Rating: 
Summary: Gets better every time
Review: I recently upgraded from version 5 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I find that version 7 has better and faster recognition than the previous versions. I had a little trouble just now getting it to insert text into this text field in Internet Explorer. But once it got going, it is much easier to dictate corrections to text here than in previous versions.Any voice dictation system is going to be more annoying to use than keyboard and mouse, if a keyboard and mouse are easy for you to use. For those (like me) with a typing injury, this program quickly and simply takes away the need for you to type lots of text. Unless you have some sort of physical injury, I still recommend that you use the mouse and keyboard to do anything that you find annoying to do by voice. I definitely recommend this product, especially if you can find it at a good price. And yes, I DID use it to dictate this review!
Rating: 
Summary: this actually works
Review: I think this is a significant improvement over version 6. This actually works. I had no problems installing (win 2k pro), and unlike version 6, training new words was relatively painless and rapid. I need to dictate medical notes, and this actually works, whereas version 6 had too many errors. You do need to spend a lot of time teaching it all the many technical terms. I have not yet tried using it for commands. I do note that the learning curve is high. You really need to read the manual (egads!) to learn all the different spoken commands by heart, learn how to make corrections, and navigate within the documents. I think that the learning curve is probably equally high in any voice recognition program. Don't expect to use this program right out of the box. By the way, if you are interested in convenience, I highly recommend the Telex M-560 microphone, which is a highly directional mike. It is MUCH more convenient than using a headset. You just set it on the desk, and point it at your face. No more problems hooking up the microphone just so. Works great with Naturally Speaking.
Rating:
Summary: I think they've got it!
Review: I've used DNS since v.4 and this is the only one that met the expectation when I first began using the product. Also it's much easier in this product to correct and add new words.
I was so excited about how well it works that I bought a Sony ICD-BM1 digital recorder. It should arrive today! This recorder supposedly takes dication and via USB translates the text into text via DNS. DNS rates this product 5 Dragons. It's not an inexpensive product; but hey, if it works it will save so much time! I'll do another review on using DNS with it after I've used it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nonexistent technical support
Review: It's difficult to rate software that won't install... I purchased this with a Sony ICD-MS voice recorder (at a premium), and when going through the setup (Win2000 on a Dell with plenty of headroom) encountered an undocumented glitch in the sample text recognition section. If you need this software, keep your fingers crossed that you're one of those lucky enough to have it configure correctly out of the box. Turns out if you purchase the software in a hardware bundle, tech support is $40 per incident. Even if you purchase the software on its own, you get one "free" incident, then YOU'RE on your own. I'd give a zero, but 1 is as low as the rating scale goes.
Rating:
Summary: Best Speech Software I have ever used
Review: Please make sure you buy this one and not the 5.0 version which is an old version. Version 7.0 is much more accurate than IBM Via Voice. Dragon 7.0 even allows to command your pc, browser etc.
The dictation mode is excellent and the training is so simple and short (few minutes). I still don't understand why we not everybody uses Dragon at the office. It s so much more productive, faster and easier to dictate than to type. You can't go wrong with this software.
Rating: 
Summary: Un-naturally Not-Speaking
Review: ScanSoft says Dragon is "fully integrated" into Excel. NOT! It doesn't know about named-ranges or sheet names. It's difficult to select blocks of cells, and damn-near impossible to enter your own formulas. Docs say you can use "compute end formula." Absolute, pure BS!In Outlook, docs say the command "Open Mail" and "close mail". Dragon hears "Open Male" and "close male." Sorry, the message doesn't open! Docs: "Check Mail", or "get Mail," results: doesn't work. Using Internet Explorer is almost impossible, at first. After a few hours, you can almost navigate dual web site. Great toy. But it does NOT work as advertised. Save your money! If you're not disabled, and have no need for voice recognition software, caveat emptor!
Rating:
Summary: Un-naturally Not-Speaking
Review: ScanSoft says Dragon is "fully integrated" into Excel. NOT! It doesn't know about named-ranges or sheet names. It's difficult to select blocks of cells, and damn-near impossible to enter your own formulas. Docs say you can use "compute <formula> end formula." Absolute, pure BS! In Outlook, docs say the command "Open Mail" and "close mail". Dragon hears "Open Male" and "close male." Sorry, the message doesn't open! Docs: "Check Mail", or "get Mail," results: doesn't work. Using Internet Explorer is almost impossible, at first. After a few hours, you can almost navigate dual web site. Great toy. But it does NOT work as advertised. Save your money! If you're not disabled, and have no need for voice recognition software, caveat emptor!
Rating:
Summary: Do Not Buy This Product if you use XP
Review: ScanSoft tech support and customer service is the worst, very very frustrating. The product I bought (Naturally Speaking v7) disables Internet Explorer and makes your whole system buggy if you're using WinXP. This is a known bug, and executing the fix they recommend online didn't work for me. Not only does my IE not work, but every time I click anything that activates IE my system hangs, slows to a crawl and I have to reboot. And this is a brand new computer. Trying to get tech support on the phone was impossible. I spent 45 minutes on hold. A nightmare. This company does not respect or value its customers. Don't buy their products.
Rating:
Summary: Voice Recognition Finally Becomes Practical
Review: The improvement of Version 7 Preferred over early versions (I had 3 before) is incredible. This current version trains extremely quickly and the accuracy is remarkable. I frankly had finally stopped using my old product (it wasn't worth the bother), but with this version, I am back to using VR.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs-up for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7
Review: The new version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the best they have put out yet. I have had every version starting with number four. Be sure to get the preferred or professional version because they have a brand-new speech to text engine that is excellent and far exceeds everything they have put out in the past. I use the medical solutions eddition and I love it. Correcting mistakes is easier than it used to be. The computer program learns quickly from your corrections. It even gets most names spelled properly the first time. It is quicker than previous versions. Voice-recognition is not for everyone, however. It will require that you take some time to set it up properly. You'll have to practice dictating. It is also ideal if you already have a number of documents that you have worked on in the past that it can learn from. It will get used to your vocabulary that way. For it to work its best, you need to correct it when it makes a mistake. You need a quiet room. You need a digital microphone -- which comes with higher versions. You also need a fairly decent computer.
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