I switched to Linux a few weeks ago after becoming disappointed with Apple and its MacBook Pro. These used to be the creme de la creme when it came to high-end laptops. I do not believe that still holds true anymore. These machines are very heavy, no longer as aesthetically impressive as they once were, and still are very expensive. I decided to try out a Lenovo ThinkPad because of my keen interest in experimenting with Linux. I love it, and with the current advancements in agents operating in CLIs, I now have a machine that is very powerful at a third of the price with assistants helping learn how to use it and build things for it.
Moving from typing to conversing with your machine.
With this new change come new challenges. Not all the applications I was used to, or potential new ones, are immediately available. That can also be seen as a great opportunity to learn and build.
This is where Voco, my latest mini project, enters the conversation. I loved seeing how people are now dictating to their CLIs instead of typing, not just to CLIs, but in fact to a lot of applications. I really liked the idea and wanted to give it a try. To my surprise, Whisper Flow is not yet available on Linux. But what if I could build it myself? That could save me a few pounds at the expense of some precious tokens.
Voco is a free, open-source desktop dictation tool for Linux. You press Alt+D, speak, and your words appear wherever your cursor is. Everything runs locally using whisper.cpp.
Just install it and go.