Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard [OLD VERSION] Reviews

• Surprise! Works much better than expected, reliably does what it says it will do

  
  By AQUBBC0LCQJ2I on 2006-08-06
  Every now and then you get a product that not only does exactly what it says it will do, but works better than expected. [PLEASE SEE AMENDED COMMENTS BELOW] I fooled around with voice recognition software packages about five years ago, and they were far more headache than they were worth. On a whim, and after seeing positive reviews on computer sites, I gave Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 (standard) a try. After a brief (20 minute) orientation and start up period, it was taking dictation almost flawlessly. Now that I've been using it for about a week, I'm approaching 100% accuracy. In fact, I've dictated this entire review without making any corrections (I guess if you find any errors, you'll realize that the software isn't infallible).
  
  I use this software to dictate reports containing a lot of medical terminology (I'm using the standard version, not the medical version). Apparently, it had scanned my existing documents to add my specialized words to its vocabulary before I even started, and it learns new words quickly. Its built-in list of places and names is impressive. I find it perfect for responding to e-mails, although I tend to be wordier than I would be if I were typing.
  
  Another reviewer commented on its clunky command recognition. I admit that I use the mouse to move the cursor and click commands, and haven't tried the software for those functions. It's certainly not worth the trouble for spreadsheets. The power of the software is in saving you from typing text documents.
  
  Overall, I'm extremely impressed, and my wrists are much less sore. I know I sound like I work for the manufacturer with this glowing review. I don't, I'm just a pleasantly surprised consumer.
  
  AMENDED REVIEW (AFTER 6 MONTHS OF USE)
  
  Some strong concerns that you should consider:
  
  - software is unstable. It crashes my computer fairly often, and I've lost my user files several times. This means I need to reinstall and/or create a new user file, and the learning process needs to start all over. As mentioned by others, support is either nonexistent or prohibitively expensive, which is infuriating. Don't build a big database of specialized words ... you'll likely lose it soon enough.
  
  - software is GREAT at taking dictation for formal documents; not so good at sentence fragments (eg, quick notes and emails). It searches for context and correct sentence structure. It often inserts words it thinks I want (usually incorrectly). To improve accuracy, you need to speak in full sentences, which often means it takes much more time than typing.
  
  - basically, between the start-up time, correction time, and instability, you can't do anything quickly with the software. You need to make a major time investment. Great for long documents (or if you have typing problems), but useless for casual needs like notes, emails.
  
  So the software still does exactly what it says it will do. I just find it much less useful than I first thought.
  
  

• Phenomenal voice recognition - abominable customer support

  
  By A680RUE1FDO8B on 2006-08-12
  I was impressed with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8, but version 9 is vastly improved in terms of speech recognition. Version 8 was excellent; perhaps in the 95% range. Version 9 comes very close to 100% right out of the box, without any special training.
  
  Nuance is clear about the product requirements. A processor faster than 1Ghz is required along with at least 1GB of RAM (with 512MB minimum free). At least 650 MB of drive space is required.
  
  Installation on a computer running Windows XP SP 2 was entirely uneventful. Setting NaturallySpeaking v9 up with two different microphones was a snap. Recognition in a variety of applications was literally 100% without any training. It was, in fact, amazing. Setting the program up to run with a digital voice recorder, however, didn't go so smoothly - and that's why my rating is only 3 stars for what technologically is a 5 star product.
  
  Nuance's tech support is absolutely awful. They charge $ 9.95 even for an e-mail response, which they call an "incident." The manual has virtually no information on troubleshooting. Their online knowledgebase is not well indexed. Or, more accurately, they are running it on a particularly poor platform. Their user community is sparsely used and a lot of the information is useless.
  
  Nuance should learn that turning out a superior product isn't enough. It has to be supported competently as well and it is here that Nuance falls flat on its face.
  
  On the other hand, I recognize that the product is working with two microphones and hopefully I will find the answer to my problem somewhere, some day. As a long-time (and long-suffering) voice recognition software user, I will say the accuracy of NaturallySpeaking 9 is phenomenal. Only the support stinks.
  
  Jerry
  
  

• Accurate, unstable

  
  By A2B2BW8XP4H6CN on 2007-01-16
  UNCORRECTED VERSION
  I dictated this review using Dragon NaturallySpeaking number nine. The first half of the review is the raw version, just as Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribed it. Then I will correct the review so you can judge how well the program performs.
  
  I will admit my expectations were low. I had previously owned an earlier version of a Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but it performed so poorly I removed it from the computer. I also seem to remember that Windows came with a version of the speech recognition that also did not work well enough to be worth the bother. I quit using it as well. The problem with each of these programs was that, although they did transcribe many words correctly, they made so many mistakes it turned out just to be easier to type myself more, since I generate a lot of letters for my business, to hire a transcription service.
  
