Trends August 2005

One of the many of the trends that our typical voice recognition software user has been moving towards is more mobile, portable and wireless options for remote dictation. When voice recognition software first came out many years ago, about the only option a user had was to dictate directly into a desktop PC. As laptops evolved and became faster and just about as powerful as the desktop PC, voice recognition software users were granted a bit more flexibility concerning when and where they dictated. Then came the release of high-quality digital recorders which allowed for mobile dictation but the digital recorders of a few years ago had lower sampling rates than those of today, and left a great deal to be desired as far as speech accuracy once the voice was converted to .wav file format and then transcribed by Dragon NaturallySpeaking®. Today's recorders such as the Sony BM-1 and the Olympus DS-2200 offer some of the highest sampling rates of any digital recorder which equates to a higher degree of voice recognition accuracy; almost the same percentage accuracy as live dictation using a headset plugged into a PC sound card.

For the ultimate in mobile dictation, many users are starting to become more familiar with tablet PCs which offer wireless portability for dictation, yet weigh just a few pounds and are about the size of a standard legal pad. These completely self-contained tablet PCs offer the same power as many desktop and laptop computers but with a new degree of mobility that users had not experienced before. Some of the new models from Motion Computing such as the LE1600 and the LS800 offer superb accuracy with Dragon NaturallySpeaking even with the built-in array microphone, which up until now was almost unheard of. For those who still want to have a keyboard and mouse, most tablet PCs can be plugged into a docking station and thus can also have a keyboard and mouse available. In Trends, we see a great future and much potential in tablet PCs for use with voice recognition software. If one of the slight disadvantages of a tablet PC is its lack of a standard keyboard, the use of voice recognition software certainly remedies the situation by giving the ability to the user to compose text at up to 160 words per minute with up to 99% accuracy.

The first environment where the combination of the tablet PC and voice recognition software seems to make the most sense is the medical field. Imagine a physician or nurse being able to simply dictate patient information into a small portable tablet PC and have the patient record and other patient data generated instantaneously with no transcription turnaround time and no outside transcription costs. This also helps keep patient data much more confidential because electronic data can be password-protected and encrypted. And it means less paper around a medical office for others to see. Tablet PCs in many cases are integrated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical version 8.1 and the appropriate Electronic Medical Record depending on the size and type of practice. This can offer an extremely powerful tool to physicians and other health-care providers who need the power and flexibility of an EMR, but want to voice automate the process of composing patient records. And, this process can be completely wireless and mobile at the same time. Most physicians are accustomed already to carrying a paper file or chart around with them from exam room to exam room. This scenario is not much different, except that now it is an electronic tablet which can provide instant communication to the front office for patient information including billing, records, prescriptions and all medical correspondence relating to that particular patient.

Tablet PCs and voice recognition software however are not restricted to the medical environment. Just about anyone in any profession can benefit from the ability to create documentation on a wireless and lightweight mobile platform while sharing key information with a home-office, satellite office or even a home-office. We can certainly see in the very near future that tablet PCs will continue to grow in popularity and the use of voice recognition software will continue to be a part of that new technology growth.

Trends Updated 5/05

We have seen outstanding results in Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 8.0 in all versions from preferred, medical, professional, and legal. We have had some customers contact us just to tell us how pleased they are with the speed and accuracy they are now getting with the newer version 8.0 As with each new release of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, we see an exponential trend toward better speed and accuracy each and every time a new upgrade is released. Because the English language has so many words that sound alike, it may be difficult to expect 100% accuracy in the near future, however we have seen average accuracy rates between 98-99% which only require an initial 15 minute voice profile reading, and some use of features within the Accuracy Center such as “telling” Dragon NaturallySpeaking where to find a list of your documents to import words it does not already haven't in its vocabulary and also learn your writing style. These types of activities will help boost the speed and accuracy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking so that almost any user can get extremely high speech accuracy results and speeds just short of 160 words per minute.

