speech recognition advice?

[IrieMarie]

I am looking for a cool Christmas gift for my boyfriend and I have been thinking of getting him speech recognition software since one of his friends has it and loves it. The problem is, I am not sure what his buddy has and don't want to ask and spoil the gift LOL Soooo, does anyone have any they can recommend?

[pam123]

Try this one : http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/

[IrieMarie]

thank you for the reply! Is Dragon easy to use? Has anyone here used it before?

[bailey]

I have it and like it, very easy to use, the more it is used, the more it learns.

[IrieMarie]

Originally Posted by bailey I have it and like it, very easy to use, the more it is used, the more it learns.

really? that's a great thing to know! I have heard some types of this kind of software aren't that user friendly, but it sounds like in this case, Dragon Naturally Speaking is the way to go. Thanks for the tips!

[TwoRails]

I've had earlier versions and was not all that impressed. Now I'm giving version 9 a shot, and it's working pretty good. You can use it straight out of the box, but since I don't always enunciate well, I went through a very short "training" session. It is very easy to use.

[IrieMarie]

Originally Posted by TwoRails I've had earlier versions and was not all that impressed. Now I'm giving version 9 a shot, and it's working pretty good. You can use it straight out of the box, but since I don't always enunciate well, I went through a very short "training" session. It is very easy to use.

how user friendly is it? I ask because I have been thinking about my grandma and how its hard for her to type a lot but she loves to send and get emails, would Dragon be something easy for her to use? or would I be better sticking to just getting it for my boyfriend for Christmas?

[TwoRails]

In one sense it is very user friendly in that works right out of the box pretty much as advertised. In other words nothing special was needed. You can have the program start automatically, or turn it on manually after Windows starts, which is what I do. Once the program is started you simply make one click to turn the microphone on. After that you can simply tell the microphone to "go to sleep" or "wake up." Note that in the "go to sleep" mode that the program is still running and listening but will not do anything until you tell it to wake up.

You can also use it to control some Windows functions and programs, however I've never tried it that way and don't really intend to, so I can't say how well it works in that area.

It is fairly sensitive to how consistently you talk, though. As I mentioned above I do not always enunciate properly so if I'm not talking clearly enough it will not type out the intended word. There are an amazing amount of words that sound similar and the program does a good job of trying to figure out what you are saying. Things are pretty easy to correct most of the time. You simply say "correct that" and quite often the word you want is in the little drop-down box that pops up. But the right word doesn't show up you simply say or spell the correct word.

And, as Bailey mentions above, it learns how you say particular words and recognizes them as the word that you mean to say. For example I e-mail a buddy a lot and his name is "Matt" so when I say the word "mat" the program automatically puts in his name instead of the word "mat."

This version is a lot better than prior versions but is still sensitive. By that, what I mean to say is if I had a rough day and I'm real tired and want to speak-out a letter the program has a lot more difficulty because I'm talking less clear than I would if I wasn't so tired. Therefore, there are lot more corrections to be made, but that is not the program' s fault, it is mine because I am not speaking clearly.

So, for a person who doesn't speak clearly all of the time, the program would probably need to be trained a little more. By "training" I mean that the program comes with a series of short passages that you read so that it can learn exactly how you say particular words. For persons that speak clearly the program really does work straight out of the box with no training. For persons that do not speak clearly they may have to read one or two passages, as I did, or maybe even more until the program learns.

Oh, and a bonus is that it comes with a pretty nice headset so you do not have to go out and buy one.

HTH

TR

[IrieMarie]

wow, thank you so very much for your detailed reply!!! I really appreciate that.

I am definitely going to get Dragon for my boyfriend since I know for sure he will get great use out of it and since he has talked so much about his buddy's. As for my Grandmother, well, bless her heart cuz she is a really patient person (unlike her grand daughter lol) so I am thinking of purchasing it for her as well. For her to be able to access all this new technology and stay in contact with all her family members through emails and such, I believe it will definitely lift her spirits. She saw me on an instant messenger one day and remarked how neat she thought that was, so with this, she could even do that too. Dragon sounds like it has a bit of a learning curve but I have done a lil research on a few others and this one seems to be the most user friendly.

on a side note, does anyone know if you can use this kind of software for online gaming?

[TwoRails]

Your location is not listed, but.. if you live near a Costco they are selling right now for $49, which seems like a pretty good price.

[IrieMarie]

oh my gosh, Dragon is only $49.00??? The cheapest I have seen it is $99.....do you know if it was just a sale or is this a regular price?

[TwoRails]

That's Costco's "regular" price, when they have it. It's a "warehouse" membership kinda place. You don't have a location showing so I don't know if they have one where you are...

[IrieMarie]

oh, what a goof I am lol, I am in Austin, Tx and yes, there is a Costco nearby. Fortunately a friend of mine has a card there too. One question though. I am sure the $49 one is the Standard edition. Do you have the Preferred or Standard? I am just wondering the difference between the two and if the Preferred is worth the extra money?

[pam123]

Only if your boyfriend will actually use the extra features it has.
Here's the feature comparison chart, see if the extras are something he'd use :

http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/matrix/

[IrieMarie]

oh man! that chart REALLY helped! thank you! I think the Standard edition would be totally sufficient for my grandmother.....but I am thinking of getting the Preferred for my boyfriend since then he could use it on Excel and w/ his Bluetooth, that's a great plus! thank you so much for all your help!

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by IrieMarie ... One question though. I am sure the $49 one is the Standard edition. Do you have the Preferred or Standard? ...

Yep, the Standard edition. The only feature I think I'd use on the higher editions is the ability to use it with a digital recorder, but then I hardly ever use my recorder.