Does anyone know if it is possible to have the Nuance PowerMic II voice-to-text mic work with Manjaro? I couldn’t find a similar post in the forums already.
Thanks in advance.
a mic is a mic - it will likely work just fine
voice-to-text is a software feature
Whatever software they use …
might not be available to ordinary, lowly Linux users.
Who knows
I don’t.
Since we use it at work, i can clarify.
The device is actually several devices in one - a mic, pointing device, keyboard and speaker. So it indeed needs special drivers even under windows. And it is tightly integrated with their software.
And since nuance does not offer any software for linux, i am about 99% sure the answer is no.
At most parts of it will work as an ordinary mic and it does not make sense to spend 300-400€ on it since there are good 20 dollar ones.
Device was originally branded as Dictaphone PowerMic™ II from Nuance
Dictaphone brand was bought by Nuance Communications in 2006
Nuance Communications was bought by Microsoft in 2022
According to online documentation – nuance.com - ds_DNS10_PowerMic.pdf
Device was officially supported for Windows® 2000, XP and Vista
and Mic/Speaker only need USB Audio class 1.0 support
There is a Linux hardware scan for one system that shows the audio device using snd_usb_audio driver on KaliOS – linux-hardware.org - Dictaphone PowerMicII-NS
Flatpak hwinfo scan does not include ALSA audio data from aplay and amixer
so the microphone and speaker might work
Device might also be recognised as a Human Interface Device for the remote control buttons to work – linux-hardware.org - Interlink Electronics FSR 4ZUSB
But I agree previous comment:
it does not make sense to spend 300-400€ on it since there are good 20 dollar ones
There are many good quality microphones or voice recorders for less than 100€