  I bought a Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9, standard version, on only among on a whim. Magazine reviews of the program had been a favorable, and the price was only $99. Still, I expected poor results. As you have seen however, the program does a remarkably good job of transcribing my speech. This is with very little training -- no more than a few minutes. I now find that it is quicker to take dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking and later go back and correct the errors than it is to just type myself.
  
  Still, the product does have a few drawbacks.
  
  Number one: the user license is for only one person. Even if you install the software on only one computer, you must still pay in nuance separate licensing fee for each person who uses the program. Imagine having to pay a separate licensing fee for each person who uses Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat elements. That's crazy, and it just passes me off.
  
  Number two: although I have a 3.2 GHz computer, Dragon NaturallySpeaking does seem to noticeably slow down the machine's performance.
  
  Number three: I'm a little worried about the programs stability and compatibility. It sometimes seems to freeze for 30 seconds or so. It will sometimes accept dictation into Microsoft Access, other times it accepts the dictation then immediately erases the result. I've also found that my mission-critical retrospect backup software isn't working.
  
  [Typed adendum: I've also discovered (Win XP Pro, Office 2003): DNat.Speaking
  1) damages MS Access so that quitting Access leaves an orphan instance of Access running--and you can't then reopen Access.
  2) Damages MS Word so that you can no longer select text with the mouse.
  3) Damages Adobe Acrobat Standard so that the only way to get it's OCR function to work is to restart the computer]
  
  Number four: related to number three is Nuance software's policy of charging for technical assistance. I'm worried that the company puts out a product with obvious flaws [it's seeing number three above], then turns fixing those problems into a profit center.
  
  Finally, I've discovered that dictating letters and reports results and of very different prose style then typing does. Part of the reason is that when you're dictating you must think carefully about each sentence, but once the sentence is a dictated there's no good way to go back to change it. Your output is a wordier. Your thoughts and paragraphs are much less tightly structured. That means that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is good for in a formal e-mails and job progress notes, and for highly structured, repetitive, business reports. It is much less useful for writing that requires careful thought and structure.
  
  -------------------------
  
  CORRECTED VERSION; I've ALL CAPSed corrections.
  I dictated this review using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0. The first half of the review is the raw version, just as Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribed it. Then I will correct the review so you can judge how well the program performs.
  
  I will admit my expectations were low. I had previously owned an earlier version of XXaXX Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but it performed so poorly I removed it from the computer. I also seem to remember that Windows came with a version of the speech recognition that also did not work well enough to be worth the bother. I quit using it as well. The problem with each of these programs was that, although they did transcribe many words correctly, they made so many mistakes it turned out just to be easier to type myself, OR since I generate a lot of letters for my business, to hire a transcription service.
  
  I bought XXaXX Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9, standard version, on XX a whim. Magazine reviews of the program had been a favorable, and the price was only $99. Still, I expected poor results. As you have seen however, the program does a remarkably good job of transcribing my speech. This is with very little training -- no more than a few minutes. I now find that it is quicker to XXtakeXX dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking and later go back and correct the errors than it is to just type myself.
  
  Still, the product does have a few drawbacks.
  
  #1 The user license is for only one person. Even if you install the software on only one computer, you must still pay XXinXX Nuance A separate licensing fee for each person who uses the program. Imagine having to pay a separate licensing fee for each person who uses Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Elements. That's crazy, and it just PISSES me off.
  
  #2: Although I have a 3.2 GHz computer, Dragon NaturallySpeaking does seem to noticeably slow down the machine's performance.
  
  #3: I'm a little worried about the programs stability and compatibility. It sometimes seems to freeze for 30 seconds or so. It will sometimes accept dictation into Microsoft Access, other times it accepts the dictation then immediately erases the result. I've also found that my mission-critical Retrospect backup software isn't working.
  
  #4: Related to number three is Nuance Software's policy of charging for technical assistance. I'm worried that the company puts out a product with obvious flaws [SEE number three above], then turns fixing those problems into a profit center.
  
