Rating: 
Summary: I'm delighted
Review: I had been using Dragon 6 Preferred. I upgraded to Dragon 7 medical. It's a huge change. The dragon 6 program was essentially unusable because of the frequency of errors. Errors are few and far between now. The whole speech recognition engine is dramatically improved. The medical vocabulary recognition is also very impressive. I wrestled with whether to make the upgrade for several weeks believing that it might be only marginal. It is actually a major step forward. I suspect that this program of we'll change the field of medical transcription. By the way, I have tried the program on several computers and not send the requirement for any special hardware.
Rating: 
Summary: If it works, don't fix it
Review: I have been a user of voice recognition for years. I use (or attempt to use) voice recognition in my law practice due to the amount of writing I do. I also do a considerable amount of computing, having some expertise with networking, operating systems and a working knowledge of programming. My environment for speech recognition is carefully controlled, quiet and the microphone settings carefully and properly adjusted. I am using this product on a Sony VAIO slim-line with XP "Home" version and a USB microphone. Having recently upgraded from Naturally Speaking 5 Essentials to Naturally Speaking 7 Preferred, I am sorely disappointed. My disappointment is with regard to compatibility and a complete lack of customer support. Customer support: Back before ScanSoft acquired the product, you could actually get quality answers about Dragon voice dictation. Presently, anything beyond basic compatibility questions are outside of the customer service realm of expertise. "Well, your software is not compatible," is the all too common refrain after waiting an inordinate amount of time to speak to so called customer support. The ScanSoft lack of customer service deserves some specific commentary. Even prior to buying the Version 7 upgrade, ScanSoft customer support couldn't tell me anything meaningful about the software. I specifically asked about compatibility issues and I received no definitive answer. In my experience, it seems to be one of those operations where they put a bunch of kids with manuals on the phone and tell them to go for it. Some of the technical commentary didn't even jibe with processing and computing basics. So, if you buy the product, you are definitely on your own. The list of "compatible" hardware and software on the ScanSoft web page must be taken very literally. If it is not expressly listed, the software is probably not compatible. (That was the direct comment of "customer support.") In this particular case, I have historically used Corel WordPerfect 8 in my office for document production. When I open Naturally Speaking 7, I get "Cannot copy to windows clipboard" when I attempt to cut and paste. The anticipated customer service refrain: "Sorry sir, your software is not compatible." Clearly, the cut and paste function outweighs the voice dictation function with regard to productivity. Therefore, I shut down Dragon or I have to plan my word processing around the compatibility prolems. Functionality: If you use this product, you will likely have to get a USB microphone. One of the other people reviewing this product made this comment and I whole-heartedly agree. (Chances are, your sound card will not be compatible.) The correction function has problems. Previous Dragon users are familiar with the "correct that" command. This is for correcting misinterpreted text. In this case, and in my experience with Version 7, "correct that" has a 50% failure rate. In alot of cases, it simply does not respond. Further, when the corrected text appears, it leaves characters from the unwanted text surrounding the newly inserted text. This requires manual correction which, obviously, defeats the purpose of voice dictation. Due to this problem, a recent short letter to a collegue actually took longer to write using the dicatation program than if I were to have typed it. Knowing that customer service is useless, I have been fiddling with the various menus trying to find a cure. Because I have to run a practice, I am yet in pursuit of the cure! Accuracy: I have noticed no notable increase in accuracy by virtue of the program itself. The upgrade to the USB microphone helps anyway. Therefore, I cannot credit Version 7 with any increase in accuracy. Notably, trained words have not responded. Specifically, you get the "the" being translated as "that." The program does not respond to the training to correct the problem. However, the program, as in previous versions, will train to specific vocabulary. (For example, "ex parte," "pendente lite" and other legal jargon used by us lawyer types.) Unfortunately, in the land of "techno-anarchy," compatibility issues are like a dog chasing its tail. Dragon Version 5 was allegedly not compatible with XP (which, in fact, it did work with a little tweaking). Upon calling customer support, of course, the recommended remedy was limited to the sales pitch, "Well sir, you should upgrade to Version 7." Now I have upgraded and the rest of my software (and sound card) are incompatible. I suspect that one of the reasons that ScanSoft is not more forthcoming with compatibility issues is the customer's realization of the true cost to upgrade the product. Specifically, you have the price of the upgrade. Then you have an upgraded microphone to buy. Then you have to upgrade your word processor, or whatever else you are using with Version 7. In the end, the total cost is 200% to 300% of the price of the upgraded dictation software. If customers knew that, they probably wouldn't buy the upgrade. Then again, maybe I'm just a cranky old lawyer. But, "caveat emptor" to the prospective purchaser. And, if it works, don't fix it.
Rating:
Summary: A Superb Product That Requires Patience
Review: I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 74 approximately a year now at work and at home. I have carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome is; therefore, I need a product to help me. I do a great deal of writing.
