$50 is cheap for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but Tazti speech recognition software is a free download from www.tazti.com. It has a different feature set than Dragon and is expert at speech recognition for internet navigation and controlling itune music player on a PC by voice.
I started experiencing numbness and tingling in my left thumb several years ago. The numbness gradually spread over several months to my fingers. A simple nerve conduction test confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome.
The doc said the only real "fix" is to give the nerves that pass through that tunnel in the wrist more room i.e. surgery. He said there were two approaches--an endoscopic repair (simple, but limited effectiveness) and regular surgery, which leaves about a 1" scar right along a crease in the palm of the hand. I opted for the surgery.
No big deal, though you wear a hand brace for a few weeks afterward. Dramatic improvement, hand completely back to normal. Without the surgery, doc said the numbness effect would never get better, but would eventually destroy all sensation in the hand.
Funny thing is the doc said he was surprised the right hand wasn't yet showing similar symptoms. Sure enough, a year later that hand had to be done also. Both hands are now totally normal, and the scars are pretty much invisible.
If you have the insurance for it, do it. It made a huge difference for me.
I am glad the surgery helped you, I had the surgery and regret it. If anyone is considering the surgery, I would suggest looking up Regional Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). You can get this as a result of carpal tunnel surgery and it is not something they tend to warn you about (at least I wasn't). Basically you run the chance of coming out with the feeling that the circulation to your hand has been cut off, your hand is numb with the pins and needles sensation ALL of the time, if you touch ANYTHING it feels like you are dragging your fingers across broken glass, the bones in your hand will feel broken, your knuckles feel sprained, will feel like someone poured acid on the bones in your wrist and forearm, you won't be able to lift anything over 5 lbs., and a draft (such as from a car vent) can drop you to your knees in pain. If you want to type, you will still however be able to use your pinky finger for that. But don't worry if you get bored from not being able to use your hands anymore, you can pass the time by sitting back on watching them change colors from blue to bright red. Just something to think about for those considering the surgery.
BTW the doc said typing doesn't cause CTS. Things that cause swelling and/or restriction in the wrist cause it. In my case, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the goop that holds the bones apart is very slowly going away, so those tunnels in my wrists that contained the nerves was shrinking.
Do they guarantee Windows 7 compatibility (i.e. guarantee to provide a patch if required after Windows 7 comes out)? Many software vendors offer "fire-sale" prices of their software shortly before they release a new version. Worse yet, some vendors won't patch their old version if it doesn't work on new Windows OS.
I have been using v9 preferred, since it can build a custom dictionary by scanning your documents. Since the documents that I create contain LOTS of jargon, this was a must. But after that, and of course the training, I could not believe how well it worked, despite the fact that I speak with an accent.
As Anand mentioned, be sure to watch what Dragon types!!! Here is my embarrassing example, which was WAY worse than Anand's example: Dragon thought I said "lap" when I said "lab", typing something like "When I was in Dr. X's lap". I am glad I caught it before sending it out!
Bottomline: If you are willing to spend the time to train it and build a custom dictionary (~2-3 hrs?), Dragon will give you much more time back. Just make sure you double-check what it writes.
I purchased my first Dragon Naturally speaking (I believe version 3) somewhere around 1999, when it was on sale in a store's $5 software grab and get box.
I've used it now and then, but never for major articles.
In those versions you still had too many errors, but it was able to recognize my English pretty OK (despite speaking English as my second language).
Most issues appeared with accents. Australian accent didn't work back then, and definitely not my dutch-English accent.
I still have it laying around somewhere, for years unused...
lol. i think this is funny.separate language. I sometimes have to deal with Indian supporters. It's not easy at all. The say they speak English but it sounds like "Suhalesi" to me (understand like 1/4 of it). I understand it's cheaper than an american or english supporter, but in the end you spend at least double the time with them compared to a native speaker because of language issues and missunderstandings.
Thanks for being a moron. Did you RTFA? If it were just about the sale, then it might annoy some people, but it sounds like Jarred uses Dragon and finds it beneficial, in which case taking the time to put together a blog would make sense. Considering it's under the blog section rather than as a full article, I wasn't expecting a review but I did find some useful tidbits nonetheless.
64-bit support finally being here is extremely important info, as there's no way I'm going back to a 32-bit OS. I can't believe it took them what... three years since the launch of Vista to get a 64-bit version out? That right there speaks volumes for the level of competition - as in, there isn't any worth noting or Dragon would have worked harder to get 64-bit support done.
Anyway, I hope you got a full refund after paying so much to read a blog about a potentially interesting product. Heaven help us if you didn't like wasting your time so badly that you had to post a comment to let everyone know! Personally I got the impression Jarred wants to spend more time on the subject but is busy elsewhere and felt this was a nice opportunity for a quick mention... and the comments with other deals on Dragon make it even more useful.
64 bit support is not important info, as there's been 64 bit speech recognition for years. It's called, "Windows."