  Finally, I've discovered that dictating letters and reports results XXand ofXX IN A very different prose style THAN typing does. Part of the reason is that when you're dictating you must think carefully about each sentence, but once the sentence is XXaXX dictated there's no good way to go back to change it. Your output is a wordier. Your thoughts and paragraphs are much less tightly structured. That means that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is good for XXin aXX INformal e-mails and job progress notes, and for highly structured, repetitive, business reports. It is much less useful for writing that requires careful thought and structurING.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Compare "Standard" and "Preferred" Editions Before Purchase

  
  By AVU1ILDDYW301 on 2007-08-02
  I haven't even used this product yet, but I have found out some important information that I wanted to share when comparing the "Standard" edition with the "Preferred" edition. I looked all around trying to find out what the actual differences were and could not find specific information even on the company's website. It was not until I ordered the "Standard" edition and received it that I found out it was not going to work for my needs. I have now returned it, and ordered the "Preferred" edition and am waiting for it to arrive. On the side of the box of the "Standard" edition it shows that the following items do NOT work with the "Standard" edition:
  ~~~~
  * Microsoft Excel
  * Automatically transcribe recordings from handheld digital recorders, Pocket PC's or Palm Tungsten
  * Wireless microphone support, including Bluetooth
  * Includes Nuance RealSpeak for turning text into human-sounding speech
  * Play back your dictation for easier correction and proofing
  * Insert your signature, logo or boilerplate text with a simple voice command
  * Import/export your user files to use on any PC with Dragon Naturally Speaking.
  ~~~~~
  Again, all of the above items are NOT included as part of the "Standard" edition, but are included on the "Preferred" edition. In my case, I hope to use the software both at home and at the office. Though it's true that only one person can use the software, I called the software company and you can indeed install it onto up to 5 computers. If you're not able to import/export your user files, then you're going to have to go through the "training" process with each computer, which is a pain. Not having complete access using Excel is another issue for me. Yes, you might be able to use the Standard edition in some ways with Excel, but it's not integrated as it is with the "Preferred" edition.
  
  This is not a negative review of the product, but it's a "negative" review of the information given so that you can compare the products and make an educated decision as to which edition is going to work best for you. There is a great cost difference between the products, but if you are going to be using it on more than one computer, I think it's going to be a real hassle to have to "train" the software more than once and the import/export option of the "Preferred" edition might make it worth your while. . . along with the other features. . . . to consider using the upgraded edition.
  Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred Speech Recognition
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Update - 9/19/07
  I have been using this product, off and on, for a little over a month now. Here's my take on it. . . . If you are either a slow typist, or have a disability which does not allow you to type, then I think that this software is probably going to be helpful for you. The box says that most people type no more than 40 words per minute. I type over twice that. I use this software when I want to send a letter to a friend. I would not use this for business purposes. You spend a lot of time correcting and "training" the system. I find far fewer mistakes when I'm typing it myself than when I'm using this software. But again, I type relatively fast. Having spent a LOT of extra money to purchase the "Preferred" edition, I really wish I had stuck with the "Standard" edition. Using it for Excel (not available on the Standard edition) is cumbersome at best, and being that often times numbers are so important in spreadsheets, it's quite "error prone" and correcting a lot of numbers in a spreadsheet is not fun. Again, I'm not really knocking the software. I think it does a relatively good job overall, and I'm sure that if you take the time to make all of the corrections it gets better. . .. but. . . I think if you type fast to begin with, you're probably not going to be too happy with this software.
  
  
  

• Buyer Beware

  
  By A264WATI5L1VA1 on 2006-08-31
  I tried over and over to install this product. If you have a laptop with a dual-speed processor, be sure that the SLOWER speed is over 1Ghz otherwise it will not install. I have a laptop with a 1.86 Ghz processor - but the slower speed is 800 Mhz. On the companies (Nuance) website there were numerous discussions of users who were unable to install the product for similar reasons.
  
  The first time I called the company I was on the phone for ages with someone who was unfamilar with installation problems that I read about on their web site. they told me to try something and call them back. I did, and then they said that I had to pay $20 because it was a second call.
  
  I have yet to be able to even test the software and I have given up for now. It may be that if you can install the product it will work as well as claimed.
  
  
• The Emperor's New Clothes
  By AIGDECC1J99QT on 2007-02-02
  I am very interested in speech recognition software. As a gadget freak I am always excited to see new technology. I've been vaguely following speech recognition software for a few years now, and after a very convincing demo of this product I was certainly intrigued.
  
  I purchased the software and after installing it followed all of the training, and even read six or seven stories to my computer in an effort to teach it how I speak. Now I have crystal clear diction and a very clear voice. In fact, I work as a hearing specialist, and am able to speak so clearly even people with a severe hearing loss can understand me.
  
  Unfortunately when it came to NaturallySpeaking, it was as if I were speaking English as a second language. Over and over again I would try dictating and each time it would insert the most nonsensical junk into my text. By the time I had corrected the numerous errors and trained the program to recognize another word, I could have typed the whole thing a dozen times over.
  
  I am not even close to being impressed with this product. Despite the awesome advertisement video and glowing reviews, I think this is just junk.
  
