Hi,
I was wondering if anyone out there with ADD thinks its a good investment? The software is about $150+ for the better rated ones so I dont want to jump into it before I hear from you guys :)

Thanks

If you have the patience to train it, a fast enough computer to handle speech to text conversion and the ability to slow yourself down (cause they dont really convert as fast as you normally speak)...then its a pretty good investment.

thats really good to know....especially that it doesnt type as fast as speech. Have you tried any particular brands?

its funny how ADDers think alike, i have been thinking about this type of software for a while now. i cnat type fast enough to get my thoughts out. so the software cant really convert speech as fast as i say it??

I have read a little bit about it on the web and it says that you have to make sure it has a lot I don't remember exactly but something like over 150000 words that it recognizes otherwise its very frustrating.

The reason I thought it would be a good idea is that talking out loud helps me analyze my own thoughts. I thought I might get the same benefit from this software. I dont know if thats an ADD trait but I know that other people in my family are the opposite. They have to think through everything they are going to say before they say it. They are such slow talkers it drives me nuts!!!

Hopefully someone will respond to this post who has tried the software...if you do..please tell us the brand, I think it makes a big difference.

:O)

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone out there with ADD thinks its a good investment? The software is about $150+ for the better rated ones so I dont want to jump into it before I hear from you guys :)

Thanks


I love voice recognitoin software. I tinkered with it for a while a couple months ago. It is very cool. Getting better too. I cant recall the version i tried, but after training it a couple hours, it really started recognizing and typing what i was saying. Amazing.

Jon

let us know what type and version.

i'd never use it. i type at 70 soemthing wpm anyway, but if i had avoice recognisiton thing it would never understand me anyway cos i constantly stuff up my words.

Hi
Still have not given up on this idea. I found a consumer guide article on voice recognition software that I thought was interesting. Here is what is says about Dragon....

Review
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Essentials ships with everything you need to start talking to your computer, so long as it is equipped with a compatible sound card. The CD-based software is a breeze to install and configure. Once installation is complete, simply plug in the included headset/microphone and you're ready to go. The program requires a scant five minutes of "training" to recognize and begin responding to your voice commands and input.


Stated simply, Essentials translates your spoken words into input compatible with most Windows-based programs. Although its primary function is to accept dictation, NaturallySpeaking Essentials can also be used to enter rudimentary commands into virtually any Windows application. (At its name implies, the Essentials package concentrates on the essentials; more expensive versions of NaturallySpeaking include expanded command vocabularies for many Windows applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Lotus Notes, and Corel WordPerfect, to name but a few.) Especially useful is Essentials' ability to browse the Web with Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. Just say a Web address and, poof, you're there. The program works equally well in the two most popular proprietary Internet environments, MSN and America Online. NaturallySpeaking also supports a variety of instant-messaging, or chat, programs, including MSN Messenger and AIM. Special commands are available that even let you insert "emoticons," such as the ever-popular smiley face, into your online conversations.


Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 Essentials ships with an extensive dictionary of common words and even PC commands it recognizes right out of the box. You're not limited to this initial vocabulary, however. The program lets you expand its dictionary by adding to it words you use regularly in your PC activities. NaturallySpeaking Essentials can store up to a maximum of 250,000 words in its dictionary--a number far less than is supported by other, high-end speech-recognition programs, to be sure, but an impressive amount for a $60 primer package.


In addition to its Essentials package, ScanSoft sells several different versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, including Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional Solutions ($695), Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 Preferred ($200), and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 Standard ($99). All run on Windows 98 or later. When it comes to value, however, it's difficult to match Dragon NaturallySpeaking Essentials, especially if your primary interest is experimenting with speech-recognition to see if it's right for you. Start with Essentials, then upgrade later if you discover voice input is appropriate for you.


Pro: Affordable package that's ideal for experimenting with speech-recognition.

Con: Lacks the flexibility and expandability of more expensive speech-recognition programs.


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

ScanSoft

9 Centennial Drive

Peabody, MA 01960

978-977-2000

Hi again,
Did a search and found ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7 Essentials
cheapest at eagletronics. its 29.95 and 3.95 shipping. I think I will try it and report back to y'all!

Hi,
Just got it today and downloaded it, and did the 5 minutes of training. My procrastination never kicks in for stuff like this!

It may be too soon to say, but so far I really like it. It makes lots of mistakes...but they are easy to edit and its better for me sometimes to be able to just get the thoughts out first. I am pretending to myself that I have a secretary that is just starting to learn English! Its better than no secretary!!!

If the accuracy does not improve in the next week or so, I am going to try a better microphone.

Still, I give it a thumbs up!

I've been wondering about Voice Recognition software too....are you still enjoying it? Do you use it often?