The author not only didn't try any of the alternatives, it appears as though he is given copies of Dragon. As his aquisition cost is unnaturally lowered, which would cause him to overvalue the product. Even with that, he didn't value the product highly enough to blog about it until the fire sale came up. A net valuation keyed on a sale does is unworthy to be on AT, as it's completely dependent on the sale being in effect.
Actually, he's a lot closer in being correct than you are. I purchased DNS8 several years back and even wrote a comparison with the Windows version. That was linked in the article if you care to go back and look. I've tried the Vista speech recognition off and on a few times and have thought about doing a full article, but the amount of time and effort involved is very substantial and I have plenty of laptops to get reviewed first.
If you go try DNS and Windows, I dare you to conclude that Windows is anything but a poor alternative. Perhaps Win7 will do better (I'll look at it at some point), but fundamentally the UI in the Vista version had some serious issues for me. Try adding a custom phrase for example, like "A. Suess E. PC one thousand five H. A. = ASUS Eee PC 1005HA". It's easy to do in DNS and works perfectly. Perhaps you can do it in Windows as well, but if so I haven't figured it out.
Admittedly, after a few hours of trying the Windows alternative I usually get frustrated and go back to Dragon. Is that because I started on Dragon or because the MS version just doesn't cut it? I'm inclined to go with the latter opinion, since I've tried it quite a few times.
I have been deploying Dragon at work now for the past 4 months and it has been a nightmare.
I work in the healthcare field, and the idea was to use use less warm bodies transcribing, and more doctors dictating straight to the system.
The product locks up and freezes regularly (multiple sites, multiple scenarios). What was suppose to have been a 1 month project, with the vendor supporting the product, has turned into us (internal IT department) spending 4 months trying to sort out all the issues with "input" from Nuance. Still not even close to getting it into production, but given the amount of money spent already, and letting go employees, I doubt it will end anytime soon.
for the 30-50$ that it can be purchased for it *might* be a product with playing with, but i do not reccomend using it as a bussiness solution.
I think it's a good deal, but without any other VR software to compare it to it would be ill advised to blow even $50 without hearing anyone's take on several different ones.
What about recognition of English if english is not your mother tongue and you obviosuly have somekind of an accent?
In work I write like 80 % in english, internatonal company...
Does it stil work? Is there an USA and Great britan specific version? I mean these 2 dialects do sound very different.
Is the software multi-lingual? like I can buy 1 version and have all languages available?
I understand that this is is a great product for native-english speakers that only have to type english, but there are lot's of people these criteria don't apply to.
I know there are at least three "dialects" that DNS uses: US English, UK English, and Indian English (I suppose that's for those with a strong Indian accent). I have heard from others that DNS actually does quite well with accents, but I can't speak from personal experience.
India does have its own dialect of English, mostly influenced by the fact that a substantial number of Indians speak English, but it's not their only language. Because of this, Indian English has influences from the other languages spoken there.
How long did it take it to learn your speech. I liked Vista's software but in the end I think its just easier to type. However now I'm back in school I'm thinking about using it again.
DNS does much better than Vista IMO. Honestly, it's only about 15 minutes of training and you can begin using it without too much in the way of errors. It probably starts around 95-96% accuracy and improves a bit over time (or you learn to dictate more clearly and enunciate properly).
I think you need the Professional version, or perhaps Preferred? I know the Standard version won't do audio files and I'm pretty sure Pro is needed. Or you could just connect speakers to whatever device holds your audio and stick your mic in front of them! LOL... it actually works okay if the volume is loud enough and the tapes have clear dictation.
I have used Dragon Naturally Speaking in the past and thought this would be a great way to get new version. I clicked and sure enough the shopping cart showed a $50 savings! Yah!
This, I thought, will be a perfect complement to my Win 7 Ultimate x64 system.
The problem; living in Canada, shipping will cost $70 in addition to GST, Duty and of course the exchange rate. Oh well.
Thanks for a great post Jarred (I'll be on the look out for DNS 10 locally).
Just use the Canadian site. If you change www.tigerdirect.com to www.tigerdirect.ca that link works for Canada as well, though the price becomes $55. Shipping came out at $12 for me; might be higher for you. And I believe TigerDirect takes care of the duties, customs brokerage, etc.
Reading your article has left me somewhat curious: how is text formatting (italics/bold/underline, new paragraph/sentence, etc) handled? I poked around their site for a minute or two and didn't immediately see the answer.
I have some nerve-related arm/wrist issues as well, but over half of my computer using is coding (my livelihood). I don't suppose there's any point in even attempting a voice recognition for that situation in any but the most severe case? "for open paren eye equals zero semicolon eye less than ten semicolon eye plus plus close paren open brace...." doesn't seem like a very productive way to spend my day.
I've just adapted to switching hands with my mouse every 10 minutes or so/using ergo mice when I can tolerate them, and using an ergonomic keyboard exclusively. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've come up with.
Seriously have a go at doing some light weights. Just to work your forearms, biceps and triceps. It doesn't have to be hard out. I find that if I do a little bit every day I get a lot less pain in my wrists and arms.
