Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11 [Old Version]

I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for over a decade. Each update touts its new features and improved accuracy. I have never achieved anything like the level of accuracy described in the brochures. Even at 99% accuracy, a 5000 word story or paper would have at least 50 errors or more. The power of my Dell Inspiron with a Pentium I5 and eight gigs provides the power needed to run the software. An underpowered computer will not give you a satisfactory performance. the accuracy does improve when I use a version for hundreds and hundreds of hours.

I approached the installation with foreboding because I had read other reviews which were either very positive or very negative. I followed the instructions for installation very carefully, and I failed miserably five times. I was about to send it back to Amazon, but I decided to try once more, and to ignore one of the instructions given by the manufacturer. Voila! The installation worked very smoothly; see more details below. After installing the program it is truly miraculous! On my computer the installation failed on either the third or fourth step. The step recommends that you either do or do not do something while Visual C++ 9 or 10 loads onto your hard drive. When I followed the recommendation the process failed. Finally, when I did the opposite thing installation rapidly proceeded and completed. It is possible that my computer represented a special situation, because I have various versions of Visual C++, Express edition installed on my computer. I have a few other comments to make. If you want really excellent dictation you will need to put in a lot of effort to learn the system. Remember that if you give a command to put DNS into a specific mode and then forget that you have done that, it will create a big mess until you reverse the mode. I am using the program to keep informal notes and to dictate informal e-mails, and it is terrific for that sort of thing. I am hoping that I dont need technical support from Nuance because other reviewers have made very unflattering comments about that support.

Experience: 15 yrs from 4.0 to 9.0.1, a little with 10. Wanted to access into electronic portal med records. letters etc. PROS: fast.accurate.many features so the depth can be gradually learned. usable right out of box - up and running within minutes: time to first use, since had to start training: 60 min. priced correctly. came with disc and headset. i used another headsst that actually came with my DD3 instead of DNS11.5(oldversion). headset works very well. I plan on using with Logitech h800 bluetooth headset.now after approximately 60 hours of use (like use meaning hours of flight time or drive-on time for planes, boats, tractors: better and better. now accuracy problems are almost all my fault (mispronounced, coughed stumbled a word). it trains nicely and fast and noticeably faster than previous versions. I am using it on Windows 7; i7 4770; 8GB RAM; 64 bit. [ if i had to go Windows 8 for some reason I would get DNS Premium 12.5. ] I use it to study - it can read me articles while I read them . helps me. CONS: none. that is correct: for American English, midwest, experienced. if that is not you: high learning curve (calculate about 200 hours) with discontinuous learning to work out glitches. if I were a novice I would participate in every tutorial that Nuance had, and put the groundwork in first, to decrease frustration years later. the reviewer that said it is like getting a puppy - you are the owner, and if you get frustrated, it is almost always not the Dragon Puppys fault, but the user. frustrations would be less if one would think of it that way. If you never had a puppy: get one. if you, the dog, and Dragon are all on the same page in a year: Dragon is for you. Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Nuance, DNS, DD3 or such companies except as a longterm customer with now approaching just over 10,000 hours use. I am not disabled physically, so I blend with full function keyboard and mouse, but increasingly use commands. Recommend: 1. as much RAM as you can afford. 2. a fast processor at least an i5. 3. yes I would recommend and have recommended to colleagues and friends. 4. it is not, like dogs and other pets, for everyone. 5 . my typing and keyboarding and functionality improved along with the continuous maturity of Dragon. 6. I compared many recent hours with Windows Speech recog Win7 and with Mac Speech Voiceover. nice programs. about half the functionality of Dragon. I am not a tech geek (though addicted to tech.) 7. If i was (am) writing a book, I would have this available on each computer, as the license is per computer. 8. I do not have experience with the larger professional versions that are out of my price range. they might work fluidly with EMR. This version (and 12) DO NOT. 9. I do not have trascription experience, as I am the one dictating. as a dictator - I find Dragon makes less mistakes than human transcribers, mainly because it is fluily giving you the feedback immediately - which sets up nicely with this version. 10. the last time I tried using dictation to a device (an Olympus) it didnt work so well in v 9.0 - but there are many advances since then. 11. the handheld mic by phillips: good but too costly (I have approximately 600 - 1200 hours experience with several of those.). I am preferring bluetooth or USB headsets. I hope this helps. I am thinking about a name for Dragon Puppy. (-:

