Dragon Naturally Speaking Review

What is it?

Award-winning Voice Recognition Software
99% Accurate
Dictate, edit and control applications
Easy to use
Wireless Microphone and PDA support.

Dragon Naturally Speaking Demo

Dragon NaturallySpeaking allows you to dictate to your computer and have those words appear on your screen. It gives you the freedom to create documents at a faster pace than you would by typing them out on your computer. You can use the software to create documents in a word processor, create and send e-mails, and even surf the web by just using your voice.

I used the software in the past and quite honestly it didn't work for me. It could've been the software's fault or the fact that I'd been using a cheap headset. I decided to give it another chance with the new Plantronics headset that I bought in the following is a review of my experiences with Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred edition.

Get a Copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9

	Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred Price: $120.81 List Price: $199.99
	Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard Price: $53.49 List Price: $99.99
	Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred Spanish Price: $179.99 List Price: $316.41
	Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard 9.0 Spanish Price: $89.99

Learn More About Dragon Naturally Speaking

Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking
Learn about the features and see the demo of Dragon Naturally Speaking from the company that creates the software: Nuance.

Calibrating the Software

The first step in using Dragon NaturallySpeaking after installing it is to calibrate the software to the headset that you are using and the volume of your voice. This involves reading a number of paragraphs of text back to the computer while it adjusts the volume settings on your microphone. For some people this process is rather quick, for others it can take a little time.

Learning the Ropes

I then proceeded to go through the tutorials provided with the software. These tutorials teach you how the software works as well as basic voice commands that you can use while dictating to the computer. They are very well done and follow the same pattern for each of the 14 short lessons.

With each lesson, they explain a simple task to you by voice, show you a demonstration of it in action, and then give you a chance to practice on an example.

After completing the 14 lessons I felt that I had a good grasp of the software, how to use it, and what to expect.

Get a Quality Headset

	Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset Price: $30.78 List Price: $39.99
	Logitech Extreme PC Gaming Headset (980233-0403) Price: $12.18 List Price: $17.87
	Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB) Price: $18.00 List Price: $32.39
	Logitech Premium Notebook Headset Price: $22.00 List Price: $59.99

Using the Software

I was amazed at how easy the software is to use. It is a pretty much "hands-free" process, and you only need to turn the microphone on with your hands.

The most noticeable change such a notice on your computer screen is the DragonBar which is usually docked at the top of the desktop. On the Dragon Bar, you find controls to turn on the microphone, change users, increase the software's accuracy, access the help functionality, and access the advanced options.

In most cases, except for turning on the microphone, chances are you won't need to use the DragonBar very often.

Example of program mistakes

Accuracy of Dragon Naturally Speaking

For the most part, Dragon Naturally Speaking is 99% accurate just as their website claims. But from time to time, software has problems determining exactly what you say.

For example, I had a lot of problems with "our" being interpreted by the program as "her". But as time went on, the program seemed to become more accurate at understanding what I was trying to say.

If accuracy is a big problem for you, they do have an option in the DragonBar, the "Accuracy Center", that allows you to train the software to better understand your voice.

The Final Verdict

Overall, I was very impressed with the software product Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Not only was it accurate most of time, but also helps to reduce the amount of strain on your hands as a consequence of extended keyboard use.

The interface was easy-to-use thanks to the tutorials included with the software.

My only complaint was the odd misinterpretation of certain words by the software though that improved the more frequently I use the software.

In fact, all the text for this hub was created by using Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred. I would definitely recommend Dragon NaturallySpeaking to anyone that does a lot of writing on their computer.

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