I was in a similar situation a few years ago. After my doctor gave me the "take 2 of these and don't call me in the morning" treatment that wore off as soon as I ran out of the medication, my Sister-in-law (a chiropractor) bought me the zero tension mouse. A little more concentration on how I was using my computer and using that mouse saved my career. I've been pain-free for the last 6 years while computing without any medications.
jamori, you're pretty much correct: dictating punctuation for coding is so tedious that I couldn't be bothered to do it. I found that when programming, though, I don't do as much typing so if you learn to take your hands away from the keyboard and relax, it might help. Of course, documentation is also part of programming in many cases (specifications and such), and DNS can help with that.
As far as bold and such, you say "bold that" after a phrase, or "bold on/off". "Italicize that", "underline that", etc. all work as well - I'd assume they work fine in Standard, though I don't know for sure as I'm using Pro.
I've tried chiropractors and massage therapy and it didn't help much at all. Best solution for me is to stop typing, so that's what DNS allows me to do (for the most part). Thankfully, using a mouse hasn't ever bothered me, though if I played Diablo enough it might start!
"Perhaps the biggest challenge is that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is so accurate that you start to get lazy; homonyms can still throw the program for a loop, so if you don't read what it transcribes carefully, you're likely to come up with some grammatical/spelling errors from time to time."
Is this one of those "email/female" challenges you mention?
"If you've never try Dragon NaturallySpeaking,..."
Speech recognition in Windows 7 is even better than Vista. Though I haven't been able to get it to work well enough that I could stop typing.
Losing the ability to type would be almost career ending, so it's nice to know that there is an alternative. The only thing that scares me more is losing my eyesight X_X
There is actually still a mistake in there - look for a 'try' that should've been 'tried'.
By the way - I'm a dutch reader and have tried NaturallySpeaking before, back when I was in high school (well, at least our equivalent). That was the famed version 8. I was amazed that it could get most of my speech correct, down to most of the window commands, as back then I had a pretty heavy accent. I'm not sure about the state of speech-to-text right now, but back then it was pretty much the only software that would do it right.
I should try it again, as I am about to engage in writing my thesis...
Since there are no visible improvement in accuracy, ( properly because you have trained the program for long enough ), What are there left for improvement apart from speed?
And what about other languages, is speech recognition still limited to English?
I know some use Bluetooth (or wireless) microphones. As far as other languages, I believe there may be options other than English but I can't really test those. I could do a poor job at trying out a Danish version, but that's probably far down on the list of languages they intend to support in the future. LOL. Speed can still be improved though - there's a 1-2 second lag between finishing a sentence and having it appear in Word, for example. They could also work on properly understanding grammar, as right now DNS only looks at context (i.e. the surrounding words), which is why homonyms can still create problems.
I wonder how well this would work in a carputer setup? Centrafuse 3 is supposed to be opened up for alternatives to Microsoft for voice command, which I have found to not work most of the time in an admittedly noisy environment.
I believe DNS was rated, still, as the #1 recommended choice or voice recognition from PCmag and PCworld. As someone already stated here the accuracy is way up there at this point in time. Therefore it is a great deal if you are looking into using your voice to output text/commands.
I typically review the reviews of voice recognition at least 2-3 times a year to see if there are any drastic improvements. :) I say your money is in good hands with DNS.
There are supposed to be noise-canceling microphones that can work in that sort of environment, but I haven't tested them out. I do know that Dragon does very poorly for me if there's a lot of background noise -- i.e. someone mowing the lawn with my window open, or vacuuming in the next room, or making dinner....
to TigerDirect doesn't show Dragon, just a page of software deals.
When I searched for the product, DNS 10 Standard was $99, not $50. I'd be interested if you find the link again, but it looks like the deal you posted is gone.
Yeah, sorry... that's the link in my email, so honestly I don't know how long it will be valid. I'd honestly still recommend trying Dragon if you're a slow typist or have any sort of RSI/CTS, even at $200.
I'm not a doctor, but if your CTS is due to squished nerves, you could try taking methylcobalamin/mecobalamin.
A doc prescribed it for me and it worked. Could check with a doc or neurologist first.
Basically the theory is the problem is because the nerves are being squashed, and the methylcobalamin helps the nerves stay alive and "OK" till the body hopefully adapts/heals.
No offense intended towards you because you obviously have good intentions, but The Missus demands that I speak up. I'm stitting right next to my g/f who is a pharmacist. She saw your post and her head rolled. She didn't say it, but since I hear it all the time I know what she was thinking. It's great the drugs work for you, but if at all possible, it's a much better alternative to seek solutions that do not require drugs. Americans in particular are hooked on pill popping. Check out the movie Sicko for a brief look.
I should also mention my g/f is back in school to become a nurse (while continuing to work in a pharmacy) because she's so disgusted with her segment of the health care system.
Yes drugs are often not a solution, or the best solution. If you or your girlfriend have better and more effective suggestions, I'm sure he (and I) will be happy to hear of them.
