I don't usually write reviews. Fact of the matter is, with the exception of Photoshop, which I am a confirmed devotee of, I don't get too excited about software. I have to admit though that this particular version of DNS has really knocked my socks off!

Being semi-disabled, typing is a real problem for me. I have actually had trouble getting a job because most companies will not let me use voice typing software even though I type about twice as fast with it as I do on my own.

Frankly, it's been a pain in the tush! Getting a voice typing program that actually works consistently and has good recognition results has not been an easy thing. This is the first version of this program that I have tried that really works and I have been using the program on and off since version 5!

Version 8 has been actually been accurate enough that I can use it for everything from e-mail to doing my job. From what I can tell it gets about 99% of what I am saying, and that is pretty decent compared to the same application say five years ago! It's not perfect, but it does allow me to do my job,and go about my daily activities computer-wise, without too much pain being involved.

(shrug)

What can I say?

I just can't do anything on my computer without it these days!

It works almost flawlessly in every single program I have tried it in, and that includes my non-standard e-mail program, online in chat boxes, and even in difficult areas like this.

I can't wait to see what they will come up with in the next version. With the exception of the fact that this version never seems to capitalize the first word of a sentence, which drives me crazy, this is about as good as I ever thought voice-recognition could get! I am learning to get around the few small quirks, and I must admit, otherwise, this program has really been a godsend for me.

I have read reviews of professional voice type programs that cost five times as much and they don't seem to indicate any more satisfaction in terms of results than I am getting with DNS8. Yeah, it was a bear doing all the training, but I found that the little bit of effort had a considerable effect on my ability to accurately voice type.

I am pretty pleased thus far!

Nice job ScanSoft! You folks are doing a fine job, and I am very happy to say so. You have really made it a lot easier for me to deal with having an annoying disability, and I really do appreciate that! Every little bit helps, and I find that DNS8 takes a huge load off my damaged body in terms of wear and tear and stress.

I am much obliged, and please DO keep up the good work!

Yes, every word of this review was definitely typed in DNS8. It took me all of 10 minutes, and I hardly had to correct a thing besides! If, ya'll think I am working for the company, you couldn't be more wrong here! Nope, not a corporate stooge, singing the praises of a company product just to get your attention, I am a real-life user, who just happens to find this particular program about as useful as it gets!

If you are looking for good voice-recognition, look no further! This is about as good as it gets unless you are willing to spend a whole heck of a lot more money, and waste about 10 times the time trying to get it to work!

Believe me when I tell you I have tried them all, and this is the only voice type program that even comes close to allowing me to get the job done!

Yeah, I guess this is a glowing review, but darn it, ScanSoft has earned it with this one! I must have waited at least a decade to be able to do this with any amount of real accuracy. To finally be able to write, to do my job, every day, effectively and with minimal effort, using a headset? To be able to type again without killing my neck and back?

Well, it's pretty darned cool...

:)

Morrighan

*NEEDS A HEADSET*
To be honest perfect voice recognition comes at about $1000. ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the best semi-pro voice recognition package to use because of its speed of learning and accuracy. I find myself recommending this more over expensive pro packages. Let me list the reasons why.

1. It is quicker to load than the pro packages.
2. It has enough functions to understand most of the things I say. If you want it to understand legal or medical terms then get the add-ons for this.
3. It is easy to use.
4. The learning curve is not steep.
5. The package is smaller in hard drive size than pro packages.
6. It can do the vast majority of things that a pro package can do.

Pro packages even have a steeper learning curve but they are more accurate, this getting sometimes 100% for minutes on end, however how this depends on the type of work you are doing. I would recommend this just on the basis that you can get it working right out the box by just learning the basic interface, simply turn on and speak, but you will spend maybe a few hours the first day training it, and a few hours every week for the next month, but the more you use it the better it will be, in just over a month it should be almost perfect. Expect some degree of hand editing your speech to text, software can do text to speech also, but computer voice simulation, not what you trained, go pro if that is what you need.

I am writing this review using the Dragon naturally speaking 8 preferred software. I just started using it and I'm very happy.

I use a Compaq Presario x1000 laptop, Windows XP, 500 MB RAM, and an Andrea 750 microphone. Oh, and I do use Microsoft Office small business edition 2003. Because of prior reviews of Dragon software, I did some research before buying this product. (The first thing I did was throw out my old IBM ViaVoice disk. It's useless and per my research, not worth upgrading.)

Scansoft is also worthless for tech support or advice.

I contacted eMicrophones, their web site is eMicrophones.com, and got some great advice. They advised a minimum 500 MB RAM and a better microphone, the Andrea ANC-750. They also advised a USB soundcard as the sound card in most laptops is not shielded and noisy. I'm glad I took their advice. My laptop smokes, even using the voice software. No compatability problems at all. No crashes or slowdowns (and I do have XP SP2 installed).

I hope this helps you all. Kurt

I've use voice recognition software for the last five years or so, with the first 3 to 3 1/2 years using Dragon and the last year and a half or so using Microsoft Office's bundled software. This version has brought me back into the Dragon fold. The accuracy is simply amazing, and it really is near perfect. Definitely worth the investment.

I installed this software two days ago, and have experienced NONE of the severe problems that some have written about. The program installed without a hitch; the tutorial was very helpful; the training went quickly and smoothly. I've dictated about twenty minutes of material, and the program has recognized it very accurately. It takes some time to get used to the various voice commands, and I'm still spending considerable time correcting minor errors of punctuation, the recognition of "the" instead of "a," etc., but that seems to be decreasing, even with the short length of time that I've used the program.

I have a concern that as the program gets more accurate, I might have to spend a lot of time proofreading for occasional non-obvious errors in the text. (It's annoying when a word in a document is obviously wrong -- it always seems like the writer was careless or ignorant.) I think that Dragon NaturallySpeaking will produce more than its share of these errors, but only time will tell.

So far, I'm very impressed, and I'm pleased that I bought the program.