There are now newer digital recording options which make mobile dictation easier and more accurate and more convenient than ever before. For instance the Sony ICD-BM1 and the Olympus DS- 2200 along with the Olympus DS-4000 are all excellent digital recorders for use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Due to the high sampling rate these recorders offer, Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 8 .0 is presented with a very high-quality voice file which results in better accuracy when using a digital record. Until these types of recorders were released, typically the best a mobile dictation user could hope for was accuracy between 92% and 94%. Now, with higher sampling rates and other improvements in digital quality, users can expect accuracy up to 98%. Some of the recorders such as the Olympus DS 2200, come with several accessories that many users find extremely useful and convenient. This particular recorder comes with a T-shaped interview microphone, a docking station which not only provides the USB connection but also recharges the batteries simultaneously. Some of the newer Olympus recorders also offer removable media like the XD picture card which offer many more hours of recording time than traditional memory sticks and smart media cards previously. While many users can use tablet and laptop PCs to perform mobile dictation, we realize at there are many users who for many reasons need be ability to simply use a small, pocket size digital recorder for their dictation. These new recorders offer very similar accuracy results to normal direct dictation through a headset microphone sitting directly in front of a PC. Of course, when a user is able to, it typically makes more sense and provides better speed and accuracy to dictate directly in front of a PC with a headset plugged into either the sound card, or the USB port. The good news is, mobile dictation through digital recorders these days require very little compromise in voice recognition accuracy. Another advantage of digital recorders is the ability for a third-party to do correction. For instance, a physician who sees 50 or more patients per day, may only have enough time to dictate into a digital recorder but may not have time to download and edit the medical reports that are generated. Another person who may be assisting with transcription either onsite or off-site can listen to the actual physician voice as Dragon NaturallySpeaking will highlight each word at a time as it is spoken. This will offer the medical editor the ability to see what text was generated to ensure that it matches the word that was dictated by the physician. This changes the role of a traditional transcriptionist into simply a document editor. No longer does someone have to sit for hours using a foot pedal to play back dictation so that they can manually transcribe documents. Dragon NaturallySpeaking will do the actual transcription for them, and they will simply have 1% or 2% of the document to correct. Another advantage is that a document composed with Dragon NaturallySpeaking is just like any other word-processing document so there is always the ability to use keyboard and mouse to fix or change words that need to be corrected before the document is finalized.

We have also noticed great improvements in microphone technology which of course leads to better accuracy when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Our company has recently signed a deal to provide Sennheiser microphone equipment to our clients. If you are not already familiar with the Sennheiser line of microphone products, then you should know that in the world of microphones, Sennheiser is the Mercedes-Benz and offers some of the highest quality microphone equipment anywhere in the world. Some of the Sennheiser options we will be offering will be mono and stereo headsets with flexible boom microphones for easy fit and adjustment to just about any user. These microphones are comfortable yet durable and with the purchase of an optional phone adapter, a user can switch back and forth between voice recognition and telephone with one push of a button without the need for an additional headset or telephone handset offering ease-of-use and convenience to the user. Here we have also included some technical and product information about one of the best Sennheiser headsets for PC and phone use.

The CC 550 is Sennheiser’s top-of-the-line binaural headset and offers powerful, precise sound to both ears for optimal understanding. Its durable construction makes it perfect for any type of office or professional communication.  

• ActiveGardTM safeguards the user from the effects of an acoustic burst.
• Self-adjusting ball-mounted speaker capsules allow perfect fitting to the head
• 300° adjustable microphone boom allows microphone to be positioned exactly for optimal speech clarity.
• Teflon® washer support increases positioning accuracy, stability and ensure optimal durability.
• Unique comfort pads in the headband and specially padded ear caps distribute pressure and ensure remarkable comfort even during extended wearing time.
• Binaural headset ensures maximum block out of background noise, increasing concentration and efficiency.
• Features x-large, padded ear caps to block out a maximum of noise and substantially improve concentration and comfort.
• Ultra Noise Canceling blocks out a maximum of ambient noise, making your voice easier to understand.

 There are also several other options from Sennheiser such as:

 SH Series: SH 230, SH 250, SH 310, SH 320, SH 330, SH 340, SH 350

CC Series: CC 510, CC 520, CC 530, CC 540, CC 550

UI Series: UI 710, UI 720, UI 730, UI 740, UI 750

Finally, with the advances in digital recorder technology and microphone quality we think it may be only a few short years before keyboard and mouse slowly become phased out in favor of voice recognition dictation and voice command and control of a PC and operating system. While the keyboard and mouse may always be around to some degree, as wrist injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive stress injuries and other medical conditions affecting hands and wrists continue to rise, we feel that voice recognition technology will soon become the de facto standard way to input information into a PC and control all PC operations.

Voice Recognition Trends - Updated March 2005

Since first being released, Version 8 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking has continued to win a number of awards. Possibly more importantly, it is being well received by the general media.

For instance, David Pogue, of the New York Times, in his video review of Dragon Version 8, says 'I can't get it to make a mistake'. And Stephen Manes, from Forbes, states 'Want a tech thrill? Talk to your computer and have it type what you say. It can boost your productivity--and now it really works.'

