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bohdanz · Jan 20, 2008, 06:53 PM

I'm trying to understand how much better Macspeech's pricey voice recognition software is compared to Nuance's Naturally Speaking.

Essentially they're the same software, right?

If I can boot into Windows am I not saving $100 for Naturally Speaking?

I used iListen years ago, hated it so I don't have great fondness for Macspeech,.

Your thoughts, please.

timmerk · Jan 20, 2008, 07:35 PM

Wait, so you would boot into Windows just for Dragon's? If so, buy that one.. it's better quality. However, using Windows to run certain apps is a pain. I should know.. I use Windows just for Office 2007 (2008 for Mac sucks), when I need some more pro features over Pages. Usually though, I just use Pages.

lavar78 · Jan 20, 2008, 08:48 PM

Leo LaPorte and the MacBreak Weekly guys were raving about the upcoming iDictate that was demoed at MacWorld. It's by the iListen guys but incorporates the Dragon engine. You may want to wait for that if you can.

timmerk · Jan 20, 2008, 08:51 PM

Sorry bohdanz.. I was thinking you were talking about iListen. I wasn't aware of the new Dictate app until lavar78 mentioned it. It looks very interesting! Since it uses the Dragon engine, I'd def wait for that and pay the $199. A mac app + Dragon engine = best of both worlds.

bohdanz · Jan 20, 2008, 10:48 PM

Timmerk,

You're right... I will await the official release of the Macspeech new product.
I'd much rather have a mac-native application than switching into Windows.

pcryan5 · Feb 3, 2008, 06:52 PM

Progue @ NYTIMES was quite impressed. His article is here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/te...h/24pogue.html

Eug · Feb 3, 2008, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by pcryan5

Progue @ NYTIMES was quite impressed. His article is here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/te...h/24pogue.html

Seems like a nice start, but still unusable for me, judging by that description. Missing too much (basic and advanced) functionality. And for that, it costs twice as much (albeit with a headset).

pcryan5 · Feb 4, 2008, 05:22 PM

I wanted to use Naturally Speaking 9.5 on my MBP with XP/Parallels. No joy so far getting XP/Parallels to recognize my input to Naturally Speaking yet. Users on Parallels web site report mixed results as well. For now I'll just use it on my Toshiba.

timmerk · Feb 4, 2008, 11:00 PM

The real question is when will it come out? MacSpeech won't tell me, which is annoying. They just keep telling me that existing users of iListen can cross-grade first, and that I should buy iListen first. Uhh... no. Stupid people, they are going to ruin a possibly good product (Dictate) with crappy customer service and policies. Or maybe it's already vaporware? That article says mid Feb though, so I'm crossing my fingers.

pcryan5 · Feb 5, 2008, 12:42 AM

Their web site says they hope to ship by Feb 15th

pcryan5 · Mar 20, 2008, 09:45 AM

<>Their web site says they hope to ship by Feb 15th

Have any iListen (Not well mind you) users received their Macspeech cross upgrade yet?

thanks

bpnkrtn · Mar 20, 2008, 11:34 AM

Have been watching this product. The Amazon web site has 4 reviews, all very unfavorable. Any users here that can add a little more updated information? Thanks

alex_kac · Mar 20, 2008, 11:49 PM

Some reviews on Macintouch were very favorable. In fact, the only negative I've seen is that the headset that it comes with is garbage and you should get a better one, and two there is no correction.

Happy Hobbit · Mar 21, 2008, 02:17 PM

Hello,

I am a new MacSpeech Dictate user—and I’m already thrilled with what my $199 has purchased. My feeling with this program is is that what you get out of it is directly related to what you put in. I didn’t like the mic that came in the box -- I hate wires anyway -- so I have been using the built in mic on my MacBook with a very high success rate. What’s interesting is that the program will pick up nuances, such as the apostrophe just now, and that really the onus is on me, to learn to speak naturally to this software [and not enunciate too much] in order for it to do its job properly.

What also surprised me is the depth and range of the application, which can be used in just about any program -- and that’s the part I didn’t really understand about David Pogue’s review. I think he sold it short. The depth of commands on offer in just about every program that comes in Leopard is quite astonishing.

Some years ago I purchased Via Voice (for Mac) but gave up because it was so cumbersome and inaccurate. This experience is like night and day. Granted, the correction techniques may be less developed than other programs (for now) but I feel the accuracy is very good and have no doubt that Dictate will involve.

The program also does seem to recognize my voice better as I use it more. The software comes also with different accent selections, which is great, although mine -- which you could call “mid-Atlantic” -- does pose a challenge as I have not yet had time to experiment with which accent setting works best. There are three or four options in English.

So far, in just a couple of days, I have had good success in regular word processing -- Pages, plus Mail and even navigating Safari, all with little effort. And as a writer I -- along with my hands -- am very happy. And, of course, this post was composed with MacSpeech Dictate...

drbroom · Apr 10, 2008, 05:51 PM

so far I am NOT a fan! I have been trying to train it now over the last few days and it is still making many many mistakes!