But voice recognition software is most certainly not a solution for CTS - it's a workaround. If he's not careful he might end up with vocal chord problems too ;).
My course of methycobalamin was certainly cheaper than the voice recognition software mentioned in the article. And more importantly I can use a keyboard and mouse now with no pain.
It may not work for him, but at least he might be aware of one more option (and one that at least has some scientific basis/research behind it - even if it was mostly done in Japan, and more recently China).
FWIW, I appreciate the suggestions. I typically eat reasonably healthy (almost no fast food, lots of water, get regular exercise, and take a multivitamin just for good measure). I do type more than I think is "safe" even now, just because sometimes I'm too lazy to put on my headset for a short note, or because there's some background noise - right now the dishwasher is running, for example, so I'm typing this. Shame on me....
Anyway, I don't really have pain per se; rather, I have numbness and tingling that crops up, and that's usually a sign of bigger problems to come if you don't take action. Rather than going along typing until I am actually incapacitated by my inability to type, using speech recognition for my articles seems like a nice solution. I also have a "natural" ergonomic keyboard, which seems to have helped a bit relative to the old keyboard I had. Mousing as I said isn't a problem for me (yet?) so I can do that fine.
As for surgery... well, that wouldn't be a good course of action unless I had actually changed the habits that lead to CTS in the first place, right? So that's an absolute last ditch effort (and prone to complications from what I understand).
For $30-$50 -- or free if you're like me and Nuance sends you a copy for evaluation! :) -- Dragon is a nice solution that I appreciate. I actually bought version 8, though, so it wasn't always free. I also have my dad hooked up with DNS as well, since he has myasthenia gravis and can no longer type properly, and my brother who types at around 25 WPM got it from his wife a few years back based on my recommendation. He now writes longer email messages than before! LOL
Will it work for everyone? I'm sure it won't, especially anyone with a speech impediment, but for those where it does help give it a try! Or if you're curious, try out the Vista/Windows 7 speech recognition... but don't say I didn't warn you that the interface is at times clunky!
I am a doctor, and I would note that Vitamin B12 is useful in treating neuropathy due to B12 deficiency. However, if you are not deficient in B12, it will not help.
He could try it for himself - consult a doctor/neurologist about it etc. Or even buy it "over the counter" - it is extremely unlikely to kill or harm him.
In some studies methylcobalamin has been shown to help nerve regeneration in rats. And B12 for rabbits.
And even if the recovery is actually due to a "placebo effect", I don't think he'll care that much as long as he's much better and can use a keyboard and mouse without pain.
Have you ever tried a software called Voice Finger ( http://voicefinger.cozendey.com ) ? It is an add-on for Win 7 speech recognition that adds several improvements in the speech commands, especially if you want to click anywhere on the screen and other extravagancies.
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sarathinks - Saturday, November 7, 2009 - link
$50 is cheap for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but Tazti speech recognition software is a free download from www.tazti.com. It has a different feature set than Dragon and is expert at speech recognition for internet navigation and controlling itune music player on a PC by voice.DorkMan - Friday, September 25, 2009 - link
I started experiencing numbness and tingling in my left thumb several years ago. The numbness gradually spread over several months to my fingers. A simple nerve conduction test confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome.The doc said the only real "fix" is to give the nerves that pass through that tunnel in the wrist more room i.e. surgery. He said there were two approaches--an endoscopic repair (simple, but limited effectiveness) and regular surgery, which leaves about a 1" scar right along a crease in the palm of the hand. I opted for the surgery.
No big deal, though you wear a hand brace for a few weeks afterward. Dramatic improvement, hand completely back to normal. Without the surgery, doc said the numbness effect would never get better, but would eventually destroy all sensation in the hand.
Funny thing is the doc said he was surprised the right hand wasn't yet showing similar symptoms. Sure enough, a year later that hand had to be done also. Both hands are now totally normal, and the scars are pretty much invisible.
If you have the insurance for it, do it. It made a huge difference for me.
Shrumer - Sunday, September 27, 2009 - link
I am glad the surgery helped you, I had the surgery and regret it. If anyone is considering the surgery, I would suggest looking up Regional Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). You can get this as a result of carpal tunnel surgery and it is not something they tend to warn you about (at least I wasn't). Basically you run the chance of coming out with the feeling that the circulation to your hand has been cut off, your hand is numb with the pins and needles sensation ALL of the time, if you touch ANYTHING it feels like you are dragging your fingers across broken glass, the bones in your hand will feel broken, your knuckles feel sprained, will feel like someone poured acid on the bones in your wrist and forearm, you won't be able to lift anything over 5 lbs., and a draft (such as from a car vent) can drop you to your knees in pain. If you want to type, you will still however be able to use your pinky finger for that. But don't worry if you get bored from not being able to use your hands anymore, you can pass the time by sitting back on watching them change colors from blue to bright red. Just something to think about for those considering the surgery.DorkMan - Friday, September 25, 2009 - link
BTW the doc said typing doesn't cause CTS. Things that cause swelling and/or restriction in the wrist cause it. In my case, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the goop that holds the bones apart is very slowly going away, so those tunnels in my wrists that contained the nerves was shrinking.ssiu - Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - link
Do they guarantee Windows 7 compatibility (i.e. guarantee to provide a patch if required after Windows 7 comes out)? Many software vendors offer "fire-sale" prices of their software shortly before they release a new version. Worse yet, some vendors won't patch their old version if it doesn't work on new Windows OS.GTForce - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
First of all, here's the link to Tigerdirect deal:http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool...">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tails.as...
