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WHAT IS
CONTINUOUS SPEECH RECOGNITION?
Continuous speech recognition is
when you can speak at the same pace as most of your conversations and your
spoken words are transcribed immediately onto your computer screen.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses continuous speech, or natural speech.
This eliminates the need to insert a pause between every word. Just talk
to your PC naturally, at a conversational pace. Your sentences appear
immediately on your screen and in your document. Dictate entire paragraphs
at a time. Compose e-mail messages, create reports, draft letters, and
edit proposals just by speaking.
Many people find Dragon NaturallySpeaking helps them to be more
productive. As you can see in the example below, Dragon NaturallySpeaking
is faster than typing.
Typing at 50 net words per minute, a person produces a 3-page, 900-word
document in 18 minutes.
Dictating 140-160 net words per minute, a person produces a 3-page,
900-word document in less than 6.5 minutes.
**(Net words per minute determined by measuring a person's average
gross speed in words per minute and subtracting the number of errors
made.)
WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
FOR L&H’S DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING VERSION 5?
For English:
- Windows® 98, 2000, Millennium, or Windows NT® 4.0 (with SP-6 or
greater)
- 266 MHz processor
- 64 MB RAM
- 150 MB free disk space
- Dragon Systems-certified sound card (hardware compatibility list at
http://www.dragonsys.com/support)
- CD-ROM for installation
- Speakers
- Noise-canceling headset microphone (included)
Other language products have not been released yet and may have
slightly different system requirements.
WILL NATURALLYSPEAKING WORK UNDER WINDOWS 95?
NaturallySpeaking should function properly on Windows 95 computers.
However, the product was not as extensively tested on Windows 95 as it was
on Windows 98 and higher machines. Customers are strongly encouraged to
use NaturallySpeaking with one of the operating systems listed under the
system requirements.
WHAT PROCESSORS ARE SUPPORTED BY
NATURALLYSPEAKING?
NaturallySpeaking has been optimized for a variety of popular processors,
including the upcoming Intel Pentium IV chipset – as well as the Intel
Pentium III, Intel Pentium II, Intel Pentium with MMX™, Intel Celeron,
AMD K6®-2, AMD K6-III with 3DNow!™, and AMD Athlon.
DOES THE PRODUCT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE UPCOMING
PENTIUM IV CHIPSET FROM INTEL?
Yes. Tests on prototypes of the new Intel processor revealed measurable
improvements in performance from optimizations implemented in the
NaturallySpeaking code.
IS MY COMPUTER POWERFUL ENOUGH? HOW WILL MY
SYSTEM PERFORM?
NaturallySpeaking uses sophisticated acoustic and language models to
interpret your speech and turn it into text. The program checks your
computer’s specifications to determine which set of speech models it
will install on your computer. Computers that just meet the minimum system
requirements will receive the base models; while a Pentium IV computer
with 128 MB of RAM would receive the most sophisticated models available.
Whichever the case, the program will adjust itself to the processor and
memory of your computer to provide the best combination of accuracy and
speed possible.
WHAT RETAIL PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE?
There are four retail products available in the United States: Essentials,
Standard, Preferred, and Preferred USB.
WHOM ARE THEY FOR? WHY WOULD SOMEONE BUY THEM?
NaturallySpeaking Essentials is an introductory product for people who
want to try out speech recognition software. It lets you surf the web,
e-mail, and chat in chat rooms, all by voice.
NaturallySpeaking Standard is for the more casual, home user. It’s
great for simple word processing tasks, including writing letters and
e-mails.
NaturallySpeaking Preferred is designed for small office, home office,
and other business users. It’s for more serious document creation and
revision, such as business letters, e-mails, and reports.
NaturallySpeaking Preferred USB is especially useful for laptop
computer owners, as it combines the Preferred software with a USB
microphone for consistently high accuracy even on laptops. (Many laptops
have poor quality sound systems or no sound system at all – the USB
microphone bypasses the internal sound system of a computer.)
WHAT DO THEY COST?
