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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box

From: Nuance Communications, Inc.
Category: Software

List Price: ~~$199.99~~
Buy New: $143.00
as of 9/8/2010 20:54 CDT details
You Save: $56.99 (28%)

Seller: Wings to Fly Away
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

236 reviews

Format: CD-ROM
Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Preferred
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 2.8

MPN: A109AG00100
Model: A109A-G01-10.0
UPC: 780420118782
EAN: 0780420118652

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

•	Offers unprecedented speech recognition with unrivaled accuracy levels
•	Dictate and edit in virtually any Windows application, including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and AOL
•	Easily create and edit documents and spreadsheets, compose emails and instant messages, or surf the Web just by speaking
•	Quick Voice Formatting commands allow users to issue a single voice command to make deleting and formatting text faster than ever
•	Use the included high-quality headset, work with a Bluetooth microphone, or even dictate into a digital recorder when away from the PC

Create Email, Documents and Spreadsheets--All by Voice

Accurate speech recognition for PC applications
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred offers unprecedented speech recognition with unrivaled accuracy levels: up to 20% fewer speech recognition errors out of the box than Version 9, and about half the amount of errors that the product delivered just five years ago. Users gain the added benefit of avoiding spelling errors and typing mistakes. In fact, the product actually learns from corrections over time.

Works with the applications users already have
Dictate directly into Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook Express and most other Microsoft Office applications running on Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Vista. Dragon also supports popular programs such as Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and AOL. Navigate the desktop by voice: launch or switch applications, save or print documents, and more--even control menus and dialog boxes.

Create and edit documents and spreadsheets by voice
Users can easily create documents and spreadsheets, or edit existing ones, simply by speaking. Add custom words, such as proper names, to the system's vocabulary or create commands, such as "insert signature," so that pre-set text and images will automatically appear in email and documents. Plus, Dragon enables easy correction and proofing: with the "play back" feature, users can listen to their dictation while Dragon highlights the corresponding text on the screen for easy proofreading.

Quick Voice Formatting commands allow users to issue a single voice command, such as "Bold Quick Voice Formatting," to make formatting and deleting text faster than ever. In addition, the extensive set of Natural Language Commands mean users don't have to memorize complex instructions. In Microsoft Word, for example, a user can say, "make that bigger," and the font size increases instantly.

Dragon 10 introduces new graphical icons to enhance the DragonBar user interface, making the product even easier to use!

Send email, Instant Messages and Surf the Web--All by Voice
Users can browse the Internet with ease: search the Web, access information and navigate Web pages, simply by speaking URLs and links.

Dragon Voice Shortcuts to Perform Tasks Faster Than Ever
Dragon Voice Shortcuts for Web Search make searching the Web faster and easier. A user says a command containing his desired search words, such as "Search the Web for financial management resources," or "Search maps for Italian restaurants in Burlington, Massachusetts," and Dragon 10 will use the default search engine and Web browser to enter his dictated term(s) in the search field and return the results. A user may also search specific sites or search the Web for a specific type of information using commands such as "Search Wikipedia for George Washington Carver," or "Search eBay for Bluetooth headsets." Sites supported by Dragon Voice Shortcuts include Google, Yahoo, eBay, Wikipedia, YouTube and more.

Dragon Voice Shortcuts for Desktop Search introduce commands to search the computer as directly as the Web, by dictating the word(s) to find documents, emails and Web browsing history. For example, a user can say, "Search computer for launch plans," and Dragon will complete the search using Google Desktop or Windows Vista desktop search. In addition, commands such as, "Find an email about the Robinson report" directly open the top email containing the dictated keywords. Searching the computer has never been faster--or easier.

Dictate into a handheld recorder for later transcription
Be productive on the go. Users can dictate into any Nuance-certified digital recorder when they're away from the office for automatic transcription when it is synched with a PC.

User Benefits

Faster than Typing
Most people speak more than 120 words per minute but type less than 40 words a minute. That means users can create documents and email messages more than three times faster using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred. The software never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more it's used.

Easy to Use--Get Started Right Away
Dragon NaturallySpeaking installs quickly and requires no special script reading. New on-screen help and tutorials help users become experts in no time. Users can dictate letters and emails instantly! A comfortable, high-quality headset is included.

Bluetooth Support
Use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with a Nuance-approved Bluetooth wireless headset for great dictation results--without the wires.

