Why do I love Dragon Naturally Speaking? Let me count the ways . . . .
Ok, so the video doesn't tell you all ways I love Dragon Naturally Speaking. However, it does show you how easy it is to use the software. Literally, all you have to do is plug in a noise canceling headset to your computer and download the software. You place your cursor where you want to type and away you go. Now, you do have to train the software to your voice. I tend to talk fast, so it had to correct for that. Plus, if you find that it is typing same wrong word, you can train it on that specific word. This isn't rocket science to figure out (which is good because I have a tendency to NOT read the books or pdf files that comes with software).
I was able to create that video while my kids were up and playing at my feet (and you can tell when they grabbed my leg, because the video starts wobbling. You can also hear them a little too.) However, I did want to show that you can still be involved in doing other things and be able to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This more than triples my typing speed when I am typing and dealing with my kids (Take the Dragon NaturallySpeaking typing test if you don't know what your typing speed is). I am actually writing this blog post using the software too. Here is the official video on how this all works:
As I stated in my video, I am finding that I can get a lot more in the little snippets of time I have during the day plus I am able to get way more done at night. I love being able to go to bed before midnight. I love being able to answer emails and do blog posts when I have Will sitting on my lap drinking from his sippy and watching cartoons. I have five blogs, so being able to write more content in less time is a huge plus for me. Plus, anyone who knows me, knows I have no problems talking. I am able to do my freelance work and reports using this also. I will be recommending this to my boss. Beside blogging, I have used it to make my daily lists of what I have to do each day plus some grocery shopping lists too! I am not the only one who thinks it is great, check out this New York Times Review.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is really for anyone who works on a computer. If you talk faster than you type, you need this. If you want to be more efficient in your work, you need this. If you just want a new toy to play with, you DEFINITELY need this. Time is money, and the time you save from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes it worth every penny.
Now that you've got me really interested in this software, I decided to get a copy. But it's $100 on sale at Amazon. I'm not sure if I could justify this purchase, since I'm not a professional blogger.
Just one question: Do you ever get typos if your kids make noise in the background? My son is always making noise when I'm trying to rattle off a blog post.
The software isn't perfect. It does take a while for it to get everything right. However, I always do a quick check of my posts even when I type them, and you need to do the same with the software.
This software offers a glimpse into some fabulous technology. People who are unable to type could benefit as well as people who are used to multi-taking. When I hear the word dragon, I automatically think of enchanted, flying creatures or a familiar image from Chinese New Year parades. I suppose it can be desirable to build on conditioning and ingrained associations.
Great Video! How did you create the side by side thing? (Gonna have to write a blog post on how to do that !)
I've found that Dragon almost never makes spelling errors, but sometimes makes word substitution errors. For me I tend to mumble the word 'and' and it will sometimes (not always) pick up the word 'in' instead.
As it gets to know your vocabulary and sees the words that you correct, it does get even better.
When I have background noises(kids yelling, dogs barking, construction noises, or fireworks) I think I notice that it seems to take an extra second to process my words, but still usually gets it right. 🙂
That's all Windows Movie Maker magic 🙂 I haven't seen any spelling errors either — it just misinterprets what I say. However, I find that the more I use it, the better it gets.
I've seem so many positive reviews of this lately, I may have to think about trying it out. Thank you for your information.
I've also heard some good things about this program. The mistakes it makes while it's trying to figure out the mumbles are hilarious, but every says it warms up eventually and is then quite accurate.
Sounds like a winner to me!
I will stick with the ol' keyboard (until I get carpel tunnel, which will be any day now) 😎
Lol at vein's comment! And ya, me plus backache and neck strain too. 😕
This sounds like a cool sw, but teaching a software about your style of speaking can be difficult….how about moods? does it understand same word in different moods?
Great video, Lisa!
Wow, I had no idea there was such a thing, even though I knew it was inevitable! I can't justify that since I have no kids, unless you count my husband and my cat, and I'm not a professional blogger – my AdSense has a total of $0.59 total ever on it! lol… Anyway, for the right people, that's awesome! It definitely gives us a view into the future. Great video!
I have an older version of DNS but haven't taken the time to play with it and teach it to type for me. Probably would be well worth my time but it won't do coding without saying all the quotation marks. For letters, blogging and forum posting it would be a great tool and timesaver, maybe even creating sales pages 😎
😎 Thanks for sharing this great piece of software with us!
I bought this at one point years ago, but never again. Thought about it though!
Good video with showing it work while you talk- very cool. What happens if you need to go back? Can you tell it to delete words? I type fast but always go back to change things once I see it on paper- just wondering if this would work on the software? Very cool-
What a great product. I think it will soon be a household must have item.
Great post! I wrote my review here: http://www.u-g-h.com/2008/10/24/blogging-at-the-s…
I'm so upset that my Skype headset wouldn't work. I would have really loved to try this software out. As soon as I can afford a new headset I'm going to buy the software for sure!
that's such an awesome product. i'd love to try it sometime. i bet it would make writing my news stories a breeze!
Finally someone mentions price. Did they give you a free copy of it to do the review?
This was a great review. I liked seeing this in action from a blogger. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Great review, looks like something i would be interested in trying out!!
Okay Lisa you've convinced me to give it a try. I bought the software over a year ago but have never even unpacked it out of its box…I guess now is as good a time as any. Time to throw away the old school habit of typing on a keyboard!
Excellent review! You know something like this has so many implications! There are days where my hands and wrists are so stiff it would be great to dictate input. And now with a review, I'll be able to make up my mind much easier. Great job!