Product Description

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred gives small business and advanced PC users the power to create documents, reports, and emails, three times faster than most people type, and with up to 99% accuracy. Surf the Web by voice, or dictate and edit in Microsoft Word and Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and most other Windows-based applications. New Dragon Voice Shortcuts collapse common tasks into simple voice commands. Create custom commands to insert blocks of texts or images such as your name, title, and signature with a single voice command. Format and delete text faster than ever with Quick Voice Formatting. You can even dictate into a handheld device when you're away from your PC, or use a Bluetooth microphone. Most people speak over 120 words per minute, but type less than 40 words a minute. That means you can create documents and emails about three times faster with Dragon Naturally Speaking. Dragon Naturally Speaking never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more you use it. Dragon Naturally Speaking installs quickly and requires no special script reading to train the system. On-screen help and tutorials will make you an expert user in no time. Use your voice to dictate, edit and control applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and AOL. Quickly search for information on the Web or on your own computer. Just say "Search the Web for global warming articles," "Search Wikipedia for George Washington Carver," or "Search eBay for Batman comic books." Searching the Web or your computer has never been faster - or easier. Dictate into any Nuance-certified handheld device for automatic transcription when you synch with your PC.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1080 in Software
• Brand: Nuance Communications, Inc.
• Model: A189A-K00-10.0
• Released on: 2008-08-11
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 95
• Format: CD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Features

• Speech-recognition application for creating documents, reports, and emails
• 3 times faster than most people type with up to 99-percent accuracy
• Surf the Web by voice or dictate and edit in most Windows-based applications
• Dragon Voice Shortcuts collapse common tasks into simple voice commands
• Dictate into a handheld device or use a Bluetooth microphone

Amazon.com
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred gives small businesses and advanced PC users the power to create documents, reports, and emails three times faster than most people type with up to 99-percent accuracy. Surf the Web by voice or dictate and edit in Microsoft Wordand Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and most other Windows-based applications.

New Dragon Voice Shortcuts collapse common tasks into simple voice commands. Or create custom commands to insert blocks of texts or images--such as your name, title, and signature--with a single voice command. Edit and format text faster than ever with Quick Voice Formatting. You can even dictate into a handheld device when you’re away from your PC, or use a Bluetooth microphone.

Features:

• Up to 99-percent accurate and three times faster than typing: Most people speak over 120 words per minute, but type less than 40 words a minute. That means you can create documents and emails about three times faster with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Dragon never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more you use it!
• Easy to use: Dragon NaturallySpeaking installs quickly and requires no special script reading. New on-screen help and tutorials will make you an expert user in no time.
• Works with the applications you already have: use your voice to dictate, edit, and control applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and AOL.
• Simplify Web and desktop search with Dragon Voice Shortcuts: Use Dragon Voice Shortcuts to quickly search for information on the Web or on your own computer. Need to find some information on the Web? Just say "Search the Web for global warming articles," "Search Wikipedia for George Washington Carver," or "Search eBay for Batman comic books." Searching the Web or your computer has never been faster--or easier.
• Bluetooth support: use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Nuance-approved Bluetooth headsets for great dictation results without the wires.
• Be productive on the go: dictate into any Nuance-certified handheld device when you’re away from your desk for automatic transcription when you synch with your PC.

From the Manufacturer
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred gives small businesses and advanced PC users the power to create documents, reports, and emails three times faster than most people type with up to 99-percent accuracy. Surf the Web by voice or dictate and edit in Microsoft Wordand Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and most other Windows-based applications.

New Dragon Voice Shortcuts collapse common tasks into simple voice commands. Or create custom commands to insert blocks of texts or images--such as your name, title, and signature--with a single voice command. Edit and format text faster than ever with Quick Voice Formatting. You can even dictate into a handheld device when you’re away from your PC, or use a Bluetooth microphone.

Features:

• Up to 99-percent accurate and three times faster than typing: Most people speak over 120 words per minute, but type less than 40 words a minute. That means you can create documents and emails about three times faster with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Dragon never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more you use it!
• Easy to use: Dragon NaturallySpeaking installs quickly and requires no special script reading. New on-screen help and tutorials will make you an expert user in no time.
• Works with the applications you already have: use your voice to dictate, edit, and control applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and AOL.
• Simplify Web and desktop search with Dragon Voice Shortcuts: Use Dragon Voice Shortcuts to quickly search for information on the Web or on your own computer. Need to find some information on the Web? Just say "Search the Web for global warming articles," "Search Wikipedia for George Washington Carver," or "Search eBay for Batman comic books." Searching the Web or your computer has never been faster--or easier.
• Bluetooth support: use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Nuance-approved Bluetooth headsets for great dictation results without the wires.
• Be productive on the go: dictate into any Nuance-certified handheld device when you’re away from your desk for automatic transcription when you sync with your PC.

Customer Reviews

I am sure the software is great if Nuance would sell me a working copy
I have been a long term user of Dragon Dictate - Dragon Naturally Speaking having first bought into the software during version 3. Although I liked version 8 I have religiously upgraded to enhance the performance of this very complicated and what I hope to be useful software...this version promises to be the first that will be able to recognize more then one voice and reach 96% or better recognition. Which means I will finally be able to spend more time dictating then editing. That catch thus far has been Nuance. The DVD that came with my order has a corrupt file on it and I have emailed, I have called customer service who forwarded me to tech support which had a robot voice that told me that I might be charged $ 15.00 and should have my credit card ready and then was put on hold for a considerable amount of time...how long you might ask...the first day it was 42 minutes before I gave up and went back to work...I am not paid to sit on hold with the people I pay to sell me working software and my supervisor did not understand. Today I was on hold twice, the first time for about 33 minutes - when I had to go to a meeting and the second time for 72 minutes until the battery in my phone died. Another current concern is that Nuance's tech support is only open M-F from 9am to 8pm eastern time: meaning that I will have to wait another weekend to ask permission to use their software. I never talked to a tech support human being, but heard that they were busy serving other customers for a very long period of time. My guess is that there was a mistake someplace in production and none of the current copies are working and that is why everyone is calling. This does not mean that the software is not good and that my review will be as negative as this current (first one) once things are worked out on their end...I am strongly advising that you wait for them to get the bugs out of their support and DVDs prior to ordering.

Error messages
I have never used speech recognition software before. Therefore, I was very excited to try Dragon Naturally Speaking 10, Preferred version. I pre-ordered ($99.95) it a week before release and when I tried to install it on my eMachines T3025 I received several error messages that failed to tell me why the software would not install. After considerable time on hold (long distance telephone calls) I was informed by a very polite and heavily accented "technician" that my processor did not possess the 2EE instructions required by the software. Not to be deterred, I purchased a new Dell desktop computer with a Core 2 Quad processor featuring the 2EE instructions and more. Today, when I attempted to install the software, the installation failed. The error message was that the software does not support 64 bit. Nuance's web pages offerred no help that I could find. I dread the thought of additional long distance phone charges for being on extended hold; therefore, I'll post this on Amazon with a copy to Nuance. I have high hopes that someone more savvy than I can get me up and running. I'm waiting... :)

State-of-the-Art Voice Recognition
I'm surprised and confused about the negative reviews this product received. It works very well for its intended uses, assuming you take the time to tweak it and train it. I last used VR software about 10 years ago, when I was an editor for PC World Magazine. It was mainly a novelty back then, but is now a mature and effective product that takes advantage of the horsepower of today's computer systems.

Don't expect miracles, though. It's not 100% accurate, nor could it ever be considering the variations of context. I purchased this because I have bad shoulders, and long periods of typing are painful. Being able to speak instead of type is a godsend.