Voice Recognition Software and writing

LazyScot · 11-01-2009, 05:22 PM

Does anyone use voice recognition software for writing? I'm thinking about a new computer and wondering if it is worth adding to the shopping list.

If so, what software and OS do you use?

Direct Ebooks · 11-02-2009, 08:52 PM

Hi.
I've used the dragon Naturally speaking product before. It;s supposed to be one of the best out there, but i quickly grew tired of it. It picks up the vast majority of your words, but for the amount of time you need to edit and go back over, I felt it wasnt worth it as I had no peace of mind about anything it had done.
This was about 18mths ago. maybe its improved, but for me it wasnt worth it. hope this helps.

JoeC · 11-02-2009, 10:35 PM

I've used the speech recognition built into Vista and Windows 7. It's good but not great. My experience is similar to what LazyScot reported. I wanted perfection and speed and it didn't happen. I gave up.

LazyScot · 11-03-2009, 06:38 AM

JoeC, Direct Ebooks,

Many thanks for the responses.

Your comments add to my suspicion is that Voice Recognition doesn't simplify/add to the writing experience unless you have a disability of some kind or are lucky enough to write perfectly first time. If, as you both indicate, you then add in that the quality of the recognition isn't high enough for a wide ranging vocabulary it sounds like it is not really worth it. (However, if all you want to say are digits, letters and up/down, I guess it is better).

I'd be very interested in anyone else's experience, but it sounds like it is not including on the shopping list. At least not yet.

Or is there anyone else out there who is a fan of the technology?

GeoffC · 11-03-2009, 12:44 PM

i've used dragon-speaking at work, (not for writing, though) but found that it very easily picks up background noise that can cause it to throw many a wobbly....

btw: the speech recognition in Vista is supposed to be dragon-speaking but a couple of versions ago....

Lemurion · 11-03-2009, 04:26 PM

I wrote a fantasy story using the Windows Vista built in recognition engine and it worked fairly well. It wasn't perfect, but it worked for getting a different take on the story.

dadioflex · 11-05-2009, 09:38 AM

Edit.

montsnmags · 11-05-2009, 11:06 PM

Just apropos to the thread topic, there was recently a New Scientist article talking to Terry Pratchett where he talks about such software:

"Recently Pratchett has become almost as famous for having Alzheimer's disease as he is for selling 65 million books in over 35 languages. He was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) two years ago - a rare form of the disease which causes the back of the brain to shrink. He has lost his ability to type as a result and had to dictate Unseen Academicals to his assistant. For his latest book he's using a speech-to-text computer program called Dragon Dictate, which learns as it goes. He has dumped his entire collection of novels onto the hard drive and has been training the program not only to recognise his accent but also to learn the words he uses - orc and yennork aren't in most authors' lexicons. "It's astonishing," he says, but he finds it falls down on punctuation."

The full article can be found here, for Pratchett fans:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...asy-alive.html

11-01-2009, 05:22 PM	#1
LazyScot DSil Posts: 3,201 Karma: 6895096 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hants, UK Device: Kindle, Cybook	Voice Recognition Software and writing Does anyone use voice recognition software for writing? I'm thinking about a new computer and wondering if it is worth adding to the shopping list. If so, what software and OS do you use?

11-05-2009, 09:38 AM	#7
dadioflex Dyslexic Count Posts: 526 Karma: 5041991 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Palm TX, Advent Vega, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle	Edit. Last edited by dadioflex; 12-15-2010 at 07:48 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Hand writing recognition from DR800 notes?	martienne	iRex	1	05-31-2010 06:47 AM
Ebook Writing Software..?	cancelx	Writers' Corner	13	04-28-2010 07:06 AM
voice dialing and speech recognition	johnyjj2	Alternative Devices	0	10-03-2009 02:36 AM
Best Writing Software?	KindleKid	Writers' Corner	4	07-28-2009 08:42 AM
Handwriting recognition software?	ragdoll	iRex	3	12-28-2007 12:25 PM

11-02-2009, 08:52 PM	#2
Direct Ebooks Hibernian eBook Warrior Posts: 184 Karma: 1264 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Cork, Ireland Device: Sony Reader	Hi. I've used the dragon Naturally speaking product before. It;s supposed to be one of the best out there, but i quickly grew tired of it. It picks up the vast majority of your words, but for the amount of time you need to edit and go back over, I felt it wasnt worth it as I had no peace of mind about anything it had done. This was about 18mths ago. maybe its improved, but for me it wasnt worth it. hope this helps.

11-02-2009, 10:35 PM	#3
JoeC Addict Posts: 377 Karma: 2257942 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: Kindle Oasis 2 and 3, Scribe, reMarkable Pro	I've used the speech recognition built into Vista and Windows 7. It's good but not great. My experience is similar to what LazyScot reported. I wanted perfection and speed and it didn't happen. I gave up.

11-03-2009, 06:38 AM	#4
LazyScot DSil Posts: 3,201 Karma: 6895096 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hants, UK Device: Kindle, Cybook	JoeC, Direct Ebooks, Many thanks for the responses. Your comments add to my suspicion is that Voice Recognition doesn't simplify/add to the writing experience unless you have a disability of some kind or are lucky enough to write perfectly first time. If, as you both indicate, you then add in that the quality of the recognition isn't high enough for a wide ranging vocabulary it sounds like it is not really worth it. (However, if all you want to say are digits, letters and up/down, I guess it is better). I'd be very interested in anyone else's experience, but it sounds like it is not including on the shopping list. At least not yet. Or is there anyone else out there who is a fan of the technology?

11-03-2009, 12:44 PM	#5
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	i've used dragon-speaking at work, (not for writing, though) but found that it very easily picks up background noise that can cause it to throw many a wobbly.... btw: the speech recognition in Vista is supposed to be dragon-speaking but a couple of versions ago....

11-03-2009, 04:26 PM	#6
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	I wrote a fantasy story using the Windows Vista built in recognition engine and it worked fairly well. It wasn't perfect, but it worked for getting a different take on the story.

11-05-2009, 11:06 PM	#8
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	Just apropos to the thread topic, there was recently a New Scientist article talking to Terry Pratchett where he talks about such software: "Recently Pratchett has become almost as famous for having Alzheimer's disease as he is for selling 65 million books in over 35 languages. He was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) two years ago - a rare form of the disease which causes the back of the brain to shrink. He has lost his ability to type as a result and had to dictate Unseen Academicals to his assistant. For his latest book he's using a speech-to-text computer program called Dragon Dictate, which learns as it goes. He has dumped his entire collection of novels onto the hard drive and has been training the program not only to recognise his accent but also to learn the words he uses - orc and yennork aren't in most authors' lexicons. "It's astonishing," he says, but he finds it falls down on punctuation." The full article can be found here, for Pratchett fans: http://www.newscientist.com/article/...asy-alive.html

Advert

Advert