At 21st Century Eloquence, we have had fewer tech support calls after the release of Version 8 than we have had with any other of their prior releases. This is even more remarkable when you realize that sales of Version 8 have increased, as have upgrades from previous versions. This release is, by far, the most accurate and stable of any speech recognition product with which we have been involved during the past 10 years.

Usage of Digital Recorders is also increasing. Because of the increased accuracy of DNS 8, and the high fidelity of many of the recent digital recorder releases, such as the SONY ICD-BM1, and the Olympus DS-4000, there are an increasing number of users who merely dictate into their recorder, and have someone else perform the now easier task of revision, as needed.

Trends - Updated November 2004

As many of you are already aware ScanSoft has announced the release of Dragon NaturallySpeaking® version 8 with advanced speech recognition and enterprise features.

What's new in version 8.0? We’re glad you asked:

Breakthrough speech recognition accuracy

• The improved speech engine in version 8 is now 20% more accurate than version 7
• Expanded medical specialty language models provide powerful accuracy improvements for healthcare professionals. Specialty vocabularies are now built in to the program
• The new Indian accented English acoustic model delivers an accuracy boost to users who speak with an Indian accent

Enterprise ready

• The roaming user feature makes your user profile available anywhere on the network and can automatically synchronize updates and adaptation centrally
• Use the new native MSI Installer to install Dragon NaturallySpeaking through a network to multiple client machines

Easier To Use Than Ever Before

• With multiple acoustics you can use a single vocabulary for your microphone and handheld recorder profiles
• Smart formatting allows you to specify how Dragon NaturallySpeaking formats dates, measurements and acronyms to meet your requirements. You can establish the specific configuration of any word depending on its context, such as before or after numbers
• Change the action of a voice command depending on the location of the cursor with Smart Commands
• The Simplified Vocabulary Builder makes it easier than ever before to fine tune custom vocabularies
• Now you can dictate into a Palm One Tungsten® and have your recording when you sync with your PC

Online demonstrations for version 8.0 are now available. Please schedule an appointment to utilize our state-of-the-art desktop streaming technology and be among the first to see the improvements and new features associated with version 8.0.

Trends - Updated July 2004

98% accuracy through a digital recorder was unheard of up until recently with the release of the Sony BM1 recorder and the Philips 9350 digital recorder. Both are slide switch recorders so they integrate ease of use with modern digital technology for transcription. Previous to these recorders, accuracy would typically be in the low to mid-nineties when Dragon NaturallySpeaking was used through a digital recorder. With the higher sampling rate on the Sony BM1, the sound quality of the files produced are much better than they were before which equates to better accuracy when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Current trends we have observed as specialists in voice recognition products and accessories, is a large increase in sales of digital recorders from Olympus, Sony and Philips that provide the kind of accuracy through voice recognition that people had been waiting for. If you're unfamiliar with the use of a digital recorder in conjunction with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, these digital recorders allow mobile dictation so you could dictate onto a small handheld digital recorder away from your PC and have Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribe from your recorded voice later on.

Our customers have seen even better accuracy with the new 7.3 version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking which applies to all versions preferred, professional, medical and legal. You can click here http://support.scansoft.com/downloads/default.asp to get the very latest patch if you have version 7.0. You will see some minor improvements in performance and some corrections to issues like capitalization by voice and better compatibility with the Philips Speechmike Pro-USB microphone.

Recent trends regarding voice recognition are simple, they indicate a steady increase in use in popularity of voice recognition software to accomplish many daily task both at home and at work. More and more people are finally realizing the power and efficiency behind today's voice recognition products. With improved software combined with faster computer hardware we have reached a point that many still do not realize exists. 98 to 99% voice accuracy with speeds of 140 160 words per minute. We see this trend continuing as we look forward to future versions as more people share their experiences with friends, family and coworkers. We do not think it is unrealistic to expect at the keyboard and mouse will, in the not-too-distant future be a relic of the past. Don't throw them away just yet, but stay tuned for even bigger and better changes for voice recognition software in the future.

Trends-Updated March 2003

What better industry trend is there to report than voice recognition finally reaching the point of accuracy, speed and stability that we all wanted. Living in Florida, I've made several trips to Walt Disney's EPCOT Center in Orlando, where technology of the future is always on display. One of the most common future technologies on display were voice controlled cars, robots and PCs. Back then, voice recognition was more of a dream than reality and what was available at the time left MUCH to be desired. Well, we have finally arrived at the point at which VR will become mainstream. Soon we will wonder how we did without Voice Recognition Technology and even the best typist, I believe, will see the benefits of using voice to not only compose text but to command and control the PC as well.

Sometimes new technology seems to complicate, rather than simplify, but Dragon 7.0 is a clear example of a improved technology that can make all of our lives easier and make home and business life more productive.