Avoid Repetitive Strain Injuries
By using voice to control the PC and create documents, users reduce their risk of developing repetitive strain injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Key Feature Differences Between Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred	Dragon 10 Professional	Dragon 10 Preferred
Create documents, emails, reports and spreadsheets simply by speaking; surf the Web by voice	•	•
Up to 99% accuracy--right out of the box	•	•
Words appear on the screen faster than ever	•	•
No enrollment required--get started instantly	•	•
New on-screen help and tutorials--be an expert user right away	•	•
Dictate directly into virtually any Microsoft Windows application and control menus and dialog boxes by voice	•	•
Dragon Voice Shortcuts to speed Web and desktop search	•	•
Automatically transcribe recordings from Nuance-approved handheld recorders or Pocket PCs	•	•
Wireless microphone support, including Bluetooth	•	•
Play back your dictation for easier correction and proofing	•	•
Natural commands for Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Excel	•
Dragon Voice Shortcuts to speed email and calendar entries	•
Create custom voice commands to automate complex or repetitive document creation tasks	•
Fully network compatible for multiple users	•
Central network administration tools for installation and user profile management	•
Security features for enterprise deployments	•
Support for Citrix environments	•
Section 508 certified to give people with disabilities complete hands-free use of the PC	•

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 236

1 2 3 4 5 6 ...48 Next »

Works Perfectly For Me August 30, 2008
D. Savaya (Sterling Heights, MI USA)
432 out of 440 found this review helpful

The only reason I'm reviewing this upgraded version of Dragon is because of all the negative reviews I have read. To be perfectly honest, I was hesitant to install the software because of all the problems I was reading about in the past 10 days. I received the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 CD almost a week ago and have not installed it for fear I would mess up my computer, LOL. Finally, after reading all the negative comments and doing a lot of research on installing the program, I crossed my fingers and took the chance.

I can say in all honesty that it installed without a hitch. I receive no error messages, no constant reboot requests, no lost user files, nothing. Everything went smoothly. I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 preferred for the past two years and decided to upgrade because of the faster recognition and updated features. After inserting the Dragon 10 CD in the drive, the software loaded and proceeded to install. It recognized that I had a previous version installed and asked if I wanted to keep my user files for the new version. I clicked yes and the software did the rest.

I am using the program to dictate this review right now. It is very fast and accurate as you can tell. The words appear on the page much faster than version 9. When they say it's 20% faster, I think that is accurate. I am also noticing many less errors in recognizing my words. I'm not sure if that's because of my extensive user file or simply because the software is better.

If you are on the fence about purchasing the software, you can wait for an updated version or do what I did and upgrade now. I'm glad I did even though there were so many discouraging reviews on Amazon and other websites. My experience was trouble-free and I hope yours will be also if you purchase and eventually install the software.

5 out of 5 stars

Very accurate! August 24, 2008
N. Nielsen (USA)
59 out of 60 found this review helpful

Very accurate. I was using version 9 preferred at work (for medical dictations), and I just got version 10 preferred and imported my user files from my previous version. I use PREFERRED instead of MEDICAL, for obvious reasons: $$$. The software engine is the same and the vocabulary is there for the most part... it just doesn't prioritize the medical words when you first start using the software. In my case, the software added a bunch of words from my documents, that it didn't know previously. It took me about one hour to train each word separetely, including expressions such as "BID", "qHS", etc. After doing this the accuracy improved significantly, as it now prioritizes the words that I trained.

It took some effort, especially in the beginning, to correct the mistakes so it could learn not only from my style, but also for it to learn to prioritize medical words. A tip: when you correct a word, especially if you spell the new word, TRAIN that word. When I do that it will not make the mistake again.

As they state, version 10 might not work with EMR... but I don't know. I use mostly Access to generate my notes, and sometimes Word, so I wouldn't know. I bet you can use the dragon note pad and then cut-paste into your EMR.

Again... it takes a little bit of effort in the beginning to have it work well in the medical field. I'd say in one or 2 weeks - assuming you correct the mistakes and train the words - it should be pretty close, if not just as good as the medical version. That's not to say it would completely replace the medical version, especially if you need features such as saving the audio along with the document for someone else to review the dictations.

Macros are possible with Preferred 10 and are a great feature!!! For example, you can create a voice command that will generate a big "canned" chunk of text, when you say only a couple of words. I precede all of them with the word "macro", in order to be easier for me to access them in my brain. For example... when I say "Macro Muffin", the program types "The patient was instructed and encouraged to control his caloric intake, monitor his blood sugar closely, exercise at least 3 times a week, increase fiber intake and avoid foods that are rich in fats and carbohydrates."