  As clearly as I speak, if this program cannot learn to follow what I am saying in six hours of use, then there is something wrong. I feel like I wasted $100 and six hours of my life. I will certainly be returning it to the store tomorrow, and will not try this again until at least version 12.
  
  I had hoped that speech recognition was a new reality that we could all enjoy. I see it is still the stuff of science fiction. It's going to be a while before I get to throw my keyboard away. Which is a pity, I'd love to be able to do all the things this software claims to be able to do. But it is not even close.
  
  
• Accurate, easy to learn, a life saver
  By A3IETZBTP2K2ZE on 2006-09-04
  I have tried the voice recognition software that comes with the Microsoft Office XP and after training it and giving it a run-through it just produced too many errors. So I had given up on the voice recognition for my computer a couple of years ago.
  
  This product I decided to try after reading David Pogue's article about it in the New York Times. And as advertised and described in his article it is accurate, it is fast and it is a huge time saver.
  
  If you are interested in typing less because of repetitive stress injuries or if you are simply interested in speeding up the amount of time it takes to "write" a document on a computer you should check this out. And if you're smart about it, try to get a rebate from Amazon or from somewhere else so that the price is very reasonable.
  
  By the way, when I was researching the product it wasn't clear to me that it works in all programs. But yes the program works in my e-mail program, on the Internet (for browsing and for email) and for word processing -- actually it works anywhere I've tried it.
  
  PS this review was spoken not typed.
  
  
• End your search for excellence -- you'll find it here.
  By AOSACW4PWPUAO on 2006-11-18
  I have been using Dragon Naturally Speaking to write articles, reviews, webpages and blogs for about a week now. This will be the first time that I've actually published anything using the program because I wanted the first item that I published to be this review.
  
  If you do any extensive amount of writing, I highly recommend this program to you. It simply works. Right out of the box. Without any special training of the software to recognize my voice. (Of course, training the program will improve its performance.) This program alone makes it worth my while to have a Windows partition on my Mac Intel, and I plan to use it frequently. I have tried Mac-specific dictation programs and have generally been dissatisfied with them. Dragon Naturally Speaking simply blows me away.
  
  If you get this program be sure to take the tutorials. They are easy to understand, quick to complete and make the program easy to use. The program itself may not need particular special training but the user does need a little.
  
  Also, please note that most people need a little time to become used to dictation. It is really quite different from simply speaking to another person, and becoming good at dictation is an art. It has been a while since I have done extensive dictation and I'm finding that I have to relearn the process in order to be effective. And using a dictation program is different from using tape or digital recorders. Be patient. After you get the hang of it, you will be able to speed right along. And remember, although using dictation is much faster and more efficient than typing, you still have to proof-read your work.
  
  (p.s. In some versions, you can record to a digital recorder and simply play back to the computer later. So you can dictate anywhere, any time!)
  
  
• Firefox users beware
  By A1K0L2HBEHFOET on 2006-08-06
  While its basic speech recognition is fine for creating written documents, if you plan on using this for any other application, specifically Outlook and Mozilla Firefox, it just plain doesn't work very well.
  
  If you use Internet Explorer (Allah forbid) you get most of the nice little web browsing features like being able to toggle distinct labels for all text or image links, and a little cursor that shows you where it's clicking for you. In Firefox these things are nowhere to be seen. Despite the claim to support Firefox in the PR I'd love to know what they think works.
  
  Outlook is another problem application. There are supposed to be generic commands that work for most email apps and most of these commands fall on deaf ears in Outlook. Never mind that the window for composing an email message in Outlook is very non-standard and does not behave well with DNS.
  
  Oy. I'm disappointed.
  
  [edit]
  I've since learned that the standard version does not support Outlook 2003. It is still possible to get around using keyboard shortcuts but it's not ideal.
  
  As for Firefox, I've been saved by an extension called Mouseless. It pops up little numbers next to anything on a webpage that you can possibly click, then you just say the number of the item you want to click. Again not ideal but it will suffice. It seems the truly whiz-bang features are still reserved for Internet Explorer (unfortunate indeed).
  
  
• From almost useful to indispensable
  By AS6H78AHJTF38 on 2006-12-03
  A number of years ago, I entertained the idea of dictating my articles and or books. Dragon NaturallySpeaking seemed to be the most popular and perhaps most effective software at that time.
  
  I found that the accuracy was shockingly high. But even with such high accuracy, it was almost unreadable. This was very similar to my experience with the Apple Newton. It turned out that very high is not good enough, and proofreading automated dictation is horrifically difficult, because when dictation software makes a mistake, in inserts a word that no spell check is going to flag -- and your eye tends to see what it expects.
  
  I'm pleased to say however that speech recognition has come a long way, and Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 is so much better at context-based recognition that many previous problem have simply gone away.
  
