NVR: Voice Recognition Software
Posted by adagio on Sep 25, 2007 · Member since Aug 2005 · 228 posts
Greetings everyone
I'm very interested to hear from anyone who uses Dragon Naturally Speaking Software,
preferably version 9. Your honest appraisal would be most welcome. Because of increasing physical impairment, I now find it almost impossible to operate my computer. Needless to say, this situation is highly frustrating. Please do not be offended or attribute lack of interest to no or absolute minimal response to your posts.
I am dictating this post to a much appreciated scribe but it may be a one-off.
Cheers! and thankyou
Rebecca :)
I'm very sorry to hear that.
thankyou baypuppy.
just bumping this up to the top.
:)
I have a mac computer, and it has iListen installed on it. iListen works REALLY well once you train it to recognise your voice. (Training it is just reading specific passages provided by the software aloud.) I don't really use it, chiefly because I have no real need to use it.
The only thing I dont like about the program is there is no apparent way to "add" words to the program's vocabulary. I can say any explictitive as clearly as I want and it won't type it ::) Seems trivial, but when you type things like "veganize" freuqently and it writes "be wise"......frustration occurs and a lot of "dam stupid faking computer" pop up on the screen. ;)
Make sure your software has an "add words" function!!!!
anyone else out there?
oh I like what AshleyKimball had to say...i too and interested in voice recognition software but for a different reason. I am a writer and am able to write more freely when I just have pen and notebook...But then I'm stuck typing hundreds of pages into the computer... :-(
Maybe one of the programs have feature to test it out for say, 30 days and return it if you are not satisfied? depending on what your physical limitations are there may be groups dedicated to enriching lives of people with the particular limitation who have equipment available or at least have reviews on what works best. (I know for example that there are books that the deadfa dn blind are able to borrow from teh socity for teh blind (or deaf) and then mail back when they are done with them.)
humm...but I shall think on this a littel more....see if I cant find soemthing...
I do medical transcription, and a friend gave me DNS 9 to help me out. So I have some experience with it. I say "some", because I have an outdated, cheap computer mic, and need to get a new one before I continue training the program and can use it to its full potential. I am also going to be running it on a Mac in Parallel Desktops (a virtual hd/os) in Coherence mode. Basically, I have some kinks to work out.
My friend demonstrated, for me, on his comp with the software trained to his voice. It periodically errors in the recognition of a random word or punctuation. So for perfect word processing, it takes some (but surprisingly little) editing. But if I understand, that is not your intended use. For voice activated commands (launching programs, performing various operations and such) it's quite good.
Really, if you don't need perfection (for a job or academics), the mistakes are so minor, once trained, that you prob would hardly ever need to edit when just posting, composing an email, etc.
This software does learn new words, as you teach it. Not only that, but it learns capitalization, alternative spellings for names, etc. (and in what context to use them or not).
I did some research, when I was first looking into it. Pretty much all techie reviews/comparisons agree it is the best prog, of this sort, out there. Voice recognition software is way more sophisticated than it used to be, but it is still relatively new technology and far from perfect. For your purpose, though, I think it would be very effective.
Btw, DNS 9 is a system resource hog. The manufacturers recommend having at least 1 GB of RAM. If you are going to be running other greedy progs, simultaneously, it might be better to have more.
very useful comments subversa. heartfelt thanks. yes, am aware of its greedy requirements. definitely new computer needed.
rebecca :)