In past versions of the Industry Trends we spent a lot of time discussing the benefits of a variety of voice recognition software, including Scansoft’ s Dragon NaturallySpeaking and IBM’s Via Voice and Windows’ resident voice recognition engine. Happily, at this point in time, there is relatively little requirement to discuss the varieties of ‘engines’ as Dragon NaturallySpeaking has, essentially, been declared the winner in all categories. This is not only our opinion, but is also the opinion of virtually all-independent third parties evaluating this software.

Some of the products are no longer available, such as the entire L&H line of products. Others have been so far outflanked by Dragon that they deserve not much more than incidental mention. At this point in time, unless you are committed to using voice recognition for a MAC computer, or you have a budget of less than $50.00, there is no rational reason, in our humble opinion, to purchase anything other than ScanSoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

This article will, therefore, discuss the decision making process to allow you to determine which version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking is best for you. In addition, it will comment on other aspects of voice recognition usage, such as microphones, digital recorders, etc. We will also discuss the trends within Dragon NaturallySpeaking as well as the business environment.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

As many of you may already know, Dragon Systems, the original developer of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, was sold to Lernout & Hauspie. L&H, in the midst of some significant accounting irregularities, went bankrupt in 2000. Happily ScanSoft purchased the Dragon NaturallySpeaking assets in December 2001. ScanSoft is a prosperous company, well known for its award winning scanning and imaging software, such as OmniForm, OmniPage, TextBridge, and PaperPort. ScanSoft has the financial capability and the interest to continue to develop the Dragon NaturallySpeaking product line. Amazingly, even through the bankruptcy and sale, there has been a successful launch of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 6.0. A lot more has been written regarding the business activities of the various companies, but we will now focus on the technology and user friendliness of the industry.

DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING

The Clear Winner

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 has a number of advanced features, in comparison to Version 5 and 6. These include easier use, shorter learning curve, both for the human end user as well as for the computer, and better accuracy. The conclusion that many long time users make after experiencing these improvements is that they make voice recognition usage substantially easier than it was even 1 or 2 years ago.

The new Version 7 features include:

15% Accuracy Improvement Breakthroughs in speech engine technology deliver the largest single accuracy improvement ever for a Dragon NaturallySpeaking release.

Vocabulary Optimizer Improves Accuracy

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 is not only significantly more accurate right out of the box, but it now includes a Vocabulary Optimizer. The Vocabulary Optimizer examines e-mail and document sentence structure and word use frequency, and then adjusts its language model to match your writing patterns.

Performance Center Optimizes Dragon NaturallySpeaking Performance The Performance Center guides you through troubleshooting and performance optimization to insure you’re getting the most out of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Improved Command Browser The updated Command Browser now provides more flexibility when creating and managing your custom commands.

Full Support for More Applications Dragon NaturallySpeaking automatically learns the contact names in your Microsoft® Outlook Express address book.

Natural Punctuation Dragon NaturallySpeaking automatically inserts periods and commas when dictating in a casual writing style. This feature is turned off by default.

Improved Text & Graphics Shortcuts Text shortcuts can now match the shortcut text to the font of the document you’re creating. You can also include special formatting and bitmaps.

Support for Additional Input Devices Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 now supports ScanSoft-certified Pocket PC devices as well as additional digital handheld recorders, array microphones and cordless microphones.

RealSpeak™ V2 Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 includes ScanSoft’s RealSpeak V2, the most advanced text-to-speech engine available.

Network Tools Use a MSI installer to push Dragon NaturallySpeaking to clients over a network. Also, with the network tools you can manage vocabularies for an entire enterprise from a central location.

ANCILLARY PRODUCTS

Digital Recorders

Olympus announces new professional DS 3000 Digital Recorder for use with Speech Recognition.

The DS3000 is geared towards the professional with many capabilities that make it the premier voice recorder for use with speech recognition. The software, recording time, ease of use and high accuracy ratings have been what the market has been asking for in a digital recorder since the first recorders were released. Olympus has finally offered a digital recorder that can achieve a 90% accuracy when used with Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Some of the prime features include:

16MB SmartMedia card for more than five hours of recording time.

Store your recordings in up to three separate folders. Folders can be assigned names of up to eight characters.

Store up to 199 messages per folder.

LCD screen displays message number, a real-time counter, remaining recording time, current time and date and operating mode.

Editing capability allows easy overwrite, partial erase and insert.

Store up to 10 different Author IDs in the recorder. Perfect for sharing recorders between users.

Store up to 10 different Work Types in the recorder. Perfect for specifying the exact type of dictation to transcription services.