I have been using v9 preferred, since it can build a custom dictionary by scanning your documents. Since the documents that I create contain LOTS of jargon, this was a must. But after that, and of course the training, I could not believe how well it worked, despite the fact that I speak with an accent.
As Anand mentioned, be sure to watch what Dragon types!!! Here is my embarrassing example, which was WAY worse than Anand's example: Dragon thought I said "lap" when I said "lab", typing something like "When I was in Dr. X's lap". I am glad I caught it before sending it out!
Bottomline: If you are willing to spend the time to train it and build a custom dictionary (~2-3 hrs?), Dragon will give you much more time back. Just make sure you double-check what it writes.
GTForce - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
Addendum:If you're in academia:
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 10.0 Educational License Program
$79.95
http://www.academicsuperstore.com/products/Nuance+...">http://www.academicsuperstore.com/produ...nSoft/Dr...
ProDigit - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
I purchased my first Dragon Naturally speaking (I believe version 3) somewhere around 1999, when it was on sale in a store's $5 software grab and get box.I've used it now and then, but never for major articles.
In those versions you still had too many errors, but it was able to recognize my English pretty OK (despite speaking English as my second language).
Most issues appeared with accents. Australian accent didn't work back then, and definitely not my dutch-English accent.
I still have it laying around somewhere, for years unused...
beginner99 - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
lol. i think this is funny.separate language. I sometimes have to deal with Indian supporters. It's not easy at all. The say they speak English but it sounds like "Suhalesi" to me (understand like 1/4 of it). I understand it's cheaper than an american or english supporter, but in the end you spend at least double the time with them compared to a native speaker because of language issues and missunderstandings.ol1bit - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Amazon has it for $44 and free shipping!jasonbird - Friday, December 25, 2009 - link
http://www.socheapwholesale.com">http://www.socheapwholesale.comhttp://www.1stjerseys.com">http://www.1stjerseys.com
http://www.socheapwholesale.com/NFL-Jerseys.html">http://www.socheapwholesale.com/NFL-Jerseys.html
http://www.1stjerseys.com/NHL-Jerseys.html">http://www.1stjerseys.com/NHL-Jerseys.html
BigDealzz - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Good call, but coolhardware beat you to itby about 8 hours (See above)
START QUOTE
FYI, Amazon has it for $44.99:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001B5J7T8/...">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001B5J7T8/...
END QUOTE
DominionSeraph - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Hey, if you pirate Dragon, it's even cheaper!WTF is an, "OMG!! SALE!!" article doing on the front page of AnandTech?
whatthehey - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Thanks for being a moron. Did you RTFA? If it were just about the sale, then it might annoy some people, but it sounds like Jarred uses Dragon and finds it beneficial, in which case taking the time to put together a blog would make sense. Considering it's under the blog section rather than as a full article, I wasn't expecting a review but I did find some useful tidbits nonetheless.64-bit support finally being here is extremely important info, as there's no way I'm going back to a 32-bit OS. I can't believe it took them what... three years since the launch of Vista to get a 64-bit version out? That right there speaks volumes for the level of competition - as in, there isn't any worth noting or Dragon would have worked harder to get 64-bit support done.
Anyway, I hope you got a full refund after paying so much to read a blog about a potentially interesting product. Heaven help us if you didn't like wasting your time so badly that you had to post a comment to let everyone know! Personally I got the impression Jarred wants to spend more time on the subject but is busy elsewhere and felt this was a nice opportunity for a quick mention... and the comments with other deals on Dragon make it even more useful.
DominionSeraph - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
64 bit support is not important info, as there's been 64 bit speech recognition for years. It's called, "Windows."The author not only didn't try any of the alternatives, it appears as though he is given copies of Dragon. As his aquisition cost is unnaturally lowered, which would cause him to overvalue the product. Even with that, he didn't value the product highly enough to blog about it until the fire sale came up. A net valuation keyed on a sale does is unworthy to be on AT, as it's completely dependent on the sale being in effect.
JarredWalton - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
Actually, he's a lot closer in being correct than you are. I purchased DNS8 several years back and even wrote a comparison with the Windows version. That was linked in the article if you care to go back and look. I've tried the Vista speech recognition off and on a few times and have thought about doing a full article, but the amount of time and effort involved is very substantial and I have plenty of laptops to get reviewed first.If you go try DNS and Windows, I dare you to conclude that Windows is anything but a poor alternative. Perhaps Win7 will do better (I'll look at it at some point), but fundamentally the UI in the Vista version had some serious issues for me. Try adding a custom phrase for example, like "A. Suess E. PC one thousand five H. A. = ASUS Eee PC 1005HA". It's easy to do in DNS and works perfectly. Perhaps you can do it in Windows as well, but if so I haven't figured it out.
