Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12, English (Old Version)

I chose this item cause I HATE to type and thought this would be perfect in helping me get caught up with my work at the office. However I spent more time fixing the mistakes and getting frustrated when Dragon couldnt understand what I was saying that it now sits in its original box on a shelf. It sounded awesome and I bragged to everyone about ordering it. Now everyone is asking about Dragon and laughing when I say, if I took the time to learn it maybe it would be good but I dont have the time that is needed. Oh and I did not get it at the great sale prices it is currently selling for ....so yes I got duped hopefully by reading this you wont. Like I said if you have time to learn all its tricks Im sure it would be awesome but when one see online there are actual training classes for the software I should have known.....and I work in IT.

Nothing like the advertisement claimed. Very difficult to use. couldnt get past the beginning set up. It did not recognize anything I said no matter how I did as instructed. I have had professional movie speaking parts, speak two languages with perfect accent, am gifted as a mimic. And I still could not get it to type anything as I read it. Tried to return it as dissatisfied with performance and it was returned as being opened. No s***! it is useless and a waste of money. Maybe in a few years after enough people throw their hard earned money at this s*** program it may become something. My experience was very bad!

works pretty well - every now and then will take some time to wake up if the microphone has been turned off for a long time, but other than that, works great. the speech recognition is incredible. using it with microsoft usb headset though, not the one that came with it.

I had problems, not with Amazon, they were supportive, but with the software. To make a long story short,. the first purchase & the 2 additional replacements wouldnt load ( the disks couldnt be read), (Version 12.0 from Amazon), perhaps a bad batch of DVDs. I eventually paid $200 to Nuisance for version 12.5, which works good. Not the easiest software to learn, but it works.

I purchased one and it would not install. I returned and got another one and it would not install on my Dell desktop. I have been using Dragon for more than 10 years and this is the first time I have had this problem.however, I use Dragon all the time and it is fantastic even though I am still using version 10

First: Im a professional writer. My issues may not be all that critical to people who are simply playing with this software. But for me they matter quite a bit. I bought this software recently. I got it to run just fine, and it seemed to handle its core function (voice recognition) well, after fairly extensive training (initial accuracy was truly awful, but it did get much better). However, I do not recommend this product for any serious business-critical use. Its just a toy, and the company treats it as such. Issues I ran into (the last mentioned is the worst by far, IMHO): * The included word processor crashes fairly often, and there is no auto-save feature. * The companys claims to the contrary, voice commands are flaky/unreliable/unresponsive in all other applications, including their dictation box. * The default spaces before & after punctuation are simply incorrect. I fixed these issues as they came up, but it was odd. * The software has lots of commands involving the word paragraph--but to Dragon, paragraphs are *always* followed by two carriage returns. This is fine for email, but for anything else I have to either (1) give up on using a bunch of commands, or (2) delete extraneous spaces throughout my documents. * All quotation marks, to Dragon, are straight. I fixed this for some commands, but I cant fix it for all of them, especially the most useful (quote that). This includes *all* apostrophes within words. This means I have to do some sort of post-processing on all documents intended for professional publication. * Capitalization of text after quotation marks (such as in dialogue) is iffy. Its right...sometimes. This means more effort goes into proofreading, and although Ive figured out the situations in which it does and doesnt work, its not something I can afford to stop and think about while Im writing. Since Im also a software guy, I could probably write an app to fix it, but come on. Really? * Copy/paste from their word processor does not seem to transfer any formatting (bullet points, etc.) without making it ugly/messy/useless. So I have to do all of that in some other program. Thus Dragon is only, as far as I can see, a slow plain-text machine. That crashes and loses work. * Customer support is interested ONLY in closing tickets, as far as I can see. My basis for this last claim: I sent them some questions (mostly involving the issues above) via their support system. I received an apparently automated response telling me theyd respond within 48 business hours, whatever that means. (A week and a day, maybe?) I then received an obvious stock message asking me whether I was using a desktop or a laptop, asking what sort of microphone I was using, requiring me to try dictation via various methods, etc. None of it was at all relevant to my questions, as Id flat told em the voice recognition part itself was working fairly well. Their message then went on to say that theyd consider the issue closed if I didnt respond within 14 days. I responded, pointing out that nothing in their stock message was relevant and also that their guaranteed response time, already unclear as to meaning, apparently applied only to their initial auto-responder, as there was no further guarantee mentioned. I asked when someone would actually read the email I had sent. I asked why they thought this sort of treatment would endear them to customers. Four days later, their system (or perhaps an employee) responded, giving a name intended to convince me it was sent by a separate person...with precisely the same stock message. None of my actual questions or points were so much as acknowledged. As a toy, this thing is okay. I might even be able to use it as a plain-text device--what I have to do is a quick automated edit (yeah, I wrote a quick program for this), then send the plain-text I get from that via a keyboard simulator that types my text into Scrivener, which then fixes the straight-quote issues. Cumbersome, to say the least. And I do ALL of my dictation via a remote microphone, so software crashes wont cause me to lose my work...except for the edits and corrections I have to make to each transcribed recording, and I try to save those regularly as I go. But if I can, Ill get a refund from either the company or Amazon. I dont believe a company that treats its customers so dismissively should be successful, and I dont want to help pay for their existence.

