You can just dive in and start dictating. That said, it takes a little effort and dedication to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking smoothly.įirst of all, you have to learn the commands and conventions in order to use the software effectively. The basics remain the same but Nuance has come a long way in terms of making the process more streamlined and intuitive. This wasn’t my first time using Dragon dictation software, but it has been a few years. Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses about 4GB of storage, and requires a sound card and compatible microphone.ĭragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Premium works natively with a wide variety of popular products, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, etc.), major webmail platforms (Gmail,, Yahoo Mail), and current versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. The 32-bit version requires 2GB of RAM and the 64-bit version needs a minimum of 4GB. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 requires at least a 2.2Ghz Intel or equivalent AMD processor. Processing speech and converting it to text takes some processing muscle. It didn’t work with the Windows 10 Technical Preview at first, but the latest release from Microsoft-Build 10041-now works with the software. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 is the first to add support for both the 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Nuance also offers dictation software for Mac OS X, but Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a Windows-only application.

This review focuses on Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Premium, which retails for $199 from Nuance. There are a number of versions of Dragon dictation software including Professional and Legal intended for heavy duty office dictation. Dragon will scan your written content to learn more about how you speak and the vocabulary you use. You can accelerate the learning curve by granting Dragon access to your documents and emails. It also learns how you like things formatted-for example I spell out the word “percent” rather than using the “%” symbol. It learns your unique speech patterns and the vocabulary you commonly use. Nuance also added support for using Dragon NaturallySpeaking with the major webmail platforms-Gmail,, and Yahoo Mail.Īs effective as it is right out of the box, one of the best things about using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Premium is that it improves over time. This latest version includes improved speed and accuracy converting your spoken words to text. You can dictate documents or emails, navigate around the Windows operating system, and interact with your PC using your voice. As noted above, nobody does this better than Nuance and Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the best of the best. Programming a computer to understand and interpret the spoken word is a daunting task to say the least.ĭragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Premium is a dictation and speech recognition tool that can increase your productivity and reduce the physical stress associated with typing on a keyboard…once you master it. When you start combining speed of speech with slang and the accents that come with various regional dialects it’s a wonder we can communicate at all.

Everyone has a unique pattern and tone that defines how they speak. Voice recognition is tricky even for humans.

A company like Apple could probably develop its own similar technology, but it would be difficult to build an effective voice recognition application without infringing on one or more Nuance patents in the process. In fact, Nuance technology provides the backend for Siri, Samsung’s S Voice and other voice recognition tools. Nuance has led the way for years when it comes to innovative voice technology. One of the first speech recognition and speech-to-text applications, however, is still the best and still paving the way for all of the rest: Dragon NaturallySpeaking by Nuance. Microsoft will also be bringing the power of Cortana to Windows 10, and possibly spreading it to iOS and Android as well. Virtual assistant tools like Siri, Cortana, and Google Now have made it cool and mainstream to interact with technology using your voice.

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