Here is an article on speech recognition on Linux:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_recognition_in_Linux[
^].
You will see a solid list of available systems with Web links. Give some of them a try!
When you master using the speech recognition using a speech recognition engine programmatically and learn how to write a voice-controllable application you will be able to find out a way to control other applications, including system utilities.
—SA