INSTALLATION: I tried installing it in my personal tablet PC... which I don't use very much for dictations, and I had the same "runtime C++" error that others mentioned. It might be because it runs Windows XP tablet edition and it has a Centrino 1GHz processor. At work I use a Pentium 4 with Xindows XP Professional, and 1GB of RAM and it installed very easily. I don't use the headset that came with the software, even though it's accepable. I got a Logitech USB desktop noise-cancelling microphone and it works great.

I hope this helps. I've been able to generate very complete notes with this software, and save a LOT of time.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent if you use it propoerly & warning to 64 bit OS users November 1, 2009
Michael Sandman (Brookline, MA United States)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

WARNING #1: If you have the 64-bit Vista or Windows 7, Version 10 will not install! After you buy Version 10, you have to download version 10.1 from the Nuance website. (You'll need your product key to do that.) If you have 64-bit XP, don't buy this product, as Version 10.1 doesn't support 6-bit XP. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably have a 32-bit operating system and you can use either Version 10 or Version 10.1. If you use Version 10, download the service pack.

Version 10.1 runs under Windows 7, and I am using it on a Windows 7 64-bit system to write this review.

Warning #2: After 90 days Nuance charges for tech support, and the support is mediocre.

Advice #1: Get a headset with a USB connection! It transmits sound digitally. The program's accuracy is far higher than it is with an analog headset that plugs into the headphone & mic jacks.

Advice #2: Run the 15 minutes of training that's offered when you start the program the first time. It helps the program adjust to your microphone and your accent (and we all have one).

Advice #3: Under Tools/Accuracy Center, there's a way to teach the program to understand your speech pattern better by analyzing all the corrections you've made. Run that after every few hours of dictation after you've first installed the program. You can even set it up to run automatically by clicking on Tools/Options.

Advice #4: You can download the full manual and quick start sheets from the Nuance support web site. If the program's new to you, do it and read the material.

My guess is that many of the unfavorable reviews are from people who didn't do those four things.

And now, the review. The first time I tried Naturally Speaking it came free with a circa 1998 computer. It was horribly inaccurate. I bought Version 4 or 5 couple of years later after reading a good review. I've upgraded almost every time a version has come out because the program keeps getting better. Version 10 gets a 5-star rating, one more than Version 9 woud have. At this point the program is accurate about 99% of the time. Right out of the box is understands many proper names (companies, cities etc.). It learns to spell special words if you take the time to train it. It even learns your particular speech pattern and accent. It's also capable of entering strings of numbers into the cells of an Excel spreadsheet, and you can use it to fill in long forms on the monitor.

Still, you have to proof read carefully. Once in a while -- maybe every couple of pages of dictation -- it will turn out gibberish by stringing together perfectly spelled words that make no sense. That's part the 1% error rate to have to be aware of. Then you have to watch for situations where it mishandles homonyms - "two" instead of "too" etc. Catching that 1% can take a bit of time, but the program does slowly learn to do better, and it will learn faster if you take the time to train it.

Despite time needed to catch errors, Naturally Speaking is much quicker than typing for anyone who's not a good touch typist. (I'm a 66 year old male and I didn't learn typing in high school, so this thing is great for me.) For anything longer than a page, if you can dictate in phrases rather than word by word, it's highly accurate and more efficient than typing. It's also a lot easier on your fingers. After all, your tongue is immune from carpal tunnel syndrome.

The software keeps up easily with a normal speech pattern on a fast computer. On a computer with 1GB or less of memory you may want to dictate mostly into the "Dragon Pad" box that you can get from the Tools menu. That opens up an applet that saves files in a format that can be reopened in Word or WordPerfect for further formatting.

5 out of 5 stars

A dyslexic's review. June 17, 2009
Bradly D. Elder (Crete, NE United States)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

The basics, I am dyslexic, I have my PhD in biology, and typing is an unbelievable pain. Not only do I have difficulty spelling I jumble my typing (so spellcheck is useless). I started using the Dragon product when it used to be called DragonDictate (it was a $5,000 program back then).

