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by David Pogue
Technology writer David Pogue had an extremely productive experience with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0. He read preexisting copy aloud and the software accurately typed 98.9 percent of it before training… and 99.4 percent after training. Pogue compares version 8 with version 9. He commends the software's manufacturer for "making careful and selective improvements," rather than "piling on features and complexity." Yet, he concludes, "Most people will find the changes to be too few and too subtle." Pogue also mentions that Windows Vista will offer an alternative. He favorably compares Dragon with iListen for the Macintosh, having successfully run NaturallySpeaking in Windows XP on a Macintosh. (Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by The New York Times Company, but is not affiliated editorially.)
by David Pogue
Times technology columnist David Pogue has long been a fan of voice-recognition software. He details how Windows Speech Recognition works in this article, which is excerpted from his book, Windows Vista:… The Missing Manual. Pogue is very enthusiastic about the software, but doesn't find it as accurate as Dragon NaturallySpeaking. More than 60 readers add questions and comments to the article. Mac users bemoan the lack of anything as good as Vista or Dragon for the Mac OS. One reader thinks that with enough training, Vista's speech recognition is as good as Dragon. (Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by The New York Times Company, but is not affiliated editorially.)
by Contributors to Amazon.com
The customer reviews of various editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, IBM ViaVoice 10 and Dictate on Amazon.com are detailed and insightful. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred is by far the most popular… product, but it earns mainly mixed reviews, with polarized opinions. ViaVoice and Dictate aren't as well liked. Many reviewers give all the products either the best possible or worst possible rating.
by Larry Magid
San Jose Mercury News reporter Larry Magid tests and uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 and the voice-recognition feature in the beta version of Vista while temporarily injured. He achieves close to 99 percent… accuracy with both products, but implies that he prefers typing because of contextual errors made by software. He does say that both programs are easy to train and use. Magid concludes that Dragon is more sophisticated and more versatile than Windows Speech Recognition, yet he expresses no preference for either program. This is an interesting, practical article based on a real-life application, which makes it compelling to read.
by Simon Williams
TrustedReviews.com provides a very favorable, but very well-balanced, review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred. Simon Williams compares it with the previous version, citing specific improvements.… Williams achieves about 96 percent accuracy in testing. He says NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred requires more training than Nuance wants you to believe. The review explains the different editions of the program and describes usage.
by Glen Salzman
This review is exclusively devoted to Vista Speech Recognition. It's good in that regard and it's exceptionally informative. The shortcoming is the absence of a needed comparison with Dragon. Vague… references to "the competition" are inadequate. Salzman reports the system resource usage of Vista's application and advises, "Without good hardware, the response time for Speech Recognition can become unbearable." With that caveat, he endorses the software. Excellent screenshots will help you find and get started with the software.
by Victor J. Medina
This sophisticated blog user rating would be terrific with more testing and depth. Victor Medina, a lawyer, buys MacSpeech Dictate for his own professional use. After a few hours of use, he writes an… enthusiastic but objective review. He compares the program with an old version of the legal edition of Dragon and with MacSpeech's iListen program. The latter is a previous-generation product that is not based on Dragon.
by Gina Trapani (moderator)
Lifehacker.com "recommends the software downloads and web sites that actually save time." In this forum, site users describe their experiences with Windows Speech Recognition, Dragon and other… voice-recognition programs. One user thinks the capability is little more than a novelty, but most users -- including a couple of lawyers who use it professionally -- report increases in productivity. One person successfully wrote half a book using Windows XP's cursory speech recognition. A longtime Dragon user is trying Vista after discovering Dragon 8 won't run under Vista. His early reaction is that >Vista is better.
by David Pogue
The first half of this article is devoted to the new Mac version of Microsoft Office; the second half covers MacSpeech Dictate, which Pogue says is based on Dragon NaturallySpeaking. MacSpeech Dictate is… extremely accurate in his sole test of the beta version. He is very impressed with it and confident Mac users will appreciate it. Still, he concedes it isn't quite as good as Dragon. One of the differences is that Dictate lacks voice correction. (Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by The New York Times Company, but is not affiliated editorially.)
by Deb Shinder
by Nate Anderson
by Elsa Wenzel
CNet.com's Elsa Wenzel tests Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 for accuracy and ease of use. Interestingly, Wenzel achieves a lower level of accuracy than what's been reported in other reviews, so presumably… CNet's "Excellent" rating refers to best-in-class more than overall value. Most importantly for current users, Wenzel finds only subtle interface improvements over version 8. She emphasizes heavy system demands and cost of use as buying considerations.