  Right out of the box it was markedly better, and with just a little effort at training, it is is already incredibly better at recognizing my vocabulary, odd speech, style, etc.
  
  In fact, even though I type very fast (100+), I'm able to dictate documents more quickly than I can type. Corrections are sometimes more difficult using Dragon NaturallySpeaking but there is nothing that prevents me from putting my hands on the keyboard and making corrections manually; and the more I correct, the smarter it gets.
  
  I write software (in addition to books and articles) and for many years it has been my goal to keep a running set of lab notes while I work. I know from personal experience that if I would only write down what I was doing while I was programming. I could save myself a great deal of time (again and again I would fix a problem and then forget the steps and have to reinvent the solution; or I'd wish I knew exactly what order of steps I took that broke what was "just working.")
  
  Over the years. I've tried keeping a Lab Book, then an open Word document , and at 1 point I purchased an HP Jornada and made my notes in that. The problem with each of these plans was that I had to turn away from whatever I was working on to enter my notes; I quickly gave up on each approach.
  
  My hope is that I can now take contemporaneous notes as I'm working using Dragon NaturallySpeaking on one machine, while programming on the other. If this works out the program will be worth far more than I paid for.
  
  Who knows, maybe my next book will be partially dictated; sure would cut down on the pain in my wrists. In any case, I'm very impressed.
  
  -j
  
  
• Surprise! It does NOT work as advertised!
  By A2FWFTK6FYXM1 on 2006-08-31
  After researching the minimum system requirements for this product - Pentium 4 @ 1 Ghz >>OR EQUILIVANT<< I bought a laptop computer at a local retailer that has a Pentium M @ 1.7 Ghz processor speed.
  
  Naturally speaking 9 Standard arrived today from Amazon, and I immediately attempted to install the program.
  
  Oops! Processor doesn't have enough oomph for the program. Son works for Intel - he says that Pentium M IS a Pentium 4 that runs on lower voltage to minimize heat generation and prolong battery life. Same-o same-o processor otherwise - at least that's what I am told.
  
  Dunno for sure as I am not an Intel engineer - but I'd place my bet on the folks at Intel instead of Nuance.
  
  I now have a $100 program that refuses to install on my laptop. Beware that you do not get caught in the same trap.
  
  
• Lifesaver
  By A10HY7F9RSLN7B on 2006-11-27
  I had to write a 70 page term paper over the weekend for my Educational Psychology course and this program saved my life. I bought the Standard version since I only needed to use it in Word and it worked virtually flawlessly. I was amazed that it knew the spelling of so many technical words. Recommend it highly!
  
  PS -- I wrote this commentary using the program with no corrections.
  
  
• Get Preferred Edition
  By A1MS89Z3BPKXFF on 2007-10-03
  Pros: Fast, accurate, intuitive, inexpensive
  Cons: Missing vital feaures
  Nuance has deliberately ommitted some basic functionality from the Standard edition. I found this out the hard way. When dictating for a half hour or more, the program locks up and displays an error about reaching the limit of its data capacity. According to the Nuance online knowledgebase, this is rectified by changing a simple setting in the program options of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9. What they did not indicate however, is that in the Standard edition THERE IS NO WAY TO DO THIS! Something as simple as being able to allocate more than a half hour's worth of hard drive space is not possible in this program. You will have to stop dictating, exit the program, and restart the program to get another run. Nuance customer service's solution was for me to buy the Preferred edition to gain the freedom to determine my own max data size.
  
  
• Rebate Deception
  By A1VXWMMC1KXEHG on 2006-10-03
  The Dragon Naturally Speaking is a good product which works as advertised. One of the reasons I purchased the program from Amazon was that they were offering a rebate of $44. I downloaded the rebate form and did exactly as instructed. When Naturally Speaking Standard Edition arrived I noticed the UPC Code on the box looked different from the picture on the rebate form. However since I had ordered the program from Amazon and downloaded the accompanying rebate form, I thought, this company is honorable and will stand by their word. I was wrong. I got a notice saying that they were refusing my rebate application. I half-way expected this sort of ruse, but I was very disappointed by this deceptive process. I'm a faithful Amazon customer, but I'll never believe a rebate offer again.
  
  
• Bad (and costly) Support
  By A1P01Z6A0Y9XTT on 2007-03-30
  Dragon 9 is supposed to have Vista compatibility, via an update that you can get from Nuance. Unfortunately, the update does not work very well, especially in the area of commands. Imagine opening Outlook and giving Dragon the command for composing new mail or even checking mail, and watching it do nothing but move to another message in the inbox. Then, imagine going to the Nuance site to get support. You have to answer about a half-dozen questions and provide you key, even if you have a registered account that contains that key. Finally, you are told that support will cost you $9.95. Ten bucks to fix broken software?! It's no wonder they don't have a support forum; it would be filled with irate customers. I won't even go into the problems with getting the support person to comprehend the problem, except to say that the software did a better job of understanding me.
  
