Compadre™:Interact v3.0.1 Release Notes

Thank you for choosing Compadre™:Interact for your instant language translation solution.

System Hardware Requirements:

  • Processor:
    • Intel Pentium 4 or Pentium M
    • 1 GHz or better clock speed
  • Operating Systems:
    • English version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, or Microsoft Windows XP desktop or Tablet Edition
  • RAM:
    • Arabic: 1.0 GB to 2.0 GB depending on configuration
    • Other languages (e.g. French, Dutch, German): 512 MB Minimum
  • Disk Space:
    • 1.5 GB of free disk space
  • I/O:
    • DVD Reader
    • Microphone Connector (one or both):
      • 3.5 mm Microphone In & Audio Out Mini-Jack Connectors
      • USB
    • Noise-Canceling microphone (recommended)

New Features in 3.0.1:

  • Improved installation for Administrator and Limited Users

New Features in 3.0.0:

  • Improved speech recognition for both English and foreign speakers
  • New, more intuitive GUI controls
  • Improved image editing with the Visualize feature
  • Improved New User Wizard
  • Introductory videos for all languages including English
  • Improved licensing support
  • Improved installation
  • More robust error handling
  • Ability to save log files as rtf/doc types
  • Improved documentation including User Guide and Quick Start Guide
  • Improved support including website, FAQ and Release Notes

Bugs fixed in this release:

  • A user with limited access permission now has complete access to all folders used by the program
  • Improved reliability of creating, editing and deleting voice profiles
  • Quicker transition between languages
  • More user friendly alerts
  • Better processing of log files
  • Better handling of microphone switching

Here are some suggestions for optimal performance:

  • Do not leave the microphone on and unattended for more than a few minutes. It will automatically shut down and may be difficult to restart.
  • Plug the microphone in before launching Interact. It is difficult for the Interact application to detect and recover from microphone changes while it's running.
  • Speech recognition using the default profile is alright but not excellent. We suggest you train a profile for each speaker in their primary language.
  • Use the switch on the microphone to turn it off after each sentence is spoken. The microphone will pick up ambient noise and try to translate this, too.
  • Speak and translate at most one or two sentences at a time.
  • Switching between languages might be rather slow (5-10 sec). This is dependent on the computer processor speed. We suggest that the English speaker say and translate several things and then the target language speaker do the same. If the switch takes longer than 10 seconds, try clicking on the microphone button. However, resist clicking over and over. This will make it slower. If it completely hangs, you may need to re-launch Interact.

If you have any trouble with your microphone

Be sure to set the Control Panel:Audio Devices according to these steps. See also the User Guide section entitled Getting Started: Setting Up Your Microphone: Troubleshooting Devices.

  1. Click on the Start menu
  2. Select Control Panel
    • If in Classic View select Sounds and Audio Devices
    • If in Category View select Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices and then Sounds and Audio Devices
  3. Select the Audio tab of the tabbed interface
  4. Under Sound Recording, set the default device to your USB choice (e.g. C-Media USB Headphone Set)
  5. Under Sound Playback, set the default device to your computer's internal sound card (e.g. SoundMax HD Audio 0)
  6. Warning: do not select your USB microphone as your playback device or you will get no audio playback.
  7. Uncheck the box labeled: Use only default devices
  8. Click the Apply button
  9. Click the OK button

Known Bugs