Dragon NaturallySpeaking

[ColinJ]

Hi there cycle chatters I am seriously impressed by Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition system that I've just bought from my computer I am dictating this at normal speed without even looking at the screen and I'm not going to correct any mistakes that it makes it is seriously impressive and teaches new words such as my ride had to install top London to radio I will probably be producing even more posts than usual in the near future because I don't have to type them in wow

*************

Okay, I'm back to typing! For some reason, the auto-punctuation wasn't enabled in CycleChat and the new words I taught it haven't worked, so I will have to look into that, but for only 10 minutes of training to my voice, I think it did remarkably well. It will adapt to my voice as I use it more, and I have scheduled regular training sessions for the next few days to speed up that process.

Mistakes (bold = actual mistake, rather than new words not added to DNS's dictionary properly), apart from missing punctuation (which I will probably dictate in future anyway to have more control over it):

• cycle chatters = CycleChatters
• from my computer = for my computer
• teaches new words = I can teach it new words
• my ride = Mytholmroyd
• had to install = Heptonstall
• top London = Todmorden
• to radio = derailleur

I have a 5 year old laptop which isn't really powerful enough to run the latest DNS (version 12) properly (1.2 GHz dual core, 2 GB memory, 32 bit Win XP pro), so I bought a copy of DNS 10 on eBay. There were a couple of other copies going for £29 + £7 p&p.

If you have a decent modern PC/laptop then you can pick up v12 for under £50.

NB I speak fairly clearly and have a neutral accent. DNS has settings for US/UK English and a few different accents but I don't know how well it would cope with a strong regional accent.

It wouldn't work well in a noisy environment, but if you have a suitable computer, a reasonably clear
voice, can't type properly and need to produce a lot of documents in a quietish room, I suggest that you pick up a copy.

 

[Fnaar]

A friend of mine with a Lancs accent uses it, and reports mostly good results, though he has to give the computer an ecky thump now and then.

 

[Sara_H]

My OH used it whe he had two broken arms. He was writing a medical journal article at the time, so had problems with the medical terminology.

He also has really bad dyslexia, so is trying to find something for work for note taking, but having no luck due to the medical terminology.

 

[Markymark]

I'd always worry that someone would walk up behind me and shout "Delete All Files. Yes."

 

[ColinJ]

My OH used it whe he had two broken arms. He was writing a medical journal article at the time, so had problems with the medical terminology.

He also has really bad dyslexia, so is trying to find something for work for note taking, but having no luck due to the medical terminology.

I have seen medical and legal versions of the software which have specialist dictionaries. I'm sure that they would be a lot more expensive though!

I'd always worry that someone would walk up behind me and shout "Delete All Files. Yes."

I was wondering how to dictate something that could be interpreted as a command. The answer is to hold down a shift key. If you want to make sure that a command is acted upon rather than typed out, hold down a control key.

 

[potsy]

I thought you were making more sense than usual Colin

 

[Sara_H]

I have seen medical and legal versions of the software which have specialist dictionaries. I'm sure that they would be a lot more expensive though!

It's in the hands of the IT dep at the moment (and has been for around 18 months!).

 

[ColinJ]

Alice Armstrong is a drugtaking cheat. Allegedly! There, that was Lance not Alice!

Ha ha. My hovercraft is full of eels. Your hovercraft does not exist.

One day, when I have a body that works again, I will get back on my bike and ride over the Yorkshire hills once more.

Will this be a useful tool, or will it just be another distraction?

One thing though, it certainly is a fascinating piece of software.

So far, the only mistake it has made is to call Lance Alex. I said, Alice.

And now I am going to read from the installation manual:

the Nuance Communications website, www.newanswers.com, is regularly updated with Dragon information, including frequently asked questions (both general and technical), usage tips and shakes, technical support and customer service resources, listings of microphones and digital recorders tested with Dragon, documentation downloads, and a detailed comparison between Dragon editions.

*******

(Typed) Not bad!

