MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - DNS9 - How to write a book without typing or writing

Bob Russell · 12-18-2007, 08:13 PM

As I continue on a theme of presenting a few really great pieces of mobile software that don't get a lot of publicity in the mobile press, I want to share about Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred.

I've used voice recognition software in the past (an old version of IBM's ViaVoice), and it was so annoying and insufficient that I had pretty much decided to stay away from such things until they became mainstream. Well, when I found out that Vista Professional had voice recognition, I had to consider it relatively mainstream, so I was anxious to see whether it was of any use or not.

Bottom line, I find Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) 9 to be wonderful, and Vista speech recognition to be "almost useful". Let me explain.

In Vista Professional, you can turn on the speech recognition feature and have it listen for your commands and dictation. There is a training program to help you train it how to hear your words and to teach you how to speak to Vista. It was just accurate enough to convince me that if I wanted badly enough to make it work, I could. (But I don't want it that bad!) The commands were straightforward, but it was sort of like learning the syntax for a new programming language. And I think that you would have to use it frequently to do it natural and not forget.

In Dragon Naturally Speaking 9, things worked great for me. The preferred package comes with a headset (the mic is very important for speech recognition). It's a good headset, but not especially comfortable. Others are also available elsewhere if you plan to use it often. But here's the thing... DNS9 actually worked decently without any training, and I didn't have to strain to try to be "understandable to the computer" the way I did with Vista.

Well here's what really got my attention... with the preferred version of the software, you can dictate into a portable device (anything that records decent quality into an .mp3 file, but I used my Treo 700p with CallRec). Then you transfer the .mp3 to your home computer and tell DNS9 to transcribe it for you. It isn't instant, so be prepared to let it run for hours or overnight depending on your processor speed and how much dictation you did. But when I looked at the results, I couldn't believe it -- it actually worked! Not perfect, mind you, but very accurate, requiring only minor corrections.

Back to my article title, think about it. Previously, we had a thread where a lot of people expressed an interest in writing a book. Many of us also want to do the Nanowrimo novel in a month exercise. Can you really think of a better way to do it, than to record it on your phone or personal media device and transcribe it automatically? I think this could be a great tool for writers on the go, and I'd say it sure beats typing it out on a smart phone thumb keyboard!

The bad news? First of all, you do have to spend about half an hour training DNS9 if you want it to recognize your speech recorded on a mobile device. It's just harder to do than directly on the headset, so the training allows it to be effective with the recording. Secondly, the price is a bit of a hurdle unless someone is fairly serious about using it. The preferred version (which has the mobile transcription features) lists for $199.99. And, finally, the killer for many prospective buyers is probably the lack of a trial version. As far as I can tell, there is no such option. And with so many people like me that have had a bad experience with voice recognition in the past, it could make a lot of buyers reconsider.

But I'm pretty sure that most writers who are going to dedicate so much time to their creations, are probably going to be willing to consider this sort of an outlay for the tools of their trade. If you want to do just about anything, you need tools or equipment. I think the price may just be worth it for many writers, because it opens many doors for writing on the go. And if a writer has carpal tunnel from all the typing, it might even be a necessity.

If you've dreamed of a solution like this, but thought like me that the technology was just not ready, maybe it's time you take another look.

12-18-2007, 08:13 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	DNS9 - How to write a book without typing or writing As I continue on a theme of presenting a few really great pieces of mobile software that don't get a lot of publicity in the mobile press, I want to share about Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred. I've used voice recognition software in the past (an old version of IBM's ViaVoice), and it was so annoying and insufficient that I had pretty much decided to stay away from such things until they became mainstream. Well, when I found out that Vista Professional had voice recognition, I had to consider it relatively mainstream, so I was anxious to see whether it was of any use or not. Bottom line, I find Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) 9 to be wonderful, and Vista speech recognition to be "almost useful". Let me explain. In Vista Professional, you can turn on the speech recognition feature and have it listen for your commands and dictation. There is a training program to help you train it how to hear your words and to teach you how to speak to Vista. It was just accurate enough to convince me that if I wanted badly enough to make it work, I could. (But I don't want it that bad!) The commands were straightforward, but it was sort of like learning the syntax for a new programming language. And I think that you would have to use it frequently to do it natural and not forget. In Dragon Naturally Speaking 9, things worked great for me. The preferred package comes with a headset (the mic is very important for speech recognition). It's a good headset, but not especially comfortable. Others are also available elsewhere if you plan to use it often. But here's the thing... DNS9 actually worked decently without any training, and I didn't have to strain to try to be "understandable to the computer" the way I did with Vista. Well here's what really got my attention... with the preferred version of the software, you can dictate into a portable device (anything that records decent quality into an .mp3 file, but I used my Treo 700p with CallRec). Then you transfer the .mp3 to your home computer and tell DNS9 to transcribe it for you. It isn't instant, so be prepared to let it run for hours or overnight depending on your processor speed and how much dictation you did. But when I looked at the results, I couldn't believe it -- it actually worked! Not perfect, mind you, but very accurate, requiring only minor corrections. Back to my article title, think about it. Previously, we had a thread where a lot of people expressed an interest in writing a book. Many of us also want to do the Nanowrimo novel in a month exercise. Can you really think of a better way to do it, than to record it on your phone or personal media device and transcribe it automatically? I think this could be a great tool for writers on the go, and I'd say it sure beats typing it out on a smart phone thumb keyboard! The bad news? First of all, you do have to spend about half an hour training DNS9 if you want it to recognize your speech recorded on a mobile device. It's just harder to do than directly on the headset, so the training allows it to be effective with the recording. Secondly, the price is a bit of a hurdle unless someone is fairly serious about using it. The preferred version (which has the mobile transcription features) lists for $199.99. And, finally, the killer for many prospective buyers is probably the lack of a trial version. As far as I can tell, there is no such option. And with so many people like me that have had a bad experience with voice recognition in the past, it could make a lot of buyers reconsider. But I'm pretty sure that most writers who are going to dedicate so much time to their creations, are probably going to be willing to consider this sort of an outlay for the tools of their trade. If you want to do just about anything, you need tools or equipment. I think the price may just be worth it for many writers, because it opens many doors for writing on the go. And if a writer has carpal tunnel from all the typing, it might even be a necessity. If you've dreamed of a solution like this, but thought like me that the technology was just not ready, maybe it's time you take another look.