position is called the recovery position.^[16] Check the person's mouth for vomit, so they do not choke.The left side is the best side for blood flow because our hearts are on that side.^[17]

Method 2 of 2: Preventing Sunstroke

1. 1
   Know who is at risk. The elderly, workers in hot environments, obese, diabetics, those with kidney, heart, or circulation problems, and babies are at high risk. Those that have inactive or inefficient sweat glands are particularly susceptible to sunstroke. Avoid activities that force your body to retain heat, especially when it is hot outside like exercising, over-bundling your baby, or being out in the heat for too long without water.

   • Certain medications also put people at greater risk. These include beta blockers, diuretics, and some medicines used to treat depression, psychosis, or ADHD. ^[18]
2. 2
   Pay attention to the weather. If the heat index is above 90 degree fahrenheit or close to it, be cautious. Avoid taking babies and elderly people out into the heat.

   • Be aware of the heat island effect. The heat island effect happens when the rural areas are cooler than the city areas. Those in the crowded city usually have increased temperatures ranging from 1.8 - 5.4 degrees fahrenheit higher than in rural areas. At nighttime, the difference can be up to 22 degrees fahrenheit. It can happen in communities because of air pollution, greenhouse gases, water quality, air conditioning costs and energy consumption.^[19]
   • Wear light clothing appropriate for the weather.
3. 3
   Stay out of direct sunlight. Take frequent breaks and find shady areas if working outside. Use sunscreen to avoid sunburn. Always wear a hat when out in the sun, especially if you are susceptible to sunstroke.

   • One of the most unfortunate causes of sunstroke is sitting in a hot car. Do not sit in a hot car. And do not leave children alone in the car, even for a few minutes.
   • If you decide to exercise, avoid the peak sun hours from 11:00am to 3:00 pm.^[20]
4. 4
   Drink water to stay hydrated. Watch your urine color, it should stay a light yellowish color.

   • Don’t drink caffeine. This will tell the body to become stimulated when what it needs to do is calm down. Though black coffee is 95% water, the effect of caffeine on the body is harmful when the person has signs of sunstroke. The heart will beat harder and faster.^[21]
5. 5
   Avoid alcoholic drinks outdoors on hot days. Alcohol can interfere with body temperature by constricting your blood vessels, making it harder for blood to flow to keep you warm.^[22]

source wikihow

Sally Ride’s 64th Birthday

• Sally Ride’s 64th Birthday

• Behind The Doodle
  
   
  In celebration of Sally Ride's 64th birthday, we were fortunate enough to have animator Nate Swinehart create another Behind The Doodle short to share a bit more about Sally's life and the making of the doodle. This time narrated by the artist of the doodle, Olivia Huynh, and Tam O'Shaughnessy, author of our guest blog post.
  

    

    
  
  Make sure you refresh to see all five of the different doodles.

  A doodle salute for Sally Ride
  Today’s guest blog post is from Tam O’Shaughnessy—life partner of astronaut Sally Ride, and co-founder & CEO of Sally Ride Science. Over the past few months, Tam worked with our Doodle team to create a doodle for Sally’s 64th birthday. In this post, she tells us more about Sally’s life, her flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger, and her passion for helping kids stay excited about science and technology.
  As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride—who would have been 64 today—captured the nation’s imagination as a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers. But her historic flight represented just one aspect of a remarkable and multifaceted life. She was also a physicist, a science writer, and an inspirational advocate for keeping kids excited about science as they go through school.
  Sally was born on May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles. She grew up playing with a chemistry set and small telescope—and playing football in the streets with the neighborhood kids. Later she considered playing professional tennis, but decided instead to study science.
  In 1977, Sally was finishing her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University when she saw an article in the student newspaper saying that NASA was looking for astronauts—and for the first time was allowing women to apply. Sally didn’t hesitate to send in her application, and became one of six women selected as part of the new crop of astronaut candidates. On June 18, 1983, she soared into history as the first American woman in space.
  Looking back at Earth through the window of the space shuttle, Sally was moved by the view of our beautiful blue planet wrapped in its thin blanket of air. She realized how important it is for all of us to take care of our fragile home in space, and became an environmentalist. Many years later, we wrote books for young adults about Earth’s changing climate.
  After leaving NASA, Sally became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. She loved being a scientist, but she was concerned that many young people—especially girls and minority students—abandon their early interest in science and math.
  Studies show that the reason kids turn away from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is not that they don’t like it or aren’t good it. Instead, young people get turned off because society sends false messages about who scientists are, what they do, and how they work. So Sally decided to use her high profile to motivate young people to stick with their interest in science and to consider pursuing STEM careers.
  In 2001, Sally and I and three friends started Sally Ride Science to create programs and publications that bring science to life and show young people that STEM is fascinating, creative, and fun. Since then, we’ve trained thousands of teachers on how to spark and sustain interest in STEM and reached millions of students with our books and programs.
  Sally died almost three years ago on July 23, 2012, from pancreatic cancer. But I know she would be honored by today’s Google Doodle. With whimsy, it expresses Sally’s sense of fun and adventure, and her ability to inspire young people. And who knows—maybe her Doodle will motivate some girl or boy somewhere in the world to become a scientist and adventurer just like Sally.
  Sally said it best . . .
  

  Everywhere I go I meet girls and boys who want to be astronauts and explore space, or they love the ocean and want to be oceanographers, or they love animals and want to be zoologists, or they love designing things and want to be engineers. I want to see those same stars in their eyes in 10 years and know they are on their way!