 

[2Loose]

Very impressive!!!
I last toyed with Dragon when 486's and Power Mac's were top end, it was around 80% accurate even back then.
Hmm, I wonder if it can help my daughter with her spelling....

 

[ColinJ]

(This is all typed.)

Very impressive!!!
I last toyed with Dragon when 486's and Power Mac's were top end, it was around 80% accurate even back then.
Hmm, I wonder if it can help my daughter with her spelling....

Well, it won't make spelling mistakes because it works from a dictionary, but it might insert the wrong word and then spell that perfectly e,g. Alice instead of Lance, in my example above!

I'll try it with a sentence to test its understanding of grammar - "I would like two to eat now and two to take home too, please". I will be impressed if it gets that right.

The headset that comes with the software works pretty well, but it is cheap-looking and made of flimsy plastic so I will probably replace it with something sturdier at a later date.

I forgot to do some more accuracy training sessions with the software. I'll just catch up on the rest of the forum news and then spend 20 minutes doing that. Oh, and I need to add all the cycling terms that it will probably struggle with like derailleur, Shimano and Campagnolo.

Once I have spent some more time playing with the software, I will dictate a long post, and show you the unedited version with any errors highlighted.

 

[summerdays]

A friend and their child both have it installed on their computers as they are both quite dyslexic. They think it is brilliant.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I'd always worry that someone would walk up behind me and shout "Delete All Files. Yes."

or format c: OK

 

[ColinJ]

I was having major problems with DNS last night - its performance had become awful. I think that the mic in the headset has packed up already and I only picked up a signal via the laptop's crappy internal mic when wiggling the audio plug in its socket or removing it altogether.

I will try the headset on a different computer to confirm whether it is the headset or the mic socket which is playing up. If it is the socket, I will have to open the laptop to fix it. If it is the headset, its replacement will have to be bought sooner than I expected. In theory, I could send the system back to the guy on eBay but I always viewed the supplied headset as temporary so I won't bother. My advice is to assume that you will have to buy a decent headset to go with the software.

TBH it is better to replace the headset sooner rather than later because the software adapts to the sound of your voice and a replacement headset will have at least a subtly different audio profile. Also - I didn't like having both ears covered by the stereo headset - I couldn't use the phone without removing it, and it didn't feel right talking with it on. I will probably buy a monaural headset for use with DNS. The problem is that a cheap replacement headset could well be equally unreliable but I can't afford an expensive one. I'll look at products online later today if the local shops don't have anything suitable in stock.

 

[ColinJ]

okay chaps! I was being slightly unfair to the microphone, it does still work it was the software that was playing up.I used system restore to go back to a working version of the software. The headset is still working. I don't know why the software got its knickers in a twist, and I hope that it doesn't happen again because it is a right pain having to do system restore!

All of this has been dictated using the original headset. I have left a couple of small errors in the original text, and will soon be turning my computer off and watching television.

I'm about to dictate at high speed to see if it can keep up with me...

I will be really impressed if it can keep up with me talking at this speed because I can hardly hear what I'm saying I'm talking that fast!

Good grief!

what on earth can I do next test is fantastic news software on my laptop. I really can't believe that the understandable I'm saying I'm talking so quickly is ridiculous!

Okay, that caught it out that I must have been talking at 200 words a minute.

I am now talking at my natural speed which is probably close to hundred 60 words a minute and it seems to be coping remarkably well this so I'm going to be using this a lot in the future. Goodnight!

 

[ColinJ]

It's dead again!

When I did the System Restore, it removed a Windows Update that had been downloaded after I put DNS on my laptop. It could be a coincidence, but that update has been redownloaded and the same thing has happened again.

A quick look at the DNS forum does not inspire confidence!

It boggles my mind that a company can produce a product that is clearly quite capable of amazing things, but not fix the bugs in it, or have proper customer support!

I'll have to carry on trying to work out what is causing this problem, but I can't spend too much time on it - ithis product was supposed to save me time!