  I've moved on to using the voice recognition in Vista which, contrary to a popular YouTube video, actually works pretty well. At least when I need help, I can get it for free.
  
  
• If you are a decent typist, wait for another two or three releases.
  By A3T9MW6HFZZXOZ on 2007-02-22
  My computer is WinXP-SP2. It has an AMD64-3700 processor with 2 GB of RAM. That should be plenty.
  
  I have automatic formatting for commas and periods turned on (the default). I am using the microphone that came with it. The test to check audio quality is registering about 20-23, so that seems to be adequate (my impression is that mid-teens is considered poor.)
  
  I had an earlier version that I was very dissatisfied with. I thought I would try again with Std-9. Because of the previous poor experience, I went through most of the training material to train the software to my voice. Altogether, I probably spent at least three hours going through the voice training in order to get the best results from the software.
  
  There were two occasions when the CPU meter in TaskManager pegged out at 100%. It was "frozen" for a long time until I had to cancel the program.
  
  To actually see how well the program did, I used a children's book about helicopters. The book seemed to be written at about the vocabulary of a 10-year-old boy. I found the accuracy to be quite poor, at least compared to my expectations. Based on the so-so accuracy that I was noticing while reading a children's book, I really doubt that this product would save me any time doing e-mail or other applications.
  
  I used Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard 9 to dictate the next paragraph at a speaking pace that is probably somewhat slower than I normally speak. I was reading directly from the helicopter book, and being aware to use good enunciation. Prior to this dictation for this review, I had already read much of the book into Std-9 and made many, many corrections in order to give it the "best chance" of working satisfactorily.
  
  The pilot controls the main roar for you a to control sticks one stick changes the pitch of all of the rotor blades the pitch is the angle of the blades changing the pitch of the blades makes the helicopter move up and down the seconds ticked change the pitch of the rotor disk this change in angle moves a helicopter forward and backward.
  
  The next paragraph is the result of speaking quite a bit slower and more carefully, speaking the commas and periods, and then correcting several errors.
  
  The pilot controls the main rotor with two control sticks. One stick changes the pitch of all of the rotor blades. The pitch is the angle of the blades. Changing the pitch of the blades makes the helicopter move up and down. The second stick changes the pitch of the rotor disk. This change in angle moves the helicopter forward and backward.
  
  
  
  
• Amazing - I talk and it types!
  By A19CDO3L1D13VC on 2006-08-04
  I've wanted speech recognition that really works for a long time. At last it is here! I am using Dragon to write this review, and now using it to do my blog too.
  
  It takes a little bit to get used to saying "period" to get the punctuations to show up, but I'm getting the hang of it.
  
  The big suprise - I can control my mouse and PC with it too. I say "open Internet Explorer" and presto - there it is. I can surf the web by voice and use Yahoo IM too.
  
  Cool.
  
  
• Not compatible
  By AP7RJF8E712I4 on 2007-05-29
  I TRIED FOR ABOUT A WEEK TO INSTALL THIS PROGRAM AND COULDN'T GET IT IN MY SYSTEM. I FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING IN FAQ THAT SAYS IT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH XP MEDIA EDITION. WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW THAT BEFORE I ORDERED IT.
  
  
• Review of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9
  By A23H8CBV0WXBHW on 2006-08-27
  I think I have tried all the broadly marketed versions of computer voice recognition programs for PC's and Mac's. This is the first one I have found that really works: just about 10 minutes of training and it gave me 95% + accuracy. A superb product!
  
  My only regrets are that (1) I didn't buy a version that permits use of a USB microphone (and this problem with the Standard version wasn't clear in the advertising) and (2) that there isn;t a version for the Mac (which I use in preference to my Windows PC). Neither Via Voice nor iListen for the Mac works anywhere near as well as Dragon9 does on my PC.
  
  
• Works amazingly well
  By A34AZG6JT2J0OZ on 2006-11-22
  I never expected this product to work this well. to demonstrate how well it works,I will dictate this review into the box, and make no corrections. Welder products required that you separate the words with pauses in between. This one does not. In fact, it works better if you dictate an entire sentence continuously, with no pauses. I believe the reason this works better is that it allows the program to analyze the syntax and semantics of what you are saying, and thus improve the quality of the results.
  
  As an engineer who worked briefly in the 60s on speech recognition, I am really impressed.
  
