
Dragon Dictate does sport a steep learning curve, which can seem overwhelming at first use, but once this is surmounted, it eventually does work much like you would imagine, and could well be a boon for those who wish to cut down on the risk of Repetitive Strain Injury, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other related conditions, in addition to computer users with accessibility challenges. But in this case you get what you pay for, and Dragon Dictate is far more advanced than Apple's software.
#DRAGON DICTATE 4.0 FOR MAC FOR MAC#
When one considers that Nuance doesn’t offer a demo or trial version of any kind, it’s a big leap of faith to take in order to see whether or not Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 will fit into your workflow, especially when there’s already a built-in dictation feature within OS X Mountain Lion. The system performed well and there was little noticeable lag.

Using the iOS app in this way, I was able to speak into Apple's bundled iPhone earbuds as a basic external headset.

#DRAGON DICTATE 4.0 FOR MAC SOFTWARE#
To use this, one simply points the software to the relevant audio file, and Dragon Dictate does its thing.įinally, there's also an iOS app tohat can be used to configure an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch as a Wi-Fi-connected microphone. Though I spent relatively little time testing it, I came away impressed by Dragon Dictate’s transcribe feature and hope to put it to the test in the future with longer dictaphone recordings. To enable easier proofreading, Dragon Dictate can be ordered to read back the previously entered text, and this is done so with the usual “Alex” voice, which will be familiar to anyone who has heard OS X’s built-in voice. Increased integration with third-party apps in this regard would be most welcome, though presumably Nuance are at the mercy of developers here. Saying “open Firefox” or “open Mail” will cause those applications to duly launch, and there’s some further interaction possible too, as saying “new email” also performs that task.

As always, your mileage may vary.ĭragon Dictate for Mac 3 sports support for the OS X Mountain Lion Notes and Reminders appsīeyond simple dictation, there are several other useful features in Dragon Dictate, like system commands, for example. However, it was still impressively accurate and required relatively little hands-on editing compared to earlier versions I've tried. In the Dragon Dictate promotional material, Nuance boasts an increased accuracy to a level of 99 percent, but this was definitely not the case when testing the software with a microphone built into a computer. There are also a few eccentricities which are bound to pop up when using any speech to text software, such as Dragon’s occasional inability to decide whether I wish to say “for,” “four,” or “4." Issues like this can be worked out in Dragon Dictate's expansive options, but they slow down the initial adjustment period. While testing Dragon Dictate 3 over the course of a few days, I found the most difficult part was altering my own habits and getting used to speaking thoughts out loud, rather than tapping fingers on a keyboard. English spelling without demanding U.S.-centric commands like “period” in place of my own preferred “full stop.” When dictating, it’s important to speak as clearly as possible, and articulate all necessary punctuation, such as “comma” and “exclamation mark." Perhaps stronger regional accents could give the software fits, but for what it’s worth, Dragon Dictate handled my own Welsh accent very well on the whole, even converting the words into U.S.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 can open applications with a voice command