Admittedly, after a few hours of trying the Windows alternative I usually get frustrated and go back to Dragon. Is that because I started on Dragon or because the MS version just doesn't cut it? I'm inclined to go with the latter opinion, since I've tried it quite a few times.
DominionSeraph - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
Mere reading? Try comprehending. I find it works better.Skott - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
That headset he links is prohibitively expensive for the average user. $185?? Ouch! I like the design though. Just not the price.coolhardware - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
FYI, Amazon has it for $44.99:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001B5J7T8/...">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001B5J7T8/...
BigDealzz - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Wow, Amazon even has FREE shipping! Thanks for the link, I'm ordering now!!!Fattysharp - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
I have been deploying Dragon at work now for the past 4 months and it has been a nightmare.I work in the healthcare field, and the idea was to use use less warm bodies transcribing, and more doctors dictating straight to the system.
The product locks up and freezes regularly (multiple sites, multiple scenarios). What was suppose to have been a 1 month project, with the vendor supporting the product, has turned into us (internal IT department) spending 4 months trying to sort out all the issues with "input" from Nuance. Still not even close to getting it into production, but given the amount of money spent already, and letting go employees, I doubt it will end anytime soon.
for the 30-50$ that it can be purchased for it *might* be a product with playing with, but i do not reccomend using it as a bussiness solution.
Akai - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
I took a quick look on tigerdirect.ca for a similar deal for all those canucks out there :)http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools...">http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...tails.as...
Price: 139.99 CDN
-85.02 Instant Savings
-20.00 Rebate
Total: 34.97 CDN
Thats the OEM version which includes a headset
ratbert1 - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
for $60 after rebate. This week only until the 24th.JonnyDough - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
$30 for an ergonomic keyboard...Or, $50 for this software.
I think it's a good deal, but without any other VR software to compare it to it would be ill advised to blow even $50 without hearing anyone's take on several different ones.
beginner99 - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
What about recognition of English if english is not your mother tongue and you obviosuly have somekind of an accent?In work I write like 80 % in english, internatonal company...
Does it stil work? Is there an USA and Great britan specific version? I mean these 2 dialects do sound very different.
Is the software multi-lingual? like I can buy 1 version and have all languages available?
I understand that this is is a great product for native-english speakers that only have to type english, but there are lot's of people these criteria don't apply to.
JarredWalton - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
I know there are at least three "dialects" that DNS uses: US English, UK English, and Indian English (I suppose that's for those with a strong Indian accent). I have heard from others that DNS actually does quite well with accents, but I can't speak from personal experience.UNHchabo - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
India does have its own dialect of English, mostly influenced by the fact that a substantial number of Indians speak English, but it's not their only language. Because of this, Indian English has influences from the other languages spoken there.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English
SlyNine - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
How long did it take it to learn your speech. I liked Vista's software but in the end I think its just easier to type. However now I'm back in school I'm thinking about using it again.JarredWalton - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
DNS does much better than Vista IMO. Honestly, it's only about 15 minutes of training and you can begin using it without too much in the way of errors. It probably starts around 95-96% accuracy and improves a bit over time (or you learn to dictate more clearly and enunciate properly).chamira - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Can DNS convert existing audio files to Word docs or text?JarredWalton - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
I think you need the Professional version, or perhaps Preferred? I know the Standard version won't do audio files and I'm pretty sure Pro is needed. Or you could just connect speakers to whatever device holds your audio and stick your mic in front of them! LOL... it actually works okay if the volume is loud enough and the tapes have clear dictation.2good2btrue - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I have used Dragon Naturally Speaking in the past and thought this would be a great way to get new version. I clicked and sure enough the shopping cart showed a $50 savings! Yah!This, I thought, will be a perfect complement to my Win 7 Ultimate x64 system.
The problem; living in Canada, shipping will cost $70 in addition to GST, Duty and of course the exchange rate. Oh well.
Thanks for a great post Jarred (I'll be on the look out for DNS 10 locally).
DeniseMToronto - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Just use the Canadian site. If you change www.tigerdirect.com to www.tigerdirect.ca that link works for Canada as well, though the price becomes $55. Shipping came out at $12 for me; might be higher for you. And I believe TigerDirect takes care of the duties, customs brokerage, etc.
Denise Moore
jamori - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Reading your article has left me somewhat curious: how is text formatting (italics/bold/underline, new paragraph/sentence, etc) handled? I poked around their site for a minute or two and didn't immediately see the answer.I have some nerve-related arm/wrist issues as well, but over half of my computer using is coding (my livelihood). I don't suppose there's any point in even attempting a voice recognition for that situation in any but the most severe case? "for open paren eye equals zero semicolon eye less than ten semicolon eye plus plus close paren open brace...." doesn't seem like a very productive way to spend my day.
