Though used in some form since the 1980s, VRT programs, beginning with Dragon Systems' Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS), were introduced into the mainstream in 1995. DNS is the program most often touted as a writing aid for writers with disabilities. IBM's ViaVoice, another popular VRT program, is patterned after DNS but provides a less hands-free environment.
Other programs that include VRT features are Voice Xpress and Voice Studio. Both of these have fewer features than ViaVoice or DNS but are also less expensive. In 2002, Microsoft Office XP added a speech recognition feature. The application embedded into MS Office XP provides basic voice recognition, while certain versions of DNS and ViaVoice have specific features such as audio playback capabilities and advanced correction features. In the medical professions, doctors and nurses work with specialized vocabularies and use VRT programs such as ChartLogic and Voice Control's VMR (Bethke 36). The increasing accessibility of VRT programs for Microsoft users will soon become apparent to composition instructors as students experiment with the technology.
