I disagree with your position on the viability of speech recognition today. Or rather, I agree with you that it's not ready for prime time, but for different reasons. In my eyes, the current technology is less a case of the Emperor wearing boxers and black socks than it is the Emperor's outfit being just plain inappropriate. With processor power increasing, and context recognition improving with each release of the major speech recognition programs, this stuff is actually beginning to work. Nevertheless, the same problem exists.
Most people use a computer in an environment where others are nearby.
Whether it's the poor sod in the next cubicle, or the poor spouse trying to watch Jerrry Springer, someone who's sitting there yakking at their computer screen will become a real irritant very quickly. Compared to that, the pecking of a keyboard is a symphony of relaxation. Until you can subvocalize your speech, or whisper it, this will not be a widely accepted input means for computing. Yes, we need a better method of communicating with our computers. Yakking at them at conversational volumes isn't the answer now, and it's not going to be the answer in five years.