Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12

[Chassmain]

Put together a writeup/description about Dragon NaturallySpeaking at my website: http://Quadomated.com. Figured it might be useful for someone in the bunch.

I speak to my computer and it types what I say.

Seems like a pretty simple concept, but something that has made an absolute profound difference in my life. To think what it would be like as a quadriplegic without my computer, and particularly without the voice recognition software I use to interact with it so effectively makes me sick to my stomach. One thing is for sure, without all this awesome technology my life certainly wouldn’t be filled with all the productivity and fulfillment I enjoy every day.

I’ve been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software for over 5 years, starting way back with version 9 in 2007 and recently upgrading to the latest version 12 last week. At the beginning there were certainly a few growing pains. The voice recognition software didn’t work perfectly out of the box. Some of this was due to the maturity of the technology/product, and some was my impatience, wanting something that would work perfectly right from the beginning. It became quickly obvious that first I had to figure out how the heck to work the software, and then once I got a handle on that it became apparent I also had to train the software on how to interpret me. No small feat when you’re learning how to deal with and cope with a traumatic life changing disability, but once I get a handle on it I found Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition to be a life changer.

You see, before my skiing injury, as an overly dorky electrical engineer I used to pride myself in how fast I could type, how I can make this device work with that, program in XYZ language, and just figure out anything when it came to a computer. Then I broke my neck, and at first couldn’t use my hands, and having to interface to the computer through the hands of somebody else (err… sorry mom/Julie) it was beyond unbearable, like freaking awful. No! Left click, not right-click! The address bar… Come on, minimize the window not close it!!! Ahhhhh!!! I think you can imagine… Pretty damn frustrating!

And that’s where Dragon NaturallySpeaking comes in. I started working with the program and it was almost like I started taking control back of my life. It was immediate and so liberating. Gone were the hours of frustration, for not just me, but also for the people helping, replaced by hours of happiness as I watched my cursor dash across the screen. I know I might sound a little overly enthusiastic/salesmeny about the software, but it really made that big a difference in my life. As in I can’t imagine not having it, and even more so I can’t understand why more people don’t give it a try!

So yeah, I’ve talked about the awesomeness of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but what exactly does it do?

"Dragon speech recognition software makes it easier for anyone to use a computer. You talk, and it types. Use your voice to create and edit documents or emails, launch applications, open files, control your mouse, and more. Quickly and easily capture your thoughts and ideas while Dragon helps you get more done faster."- Dragon NaturallySpeaking Website

But for me it’s really so much more than this! Yeah, I can write emails or documents, open my web browser or word processor, all that good stuff, but what Dragon is to me is the lifeline that allows me to stay connected to the world. Pretty big statement, but it is what it is!

And now, if you’re still reading you either like me that much or maybe I’ve sold you, just a little bit, on the whole idea of voice recognition technology. Maybe you’ve dabbled with it a little bit on your cell phone? Or maybe you’re just thinking what it would be like to exist in a Jetson like world. Whatever it is, let me tell you exactly what it’ll take.

Commitment! Both financially and in the way you think/work.

Sounds like a pretty big deal, but it’s really not all that scary. It’s just the software is a little on the spendy side, and if you’re going to make the plunge and really benefit/enjoy it you better be prepared to buy a nice microphone and speedy computer to really optimize the software. Believe me; I tried to enter into this world the cheap route with an underpowered laptop and one of those cheap desktop microphones that was mounted like 2 feet from my mouth and the results weren’t pretty. I would speak, and then wait, and wait, and then maybe 5-10 seconds later the words would show up on my screen.

But now it’s instantaneous! As in I speak and before I can even blink the words are on the screen! What changed? The software has a gotten much, MUCH better and I have a really fast computer.

So, what exactly do you need?

1. Dragon Naturally Speaking 12 Premium
2. A good quality voice recognition headset or microphone that puts the condenser element within a few inches of your mouth. I’d probably start at Dragon’s Microphone Comparison List and only consider microphones with 5 dragons are better.
3. A relatively speedy 64-bit Quad Core Computer with lots of RAM. I’d say something along the lines of a Core i5/i7, 2.66 GHz or better, and 6GB+ of RAM.

With that the only thing left is to put in the upfront time learning the software and helping it learn you, and from there you just need to start working in complete thoughts/sentences (it likes having the context to work with) and you should be in voice recognition bliss! I know I certainly am!

So there it is all the reasons why and the roadmap to make it happen. Now the big question; are you going to take the voice recognition plunge?

If you are I’ll help you anywhere along the road. Granted, I’m not a certified Dragon/voice recognition expert, but my life and happiness certainly depends on the technology so I’d say I have a pretty good handle on how to make it all work!

