Dragon Naturally Speaking - is it any good???

I have a Plantronics headset microphone, which was recommended in a review of the software that I came across. It does seem to work better than the included one. Here are some reviews if they haven't been included in the thread already

http://reviews.cnet.com/voice-recognition/dragon-naturally-speaking-10/4505-3528_7-33227363.html

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2327350,00.asp

CaroGirl said:

Well, Dragon's not new. It's been around for many, many years. The latest version works pretty well, provided you put in the time to train it. Depending on your particular voice pattern, it can take more or less time to train the software. After it's trained, though, it can work very well.

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I read all the posts on this thread, and felt motivated to toss in my comments -- even if this thread is a little old now.

I've used DNS since v1, a real dog of a program that tested one's persistence. I now use v10.1, and see no reason for getting v11 because v10 does everything that I need it to do.

I recently tested the VR program provided with the latest versions of Windows. It is good, but I'm happier and more productive with DNS -- probably because of my extensive experience with it.

I continue to use DNS because it lets me relax as I work on a novel. I tilt my chair back, compose my story, and drink coffee or tea, and dictate. (See my last comment on Microphones.) Believe it or not, I actually play music from my computer to a speaker that sits aout 60cm from my microphone.

Comments that might help/interest others:
1. I started with the supplied headset. OK. I next bought a top-end set -- cost almost $300. Worked OK, but eventually died. Next I tried various sets, each progressively less expensive from general suppliers such as RadioShack/Tandy. I currently use a microphone-only unit that clips onto my shirt. It cost me $9.95 in Singapore and works better than any other microphone I have used.

This is essential: Microphone placement in relation to your lips is critical. Keep varying this until you get consistently good results. Note the best position. If you have already trained DNS in a different microphone position you should set up a new user, and train DNS again.

2. Speech patterns and accents. I use DNS Preferred which caters to different accents, etc. I have a reasonably broad Australian accent. My wife speaks English with a Singapore accent. We have set up users for both. DNS works great with both. If you have the basic version of DNS, you might have issues with this.

3. Try to speak clearly in full sentences, or in shorter meaningful clauses, phrases, etc. DNS seems to be more accurate because there appears to be an element of context that makes it more accurate.

4. Punctuation and capitalisation. Yes, you have to speak the punctuation. There can be punctuation variations that are acceptable to DNS. Check the manual and learn the common punctuation for your regional choice of DNS. Stick to this. DNS loves speech consistency.

Some words, DNS will capitalise automatically. My practice is to let DNS capitalise common proper nouns, but for all others I simply say CAP before the word.

5. If you want DNS to become more accurate, this is what you do. (a) Try some supplementary training. It's a bit of a pain, takes 30 minutes or so, but pays dividends in the end. (b) Make all corrections within DNS. By using CORRECT, followed by the TRAIN button, you cause DNS to better learn your particular speach sounds and pronunciation patterns.

I hope some of you find this useful.

I frequently use Dragon to write. It's not as smooth and easy as the commercials would lead you to believe, I'll say right off the bat.

That said, once you train it and get used to speaking your stories aloud, it is very useful in terms of rhythm, flow, reducing awkward sentences in first drafts, and total output per writing session. I type 88 WPM with no mistakes and Dragon is much faster than that; about 130 WPM. I can easily hear when a sentence is awkward and usually just reword it on the fly, which reduces the rewriting later. Because I'm speaking out loud, the rhythm of my prose tends to be better than when typing.

Dragon does make mistakes. Usually, I just fix them on the fly by typing, but you can correct them verbally, as well. Usually, though, mistakes happen once every page or two, so the time I spend fixing them is more than made up for with the extra speed I get from dragon.

The biggest reason I don't use Dragon every time I write is that I have children in the house and I write a lot of naughty stories. (Can't have them overhearing anything explicit). Once a version of Dragon that translates my thoughts without speaking comes out, it'll be perfect.

I also have Dragon on my phone, which allows me to write while away from the computer, then email it to myself. I retrieve the emails & do a copy and paste into the Word document later, on my computer. Also, if I have an idea for a story or want to work up an outline while away from the computer, I use the Dragon app on my phone for that.

My record when typing was 6,000 words in a single session. My record with Dragon is 10,000+ words. With an excellent outline and notes, a first draft of a whole novel could be written in 16 days, though that would leave smoke coming out of my ears.

For me, Dragon works and it's a valuable tool. Your mileage may vary depending on the amount of time you're willing to spend training it, your willingness to get used to speaking your stories aloud, and your current typing speed if it is already 110+ words per minute.

Dragon is good, but solid outlines with detailed notes are what boost my writing speed the most.

I use Dragon every day at my day job and to write after hours. Because my day job is in a relatively quiet office environment (I have a radio playing low a couple feet away) it has rapidly gotten a hang of my voice and I am getting and continue to get consistent results.

For example, when I say "Thirty Five Fourteen dash PL" Dragon types "3514 - PL". When I say "Zero Seven colon Eighteen" Dragon types "07:18".

It has some trouble with my "Ns" and "I" sounds (rendered winches as wenches this afternoon) and sometimes my "Ts" ("eye bolts" became "eyeballs"), but I've been very happy with it for many years on other computers and this remains a fairly new install.

Read it some of your work. Teach and train the program to understand your voice better. It really does learn your voice patterns and matches.

I have Dragon 12 and I love it. Sure, there are some words that it doesnt recognize, but it has a feature that allows you to teach the program the word.
As you can imagine you need to speak clearly but in no way do you need to speak like a 1980's computer.

As far as your computer goes, you must have a good one for this program to work properly. It taxes your system something fierce and will not keep up with your speaking.

My overall satisfaction with Dragon 12 is 8 out 10.

In the past it would take me 1.5 hours to write a 1000 word blog post. With Dragon, I get it done consistently in 30 minutes.

Hopes this helps.