I am dictating his review into Microsoft Word and will not make any corrections to it. You will then get an idea of its accuracy.
The program works rather well. However, it does make a fair number of the patient mistakes, which requires a lot of time-consuming editing. Nonetheless, I cannot work or surf the Web without this program. If you have some sort of disability, it is a lifesaver.
The program is rather resource-intensive. I used and him 4 computers with 2.2 and 2.6GHz; each has 512 megabytes RAM.
["I used and him 4" should read "I use Pentium 4".]
My system will often go slow when I am doing a great deal of dictating and making many corrections. The program learns your voice the more you use it; therefore, it keeps corrections in its memory so that it will not make the same mistake later.
I highly recommend this program for anyone who physically has a hard time using the keyboard and mouse. I suspect that everybody will be using voice recognition software in 3-5 years as the technology advances. I have used several versions of NaturallySpeaking and they continue to improve.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Product
Review: I have been using version 5 Preferred of this product since it came out and was generally satisfied. Version 7 is such an improvement and requires very little editing. I agree with other reviewers that the included microphone is inferior and that the program still doesn't navigate menus for you very well. If what you need is a program to do your word processing for you, then this is the program for you.
Rating:
Summary: Follow These Simple Tips and It'll Work Great!
Review: I just bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking and I've already had a lot of success with it. If you're considering this product, I'd highly recommend it. Initially, I bought it because I'm a lawyer and do a lot of dictating anyway. But I also like to see the words on the screen, which is why I sometimes prefer to type things myself. I figured that Dragon NaturallySpeaking would be the best of both worlds. So far, it's worked pretty well for me. But keep in mind that the software doesn't work perfectly right out of the box. Based on my brief experience with the product, there are several keys to success. The first is to put in the time doing the voice-recognition training. Unless you teach the software to recognize your voice, it just won't work correctly. There's simply no getting around this. Although it may seem tedious at first, the training will pay off. (Besides, some of the training exercises on the software are very entertaining. For example, you can read President Kennedy's inspiring inaugural address or an excerpt from "Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook.") I spent at least an hour or two training the software when it first arrived and, believe me, it was time well spent. After the initial training period, the more you use it the better it gets because it is constantly "learning" from its mistakes. As another reviewer has suggested, it probably takes about two months before you'll be really impressed with the product's potential. (But I'm pretty impressed after only a few weeks!) The second is to buy a decent microphone. A lot of reviewers recommend a USB microphone, but an expensive USB model probably isn't necessary. I have an analog microphone (a Plantronics .Audio 90) and it works just fine. This particular model was far less expensive than most USB microphones that I've seen. The key is to find one that will allow you to position the microphone correctly in relation to your mouth. As the instructions tell you, the positioning of the microphone is essential. Frankly, the one that was included with the software just wasn't up to the task. It always seemed to be too close to my mouth and I was getting very poor results. But as soon as I started using the Plantronics, the accuracy of the software improved dramatically. Trust me, you'll be a a lot happier with the software if you spend a few extra bucks on a good microphone. Third, although it may seem counterintuitive, you should always speak quickly and naturally when dictating, rather than one word at a time. For some reason, the software is far more accurate when you do. Of course, this is a two-edged sword. If you're really "on a roll," and speaking quickly, the software is very accurate. On the other hand, when you just want to insert a word here or there, it really isn't. Consequently, I find that you still have to do some mouse movements when editing your documents. So, although Dragon NaturallySpeaking promises virtually hands-free operation of your computer, don't expect miracles, at least not at first. Finally, until you really start to master the product, you should probably use the text editor that's included with the software. It's called "DragonPad," and I've found that the voice recognition is somewhat more accurate when used with this program than it is with, say, Word or Outlook. Don't ask me why. Besides, it's really not that much of a bother. You can simply cut and paste from DragonPad into whatever application you may be using. When you first start using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the increased accuracy is worth the extra step. You tend to get less frustrated when it's working the way it's supposed to. I hope these tips help. Have fun, and remember that practice makes perfect. (Yes, this review was dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.)
Rating: 
Summary: It's fun
Review: I just got it today, I'm having fun, learning how to use this. I can't help but laugh when it makes mistakes, but I will keep trying to get teach it to be more accurate.
Rating:
Summary: Buyer beware
Review: I loved my Naturally Speaking ver 4, when it was owned by Dragon Systems. Now, apparently, Scansoft has taken it over. I haven't yet been able to upgrade, because the program crashes before I can get it going. There is NO free technical support available other than canned "Knowledge Base" and FAQ and a user forum. If I want to ask Scansoft why my program won't install properly, I can pay...for an email question to that effect. The Knowledge Base does say that you CANNOT preserve your old speech files when upgrading from ver 4 to 6 or 7. So if you have accumulated a few years worth of training and specialized vocabulary, as I have, you'll lose it all. (Oh yes, you can use a convoluted process to export all that vocab from ver 4, import it into ver 6 or 7, then train all the words again, but of course not in context etc.) Scansoft -- get lost!