I've just adapted to switching hands with my mouse every 10 minutes or so/using ergo mice when I can tolerate them, and using an ergonomic keyboard exclusively. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've come up with.
EvilBlitz - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Seriously have a go at doing some light weights. Just to work your forearms, biceps and triceps. It doesn't have to be hard out. I find that if I do a little bit every day I get a lot less pain in my wrists and arms.heulenwolf - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I was in a similar situation a few years ago. After my doctor gave me the "take 2 of these and don't call me in the morning" treatment that wore off as soon as I ran out of the medication, my Sister-in-law (a chiropractor) bought me the zero tension mouse. A little more concentration on how I was using my computer and using that mouse saved my career. I've been pain-free for the last 6 years while computing without any medications.It looks like they're no longer selling it directly through their website but I saw one for sale, here: http://www.specialneedscomputers.ca/index.php?l=pr...">http://www.specialneedscomputers.ca/index.php?l=pr...
JarredWalton - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
jamori, you're pretty much correct: dictating punctuation for coding is so tedious that I couldn't be bothered to do it. I found that when programming, though, I don't do as much typing so if you learn to take your hands away from the keyboard and relax, it might help. Of course, documentation is also part of programming in many cases (specifications and such), and DNS can help with that.As far as bold and such, you say "bold that" after a phrase, or "bold on/off". "Italicize that", "underline that", etc. all work as well - I'd assume they work fine in Standard, though I don't know for sure as I'm using Pro.
I've tried chiropractors and massage therapy and it didn't help much at all. Best solution for me is to stop typing, so that's what DNS allows me to do (for the most part). Thankfully, using a mouse hasn't ever bothered me, though if I played Diablo enough it might start!
PeterO - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
"Perhaps the biggest challenge is that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is so accurate that you start to get lazy; homonyms can still throw the program for a loop, so if you don't read what it transcribes carefully, you're likely to come up with some grammatical/spelling errors from time to time."Is this one of those "email/female" challenges you mention?
"If you've never try Dragon NaturallySpeaking,..."
;)
JarredWalton - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Yup!Nihility - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Speech recognition in Windows 7 is even better than Vista. Though I haven't been able to get it to work well enough that I could stop typing.Losing the ability to type would be almost career ending, so it's nice to know that there is an alternative. The only thing that scares me more is losing my eyesight X_X
ssj3gohan - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
There is actually still a mistake in there - look for a 'try' that should've been 'tried'.By the way - I'm a dutch reader and have tried NaturallySpeaking before, back when I was in high school (well, at least our equivalent). That was the famed version 8. I was amazed that it could get most of my speech correct, down to most of the window commands, as back then I had a pretty heavy accent. I'm not sure about the state of speech-to-text right now, but back then it was pretty much the only software that would do it right.
I should try it again, as I am about to engage in writing my thesis...
iwodo - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Since there are no visible improvement in accuracy, ( properly because you have trained the program for long enough ), What are there left for improvement apart from speed?And what about other languages, is speech recognition still limited to English?
And would bluetooth handfree work?
JarredWalton - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I know some use Bluetooth (or wireless) microphones. As far as other languages, I believe there may be options other than English but I can't really test those. I could do a poor job at trying out a Danish version, but that's probably far down on the list of languages they intend to support in the future. LOL. Speed can still be improved though - there's a 1-2 second lag between finishing a sentence and having it appear in Word, for example. They could also work on properly understanding grammar, as right now DNS only looks at context (i.e. the surrounding words), which is why homonyms can still create problems.atlr - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Check for DNS 10 Standard at warehouse clubs. It's $50 everyday at the one I go to.strikeback03 - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I wonder how well this would work in a carputer setup? Centrafuse 3 is supposed to be opened up for alternatives to Microsoft for voice command, which I have found to not work most of the time in an admittedly noisy environment.The0ne - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I believe DNS was rated, still, as the #1 recommended choice or voice recognition from PCmag and PCworld. As someone already stated here the accuracy is way up there at this point in time. Therefore it is a great deal if you are looking into using your voice to output text/commands.I typically review the reviews of voice recognition at least 2-3 times a year to see if there are any drastic improvements. :) I say your money is in good hands with DNS.
JarredWalton - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
There are supposed to be noise-canceling microphones that can work in that sort of environment, but I haven't tested them out. I do know that Dragon does very poorly for me if there's a lot of background noise -- i.e. someone mowing the lawn with my window open, or vacuuming in the next room, or making dinner....strikeback03 - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I believe my microphone (http://www.andreaelectronics.com/Buy/ProductDesc/U...">http://www.andreaelectronics.com/Buy/ProductDesc/U... is supposed to be noise-cancelling. The page claims it rates 6 dragons from Dragon, so maybe it would help.LoneWolf15 - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
to TigerDirect doesn't show Dragon, just a page of software deals.When I searched for the product, DNS 10 Standard was $99, not $50. I'd be interested if you find the link again, but it looks like the deal you posted is gone.
