New from Microsoft, a “Transcribe in Word” service. Upload an audio file of less than 200Mb, press play for transcription to begin. The words appear as if being typed into the Office 365 online version of Word (only). What makes it interesting is that it apparently identifies different speakers, and can also work in real-time when at conferences, lectures etc. Users can transcribe five hours per month from their uploaded files.

Microsoft is rather playing “catch up” here, and the market leader is StreamText offering real-time no-lag transcription at 9 cents per minute. Such rapidly advancing tech likely means it’s not a moment in time to be training as a sign-language interpreter for classrooms and large events. Although I guess heavy accents and mumbling professors may still require it.