Indexing and Voice Activation capability.

Built-in USB interface to quickly transfer recorded voice data to a PC. Direct dictation to your PC is also possible when the DS3000 is hooked up to your USB port.

Includes DSS Player Pro Dictation Module Software.

MICROPHONES

The VXI TalkPro USB , the new USB, 2nd Generation Headset offered by TVXI Corporation offers comfort, durability and great accuracy percentages when used with speech recognition. The USB audio interface provides the highest quality sound and a pure digital signal to improve the performance of any voice application. The TalkPro USB0 also features the most points of microphone adjustment for precise placement every time. And the universally adjustable fit gently grips along the entire length of the headband, to eliminate uncomfortable pressure points. Converts audio signals into digital USB format without a soundcard.

Ultra-light, cushioned comfort
Universally personalized fit
Precision microphone adjustment
Acoustic noise canceling microphone
High performance speaker
Plug and play compatibility

LANGUAGE MODELS

There are currently third party vocabularies available for use with Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 6.0. These vocabularies are geared towards

Medical Specialties. Their purpose is to increase your accuracy and save you the tim of training specialty vocabulary by already having the specialized vocabulary available to you upon installation. Trigram offers these medical specialties currently and is working on adding more to their line of products:

REPORT WRITING SOFTWARE

As surprised as we are at this fact, there is still no clear leader in the database related report writing add on sector. There remain a significant number of options for those interested in producing medical records at lightening speed.

At 21st Century Eloquence, we have produced a program called Eloquently Stated. With a medical library attached, it is called The Eloquent Physician. Many users love the program. However, because of its complexity, it is admittedly not for the faint of heart. Power-users do obtain

significant increases in throughput with it. Version 3.0 has just been

released and with it a substantial number of time saving features, including wizards helping with the reports, should minimize the rather protracted learning period.

There is more information on our EMR product located at www.eloquentlystated.com.

TRAINING

There is very clear and convincing evidence that users who are trained to use the software and related hardware personally are much happier with the results. As a survey on our own website will clarify, trained users frequently indicate that they have over 99% accuracy, and that they became more productive with the software in a matter of days. On the other hand, untrained users tend to have lower accuracy and tend to take longer to have any meaningful gains in productivity.

It is hard for us, as an Internet reseller to state the above. However, it is the truth, and above all, we want you to be happy with your purchase.

Happily, there are now two methods of obtaining training on the software. Brainsville.com has released a 3 CD set of multi-media ‘videos’ offering very extensive training exercises. These are helpful for all new users as well as for many experienced users. The MSRP is $99.00, and they are well worth the expense.

Possibly even more importantly, after you have reviewed the multi-media presentation, you will want to have someone come to your office, even if only to spend a few hours with you. This will usually cost between $200 - $500, depending upon the extent of this personalized training. It is our opinion that all business users should undertake this training after they have carefully reviewed the multi-media presentation. We are able to assist you in obtaining personalized training essentially anywhere in the United States and most of Canada. If you wish to learn more about this, please email us at info@voicerecognition.com.

Updated January 2003

Dragon NaturallySpeaking continues to be the industry leader in voice recognition software.  For most business people, other than physicians and attorneys, the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional Solution is the most appropriate product.  For merely casual users, Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred is satisfactory.  However, the features available in the Professional version are much more appropriate for businesses.

High quality and full featured microphones are more readily available.  Array microphones that can be placed on your monitor, as well as USB and wireless microphones are much more readily available, and at more competitive prices.

Additional manufacturers are entering the digital recorder fray.  Now, in addition to excellent products from Olympus (such as the DS 3000) and SONY, such as their MS ICD515, Philips has introduced the Digital Pocket Memo 9300.

Updated October 2002  

In past versions of the Industry Trends we spent a lot of time discussing the benefits of a variety of voice recognition software, including Scansoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking and IBM’s Via Voice and Windows’ resident voice recognition engine. Happily, at this point in time, there is relatively little requirement to discuss the varieties of ‘engines’ as Dragon NaturallySpeaking has, essentially, been declared the winner in all categories. This is not only our opinion, but is also the opinion of virtually all-independent third parties evaluating this software. For instance, see http://www.pcmag.com/ and: http://www.pcmag.com/article

Some of the products are no longer available, such as the entire L&H line of products. Others have been so far outflanked by Dragon that they deserve not much more than incidental mention. At this point in time, unless you are committed to using voice recognition for a MAC computer, or you have a budget of less than $50.00, there is no rational reason, in our humble opinion, to purchase anything other than ScanSoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

This article will, therefore, discuss the decision making process to allow you to determine which version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking is best for you. In addition, it will comment on other aspects of voice recognition usage, such as microphones, digital recorders, etc. We will also discuss the trends within Dragon NaturallySpeaking as well as the business environment.

