ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Preferred [Old Version] | ![ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Preferred [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5140TC20ZPL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | From: Nuance Communications, Inc.
Category: Software
List Price: $199.99
Buy Used: $55.00
You Save: $144.99 (72%)
Used (6) from $55.00
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 1970
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows Xp
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Preferred
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 2.8 x 7.9
MPN: e68362
Model: A109A-G00-8.0
UPC: 780420112254
EAN: 0780420112254
ASIN: B0003009IK
Release Date: November 4, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Speech recognition software for dictating, editing, and controlling applications | | • | Listen to incoming e-mail read aloud; search the Web by speaking URLs and links | | • | Use dictation shortcuts to insert text or bitmaps with a single voice command | | • | Dictate directly into a PC or any Scansoft-approved handheld digital recorder | | • | Works with Corel WordPerfect and virtually all Windows-based applications |
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Product Description
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Preferred will change the way you think about PCs. You'll be faster, and have more fun, as you create letters, reports, and e-mails -- all by speaking. Just talk, and you can surf the web, open and close applications, even control your mouse and the entire desktop! Be productive when you're on the go -- Import recordings from any ScanSoft-certified handheld device for automatic transcription
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
 Better than expected. February 3, 2008
Michael J. Osmond
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this software for a friend that has MS. She is wheelchair bound and has no movement except from her neck up. I purchased the computer system for her and this program. It was a learning experience for both of us. It took a couple hours a day, for a few days, but the training was enjoyable and very productive. It's as if she has a new life now. She's online every afternoon and says the time goes too fast. Before this, she was stuck in front of her TV every day, all day.
She can surf the net now better than most people that aren't handicapped. She is constantly sending and receiving and forwarding email. Her daugher emails her photos of the grand kids and she can print them out herself and save them to her photo folder. She can watch videos and listen to her country music, without any assistance. It's totally amazing what she can do by just talking to her computer. This program is definitely worth the money for someone with limited mobility. I highly recommend it.
Been using this for years - now I know some key secrets to accurate recognition June 2, 2007
Antonia M, PhD (New York, NY)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
When I first got this program yeas ago, I wasn't even close to 90% accuracy. Plus, the results were inconsistent. I do a lot of writing and seminars and I can't type anywhere near as quickly as ideas come to my mind. I still have my old, slow computer - Windows 2000, 866Mhz, and I think 300+MB of RAM but I'm now getting consistent accurate results: 94% - 98% on long dictations. 96%-100% on shorter ones. The biggest difference? THE MICROPHONE!
I recently bought a professional, studio microphone specifically for voice. I didn't buy it for Dragon. I bought it to record professional quality speeches and presentations for Web, CD, & DVD. I had abandoned Dragon but decided to give it another chance with the new microphone. Without retraining it, accuracy shot through the roof! So, Dragon is back in the mix.
The other tricks I learned (mostly because my computer is old, slow and doesn't have a lot of memory):
1. Frequently I make an audio recording on my computer first and then transcribe it--especially if it's going to be long. That way I don't have to worry about Dragon running out of memory on me.
2. Having an audio backup is also helpful because Dragon doesn't misspell words. It puts in the word it "thinks" you said. If you forget what you said and Dragon's guess isn't close enough, you may not be able to figure it out. The "Play that Back" feature doesn't have unlimited capacity and the voice recording doesn't get saved with the dictation.
I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 5 only because even though it does work, you need the right equipment and a lot of training time (or at least I did). It's not ready to go out of the box. I don't think you'll need a $200-$300 professional recording microphone like the one I bought, but I think you will likely have to invest in something.
 Not able to use this product--most women voices won't work May 15, 2007
D. Christofferson (Queen Creek, AZ United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was never able to calibrate this product to my voice--I do not have an overly high pitched voice, but the volume was not enough to calibrate and make the product ready to use. It needs an amplifier. So it obviously is not tested with enough women. This is similar to many of the voice recorders on the market that you install and get the volume set to match your voice.
It was a waste of money --other men I know used it with absolutely no problem, or deeper voiced women. again, poor product testing--obviously mostly on men. Women buy these products too, and Scansoft or whoever owns the company needs to suck it up and make this stuff work for the whole population. OR say MEN or DEEPER VOICES ONLY on their boxes and marketing collateral.
 Mediocre. March 21, 2007
A. Steckel (Washington, DC, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mediocre at best. The first time I used this software was a few versions back - and it was positively worthless. But when I saw that at least three upgrades had been made, I figured the improvement would be huge. In reality, the improvement was noticible, but just barely.
My biggest complaint: after lengthy additional time spent training it to recognize your voice, it doesn't seem to get any better at it. If there was any improvement at all following the additional voice training, it was hardly noticible.
In addition, I tried to pick out "problem words" and train them separately (which it allows you to do), but it s still got them wrong! What's that all about?
For kicks, here's a sample of it's accuracy (copy pasted directy from my actual experiment):
"Okay can use he by the dog's early light,
what so proudly we hail at the twilight last gleaming,
Who's all stripes and bright stars, drew the Earl and let's fight,
Or the ramparts we watched were soaked gallantly streaming,
End the Rockets there, the bombs bursting in air,
gave proof through the night that flight was the air."
Okay, so it isn't horrible - and it got some parts right that I figured it would fumble ("gallantly streaming" woo hoo!) But it also got other parts totally wrong that I thought should have been easy.
In short, there were far too many simple, common words that the software still struggles with - for instance, the word "common" itself came up as "come" "comma" "Compton" "Holman" - everything but "common" EVEN AFTER I TRAINED IT ON THAT SINGLE WORD, ARG! And what the heck is a "Holman" anyway?
In short, by the time I went through the resulting text, located, and cleaned up all the errors, I might as well had just typed it out manually. I was really looking forward to this being a time saver, but in the end, it's little more than an amusing toy - not very useful for professional work or solving real world problems.
But who knows, maybe another 3, 4 or 10 versions from now Nuance will actually get it right!
ScanSoft Dragon (Old Version) November 3, 2006
Shelia K. Martin (Liberty, Ky. U.S.A.)
The program has worked really well for my son. He is in medical school, and he uses it just about everyday. He records his class, and that way he can set and really listen instead of trying to get notes. Then when he gets home he prints off the notes. I only wish we could have gotten the newer version, but I was told I had to have the first before I could add
the second program.
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