Rating:
Summary: Very happy with it!
Review: I must say that Dragon's NaturallySpeaking preferred seven works wonderfully! I am in the process of dictating this review! But in order to get the maximum out of this product you need to use platronics DSP500 headset. With the platronics DSP500 headset I achieve about 99% accuracy... I kid you not! At first I tried it with a regular headset and was only getting about 90% accuracy. I love it because I can use it in Microsoft Outlook express to reply to my e-mails! As a matter of fact you can pretty much dictate into any application. I highly recommend Dragon's NaturallySpeaking seven! One more thing, you need to have a very fast computer. I have a Pentium 4, 3.2GB 2024MB of RAM. Those of you who have a Pentium III computer forget it! Don't bother with Dragon NaturallySpeaking because it won't work properly. For it to work properly you need at least a Pentium 4, 2.8GB and at least 1012 MB of RAM. Roger, Wilco, over an out!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent recognition but commands need work
Review: I purchased the software because it's getting very difficult to use the keyboard and mouse due to a neuromuscular disease. I have the software for two days now and it is doing well for replacing the keyboard. I have what Doctors call a "thick speech" and people have a hard time understand what I'm saying. The teaching tool is working well, and already the program understands me almost as well as people. The one thing I was hoping would be a little better, is the commands. Navigating around windows without using a mouse is difficult and it doesn't work well with Microsoft Outlook unless you have a professional version. It's good with Internet Explorer but surfing the Web with other browsers is rather difficult if you're trying to avoid using a mouse. It would be nice if you could download program specific commands from a web site or create your own macros. My final thoughts,
This is proving to be a valuable tool for replacing the keyboard, but I am finding myself searching for a different method to replace the mouse.
Rating:
Summary: Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred Version 8 Might do it!
Review: I read all the horror stories about Dragon Naturally Speaking version 7, and was reluctant to purchase the product. I also read reviews about IBM ViaVoice, and was reluctant to purchase that one as well. I subsequently decided to get Dragon Naturally Speaking version 7 based purely on features available. However, my local retailer was out of the product and informed me that version 8 was soon to be released.
I bit the bullet last night and purchased Naturally Speaking Preferred version 8, and hoped that I would not have the same problems that many of the previous reviewers had with version 7.
I opened the package, put in the CD-ROM and proceeded with the install wizard. My first attempt was a relative disaster, giving an error number 1335, explaining that there was a cab file that could not be found because: either there was a network error; or an error reading from the CD-ROM; or that there was actually a problem with the package from the vendor. I searched the CD-ROM and could not find the cab file that had been mentioned in the error message. So, I tried the installation one more time. This time it worked. My next step was to plug in the microphone and headset that came with the package. I went through the initial training of the microphone and setting sound levels, and got an indication that while the levels were not very good, they were understandable.
My next trials and tribulations occurred when I was actually trying to train the program for my voice. This is when my computer started freezing and I had to keep on rebooting the computer. And then I had a brainstorm! I decided to plug the microphone into the back of the computer rather than to the microphone jack on the front of my computer. Ever since I did that, the program has been working wonderfully!
The program is doing a fairly decent job of recognizing my voice after only 30 minutes of training. I did take the time to go through the 14 slide tutorial, and that may have given the program more opportunity to recognize my speech patterns. I have used it in Word Dragon Pad with success. I have had several problems with Internet Explorer since installing the program. I cannot confirm that these problems are because of Naturally Speaking since these problems were beginning after I installed service pack 2.
I will caution you to either put your microphone to sleep or to turn it off when the telephone rings. I forgot to do this and had a very interesting insertion in the file I was working on at the time. Nothing like humor to lighten your day!
I'm using voice recognition to create this review. Because I am new at this, I did correct errors made in voice-recognition. It was easy to do while I was dictating. Doing so gave me practice in learning how this program works, and in the voice commands available for correcting.
I'm running Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred version 8 on a Dell XPS (Pentium 4, 3Ghz, one gig of RAM), using Windows XP home for my operating system. I had previously installed Service Pack two. For now I'm using the microphone that came with the package and do not think I am experiencing adverse results.
When I initially had the installation problems, I did visit ScanSoft web site's technical support. As previous reviewers have noted, there is zilch for technical support. Fortunately, by plugging the microphone into the rear of the computer, I no longer have the computer-freeze problem; so I am not in a position where I need technical support. Let's hope I never actually DO need tech support.
With my limited one day's experience, I will give this product 4 stars, and will return at a later date to give an update on his review.
If you are considering this product, I do say go cautiously, and heed the previous reviews which have been rated as useful by most readers of the reviews. They all have good and bad things to say about the product, and help with the overall decision-making process.
But, maybe this Version 8 has fixed some of the major bugs. Keeping my fingers crossed (and hopefully my tongue NOT tied!).
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