Skott - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
Amazon is showing the Standard version for sale for $44.99khernitzz - Sunday, September 20, 2009 - link
I believe you can also avail this offer if you purchase them directly from the company:http://support.nuance.com/customerservice/phone/">http://support.nuance.com/customerservice/phone/
LoneWolf15 - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
My bad, sorry --I didn't realize you posted the link to direct-add the item to ones shopping cart. Bit of confusion there, but I've sorted it out. :)JarredWalton - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
Yeah, sorry... that's the link in my email, so honestly I don't know how long it will be valid. I'd honestly still recommend trying Dragon if you're a slow typist or have any sort of RSI/CTS, even at $200.lyeoh - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - link
I'm not a doctor, but if your CTS is due to squished nerves, you could try taking methylcobalamin/mecobalamin.A doc prescribed it for me and it worked. Could check with a doc or neurologist first.
Basically the theory is the problem is because the nerves are being squashed, and the methylcobalamin helps the nerves stay alive and "OK" till the body hopefully adapts/heals.
coconutboy - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
No offense intended towards you because you obviously have good intentions, but The Missus demands that I speak up. I'm stitting right next to my g/f who is a pharmacist. She saw your post and her head rolled. She didn't say it, but since I hear it all the time I know what she was thinking. It's great the drugs work for you, but if at all possible, it's a much better alternative to seek solutions that do not require drugs. Americans in particular are hooked on pill popping. Check out the movie Sicko for a brief look.I should also mention my g/f is back in school to become a nurse (while continuing to work in a pharmacy) because she's so disgusted with her segment of the health care system.
lyeoh - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
Yes drugs are often not a solution, or the best solution. If you or your girlfriend have better and more effective suggestions, I'm sure he (and I) will be happy to hear of them.But voice recognition software is most certainly not a solution for CTS - it's a workaround. If he's not careful he might end up with vocal chord problems too ;).
My course of methycobalamin was certainly cheaper than the voice recognition software mentioned in the article. And more importantly I can use a keyboard and mouse now with no pain.
It may not work for him, but at least he might be aware of one more option (and one that at least has some scientific basis/research behind it - even if it was mostly done in Japan, and more recently China).
JarredWalton - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
FWIW, I appreciate the suggestions. I typically eat reasonably healthy (almost no fast food, lots of water, get regular exercise, and take a multivitamin just for good measure). I do type more than I think is "safe" even now, just because sometimes I'm too lazy to put on my headset for a short note, or because there's some background noise - right now the dishwasher is running, for example, so I'm typing this. Shame on me....Anyway, I don't really have pain per se; rather, I have numbness and tingling that crops up, and that's usually a sign of bigger problems to come if you don't take action. Rather than going along typing until I am actually incapacitated by my inability to type, using speech recognition for my articles seems like a nice solution. I also have a "natural" ergonomic keyboard, which seems to have helped a bit relative to the old keyboard I had. Mousing as I said isn't a problem for me (yet?) so I can do that fine.
As for surgery... well, that wouldn't be a good course of action unless I had actually changed the habits that lead to CTS in the first place, right? So that's an absolute last ditch effort (and prone to complications from what I understand).
For $30-$50 -- or free if you're like me and Nuance sends you a copy for evaluation! :) -- Dragon is a nice solution that I appreciate. I actually bought version 8, though, so it wasn't always free. I also have my dad hooked up with DNS as well, since he has myasthenia gravis and can no longer type properly, and my brother who types at around 25 WPM got it from his wife a few years back based on my recommendation. He now writes longer email messages than before! LOL
Will it work for everyone? I'm sure it won't, especially anyone with a speech impediment, but for those where it does help give it a try! Or if you're curious, try out the Vista/Windows 7 speech recognition... but don't say I didn't warn you that the interface is at times clunky!
mmike70 - Friday, September 18, 2009 - link
The two compounds listed are basically Vitamin B12, hardly a drug and are used quite successfully in treating peripheral neuropathy.martalli - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
I am a doctor, and I would note that Vitamin B12 is useful in treating neuropathy due to B12 deficiency. However, if you are not deficient in B12, it will not help.lyeoh - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link
He could try it for himself - consult a doctor/neurologist about it etc. Or even buy it "over the counter" - it is extremely unlikely to kill or harm him.In some studies methylcobalamin has been shown to help nerve regeneration in rats. And B12 for rabbits.
See: http://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.ncbi.nlm.n...">http://www.google.com/search?q=site:www...gov+meth...
And even if the recovery is actually due to a "placebo effect", I don't think he'll care that much as long as he's much better and can use a keyboard and mouse without pain.
boblamb - Sunday, April 18, 2010 - link
Hi Jarred,Have you ever tried a software called Voice Finger ( http://voicefinger.cozendey.com ) ? It is an add-on for Win 7 speech recognition that adds several improvements in the speech commands, especially if you want to click anywhere on the screen and other extravagancies.