  
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9
  By A2EC3G31KQZ0CO on 2007-04-11
  This is probably one of the most outstanding and rewarding software programs that I can ever remember purchasing. I never learned how to type, so I reserved myself from many computer projects/reports, email responses and business related aspects due to this 'achilles heel'.
  
  Well, I researched this software and found that it has come a long way from earlier versions and decided it's time to give it a try. I even bought a Plantronics CS55 - USB wireless headset from the get go to give this software a real workout. Let me tell you, my pessimism was definitely challenged because the software worked extremely good about 20 minutes after opening the box and browsing the tutorial. I was talking sentences and watched it appear on my monitor within seconds. I speeded up my speach as if talking in a normal conversation with someone and this software just kept spitting it on-screen. AMAZING!!!! Don't get me wrong. There are occasional misspellings to deal with but your user profile keeps getting updated everytime you use it and prevents the same mistakes from occuring the next time. It begins to gain more and more accuracy.
  
  Salvation has been found as far as I'm concerned.
  
  P.S. I began running the program with WIN XP - 512MB Ram and it performed very well. I just upped to 2 gigs ram. Most everyone in forums recommends at least 1 gig Ram.
  
  I did this review in about 1 min. and had only two misspells.
  
  
• Don't Lift a Finger Again: Create a Handsfree Keyboard
  By A1TC5YO07AMMQC on 2007-02-11
  I'm sitting back in my chair talking to my computer. There's no need for me to touch a key on the keyboard. I'm using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.
  
  In less than 30 minutes, I trained the Dragon to recognize my speech patterns quickly and accurately. And, every time I talk to my computer(as the computer types) it also remembers and learns from any potential mistakes that I might make. A quick verbal command and the Dragon knows exactly what to do.
  
  I loaded the program on my laptop with Windows XP. The installation went smoothly and everything worked as promised. I chose the standard edition of this program based on my specific needs. I do a lot of writing professionally and find this program absolutely indispensable. This program has been one of the best investments I've made in computer software. I no longer have to worry about potentially harming myself by doing too much typing; I can talk all I want and the computer follows.
  
  I've used the program to create and send e-mail communications, created blogs, developed documentation, and written copy for clients. My recommendation? Add this product to your shopping cart and buy it right now. Be sure your system meets the minimum system requirements.
  
  
• Bugs galore
  By A1YD9PCT5FL0SL on 2007-05-08
  PRO: When it works, it's fast and accurate, way better than the version 4 I was using. It is a great product, if it were stable.
  
  CON: Horribly unstable. Couldn't get it to work to type this review (I will be happy when I reinstall 4!). Tech support is an insult with a pay per incident system for a program this unstable (I suspect some problems lie in the activation scheme employed - I tried to activate manually at their website and their server spit errors, a very bad sign). I support PC's for a living and cannot recommend this potentially worthwhile product.
  
  Avoid this version, find an older one on the used market. Pray Nuance can save this product from extinction.
  
  
• Has some problems
  By A2BNPGBPZX8YBV on 2007-05-09
  
  Many of the reviews of this product were posted by people who have had it for a couple of days, and are pleasantly surprised by its capabilities. I, too, was pretty happy when I first used it. But after having it for the last couple of months, I am less satisfied with its performance.
  
  Like others have said, the program has significant stability problems. It often locks up, or locks up other applications, or even the entire computer. Also, it does make too many errors for my purposes [I am a professional freelance writer, and I planned to use it to cut down the time required to compose articles]. There are so many missed words and words that require correction that it turns out to be not much faster than I could just type, and I find that I don't use it very much any more. For some reason, the audio signal generated by my computer for processing is very poor quality [my computer specs are way beyond the minimum required to use the software]. I went through the troubleshooting steps in the manual, which involve a lot of moving cables around, but there is still a persistent hum over the audio signal that is probably interfering with accurate transcription. Maybe I need a better headset -- the headset that came with it is extremely cheap and uncomfortable -- but I"m not sure that I want to throw good money after bad if that's not the problem.
  
  Overall, this voice recognition software is still not stable and accurate enough for my purposes.
  
  
  
  
• It works!
  By A2E3J7LGLG0J3P on 2006-08-07
  Very fun program and it works very well at recognizing speech and converting it into text. I haven't tried it outside of word processing settings, but if you speak faster than you type, this is a nice timesaver for text writing.
  
  
• Dragaon Naturally Speaking
  By A1VV45OKHN4955 on 2006-11-03
  I bought a number of these Voice Software packages before, and was disappointed. They were more hassle than they were worth. This one is the real deal. It is a very helpful tool. The accuracy is amazing, the microphone is more discriminating (other mikes would mistake breathing for talking), and it has a big vocabulary. A bonus is that it's up to date on culture and current events. It knows who Osama bin Laden, Senator Joe Lieberman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Springsteen are.
  