- Essentials - $59.
- Standard - $109.
- Preferred - $199.
- Preferred USB - $249.
(These prices are suggested retail prices.)
HAS THE ACCURACY IMPROVED?
We’ve always worked to improve the accuracy of our products, and version
5 is no exception. We’ve also added features to help improve the
accuracy as you use the product, such as the Add Words from Document
feature. The advancements in our technology, coupled with today’s faster
computers, make for a more accurate product than previous versions. (Note
that different people experience different degrees of improvement in
accuracy.)
HOW DOES NATURALLYSPEAKING MAKE CORRECTIONS
EASIER?
NaturallySpeaking now includes a Quick Correct feature – a more
streamlined method of correcting errors. A drop-down list appears when you
select words in our editor, suggesting possible alternatives for what you
had spoken. It’s very similar to the little spell-check list that
appears in Microsoft Word.
DOES THE QUICK CORRECT LIST WORK IN ALL
APPLICATIONS?
At this time the Quick Correct list is only available in the DragonPad
application.
WHAT IS THE TUTORIAL? WHAT ARE ITS BENEFITS?
The tutorial is a step-by-step introduction to dictation. It starts with
lessons showing how to turn the microphone on and off, moves on to
learning to dictate, and ends with some examples of navigating through a
document and correcting mistakes. Lessons have a "Try It" button
so that after each concept you can actually try out the task. With the
tutorial’s guidance, customers become proficient with the program very
quickly. The tutorial is included in the Standard, Preferred, and
Preferred USB editions.
WHAT DO I NEED TO RUN THE TUTORIAL?
On top of the minimum system requirements, you will need the Windows Media
Player utility to view the videos. Most systems already have this utility
installed. If your system does not already have Windows Media Player, you
can download it from the Microsoft web site.
HOW HAS WEB BROWSING BY VOICE IMPROVED WITH
VERSION 5?
With version 5 you can now choose options from radio buttons, toggle
checkboxes, switch between frames, and follow image links all by voice
using Microsoft® Internet Explorer. We have also improved the way you can
follow links which share the same name.
HOW CAN YOU TELL THE SOFTWARE WHICH LINK TO
FOLLOW WHEN THEY SHARE THE SAME NAME?
If hypertext links share the same name, NaturallySpeaking displays choice
numbers next to each of the options. Just as when you are correcting, you
can say "choose two" to select which link you wish to follow.
CAN I STILL DO EVERYTHING I COULD DO IN VERSION
4?
Yes – you can still jump to links, go to Favorite web sites, enter Web
addresses, move around Web documents, dictate into forms, click buttons,
and more, all by voice.
CAN I DO WEB-BROWSING WITH NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR
At this time, no. However, you can still dictate directly into
Netscape’s text fields.
HOW HAS NATURALLYSPEAKING IMPROVED E-MAIL
MANAGEMENT?
With NaturallySpeaking you can now manage your incoming and outgoing
e-mail. You can dictate e-mails into your favorite e-mail programs, such
as Microsoft Outlook. You can also use built-in voice commands to check
mail, compose and reply to messages, navigate fields, and so forth.
Some example commands include: Check for New Mail, Send E-mail, Reply
to Message, Go to Cc: Field, Print E-Mail, and Forward Message.
WHICH E-MAIL PROGRAMS DOES NATURALLYSPEAKING
SUPPORT?
You can create and manage e-mail by voice in popular programs such as
- Microsoft® Outlook (97, 98, 2000) and Outlook Express (v5)
- Qualcomm® Eudora Pro (v4.3)
- Netscape® Messenger (v4.73)
- AOL (v4 and v5)
I HAVE A DIFFERENT E-MAIL PROGRAM. CAN I USE
NATURALLYSPEAKING WITH MY PROGRAM?
Yes, you can still dictate directly into any Windows program, including
other e-mail programs. You can also use our improved web-browsing features
to work with Web-based e-mail programs such as Yahoo! and Hotmail. You may
not, however, have access to all of the built-in commands.
