Product Description

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard you can talk to your computer and watch words quickly appear in documents, e-mails, instant messages and even surf the web simply by speaking. It's amazingly accurate - up to 99% and really easy to use. There's no script reading or "voice training" required, so you can get started dictating right away. Perfect for the whole family - busy parents, kids just learning to type, and even grandparents.

Main Features

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32 in Software
• Brand: Nuance Communications, Inc.
• Model: A309A-G01-9.0
• Released on: 2006-07-25
• Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista
• Format: CD
• Dimensions: .95 pounds

Features

• Over three times faster than typing, and up to 99% accurate
• Edit and control just about any Windows-based application, including Mozilla and Firefox, with voice commands
• Built-in Nothing But Speech technology filters out "ums" and "ahs" and other conversational fillers
• Lets you navigate web pages by speaking the URLs and links
• Mac users take note: Dragon Naturally Speaking is now fully compatible with VMware Fusion.

Amazon.com
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 (Standard Edition) gives small business users and PC enthusiasts the power to create documents, reports, e-mails and more -- all by speaking! Over three times faster than typing, and amazingly accurate, NaturallySpeaking 9 translates your voice dictations into Microsoft Word and Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and virtually all Windows-based applications. It's never been easier to use -- with no script reading required, you can get started right away!

NaturallySpeaking 9 translates your voice dictations into Microsoft Word and Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and virtually all Windows-based applications. View larger.

Three Times Faster than Typing
A C/NET Editor's Choice for February 2006, and a PC World 100 best products of 2006, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 is up to 99 percent accurate, and often more accurate than typing. Dragon NaturallySpeaking never makes a spelling mistake, and it's actually programmed to get "smarter" the more your use it. And because most people speak over 120 words per minute, but type less than 40 words a minute, NaturallySpeaking lets you create letters and e-mails about three times faster than typing by hand.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 is extremely easy to use and require no training. A full set of new on-screen tutorials simplify the training process, so you can be an expert Dragon NaturallySpeaking user right away. An included approved free noise-canceling microphone helps you get started immediately. And you can use your voice to dictate, edit and control just about any Windows-based application, which gives you unprecedented flexibility as you work. It even supports Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. Just talk, and you can surf the web, open and close applications, even control your mouse and the entire desktop. You can also dictate, edit, and navigate more easily in Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, and Corel WordPerfect than in previous versions. For Web browsing, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 lets you search the Web, access information, and navigate web pages by speaking URLs and links.

The DragonBar includes a "Select and Say" indicator that turns green when you are in an application or window where all of NaturallySpeaking's functionality is supported.

Seamless Editing Functionality
We all add unnecessary "ums" and "ahs" when we speak, and the last thing you want is to spend your time editing all those extraneous insertions from your documents. Thanks to its built-in Nothing But Speech (NBS) technology, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 filters out inadvertent fillers and sounds between words, keeping your document clean. The program's "natural punctuation" feature means that when you dictate casual writing styles, you no longer have to say "period" and "comma."

So why type your emails, or fiddle with your mouse to surf the Web when you can more easily and quickly use your voice?

Customer Reviews

Windows Vista and/or Laptop Users, Be Forewarned...
According to the product specifications both on this page and the product box, this edition is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system. Actually, it's not. I learned, much to my chagrin, that it would be necessary for me to download an update from the Dragon website in order for the product to work. The download took almost two hours on a high-speed internet connection, as it's a huge file...essentially an updated version of the entire program.

I attempted to install this product on my brand new Dell laptop, which -- again, according to both this page and the product box -- had more than enough processing speed to do so. I kept receiving an error message, telling me that it was not adequate, and therefore the installation was aborted. I went to the Dragon website, only to find out that any kind of support -- even via email -- costs money. What a nice surprise!

Searching on Google, I found the source of my problem: I had to reconfigure my laptop's energy saving features so that the program would understand that there was enough processing speed in order to be installed. Once I did this, the program finally installed.

From start to finish, the entire installation took around 10 hours, and that included a trip to a local computer store to check out the laptop, to make sure that my processor was working properly. I still haven't gotten the program to work, as there are problems with the microphone that I haven't figured out yet.

It stands to reason that a very complex program such as this one is going to have a few bugs and problems. However, I've never had this many problems with any other software I've purchased, nor discovered to my chagrin that there is so little free support available for them. For those reasons, I cannot recommend this program for purchase.

quick to start using
I have been using this software for couple of weeks now, and I only use it occasionally. I have found that it is very easy to set up and start using and seems to recognize most all words. The software is far superior to other voice recognition software that I've used in the past. If you're not used to dictating it does take some getting used to. This software works best when you speak in sentences rather than word by word. I think after using this software for a little longer it will recognize all the words that I say. And I will be used to working with it to. I am using it right now to dictate this review directly into the Amazon website. I found it will work everywhere that you can type into a page. The only reason I am giving this product. Four stars instead of five is because the earphone piece on the mic headset. I find very uncomfortable and I have not found a comfortable way to use it.

Very good for carpal tunnel patients
I got this product for my wife to use at work until she has her carpal tunnel surgery. She reports it is relatively easy to learn to use, and a great saver of hand action, but it IS slower than typing. Nonetheless, it has enabled her to continue to work productively without pain, and she gives it four stars. (She isn't writing this because it is on her work computer, and this is from home!)