I only give three starts because, while i thought it was a good product, it did not serve me well for that i needed it to do. It would probably be better served to do memos, writing a novel however, is beyond its capability. I spend twice as much time proof reading and correcting errors as i did manually. I gave it three starts only because it is awesome concept that works on some levels. just not where i needed it to work.

Ive been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking since 1997 and will continue to do so. My policy is not to upgrade every time a new version comes out - its never worth it! Having use the preferred edition of 9 for a little over 4 years, I am extremely pleased with the accuracy and speed of Dragon 12. It still, however, has difficulty typing text into certain Internet places and, like before, the dictation box doesnt always help. 2 other small complaints: not enough selections in the correction box and no ability to select a phrase and have Dragon capitalize that phrase in title case. I used to be able to just say caps that, but no more. I will gladly find my way around the little problems, however, in order to gain the improved accuracy. And the Amazon price is great!

Dragon naturally speaking does not recognize my computer sound card and microphone. It does not recognize any speech at this point. At best I am going to have to try and teach it my voice for hours on end to get it to work at all. I thought that this would be quick and easy to get it up and running, does not appear to be the case. Wish I could get a refund!

I have spent the last three days trying to download Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12, English by Nuance Communications, Inc. to no avail. At the time Isaw nothing in the description indicatingfor 32bit windows only. I happen to have 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium . Please note I am not editing the text of this review to display just one aspect of the Essential Tremor, since Iam nolonger 9able write cursive or print anymore. The computer is my communication life line in spite of the fact that that I can no longer type and can only 2 finger type (one finger on each hand). LOL! This is very time consuming! I was expecting that Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12, English by Nuance Communications, Inc.enable me to improve this one aspect of my life. To me this was a commmunication life line. But if you cant SET IT UP than you cant use it. So it becomes USELESS ! I saw my husbands doctor using it and was impressed that it enabled him to better serve his patients. This is what prompted me to make the purchase. It seemed to be the Ideal solution for my issues. WRONG!!! Made Right!!! I mentioned to the doctor that I was so impressed with his using the Dragon Program, that I had ordered the dragon for home use. He told me that there is a learning process involved but you wont be sorry you bought it. Needless to say this conversation took place after I vented my frustration in the above review. However, I took to heart what he had said and really did not want to send the program back to Amazon so I contacted the Nuance Communications, Inc. I have to say that their service people are outstanding. They worked very patiently and diligently with me until we were able to identify the problem. It was a manufacturing fluke and they are replacing the Dragon Program. I just had to confirm the purchase. I have since learned of an acquaintance who who had also purchased the Dragon Program from Amazon and she raves about it. So I am sure I will be praising my experiences as well.