Microsoft and IBM Executives Share Their Visions for the Future At SpeechTEK 2002

NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 30, 2002 -- Appearing at the 8th annual SpeechTEK International Exposition and Educational Conference at the New York Marriott Marquis today, two of the pioneering executives in speech technology shared their respective visions of a world where computers are "invisible" and communications and interconnectivity are seamless among any and all kinds of devices.

Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, corporate vice president, Natural Interactive Service Division, Microsoft and W. S. "Ozzie" Osborne, vice president, Pervasive Computing Segments, IBM spoke in separate sessions kicking off SpeechTEK's four-day look at all aspects of speech and voice recognition technology.

Osborne described the next age of computing as the "pervasive era" bringing with it an explosion of new interconnected devices creating new opportunities for speech to exploit the marketplace. "Speech is infiltrating everywhere as computers become transparent," says Osborne. "Customer interface is the future. We will create networks accommodating any device, any network and any data. People won't know they are using computers."

As the "digital decade" unfolds, Dr. Lee described paradigm-shifting changes. The goal is to create an environment in which "users can articulate what they mean on any device, to any application or web service and have their intention interpreted and executed accurately." Opportunities for speech will grow, says Dr Lee, as markets evolve around four trends of more computing and capacity, ubiquity of connected devices, structure content and distributed computing platforms.

Today's pre-conference "SpeechTEK University" opens the four-day event. Wednesday's schedule includes additional seminars, presentations and demonstrations plus the opening day of the SpeechTEK EXPO with over 100 exhibitors and their partners opens at 10:30.

Wednesday highlights include the presentation of the 2002-2003 Speech Solutions Acceptance Study--Focus Group Report by Mark Michelson, founder of Michelson and Associates, a global strategic planning and marketing research firm; Real Solutions Seminars, case study presentations by customers of actual deployment experiences; and the Speech Summit: Sound Off in Times Square, an all-points-of-view, free-for-all discussion with four of the industry's powerhouses: Ron Croen, CEO, president and chairman, Nuance Communications, Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, corporate vice president, Natural Interactive Services Division, Microsoft; W. S. "Ozzie" Osborne, vice president, Pervasive Computing Segments, IBM; and Stuart Patterson, CEO, SpeechWorks International. SpeechTEK 2002 sponsors are Microsoft Corp., Unisys, SpeechWorks, Nuance, AudioCodes, Rhetorical, Temic, Loquendo, AT&T, West Corporation, Sensory, Telisma, Customer Interface Magazine, Auto Interiors Magazine, Bank Technology News, desktopnews.com, and Speech Technology Magazine.

--30--TLM/na*

      CONTACT: SpeechTEK
               Doug Alexander, 859/278-2223
               doug@amcommexpos.com
               www.speechtek.com