Updated April 2002  

In past versions of the Industry Trends we spent a lot of time discussing the benefits of a variety of voice recognition software, including Lernout & Hauspie’s VoiceXpress,  IBM’s Via Voice and Windows’ resident voice recognition engine.  Happily, at this point in time, there is relatively little requirement to discuss the varieties of ‘engines’ as Dragon NaturallySpeaking has, essentially, been declared the winner in all categories. This is not only our opinion, but is also the opinion of virtually all independent third parties evaluating this software.  For instance, see http://www.pcmag.com/ And: http://www.pcmag.com/article

Some of the products are no longer available, such as the entire L&H line of products. Others have been so far outflanked by Dragon that they deserve not much more than incidental mention.  At this point in time, unless you are committed to using voice recognition for a MAC computer, or you have a budget of less than $50.00, there is no rational reason, in our humble opinion, to purchase anything other than ScanSoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

This article will, therefore, discuss the decision making process to allow you to determine which version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking is best for you. In addition, it will comment on other aspects of voice recognition usage, such as microphones, digital recorders, etc.  We will also discuss the trends within Dragon NaturallySpeaking as well as the business environment.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT  

As many of you may already know, Dragon Systems, the original developer of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, was sold to Lernout & Hauspie. L&H, in the midst of some significant accounting irregularities, went bankrupt in 2000.  Happily ScanSoft purchased the Dragon NaturallySpeaking assets in December 2001.  ScanSoft is a prosperous company, well known for its award winning scanning and imaging software, such as OmniForm, OmniPage, TextBridge, and PaperPort.  ScanSoft has the financial capability and the interest to continue to develop the Dragon NaturallySpeaking product line.  Amazingly, even through the bankruptcy and sale, there has been a successful launch of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 6.0.  A lot more has been written regarding the business activities of the various companies, but we will now focus on the technology and user friendliness of the industry.  

DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING

The Clear Winner  

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 6 has a number of advanced features, in comparison to Version 5. These include easier use, shorter learning curve, both for the human end user as well as for the computer, and better accuracy.  The conclusion that many long time users make after experiencing these improvements is that they make voice recognition usage substantially easier than it was even 1 or 2 years ago.  

ScanSoft’s Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 6 compatible with Office XP  

Dragon naturally Speaking Version 6 is now compatible with Windows XP.  This is the first speech recognition version to hit the market that will work in this operating system environment.   All command and control, select and say, and macro capabilities are completely functioning in these new versions.  The newer versions of the Windows operating system now incorporate SAPI 5 technology.  

Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 6 has been tailored to work in this environment and with the newer stronger processors.  Version 5 was able to run with the XP operating system, but with major problems.   Command and control was sketchy and the select and say features would sometimes not work.   Along with the accuracy and installation issues, it made using Version 5 with XP difficult.   Now with the Version 6, you are able to use the program smoothly  

Dragon Naturally Speaking is known as the best speech recognition program available.  With the new “Nothing But Speech Technology and new user friendly interface, Dragon Naturally Speaking has become one of the most powerful tools for any size office environment.  The Dragon Naturally Speaking line also incorporates “Text to Speech” technology.   This enables the software to read back to the user what they have dictated or to read a web page to them.  With this software, utilizing the powerful command and control and select and say features, a user can use a computer virtually hand free.  

The new Version 6 features include:

Nothing But Speech (NBS)™, a tool that filters out fillers and sounds between dictation-such as "uhms" and "ahs"-to avoid insertion of unwanted words.

New modes for spelling, numbers, commands only, and dictation only, which increase accuracy when doing specific tasks by voice.

The Acoustic Optimizer, a powerful tool that lets Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software process and learn from all the data it has collected over time. Although the software learns every time you correct errors, running the Acoustic Optimizer will enable it to compile and analyze your data in one sweep, a much more effective process than gradual adaptation from each correction. Just set the Acoustic Optimizer to run while you are away at a meeting and you will return to improved recognition.

Add contact names to the vocabulary, a tool that lets you add names from your Lotus Notes® or Microsoft® Outlook® address book to your vocabulary and scans sent e-mail so that Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 6 software can learn the words that you like to use and the way that you use them.

The Acoustic Optimizer, a powerful tool that lets Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software process and learn from all the data it has collected over time. Although the software learns every time you correct errors, running the Acoustic Optimizer will enable it to compile and analyze your data in one sweep, a much more effective process than gradual adaptation from each correction. Just set the Acoustic Optimizer to run while you are away at a meeting and you will return to improved recognition.