HOW CAN I ADD TERMINOLOGY QUICKLY?
The Add Words from Document feature will scan your electronic documents
for unfamiliar words and update the built-in vocabulary appropriately.
This functionality allows you to achieve higher accuracy levels by
focusing the program on the personal or industry-specific words you use on
a day-to-day basis.
HOW IS THE ADD WORDS FROM DOCUMENT FEATURE
DIFFERENT FROM THE VOCABULARY BUILDER?
Both features accomplish the same task – adding words to your vocabulary
and helping the program to understand the way you write. The Add Words
from Document feature is designed to be a faster, easier way to accomplish
this task. The Vocabulary Builder is a more full-featured tool with
additional options available for more advanced users.
HOW DO I TELL IF MY COMPUTER IS FAST ENOUGH TO
LEARN MY VOICE AFTER 5 MINUTE OF READING?
All computers meeting the minimum requirement of 266 MHz are now fast
enough learn your voice after 5 minutes of reading.
IS IT REALLY ONLY 5 MINUTES?
After installing the program and creating your user profile, you only need
to read to the computer for about 5 minutes. The computer will take
additional time to process your voice. Depending on the speed of your
computer, this could take anywhere from 1-15 minutes.
HOW DO I SWITCH TO A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE?
The Preferred edition of Spanish, German, Italian, and French products
(when released) will include English as a dictation language. The Dutch
product comes with French, German, and English. You can create a user
profile in any one of the included languages, and the program will switch
to the appropriate language when you choose to open that user profile.
Customers using the English version will have to purchase other
language versions of the product separately, when they are available.
These will install in the same directory as the original English product
to make the alternate language available.
CAN I MIX AND MATCH DIALECTS? IN OTHER WORDS,
DICTATE IN AN AMERICAN ACCENT BUT WITH BRITISH SPELLINGS?
At this time, no. The dialects and spellings are paired; so the U.S.
dialect comes with U.S. spellings, while the UK, Indian, Australian, and
SE Asian dialects come with British spellings.
WHAT ARE DICTATION SHORTCUTS?
Dictation shortcuts are a new feature available in Preferred and higher
editions. A dictation shortcut lets you say merely a few words to enter a
block of text into your documents.
AREN’T DICTATION SHORTCUTS JUST MACROS, LIKE
IN THE PROFESSIONAL EDITION OF NATURALLYSPEAKING?
The dictation shortcut feature can enter blocks of text, but not function
keys or combinations of keystrokes. The scripting language available in
the Professional edition permits more powerful macros and task automation
than is possible with a dictation shortcut.
Information about the features of the Professional edition of
NaturallySpeaking will be in a separate FAQ once the Professional edition
becomes available.
DIDN’T OLDER VERSIONS OF NATURALLYSPEAKING
HAVE DICTATION SHORTCUTS?
Previous versions of NaturallySpeaking allowed you to replace a phrase
with up to 128 characters but without tabs or new lines. This feature was
referred to as "dictation shorthands." All editions of version 5
still have this feature available from the Vocabulary Editor.
WHICH PROGRAMS SUPPORT SELECT-AND-SAY™
EDITING?
The following programs support select-and-say editing with
NaturallySpeaking:
- DragonPad
- Microsoft Word 97 or Word 2000
- Corel WordPerfect 8 or 9
- Microsoft Chat 2.1 or 2.5
- GoldMine 4.0
- Internet Explorer 4 or 5
- Microsoft Outlook 97, 98, or 2000 (editing with plain text, rich
text, or Word 2000)
- WordPad
- NotePad
WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN CHANGED OR IMPROVED IN VERSION 5?
There have been many other minor improvements to version 5 from previous
versions, including but not limited to:
- Automatic selection of appropriate speech models
- Better support for Word and WordPerfect
- Select-and-say editing in Microsoft Outlook
- Number Mode for dictating into spreadsheets
- Spell Mode for unfamiliar words
- Streamlined user creation
- Improved setup wizards
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