Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12, English (Old Version)

I have an infirmity in my hands and makes it difficult to type, so I badly needed assistance from my voice recognition software package. This package is working well, it couldnt be better. However it seems determined to add unwanted words. At present, it inserts the word for over and over and over again. The program does save me time, for but for needs considerable refinement . It also skips words. Using the program requires a great deal of time for editing.

I dictated an email message after the 15 minute initial training set up and it did about 90% accuracy or more. I was flat amazed. I dont dictate as well as I speak especially when Im reading the words I am dictating. If I did additional training it would produce much better accuracy. Im waiting for a version which automatically inserts punctuation and corrects grammar. This software is so advanced, Im predicting that day will be here soon. I use Logitech wireless H800 headsets as recommended in the list of qualified headsets. I have noisy fans, but the noise cancellation of the H800 eliminates the background noise. I have an IVY Bridge 3770K CPU with 8 GB of RAM. Im sure that helps a lot, too.

It takes quite a lot of time to train the software, but if you keep working at it you can get it to work well. Helps save the hands & wrists. I bought this version because it comes with a headset (mic & speakers) and Im glad I did.

This review of mine is just a personal experience. Some people’s experience might be different from mine. I got this version for some time already, and I’ve only used it in the first year for a couple of reason. I put up many hours in the practice module; I even bought a sennheizer USB headset with a mic to have a better experience using it; however, the result is still subpar. Whats confusing though is that, I always do good in every practice mode, but every time I use it for my article that’s when the problem starts to happen. It’s receiving a lot of unintended words that I have to keep repeating myself over and over again. To me, the software only likes a certain kind of tone to understand the word because it can have issues when I start to speak a little bit excited or even worse such as like a conversational tone. Right now, I tried to be simple and only use an app that I bought in apple store, and it only cost me $9.99. The result is way better than my experience with the dragon software. It doesn’t even need any special headset or practice module. So to be short, my experience is just a waste of time and money.

I just purchased Dragon 12 and was trying to install it on my company provided computer. It wont install without .NET Frameworks 4.0. I contacted Nuance support which the confirmed, that Dragon 12 requires .NET Framework 4.0. This is not documented anywhere on the box, or online product requirements. Because my company IT policies are controlled and are not up to this version of .NET I cannot install Dragon 12. Of course I ran into this when I tried to install the software and had opened all the seals on the packaging, so just a straight return is not available. Im waiting for word from Nuance if I can return 12 for a version of Dragon 11.5 and if 11.5 will work on my older version of .NET Frameworks. Also to confirm other reviewers comments the headset provided is crap, and crushes your head. So if there is a package that is cheaper without headsets purchase it and buy a better headset separately.

I have used Dragon Naturally Speaking for years, starting with version 6, and, while the early versions left something to be desired, they worked pretty well. I bought Dragon Version 10 and used it for a couple of years and was very happy with it. When I got a new computer running Windows 7 my Dragon 10 would not run so I upgraded to 12. What a mistake! While it does translate speech into text it is so irritating to use that I have gone back to my old computer and version 10. Since many words sound alike (isle/aisle, to/two/too, etc.) the program will sometimes make a mistake. With my old version I could select the word and say spell that and the program would let me make a correction, either by choosing the right word from a list or actually spelling the word on the keyboard and training the program to understand it. With this one about 90% of the time it refuses to work. If I say spell that the program comes back with spell letter S, deletes the word and inserts an S. Other times it will say spell bracket and insert a bracket. Many times it refuses to do anything and just sits with the cursor blinking. I am using the same microphone I used before and have even tried a wireless USB mic with the same result. If you go to the Nuance website there are a bunch of FAQs, but no easy way to talk to customer support. Maybe version 13 is better but i am not about to plunk down another $100 to find out. I wish I could recommend it but I cant.

You have to train the software to your voice and speech patterns. And, the software also trains you to say; period, paragraph, comma, numeral one, hyphen, etc. It was really a bit too much for me to use for anything other than somewhat short and quick notes. This isnt a learn it in a week type program. Its gonna be continuing education. It cant read your mind. If you are a writer, or doctor, this would be very worthwhile. The random and varied items that i have to type every day is just too broad of spectrum to be able to make good use of the this software. Also, any noise in the background can become an obstacle to its deciphering your speech properly. I am seldom in an environment where noise will not be an issue. I did get a voice recorder that does work well in transcribing my notes, but again, background noise obliterated many of my notes..

I think this the best voice the text software. After training, it works well, and I am always finding new shortcuts to make it even more useful. I combined it with the Plantronics .Audio 628 Stereo USB Headset and have been extremely satisfied. There are many features that I havent tried. Most use has been in Microsoft Word, which the software has a link that allows you to speak directly into the document. Other word-processing software required that you use the Dragon text box, and then paste. There is also a link to INternet Explorer where you can use speech commands to navigate (I havent used this feature). So to be clear, I think the easiest use of Dragon is with MS Office. If Office isnt your favorite, be sure to research Nuances website to see how it will work for you.

I found the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software easy to use. But it takes much patience to wait for it to type. You have to speak slowly so that it understands you. I feel like I can type much faster than the speed at which they system types. I use it when my carpal tunnel gets to be too painful. It is a good program to fall back on when my hands become too tire. I have to learn to be more patient with the slower speed at which the softwaret types.

After a lot of research, this seems to be the best thing out there for the price. It was hard to get started and not simple to use. Took quite a while to get used to it. But it does work and it beats writing down every word. The users manual could be improved on.