Add contact names to the vocabulary, a tool that lets you add names from your Lotus Notes® or Microsoft® Outlook® address book to your vocabulary and scans sent e-mail so that Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 6 software can learn the words that you like to use and the way that you use them.

Work in Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel, and other Windows®-based applications more easily: New built-in Natural Language Commands let you phrase commands in a variety of ways to get the response you want. (Solutions Series products also contain Natural Language Commands for Microsoft® PowerPoint® and Microsoft® Outlook®.)

Say links by voice in HTML help: You can navigate by voice in Microsoft® Internet Explorer, as well as in any Microsoft® Internet Explorer-based window, such as the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Help file or Command Browser.

Control the mouse by voice more easily: You can now control the mouse by voice in a variety of ways, for example, by simply saying "Move Mouse upper left" or one of many new mouse commands.

Easily edit by voice in more places: Select-and-Say™ functionality, which enables you to make text changes easily by voice, is now available in Open and Save dialogs in many applications, the "Find" dialog, and many more places.

Proofread and correct your work with the improved Correction Menu, which is now available wherever you can select text by voice.

More ways to learn from your corrections. You can now select and correct a misrecognized word using voice, mouse, or keyboard-without going into a correction window-and Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 6 software can still learn from your correction.

The new correction workflow allows experienced users who prefer dictating an entire document before proofreading to quickly move through the document phrase by phrase and make corrections as needed. This feature is also helpful for transcriptionists.

A Sample Commands window is now available to display voice commands for the most popular applications alongside your work.

The new Command Browser lets you search for commands by application and keyword, making it easy to find what you need. It also allows you to train commands. (Solution Series users can even modify custom commands.)

Text and Graphics: Create text blocks-including bitmaps-and insert them into documents or e-mails-all with a single voice command. For example, you can design a standard letter closing-including your signature-and add it to all your correspondence.

Macro Recorder: If you repeat the same action frequently, you can record your mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes; assign a name to the recorded sequence; and recall the action with the command any time. (Solution Series only)

Step-by-Step: Automate complicated tasks by easily scripting voice commands one step at a time, even if you are not a programmer. For example, you can turn the microphone off, open an application, send keystrokes to it, then turn the microphone on and start dictating, using just one command. (Solution Series only)

Advanced Scripting: This Microsoft® VBA-compatible scripting tool lets you build complicated macros and even voice-enable applications that you may want to use. This is the full-fledged customization tool for programmers. (Dragon NaturallySpeaking® scripting language commands from previous versions of the software are also supported.) (Solution Series only)

Listen to text in the most human-sounding voice available: Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software now includes the award-winning L&H™ RealSpeak™ text-to-speech software. Listen to your computer read e-mails, memos, and other text in a human-sounding voice. (Preferred Edition and Solution Series)

Save your dictation for outside transcription: Dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software, save a recording of your dictation with your document, then send your file elsewhere to be corrected. This improved third-party correction feature is now available in Microsoft® Word and Corel® WordPerfect® word processors, as well as the DragonPad. (Solution Series only)

Export and import your user files with the click of a button: Store your user files in any network directory or on removable media, such as a USB memory device, CD/RW disk, or Zip disk. Users can easily back up user files for safekeeping or to transfer them to another computer without copying files manually. This feature is especially helpful for users who wish to dictate at multiple workstations.

Empty dictation vocabulary: Users who wish to create a limited, special-purpose vocabulary can now build a custom dictation vocabulary from scratch, adding only the words that they need for their work.

HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH OF THE VARIOUS DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING PRODUCTS IS RIGHT FOR YOU.  

There are substantial differences in price and capabilities between the various products within the DNS product line.  At the low end, there are products such as the Standard Edition, the Essentials and the AOL Version of Point and Speak, which might be fun for your children to play with, but are not particularly useful for any reasonable business or even educational usage.  

From there we go to the Preferred Edition. This is a product with an MSRP in the $200 range. It can be useful for students and other users who have modest needs and are on a relatively tight budget. It has a high enough accuracy and enough functionality to be used for entering straight text into Word documents and other similar functions.  

In our experience, the Professional Edition will serve most users best. This is a roughly $700 MSRP product with enough additional features to be clearly worth the additional investment for most business users.  

These additional time saving features include:

-         Text to speech capability with the option to save your dictation as a .wav file.  With this capability, you can have the text you just dictated read back to you or have someone outside your office correct your dictation.   All you will need to do is save an audio file with your dictation, and it will be there for your use until you choose to delete it.  This is a feature only available in the Professional version and better.

