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TalkType 0.14.2: a recommended setup for your computer

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@ronb1964 ronb1964 released this 07 Oct 02:10
· 598 commits to main since this release

This one's mostly about setup. TalkType has a lot of settings now and it was
way too easy to end up on a slow combination without knowing it. I did it
myself, I ran Parakeet on the processor for weeks with a graphics card sitting
there doing nothing.

  • First run picks a setup for you now. It looks at your graphics card and
    your language and shows one card that says what you'll get, something like
    "Parakeet on your NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER", and how big the download
    is. Click Set it up and that's exactly what gets downloaded. Other options
    lets you change the language, the model, or whether it uses the graphics
    card, and anything that won't work on your computer is greyed out with the
    reason. The separate model picker that came after the hotkey test is gone.
  • AMD and Intel graphics get used at first run too now, through Vulkan.
    TalkType still checks the graphics card is really faster than your processor
    before it switches, and stays on the processor if it isn't. The big CUDA
    download isn't offered at first run anymore. It's still in Preferences.
  • Parakeet is the default model for new installs.
  • The Performance menu went from seven presets down to three: Recommended for
    this computer, Lightest and Battery saver. The old ones were named after
    models and half the time did something other than what the label said.
    Going back from Battery saver puts the auto-stop back to 5 minutes. The
    GNOME menu gets its presets from TalkType itself now, so it needs extension
    version 15, and Check for Updates will offer it.
  • If you're already set up and there's a better setup for your computer, you
    get one notification about it after updating. Just the once, and nothing
    changes unless you pick it.
  • The tray and GNOME menus show what's really running instead of just what the
    settings say. That turned up a few things that were quietly wrong. Large-v3
    on Vulkan was actually running as medium. AMD and Intel users were told
    large-v3 wouldn't run for them when it does. And Preferences warns you now
    when Parakeet can't do what your settings ask for.
  • If a dictation doesn't make it into the window, TalkType tells you instead
    of failing silently. It's saved in Recent Dictations so you can paste it.
  • The Voice Commands window and Help were behind. They never mentioned "no
    wait" or "scratch that" for correcting yourself, and Help still talked about
    a red indicator and menu items that don't exist anymore. Both are caught up,
    and they say the commands are English words whatever language you dictate in.
  • The download sizes for the Whisper models were about half of what they
    really are. Small said 244 MB and downloads 486 MB. They're the real numbers
    now, everywhere they show up.

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