This is by far the best version of the program so far. The voice recognition is far superior to the latest version I used (8) and the speed of recognition, the speed at which I can speak, is far superior. I compare this product to giving someone a wheelchair who does not have legs. Even primitive wheelchairs are generally beneficial to no wheelchair for these individuals. But even the nicest electric wheelchair will probably be an annoyance for someone who can walk easily. For instance, moving quickly around your office or your room is far easier to do with legs than a wheelchair. However when the distance is great people with legs often use motorized wheelchairs (we call them cars). I suspect, people who tend to write a lot for a long time will find this program wonderful. But if you are firing off a quick e-mail you might find this more cumbersome.
I will also tell you, that this is like playing tennis. You are not going to get it accurate on the first try. The program itself will do an outstanding job of recognizing what you say. The problem will be in how you say it. We do not realize how much we slur and blend our words together as we speak. Our brain is capable of separating slurred words and making sense of someone else's slurred speech easily. Dragon NaturallySpeaking cannot do that yet. So the training is not in the program. The training is in you. It takes time to learn to speak clearly. When I'm tired I can really struggle with the program but rarely is the mistake due to the program. Out-of-the-box, after the initial quick training, I can get 90% accuracy easily. but I cannot stress enough that this is simply because I know how to talk to the program. You need to say each word completely. In version 10 you need even less time between each word. Another common mistake is to drag out long words. "Al blood draws" versus albatross.

Over my 15 years of working with this program I have taught a lot of people how to use it (probably more than 100) very few of them loved it right out of the box. Individuals with a handicap eventually love the program. I personally know of no one who can type easily that enjoys working with this program. But you can see the testimonials testimonials of people who do all over the web.
So what are the drawbacks of this program in general? First, dictating requires privacy. You cannot sit down at the coffee shop and use this program. While that seems obvious the real problem comes when you're working in an office situation or a classroom. When I use this program I have to close my office door. This goes against my open door policy which means I often use this program in the evening. I have to use this program away from my family as well. Composing letters and written articles is a surprisingly personal endeavor. Even when my wife is working in another room I am self-conscious about speaking loud enough that she can hear my typing. We often make mistakes/change our mind etc. This will be true too if you're sitting in a dorm room. To make this program work you are going to need to find a quiet space. With a little forethought this is easy. But like wheelchair ramps, there are not enough of them.
The second problem, if you sneeze and Dragon NaturallySpeaking thinks you said cow, then it has just learned a word incorrectly. In the original versions of DragonDictate you could tell the computer that that noise was a mistake and to pay no attention to it. In the entire NaturallySpeaking line that option has been removed. This means that over a longtime (a year or so) the program actually starts becoming less efficient. The number of times there'll be odd noises in the background that will be recorded, the number of times you start to say a word stop and change your mind mid-word, etc. will be substantial. To fix the reduction in accuracy you simply need to erase your user file and start over. Like I said, out of the box I am about 90% accurate.
The third problem, Dragon NaturallySpeaking does not work at 100% efficiency in all text windows. In this form for instance the program does a poor job of going back and correcting words. Even so, it dramatically increases my ability to chat in different programs. If the program is poorly compatible with Dragon, I open up a program like Microsoft Word, dictate in that program then cut and paste into the chat program I'm using.

Also if your computer is a 64-bit computer you will need version 10.1. Unless it specifically says it's for 64-bit computers you have version 10. The upshot is that version 10.0 is the most common version for sale at the moment. And as a new version is out, the older version is substantially cheaper. You can buy the older version and upgrade for free at Dragon naturally speaking's webpage. (It's a long download but it is the entire program, not a patch.)

Should you get the standard or the preferred edition? For me, the only reason I bought the preferred edition is that it supports wireless headsets. Otherwise I would've purchased the standard edition.

If you're in doubt, my general advice is to buy it. Being out $100 for the opportunity to dramatically increase your productivity over the course of the next three years (until a new version comes out) is a fairly good bargain.

5 out of 5 stars

changed my life! November 19, 2008
Peter Gordon Scott (Seattle)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have never written a review before but I have to say that this product is one of the best things that I've ever bought. I am a terrible typer and this allows me to write reports about twice as fast and without all the headache of correction. I almost didn't buy this product because of all of the terrible reviews on Amazon.com.

It seems that if you are using Vista, or are an English as a 2nd language student, or have a very old computer then you might have problems using Dragon. I have 2 GB of RAM on 2005 HP Pavilion laptop running XP

I understand that people are not happy with tech support but I have yet to use it. Also when loading the software I also faced a C++ error message that was a headache but I was able to fix it with a simple Google search.

Last year I had my Mac stolen, but now I couldn't be happier because now I can use the software on my new XP, that I couldn't have used if I still had a Mac.

I'm using the software to type this review and I would say that it has made perhaps 2 errors, but that is understandable given that sometimes I speak quickly and there is some ambiguity in what I'm writing.

I can honestly say that the software has changed my life. I love my job now!

Showing reviews 1-5 of 236

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box

Create Email, Documents and Spreadsheets--All by Voice

User Benefits

Key Feature Differences Between Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred

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