  
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard
  By A11TSMT5BZNK80 on 2007-03-12
  I have used a voice to text translation device for several years. I was interested in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking product for two reasons. My current product is much less accurate than I would choose. Secondly, it does not provide automatic punctuation. The advertisement for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard suggested that it not only increased accuracy, but did that without training, and it provided autopunctuation.
  I purchased the product and met with a disappointment when it arrived. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard will not install with less than 512 MB of RAM. I didn't know that. My machine had 256 MB. I had to purchase an additional 512 MB in order to load the product.
  While I was waiting for the memory to come, I used the new microphone on my old product. The new microphone was at least five times better than my old one. The accuracy went up. I was very happy about that.
  When the memory arrived, I installed the product. I was surprised when it asked to go through a training exercise, but I did it anyway. I was impressed with the increased accuracy. That was very good, but the autopunctuation wasn't there. I found out that that is an option. When I turned on the option. It began to work. It doesn't do as good a job as I would hope, but for normal sentences, it's okay.
  All in all, I like the new product. I also like the rebate that may be quite affordable. I hope this evaluation helps.
  
  
• Couldn't train
  By AXGBNPHR6CJBC on 2007-09-08
  I tried to train software to recognize a specific a word. No go button or any other button appeared on the training box, and so I could not train the software. I searched nuance knowledge base and Google for this problem but could not find it.
  
  
• Glitchy but good
  By A2ULW2PK4XO39S on 2007-09-14
  I had difficulty installing the product, receiving a "1721 error". Google reveals this is a problem with Windows installer. But this is the --only-- program to ever give me this error, and there is nothing on the Nuance website I can find about it (the knowledge base search is primitive though). Trying to uninstall results in the same error, as does repair, removal, and re-installation. Trying to download program updates results in a "13003 Error" ("The Update Service does not recognize this product. Please contact your software vendor for updates to this product. Error 13003: Version Not Registered with the Update Service"). I am unable to download service pack 1 for the program as a result.
  
  --ALL-- product technical support is $10 per incident.
  
  That being said...
  1) I have been able to dictate and have started and stopped the software more than 5 times without any activation warnings or crippling of the software for a failure to activate it. Thus, the installation error does not -appear- to have made any difference (other than blocking updates).
  2) The dictation quality in Version 2 was enough to make me give up on it. The quality in Version 6 was better but not significantly more so than typing over time (but a good relief when carpal tunnel acts up). This version (9.5), however, is --vastly-- improved, with the only errors I find in my first day being in homonyms like Right State for Wright State and such.
  3) The documentation is good, and some of the commands I learned on versions 2 and 6 do not appear documented (I've only gotten through half of it) but are still recognized by the program.
  4) The training and document analysis seemed much faster than in the past.
  
  All in all... I like it but wish that installation was bug-free and that at least one product support incident was free, or that the website had useful information in the knowledge base.
  
  
  
• Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
  By A1HDZ0QMHZLX3H on 2007-09-25
  I've owned Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard for about a year now. If you are interested in trying out voice recognition software, I highly suggest you spend the money and invest in this tool. My motivation to buy the product was simply curiosity and to increase the functionality of my Tecra M7 tablet PC. In addition, I added funds from a gift to help offset the cost even further when coupled with the $40 rebate being offered by nuance (the company who makes Dragon NaturallySpeaking) at the time.
  
  You as the perspective or potential buyer should be warned that this software is not a magic bullet. An investment of time is also required to make this tool useful. My investment of time has yielded results which I am pleased with and reflected within the four-star rating.
  
  A brief 20 minute training session is required to set up the initial user profile, and the software does an impressive job of voice-recognition once the profile is created. Additional short stories, speeches and other reading materials are available within the software to help improve your recognition accuracy. My experience showed an increase in accuracy after reading several of these provided stories.
  
  I did not give the product a full five-star rating because I was not happy with the heads-set provided with the software. I had trouble properly adjusting the microphone and could not comfortably wear the headset. The side of the headset opposite the microphone applied uncomfortable amounts of pressure on my head. The problem was easily fixed by buying another $20 headset which rests behind my ears.
  
  In closing, you as a prospective buyer should also know that dictating in my experience did not feel "natural." I did not have previous dictation experience, and it took me several months to get comfortable with this method of communication. The software does perform much better when translating phrases versus individual words. it has gotten better over time and adjusted to my method of dictation. As a result, I recommend any prospective or curious buyer to spend a few bucks and see what the software can do for them.
  
  The review was written using Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Standard
  
  

• PC World

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