Now I know that some are going to ask if I have some sort of accent, and the answer is: NO. I was born and raised in NY and were not talking brooklyn.

I think the software is NOT ready for prime time!

Just my $0.02

cgc · Apr 10, 2008, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by pcryan5

I wanted to use Naturally Speaking 9.5 on my MBP with XP/Parallels. No joy so far getting XP/Parallels to recognize my input to Naturally Speaking yet. Users on Parallels web site report mixed results as well. For now I'll just use it on my Toshiba.

I had no issues getting it to work with my Logitech headset in VMWare Fusion.

King Bob On The Cob · Apr 11, 2008, 02:56 AM

Originally Posted by drbroom

so far I am NOT a fan! I have been trying to train it now over the last few days and it is still making many many mistakes!

Now I know that some are going to ask if I have some sort of accent, and the answer is: NO. I was born and raised in NY and were not talking brooklyn.

I think the software is NOT ready for prime time!

Just my $0.02

Hahahha! Someone from the northeast thinks they don't have an accent.

Sorry, no matter where you're from, you've got an accent. Your's may just happens to be more incomprehensible than most.

pcryan5 · Aug 23, 2008, 01:10 PM

Now that this product has been out - and possibly upgraded - for a few months - I am curious to hear early adopter feedback. It still ranks poorly on Amazon (2.5 stars)

mindwaves · Aug 23, 2008, 04:13 PM

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/...ate-review.ars

At $200, Dictate should be appealing to anyone who does much writing or who relies on voice commands to interact with programs and OS X. Its accuracy is amazing and, while I can't compare it to iListen since I was never a user, all reports we have seen indicate that the difference is astonishing (even MacSpeech admits it's a major leap forward over the old iListen technology).

The promised future updates should help make this program even more invaluable but, even as it stands, I don't have much to complain about. Thankfully, neither do my wrists.

amazing · Aug 23, 2008, 09:05 PM

I don't use either, but I read the reviews, for down the road. Here's David Pogue's take on NatSpeak (don't know if you need an account--free--to see these?)

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_stor...turally&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/te...h/07pogue.html

rmiami225 · Jun 18, 2009, 02:49 PM

OK, I have both ... I have Vista on Bootcamp with Fusion to run in virtual and I have Dictate. Dictate so far has been a huge disappointment. It lacks way to many features to justify the price but on the Mac side it is the only game in town which might be why they are slow to get it right! Dictate lack a full correction feature, does not have full mouse control, use of a recorder ... so why they have come out with a medical version before they develop these features just baffles me! The FREE VR that comes with Vista is actually better! It has mousegrid, a numbers feature, ... you can correct single words, or add words to the vocabulary and you can create macros ... with Dragon 10 or Vista Voice you can be completely hands free so what Macspeech is doing (or not doing) just makes no sense to me! And with what is available on Windows, I'm starting to wonder where Apple is, the voice-command feature on OSX is lame and doesn't even work half the time.

angelmb · Jun 18, 2009, 04:01 PM

It seems David Pogue is still a Dragon Naturally Speaking user…

"* I use dictation software. When I have long-form writing to do, like a book, I dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking. My wife once clocked me at 120 words a minute, and that’s including making corrections. It’s just insanely fast (providing, of course, you know what you want to say)."

Le Flaneur · Jun 27, 2009, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by rmiami225

OK, I have both ... I have Vista on Bootcamp with Fusion to run in virtual and I have Dictate. Dictate so far has been a huge disappointment. It lacks way to many features to justify the price but on the Mac side it is the only game in town which might be why they are slow to get it right!

Yeah, I'm still wondering whether MacSpeech Dictate is the way to go. I have Fusion. Except for the advantage of being a native Mac app, is there any reason to prefer Dictate which costs $100 more?

pcryan5 · Jun 28, 2009, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by angelmb

It seems David Pogue is still a Dragon Naturally Speaking user…

"* I use dictation software. When I have long-form writing to do, like a book, I dictate into Dragon NaturallySpeaking. My wife once clocked me at 120 words a minute, and that’s including making corrections. It’s just insanely fast (providing, of course, you know what you want to say)."

Right he adds "I use Naturally Speaking, but I haven’t yet tried the new, much improved Dictate version."

Le Flaneur · Jun 29, 2009, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by pcryan5

Right he adds "I use Naturally Speaking, but I haven’t yet tried the new, much improved Dictate version."

In private correspondance, DP told me very recently that Dictate still can't compare to DNS.

pcryan5 · Jun 29, 2009, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Le Flaneur

In private correspondance, DP told me very recently that Dictate still can't compare to DNS.

Smile - well I did not get a "private correspondence" just a lousy email from him

- and he noted he had yet to try the new version. I'm betting dollars to donuts however you are right and DNS still reigns champ. Pity really.