I was a little apprehensive when I read Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Dummies and it said not to expect much if you use Biblical phrases. I had ordered Dragon for the express purpose of writting Bible Studies so I thought that I had really made a mistake. But Dragon learns easily and it incorporated the vocabulary from previously written studies and seemed to know what word to use when I spoke it. I had to train it a little on Ezekiel but it got Jehovah and Hezekiah right off. All in all I am very happy with Dragon. But dont order the Dragon for Dummies book - it is about 6 versions behind. Also do not order the Sennheiser headset microphone that is listed in Amazon as it is for wireless (even the one that doesnt say wireless) and the connector does not work properly. Speech Recogition Solutions has the same microphone with a standard plus.

I am a writer who was looking for a way to write another novel without getting typers cramp. My novels are running roughly 180,000 words so anything I can do to tighten that up is only good. I am not using it for its intended purpose yet; however, I still believe it can do it. It will not do it right out of the box. That I know. You first train it to respond to you. That takes a few days anyway. My other problems were two-fold: First, finding the right headset. I use an Andrea now and I am glad I found them. The set that came with the Dragon software is not good. It picked up something like 1 in 3 words I said. I have no idea why, but it was pretty bad. The other problem is this: When I am dictating, I can manage 2-3 sentences before I pause to think further about what I want to say. For it to really save time, you have to know what you want to say and how you want to say it. In my own case, I was using the time it took to type to think about what to say next. This is SO fast, I couldnt do that. So I first build a story structure/outline to follow as I dictate. That does make it a LOT easier. Long story short, I think it WILL BE great. I need to get used to it and it needs to get used to me. It is not an instant solution, but for anyone wanting speed or needing it to deal with a life challenge AND you can deal with a learning curve, this could be the answer to your prayers.

I got this program for my wife to help with the amount of writing that she does. My beef with this is the training that you have to do so that the program recognizes your voice. It turns out that my wife has never fully follwed through on using it. It does work, and it does help, but you have to work at it.

this review is being written using Dragon natural speaking which I will not make any corrections. Please forgive any nonsensical words or rhetorically incorrect sentences. Although I find the software to be effective, it is generally off a bit, requires you to reread or proofed everything that you write. As youll see in this review, there are words that will be shown that will be out of context or inappropriate. They will always be spelled correctly, however. Sometimes the software will hang up or freeze which can be quite frustrating. I am utilizing the Andrea NC - 185 MZM had some and I also purchased their training CD which I found to be just okay. Conceptually conceptually, the idea is fabulous and very addicting. If youre okay with proofreading every sentence and finding that a lot of the sentences are grammatically incorrect, this is a decent product. Ive been using it for about a week and a half and still trying to make it work properly. Which are reading here is after weeks of tweaking and is still not right. Had I type this rather than using Dragon it would have been dead on right and pretty close to being just as fast. The reason I bring up this speed is by the time you have to go back through and proofread everything you might as well if typed it. New update: (typed) the software on this product is extremely large and even, and unfortunately too frequently, locks up my 2012 Window 7 HP desktop with maximum memory capacity. I bring this up to warn you not to buy this if you have a computer that is a few years old or doesnt have a ridiculous amount of memory capacity. My CPU runs at 40-60 percent usage with Dragon. Personally, Id never consider using this on a laptop. To reemphasize, while the theory and concept behind this product seems amazing, the ugly truth is that this software has a lot of bugs and is a huge power drain to your system. Caveat Emptor. *** New *** Never address your emails until you finalize your email content. While writing your 80 percent accurate, unedited email, Dragon may pickup a word that sounds like send and POOF off your email goes. Whoops.

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!

Ive only had this product for a short time, but I love it! Very easy to train and Ive been pretty happy with the accuracy overall. Whenever I have some free time, I do read additional scripts of increasing levels of complexity in order to increase my vocabulary, and I have found that since I bought a USB adapter for the included headset that my accuracy have improved even further. The only thing Im getting used to is speaking the way you type. Otherwise, you end up with an ndless sentence, but for what Im using it for, its still much faster than typing everything word for word. I love it, and have recommended it to several friends and family members!

I was unsure whether I would be getting the latest version of the product, or not, but when it arrived it was 11.5 and not the 11.0 version stated on the product information. I had resigned myself to not having the latest as I couldnt find a product listing for 11.5 version, but the CD is actually 11.5. Product seems nice, but I havent fully trained it yet.