Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11 [Old Version]

The Dragon is actually for my husband. Hes still working on the voice recognition or communicatio aspect. Sometimes it understands what he says and sometimes not, which might be because he is just learning how it works. So, I think he needs a little more time to understand how it works before he can make a fair judgment of this product.

I had very high hopes for this product at the time I purchased it. The first few weeks of use went pretty well and I was elated with the performance. As time went by, more and more problems arose. Dragons software apparently does not play well with other applications (word processors, spreadsheets, contact managers, etc.) being active at the same time. The Dragon software seems to get in fights, of sort, with these other applications and then refusing to work at all until it is rebooted. This product is installed on a 16 GB memory, 4-processor, Windows 7, 64 bit, machine. I sure wish the Dragon folks could get this thing working -- Id love to make it a part of my business day!

I love the fact that I dont have to type my papers, but the program took some getting use to. The supplied headphones did not work well because it distorted the speech to such an extent that the program got the words wrong. I then bought an Andrea stereo headset and this was 90% better. Now I plan to upgrade my program but havent done so because the manufacturer wants full price. I paid full price upon original purchase. The upgrade should give the consumer a price break. I would have updated annually otherwise. As it is Im holding back on this one.

Lets face it, we all get very frustrated trying to learn new programs! But its usually not the program thats the problem. Its our lack of understanding on what it wants. As you know, computers are not intelligent beings - they only do what theyre told. In working with Dragon premium 11, it is exactly the same way. It only does what its told. The difference is now Im talking to it. And when it doesnt do what I tell it to do, I get very frustrated! After all - it couldnt be me, could it? It takes a lot of patience to learn any new program. And it takes even more patience to be comfortable with yourself, and learn to speak clearly and talk to an inanimate object. Articulate, articulate, articulate! Ive had the fortunate experience of some public speaking. That makes it a little easier for me to sit at my desk and talk to my dumb computer. But it still can be very frustrating. Im developing a new website, and felt that it would be very handy to use speech recognition instead of the keyboard for developing the content of my site. I first tried the speech recognition software that came with Vista - now that was interesting! Each paragraph was filled with gobbledygook and I actually ended up on the planet Jupiter! It didnt take long to know that was not what I wanted to use. I purchased Dragon premium 11 and have found it to be very precise and easy to use. The problem I have with it only happens when I began to mumble or not articulate my words properly or give incorrect commands. The most frustrating thing to me is learning the commands for fixing my mistakes. I find it gaining accuracy all the time as the program is continually upgrading my profile and learning the way I speak. And I am learning to be more accurate in my pronunciation. I am really enjoying this program, and hope become very proficient at it fairly quickly. I have written entire review with Dragon premium 11. There were a few mistakes that I corrected that were entirely my fault (the program worked well). The rest is left uncorrected. It works well. Just relax and be patient, especially with yourself. J. R. P. S. It even likes big words like articulate and objectionable and Pentateuch and introspective and hyperbaric biosphere and - well just get the program and give it a try. And be patient. Just remember what it was like when you tried to get your keyboard proficiency up to 70 words per minute.

I can really see the benefit of this product. The only reason I gave it four stars is that I cant seem to get to the point of regular use. Im sure its easy once you grow accoustomed to it, but I seem to be having problems with the learning curve. Perhaps Ill purchase a training video and that will do the trick.

I need this product b/c I have carpal tunnel in one wrist. I write a LOT of emails at work and sometimes they are lengthy. I could not get by w/out the voice recognition. The program is quirky though. Sometimes the mic wont turn off. Sometimes it starts posting tweets and I dont even do tweets. Dont ever say the word send in a sentence unless you say something else immediately afterward. Otherwise, you just sent a half finished email! Sometimes it starts acting up and I have to reboot my whole computer just to get it to behave.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for someone who has been talking for years about writing a book but never took action. I read all of the reviews carefully before purchasing Dragon because the recipient is not particularly proficient with computers. After a month, he is still having great difficulty with it. I am sure that if he were take the time to use the tutorial and/or peruse the online manual at least some of his troubles would be resolved. Unfortunately, he is one of those I dont need no stinkin instructions type of guys. I guess I was overly optimistic about his ability to make use of Dragon. Just from my sessions trying to assist him, I notice that Dragon does take time learning, both on the part of the person and the software itself. Conclusion: be careful who you buy this for as it is nowhere near as easy to use as it first appears.

I did not expect the product to work as easily as shown on TV, but have discovered that learning and remembering all the proper commands is more challenging than I expected. The speech recognition works, but sometimes it confuses words and at times confuses commands for dictation. I am certain I will master it, just not as quickly as I hoped.

Im not sure Im any more impressed with this version than I was with earlier versions. Yes the speech recognition is better than version 2-10, but its still not the greatest thing since sliced bread. Great for creating the initial draft but I found that editing commands were frequently ignored or interpreted as additional text. Menu commands dont work at all with Open Office. Its useful, but not the works great, cant live without it product of the advertisements.

I havent had a chance to use this much, yet. So far, though, I have been happy with it. I didnt realize when I purchased it, thought, that the headset was not USB so that makes it a bit inconvenient. Otherwise, it seems to be working well. With more practice, Im sure it will make my life much easier.