[ronk]

Can you tell me the diff between "Home" and "Premium" versions? Was also wondering if the headset and mic included is good enough or do I need to look for better?

Thanks!!

[Chassmain]

Dragon Home is for light users, people who want to do just basic dictation for less than a few hours per day. It has more limited software support (i.e. doesn't work with Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint), doesn't work with digital recorders, and probably the biggest drawback has no ability to manage user files. That means if you change computers, have your computer crash, or anything of the nature you have no way to restore the dictation file that has adapted to you over the months of using it. Huge drawback in my opinion.

Stepping up to premium you have full software compatibility, the ability to import/export/backup your user files, additional support for digital recorders, a text-to-speech engine, limited use of basic macros… Pretty much everything you need.

Not real familiar with the mic included, but what I can say is the microphone and speed of your computer are probably the two most important pieces of physical hardware. When I first started out with a crappy mic I had crappy speech recognition performance, then I upgraded to a halfway decent one and the software started working much better.

[PN]

Take a look at the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Edition Comparison chart. I was not able to find chart for DNS 12. Most of the time the headset that comes with the software is not very good. You can purchase this software from Amazon, Knowbrainer, or elsewhere. You will want to invest in a good USB headset or microphone.

[Chassmain]

Great suggestion on KnowBrainer! I've been buying Dragon NaturallySpeaking from them since version 9 and have been beyond impressed with their expertise and the wealth of information provided on the website. Great place and the owner Lunis has always bent over backwards to provide me with the best service.

[Random]

I think premium version 12 is still a total piece of shit. 11.5 crashed my computer daily (even with 8 GB of RAM). Off the top of my head, I note that in 12, it still writes things that bear absolutely no resemblance to what I say; the numbers never correspond to the words when you try to do a correction or capitalization; and it does not separate dictation from a recorder with a return between recordings. Supposedly it will do that in the professional version, and I hope to collect my thoughts and shame them into upgrading me to it for free. I experience very little vitriol in my life, but this program has earned it. And technical support is useless.

[Chassmain]

Hey Random,

No offense intended, but your experiences are so drastically different from mine using NaturallySpeaking I wonder if there is something else that might be going on? I.E. crappy soundcard, inadequate microphone, something… because my success with all versions since 10 have been particularly impressive. Yes the software crashes sometimes if I have several instances of Microsoft Word/Chrome open, but overall my dictation results have been great!

What are you using for a computer/microphone? How fresh is the Windows 7 install? What about the Dragon install?

Just trying to help here.

[Random]

No offense at all taken, and if you can solve my Dragon woes, I will nominate you for knighthood.

I use a Yetti freestanding microphone; my experience was no better with a good wired one. The Windows was installed maybe a year ago, Dragon 12 very recently.

I'm embarrassed to see that I've been a bit redundant, but you might see an example here: http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?t=190349

[Chassmain]

You’ll probably only make me a serf with what I have to offer. Sounds like you’ve got a good microphone/computer setup. Really don’t know what to tell you, other than I once bought the latest and greatest Sennheiser wireless microphone only to be sorely disappointed, and swapped back to my old standby Gooseneck microphone. Not sure if I gave up too early, possibly before the wireless microphone was all trained up/used to me, but during the early days with that I experienced similar problems to what you’ve got.

Hmmm… Have you tried reaching out to the guys at KnowBrainer? They have always been beyond helpful to me.

[ouch]

I started with version 11 and upgraded to 11.5 for free.I'm using it on two computers. One computer has Windows XP on and the other has Windows 7. I had no problems with the install.

When I had a previous version, and I do not remember which one it was, I had problems installing it on a Windows XP machine. Try looking for help at the voice-recognition software forums located at...

http://www.knowbrainer.com/forums/forum/index.cf

People there eat, live and understand voice-recognition software programs and you should be able to find the help you need if you're having problems installing or using this software.

I have not bought nor installed the newest version 12. After reading some of the reviews, I didn't see how it would be any better than version 11.5.I see that this older version is still available and would suggest anyone wanting to try out naturally speaking software to buy the last version first. It's about five times less expensive.

Like the first poster, the software works great for me. I write a lot of web content and use it specifically for that purpose. I put my cursor in notepad and start talking away. This post here took me less than 5 min. to whip out using the software. It sure beats using the old typing stick. By the way, I'd made no corrections to this of all. So you may see a few little minor mistakes but all in all the software works pretty darn good for someone like me.

I would definitely recommend it.

edit. Oh, by the way. I'm using a Plantronics digital microphone version DSP 400. I need to pick up another one but heard that the new ones are garbage so we'll have to see if I can find the one I want at auction. On my laptop with Vista I'm using a generic headset. It doesn't work quite as well but gets the job done. Good luck.