by Bob and Joy Schwabach
In this brief review, syndicated computer columnists Bob and Joy Schwabach say that each version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking "gets a little better." They find that the program works better -- and works well… -- if you train it. They mention that Nuance only includes one free tech support call, thereafter charging for phone calls ($20 per incident) and e-mail support ($10 per incident). The columnists conclude that VR software isn't quite as useful as it could be.
by Cade Metz
Cade Metz previously reviewed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Professional for PC Magazine, which he described as the best speech-recognition product ever tested by PC Magazine Labs. Metz does not compare the… two versions, other than to say the new one is more powerful and to discuss the benefit of training the program (which no longer has to be done). Metz reports his accuracy rate achieved after training, and notes Dragon's effect on his system's resources. He tested the product on a laptop.
by Jennifer Berger
by Rob Pegoraro
The Post's technology columnist implies, but does not specify, past experience with speech-recognition programs. Here, he reviews the Preferred version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. He also compares the… Dragon product with MacSpeech's iListen, the only up-to-date Macintosh dictation program. In his sole test, Pegoraro finds that he can type and edit a previously written article faster than he can recite and edit it with Dragon.
by Jason Cross
Jason Cross thoroughly describes his experience testing Windows Speech Recognition. He does not compare it with any alternative other than typing. Cross evaluates the software for accuracy, efficiency and… usefulness for web navigation. A few readers also leave comments after the article, but most don't add much insight. For example, one person says Dragon NaturallySpeaking is better, but he's only tried Vista for 20 minutes.
by Andy Kaiser
by Jacob Schulman
by Michael Greene
by Stephen Manes
This article is a review of Vista as a whole, with a paragraph devoted to speech recognition. Manes previously reviewed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 for PC World and Forbes, but he does not compare the two… programs here. However, his past praise for Dragon stands in stark contrast to his conclusion about Windows Speech Recognition. Manes doesn't reveal his computer's system configuration, which is essential information for evaluating his experience in context.
by Andrew D. Smith
This short review of Dragon raises as many questions as it resolves. For instance, Andrew Smith doesn't specify which edition of Dragon he tested. He says the program takes weeks to train, but does… recommend it. Like Michael Greene (above), Smith doesn't acknowledge the existence of Vista voice-recognition software. He does say that there is no decent voice-recognition software for the Mac platform (while acknowledging that the new MacSpeech program could be) and that Dragon demands a powerful computer.
by Scott Hanselman
This blog entry has some value, but the writer doesn't express his thoughts and opinions clearly enough to help others reach a conclusion about whether Vista is worth trying if they haven't already… purchased the program. Like too many reviewers, Scott Hanselman isn't clear about whether he thinks speech-recognition software is just useful for people who are temporarily or permanently unable to type, or if it's an advantage for all users. Hanselman has previously used Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but he inexplicably neglects to compare it with Vista. However, he does conclude that if you use speech-recognition software, the capability in Vista is strong enough to warrant an upgrade.
by Paul Thurrott
Technology author Paul Thurrott devotes a section to Windows Speech Recognition as part of a very lengthy review of Vista. Testing is not described, although Thurrott explains how the software works. He… doesn't compare Windows Speech Recognition with third-party programs, but does say it is better than anything previously included in any operating system. Thurrott barely mentions the feature in his lengthy rundown of Vista's strengths and weaknesses.
by Shane McGlaun
About.com's computer peripherals columnist gives Dragon a thorough test and very favorable review. Dragon couldn't keep up with his speaking, but was still faster than typing. McGlaun estimates that Dragon… progressed from 90 percent accurate to nearly perfect over several weeks. He finds that the program is well suited for word processing, but not versatile enough to enable him to abandon his keyboard. Although he concludes "You will be hard pressed to find a better voice recognition application available," he offers no comparisons to past or current products. (Note that ConsumerSearch and About.com are owned by the same parent company, but are not affiliated editorially.)
by Brian Bergstein (Associated Press)
AP reporter Bergstein tries both the Preferred and Professional versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. He does not offer comparisons between them, other than mentioning a few of the feature differences, nor… does he mention alternative programs. Bergstein likes the programs, but concludes, "I wouldn't go so far as to say I was more productive with Dragon." He essentially sees it as a specialty product for people with disabilities.
by Deni Connor
This article is essentially a testimonial about Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Medical from a medical director. Dr. Jeffrey Pearson reports increased efficiency and labor cost savings, since many documents… don't have to be transcribed. Dragon supplies lexicons for 13 different medical specialties. It also allows for setting up macros, so that a doctor can use the same wording for a diagnosis repeatedly.
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 Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Preferred [OLD VERSION]  from Amazon.com New: $72.95 In Stock.
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 Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard [OLD VERSION] from Amazon.com New: $42.00 In Stock.
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 Windows Vista Home Basic with SP1 Upgrade from Amazon.com New: $58.87 In Stock.
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