So many new things since the last time I posted. This releases introduces
- sound effects / audio cues.
- voice notes + dedicated hotkey (record your voice, a note gets created)
- hotkey to paste the latest transcript in history
- Audio recordings now use Opus format. Over 95% space saving vs WAV.
Full changelog here: https://machinesfluent.com/changelog
A sh*t ton of bug fixing as well thanks to users feedback.
Hi.
Long story short
- I have terrible back pain, and can't type no more than 30 mins so I needed dictation for work
- I hated having to pay every month for a dictation tool
- I hated the fact all the cool apps were on MacOS, as if windows was left to rot...
So last year I started building MachinesFluent.
I'm giving away 50% discounts codes on producthunt at the moment:
I'll deploy on Mac later. For now I wanted to serve myself and other Windows users.
There is a free forever version but honestly, transcription alone is not enough. The killer feature is to transform / reformat / translate / expand / etc using an LLM as a second pass.
You can even do web search by speaking if you connect your OpenAI account.
We use local models AND cloud models. I don't take sides. I let users choose what they want.
If you're a hardcore believer in local inference and privacy, we have local STT models and support Ollama + LM studio for advanced AI features. If you have the GPUs for it, enjoy.
If you don't care about privacy, have a potato PC, and want just max performance, then go for the top tier cloud models. We support them all.
I have massive chronic back pain, had them for over a decade and it got worse 2 years ago.
I literally can't type more than 30 mins while sitting straight. I have to rest. So I built a dictation tool. (I can lay down in comfy position and keep working). It was very basic at first but I kept building, and I figured I might as well try to launch a real product.
My free version is now more powerful than Handy Computer and my paid version is more powerful than Wispr Flow. Only caveat, I'm only on windows for now because I focused on quality / performance before multi-platform deployment. Once I get traction, I'll move to other OS.
I've seen the same claims multiple times by now. Devs think "transcription should be free" but forget that not every computer can actually run smoothly those STT models locally nor do they realize that non-technical people often don't care.
It is unrealistic to think Joe Schmoe is gonna install Ollama and run Gemma. Let alone having the GPU for it on his potato laptop made for replying to emails, word, excel, and watching youtube...
I chose to give people THE CHOICE between local models for privacy or cloud performance, and integrated all major providers for transcription and LLMs. Oauth works too. Anybody with an OpenAI account (which is almost everyone has at this point) can just sign-in. No API key required.
(I'm giving away a limited number of 50% discounts codes, if you check the codes on producthunt...)
https://www.producthunt.com/products/machinesfluent?launch=machinesfluent
I'm just gonna paste here the product description from PH if you don't mind:
---------
If i had to define this app with one word ---> Flexibility.
- You prefer data privacy? Use offline "local" models (Ollama & LM Studio supported).
- You prefer the convenience of cloud services? Use top tier cloud models.
- You want a specific writing style when using a specific app or website? Create your own mode.
- You prefer AI "company X" over "company Y"? We support them all and instantly access their latest models.
- You work across various domains with their own jargon? Create multiple dictionaries.
- You seek powerful workflow customization? Combine prompts with composable context artifacts.
- You don't like holding a button several minutes when you have a lot to say (I hate it)? Use streaming mode.
- etc, etc.
There is no one size fits all. Everybody works differently. Make the tool adapt to you, not the other way around. Flexibility doesn't mean complexity. I tried my best to keep it simple while preserving power features.
Notable Features:
- Adapts the output style to the app you're using (e.g casual for Whatsapp, professional for Slack, etc)
- Anything you copy in the clipboard (text & image) can be used by AI to reformat, extract, explain, expand, etc.
- Ask anything and get an answer immediately instead of switching tabs or apps (Web search included).
- Decouples transcription from AI reformatting, to save you from repeating yourself.
MachinesFluent market positioning is essentially:
- We don't compete with top-tier models, we aggregate them instead and keep the list updated.
- We don't care about your data. No account registration needed.
- High degree of customizability for power users.
- Lifetime offer over monthly fees (our monthly offer mainly exists for you to try). Paying monthly to simply talk to your computer seemed unnecessary.
About the other solutions out there (I've tried almost all of them):
- Open source solutions are free but rudimentary and feel like weekend projects.
- Proprietary transcription models are cloud-based so you rent them but can never own them by paying once.
- The vast majority lack sufficient customizability for power users.
- The alternatives are worse if you're on Windows.
I genuinely hope you'll find this app useful and sufficient for your dictation needs.
Thank you to everyone who will take the time to try it.