:o OK I am embarassed to say that I am not using it...mainly because I have to spend so much time looking up the commands. But today I found a cheat sheet of all the commands in the box (it only took me a week to see it!)...so I will try it again. It really is great fun when it works well. The good thing is that it gets better the more you use it and correct it. It remembers your voice and how you say words etc...so it defeats the purpose to not use it. It also lets you open and close programs and work on the desktop like you are using a mouse...so its not just for letters!

Now you got me excited about it again...where is that darned cheat sheet???:D

I believe that there is some voice recognition software that comes with Microsoft Word I believe Office XP and later versions have it but i could be wrong. Anyway, I recommend fooling around with that before you buy anything. Who knows you might not have to buy anything but a decent microphone for a couple bucks

Yes I use dragon ? Assistive TechNology paid for mine for school I have also had TBI


Hi,
I was wondering if anyone out there with ADD thinks its a good investment? The software is about $150+ for the better rated ones NSI dont want to jump into it before I hear from you guys :)

Thanks

I used top of the line voice recognition software for several months prior to carpel tunnel surgery to prepare lectures for classes and comment on papers.

It often wrote strange things and with ADD, my proof reading stinks.

So I said, "The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electric power and some irregation in the northern tier of Southern States" It wrote, "The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electric power and urination in the northern tier of Southern states.

So my notes said be sure to discuss "national fences." When I was lecturing, I had no idea what this could mean. Later I remembered that I was to cover come national defense material.

It works, but it is dangerous.

Look for Dragon NS on eBay.

I got my copy of DNS Preferred (MSRP $200+) for $81 US a few months ago.

They use Dragon Speak at the assistive technology lab at my school (that's the lab with all the software and everything to help peole with disabilities) lots of people there use it but i've never actually been there... I'm planning on checking it out on tuesday though so I guess i'll see :)

I know a guy who uses dragon speak and also another program to help him read (it highlights the text on the screen and some other stuff) - he says without it he wouldn't be able to read OR write at all becuase of his learning disabilities.

I do think voice recognition software would help me a lot with my essays - 1) because it's cool, so i'd be a lot more likely to get started, and 2) becuase it's easier for me to speak than to write. somehting about it is less "permanent"... so when i ramble I can just go back and cut out all the parts that i don't need :)

on the other hand when i'm typing i get that whole "i don't know what to say" syndrome... I think voice recognition would help a lot in that regard.

I recently picked up a digital recorder for brain dumps on car rides. For some reason it's the only time I get really creative. My next step is Dragon NS Preferred to transcribe everything I'm recording.

As far as I know, the problem with speech recognition at the moment is that the software takes what you said, and grabs the word that's the most probable to come up in a certain context and sounds similar, statistically speaking. Now if, bit further down the line, someone figures out how to recognize actual letters and compare them against a database of words, it would become more accurate.

I have used voice recognition software from time to time as I have bad carpel tunnel problems. Dragon version 8 is much much better than the earlier versions and better than the other software I have tried. It requires less training and is far more accurate.

Voice recognition is dangerous. Once, in my lecture notes I had dictated "The Tennessee Valley Authority provides irrigation in the upper tier of southern states as well as providing electric power." When I got to the lecture I read the following:
"The Tennessee Valley Authority provides urination in the upper tier of southern states ..." But atleast I knew what I was trying to say.

Later in the notes I came across a reference to "national fences" and only later realized it was a reference to "national defense."

The voice recognition software run on a very fast computer is wonderful but quite dangerous to people like myself who have difficulty staying focused as one proof reads the results. Of course it is probably more dangerous with out prooof reading.

Good luck

I have used voice recognition software from time to time as I have bad carpel tunnel problems. Dragon version 8 is much much better than the earlier versions and better than the other software I have tried. It requires less training and is far more accurate.

Voice recognition is dangerous. Once, in my lecture notes I had dictated "The Tennessee Valley Authority provides irrigation in the upper tier of southern states as well as providing electric power." When I got to the lecture I read the following:
"The Tennessee Valley Authority provides urination in the upper tier of southern states ..." But atleast I knew what I was trying to say.

Later in the notes I came across a reference to "national fences" and only later realized it was a reference to "national defense."

The voice recognition software run on a very fast computer is wonderful but quite dangerous to people like myself who have difficulty staying focused as one proof reads the results. Of course it is probably more dangerous with out prooof reading.

Good luck

This is some great information to know!!! And i had a good laugh reading it!

I guess the moral of the story is to beware of the dragon

:)

Jon

I have used voice recognition software from time to time as I have bad carpel tunnel problems. Dragon version 8 is much much better than the earlier versions and better than the other software I have tried. It requires less training and is far more accurate.

I've used Dragon NS regularly a couple of years ago and liked it. I haven't used it in awhile, but I did try version 8 recently and it seemed more accurate than previous versions.

If you do any specialized work with non-standard programs (editing, mathmatics, etc.), the professional version provides a sophisticated macro-writing facility.