-         You can have multiple custom vocabularies per user.   Suppose you are a doctor, but you do a lot of insurance work.   You can have both the Legal vocabulary and the Medical vocabulary available to you.

-         The Macro Recorder and step by step command scripting interface is  only available to the Professional user.  A Macro is a verbal command to have the computer perform functions.   Fro example, you could say ”Bring up  First Visit Template”.     The program will then bring up the template that you have created in Word and you can begin dictating immediately.   Another good example of a macro is if you want to say “Today’s Date”.   The program will then read your computer’s clock and put the correct date into your dictation.

-         You can dictate directly into Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Lotus Notes if you have a Professional Version.   No lighter version will do this.  

In the event that you are lucky enough to have, as your business, medicine, law or public safety, the choice is rather obvious.  The Medical, Legal and Public Safety Editions, for a few hundred additional dollars, are well worth the money. The shorter learning curve with the industry specific customized language model (vocabulary), will save you more than that much in improved productivity right out of the box.  

To see all the differences between the products, click here

ANCILLARY PRODUCTS  

Digital Recorders  

Olympus announces new professional DS 3000 Digital Recorder for use with Speech Recognition.  

The DS3000 is geared towards the professional with many capabilities that make it the premier voice recorder for use with speech recognition.  The software, recording time, ease of use and high accuracy ratings have been what the market has been asking for in a digital recorder since the first recorders were released.  Olympus has finally offered a digital recorder that can achieve a 90% accuracy when used with Dragon Naturally Speaking.  

Some of the prime features include:

16MB SmartMedia card for more than five hours of recording time.

Store your recordings in up to three separate folders. Folders can be assigned names of up to eight characters.

Store up to 199 messages per folder.

LCD screen displays message number, a real-time counter, remaining recording time, current time and date and operating mode.

Editing capability allows easy overwrite, partial erase and insert.

Store up to 10 different Author IDs in the recorder. Perfect for sharing recorders between users.

Store up to 10 different Work Types in the recorder. Perfect for specifying the exact type of dictation to transcription services.

Indexing and Voice Activation capability.

Built-in USB interface to quickly transfer recorded voice data to a PC. Direct dictation to your PC is also possible when the DS3000 is hooked up to your USB port.

Includes DSS Player Pro Dictation Module Software.

MICROPHONES

• Ultra-light, cushioned comfort
• Universally personalized fit
• Precision microphone adjustment
• Acoustic noise canceling microphone
• High performance speaker
• Plug and play compatibility

LANGUAGE MODELS

There are currently third party vocabularies available for use with Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 6.0.  These vocabularies are geared towards Medical Specialties.   Their purpose is to increase your accuracy and save you the tim of training specialty vocabulary by already having the specialized vocabulary available to you upon installation.   Trigram offers these medical specialties currently and is working on adding more to their line of products:

REPORT WRITING SOFTWARE

As surprised as we are at this fact, there is still no clear leader in the database related report writing add on sector.  There remain a significant number of options for those interested in producing medical records at lightening speed.

At 21^st Century Eloquence, we have produced a program called Eloquently Stated.  With a medical library attached, it is called The Eloquent Physician.  Many users love the program. However, because of its complexity, it is admittedly not for the faint of heart.  Power-users do obtain significant increases in throughput with it.   Version 3.0 is expected to be released during the second quarter of 2002, and with it a substantial number of time saving features, including wizards helping with the reports, should minimize the rather protracted learning period.

In addition, in this field there are other programs such as Fast Plates and Medamation

TRAINING

There is very clear and convincing evidence that users who are trained to use the software and related hardware personally are much happier with the results. As a survey on our own website will clarify, trained users frequently indicate that they have over 99% accuracy, and that they became more productive with the software in a matter of days.  On the other hand, untrained users tend to have lower accuracy and tend to take longer to have any meaningful gains in productivity.

It is hard for us, as an Internet reseller to state the above. However, it is the truth, and above all, we want you to be happy with your purchase.

Happily, there are now two methods of obtaining training on the software.  Brainsville.com has released a 3 CD set of multi-media ‘videos’ offering very extensive training exercises.  These are helpful for all new users as well as for many experienced users.  The MSRP is $99.00, and they are well worth the expense.

Possibly even more importantly, after you have reviewed the multi-media presentation, you will want to have someone come to your office, even if only to spend a few hours with you.  This will usually cost between $200 - $500, depending upon the extent of this personalized training. It is our opinion that all business users should undertake this training after they have carefully reviewed the multi-media presentation.  We are able to assist you in obtaining personalized training essentially anywhere in the United States and most of Canada.  If you wish to learn more about this, please email us.