Command and Control of Your Computer with Dragon Naturally Speaking
by Allan Honrath
Of the various voice recognition software packages out today, Dragon Naturally Speaking stands out head and shoulders above the rest. It is not only because of the great features it provides; what you can do with this software will greatly improve the work you do. Command and control of your computer with Dragon will become second nature to you. You will not only be able to have your voice transcribed to printed text, like in Microsoft Word, but you will be able to do all these other productive things with the software:
-Email: Using only your voice, you can tell the software to open your email, put in your addressee, say what you want written in the text body, add an attachment, and then simply send it off.
-Social Networking: You now have at your control the ability to have your posts made by voice command to Facebook, Twitter and other social media, quicker and more simply.
-Schedule coordination: All your scheduling between work and home can now easily be kept up-to-date.
-Use your voice to get your assignments written and get them in ahead of time.
-Your writing: For many of us, there is always something new we need to be writing, whether it be responding to an email, writing a report on a new product or service, updating articles on your blog, or some copy for a piece you're doing for an ezine. What you can accomplish with this program, using your voice, is only limited by your imagination. Regardless of what profession you are in, Dragon Naturally Speaking can help you translate your thoughts into whatever written form you choose.
-Computer commands: In the newest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking, you can now use the program to control what you do on your computer. You can use it not only for launching your favorite applications, and opening and closing files, you even use it on the web to do your web surfing.
Not only can you open up your browser by voice command, you can look up your regular sites you go to, view maps of specific locations, and even check out your schedules online. With frequently used phrases you have, you can now insert these text blocks in any document using the new Custom Commands available. With just your voice, you can now handle a wide variety of tasks on your computer, faster and easier.
In the past, many physical disabilities kept people from getting the work done they wanted to on a computer. That is no longer the case. Regardless of most any physical impairment, you can now use voice commands to greatly improve your productivity because you no longer have the impediments you used to have. If you can speak, you can tell your computer what you want done, and get it done effectively.
Will your productivity improve?
Most of us, even if we took typing classes before we'd heard of such things as computers, never became speed typists. For those of us who continue to type out our work, if we type out 25 words per minute (wpm) with accuracy we are doing pretty good. The general rule is an average typist can type out 40 wpm. Obviously I don't fit that category! Thankfully with Dragon's software, it can process about 120 wpm, so for just about everybody, your output with this software will significantly improve your productivity.
Is Dragon software perfect?
It is very good, yet there are still some things you need to be aware of in using this software.
Though the headset that comes with the Dragon Naturally Speaking software is usually sufficient, if it is coupled with some of the basic sound cards on the market, it can pose some quality issues in terms of the software's output. The normal 99% accuracy may drop because of the external noise that is picked up along with the sound of your voice. To correct this issue, most times purchasing either a higher quality headset such as the Andreas (NC-181VM) headset, or a better quality sound card, will clear up the issue. The Andreas headset can usually be found on Amazon.
Another concern is having sufficient memory and processing power. The recommendations are that you have at least 2 GB RAM with an XP or Vista install, while for Windows 7 or Windows Server 2003/2008 you should have at least 4 GB RAM. For your processor, an Intel Dual 1.8 GHz core processor or AMD equivalent is required. Also, be aware that the SSE2 instruction set is needed for this software.
All things considered, with the improvements made right out of the box, and with the extra training you do with the software to your voice, you will find big improvements in your productivity, allowing you more time to do the things you want. Doesn't get any better than that! Plus, you always have the 30-day money back guarantee for that extra measure of peace of mind. Enjoy!
About the Author:
Allan Honrath has worked in the computer industry for 15 years and is continually on the lookout for products that will help improve the work you do on your computer. You can check out his reviews at
Dragon Naturally Speaking Review, and
Dragon Demos.
You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2011-10-03 from IP 203.109.66.181
To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:
To unsubscribe please use the following link:
Unsubscribe