• Dragon Naturally Speaking Software Update
• Dragon Naturally Speech Download

The industry leading speech recognition software used by doctors, lawyers, and other professionals to convert speech into text. Starting at $119.99 for the Premium Edition, Dragon has been used by thousands of professionals for dictation and transcription. May 05, 2020 Good microphone quality is always a must with voice recognition software such as Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Mics with noise-canceling technology help a lot in speech clarity, which is an essential criterion in delivering a clearly articulated speech to the software processor. Headsets are built with or without wires. ASUS VivoBook F510UA. If you have a moderate budget and want to buy a reputable laptop that. Product Title Nuance 362334 Dragon Naturally Speaking Home Version. Average rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 2 reviews 2 ratings Current Price $74.99 $ 74.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking (also known as Dragon for PC, or DNS)^[1] is a speech recognition software package developed by Dragon Systems of Newton, Massachusetts, which was acquired first by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products and later by Nuance Communications. It runs on Windowspersonal computers. Version 15 (Professional Individual and Legal Individual),^[2] which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, 8 and 10, was released in August 2016.^[3][4] The macOS version is called Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, version 6^[5] or Dragon for Mac.

Features[edit]

Dragon Naturally Speaking uses a minimal user interface. As an example, dictated words appear in a floating tooltip as they are spoken (though there is an option to suppress this display to increase speed), and when the speaker pauses, the program transcribes the words into the active window at the location of the cursor. (Dragon does not support dictating to background windows.) The software has three primary areas of functionality: voice recognition in dictation with speech transcribed as written text, recognition of spoken commands, and text-to-speech: speaking text content of a document. Voice profiles can be accessed by different computers in a networked environment, although the audio hardware and configuration must be identical to those of the machine generating the configuration. The Professional version allows creation of custom commands to control programs or functions not built into NaturallySpeaking.

History[edit]

Dr. James Baker laid out the description of a speech understanding system called DRAGON in 1975.^[6] In 1982 he and Dr. Janet M. Baker, his wife, founded Dragon Systems to release products centered around their voice recognition prototype.^[7] He was President of the company and she was CEO.

DragonDictate was first released for DOS, and utilized hidden Markov models, a probabilistic method for temporal pattern recognition. At the time, the hardware was not powerful enough to address the problem of word segmentation, and DragonDictate was unable to determine the boundaries of words during continuous speech input. Users were forced to enunciate one word at a time, clearly separated by a small pause after each word. DragonDictate was based on a trigram model, and is known as a discrete utterance speech recognition engine.^[8]

Dragon Systems released NaturallySpeaking 1.0 as their first continuous dictation product in 1997.^[9]

Joel Gould was the director of emerging technologies at Dragon Systems. Gould was the principal architect and lead engineer for the development of Dragon NaturallyOrganized (1.0), Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Organizer (3.52), Dragon NaturallySpeaking (1.0 through 2.02), and DragonDictate for Windows (1.0). Gould also designed the tutorials in both DragonDictate for DOS version 2.0 and Dragon Talk.^{[citation needed]}

The company was then purchased in June 2000 by Lernout & Hauspie, a Belgium-based corporation that was subsequently found to have been perpetrating financial fraud.^[10] Following the all-share deal advised by Goldman Sachs, Lernout & Hauspie declared bankruptcy in November 2000. The deal was not originally supposed to be all stock and the unavailability of the Goldman Sachs team to advise concerning the change in terms was one of the grounds of the Bakers' subsequent lawsuit. The Bakers had received stock worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, but were only able to sell a few million dollars' worth before the stock lost all its value as a result of the accounting fraud. The Bakers sued Goldman Sachs for negligence, intentional misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty, which in January 2013 led to a 23-day trial in Boston. The jury cleared Goldman Sachs of all charges.^[11] Following the bankruptcy of Lernout & Hauspie, the rights to the Dragon product line were acquired by ScanSoft of Burlington, Massachusetts, also a Goldman Sachs client. In 2005 ScanSoft launched a de facto acquisition of Nuance Communications, and rebranded itself as Nuance.^[12] Cuneiform input method for mac os.

As of 2012 LG Smart TVs include voice recognition feature powered by the same speech engine as Dragon NaturallySpeaking.^[13]

Versions[edit]

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 is available in the following languages: UK English, US English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese (aka 'Dragon Speech 11' in Japan).

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Sarnataro, Valerie (2012-11-08). 'Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS) 12 Review'. technologyguide.com. Technology Guide. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
2. ^'Nuance Announces Major New Releases of Dragon for Windows and Mac OS X'. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
3. ^'Nuance product support for Microsoft Windows Vista'. Archived from the original on 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
4. ^'Nuance product support for Microsoft Windows 7'. 2010. Retrieved 16 Aug 2010.
5. ^'Nuance Announces Major New Releases of Dragon for Windows and Mac OS X'. 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
6. ^Baker, James K. (1975). 'The DRAGON System - An Overview'. IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing. 23 (1): 24–29. doi:10.1109/TASSP.1975.1162650.
7. ^'History of Speech Recognition and Transcription Software'. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
8. ^'DragonDictate product information'. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
9. ^'Dragon NaturallySpeaking 1.0 released'. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
10. ^'Dragon Systems purchased by Lernout & Hauspie'. New York Times. 2001-05-07. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
11. ^'Goldman Is Cleared Over a Sale Gone Awry'. New York Times. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
12. ^'ScanSoft and Nuance to Merge'. 2005-05-09. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
13. ^'Samsung and LG smart TVs share your voice data behind the fine print'. ConsumerReports. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2016-06-10.

External links[edit]

• Official website for Nuance Communications

What is Dragon Software? Review of Dragon Home & Professional

Nuance Dragon software offers speech recognition technology that converts the spoken word into written text. Coming in multiple versions with different feature sets, Dragon is for anyone who finds that typing out long strings of words is inconvenient or impossible.

Dragon has versions for students, teachers, law enforcement personnel, lawyers, courtroom support employees, and other professionals.

Below, I will review Dragon Home, Professional and Legal to enlighten you about the pros and cons of Nuance’s speech recognition suite. I will also discuss a few higher-end products, e.g. Dragon Anywhere, which places some of its functionality in the cloud. Finally, I will give you a general recommendation to put things into context. So, read on below and enjoy our Dragon software review.

Dragon Software 2020 – Overview

Who for? – As I mentioned above, Dragon software focuses on providing a user-friendly speech-to-text recognition and conversion engine for a broad audience. It is designed to listen to your speech, understand it, and convert it to text.

Understands accents – Because individual speech patterns and accents can vary significantly, Dragon software utilizes machine learning to recognize and understand your speech patterns better over time.

Easy commands – It can also execute simple commands, which allows you to do things like open and close software, post status updates on social media, and edit text.

Dragon Software Features

• Full voice-to-text functionality.
• Execute commands using your voice.
• Search and browse the internet by voice.
• Dictate homework assignments, emails, messages, appointments.
• Fast, accurate documentation. Dictate anywhere, transcribe later (Pro).
• Dictate and edit case files, contracts and briefs by voice (Legal only).
• Deep learning of individual accents and regional intonations.
• Multiple versions for professionals and individuals in different fields.

Dragon Home, Profession or Legal?

Dragon software comes in different versions to suit your tastes and requirements. The core functionality is present in Dragon Home, with professional versions providing additional features likely to be of use to the targeted niche.

As I discuss below, for those who decide they need dictation software, the choice of which version to go with can be as important as the choice of the software provider.

1. Dragon Home v15

Dragon Home (visit website) boasts a robust feature-set for a “basic” product. It comes with all of the features I’ve described above while coming in at a $150.00 price point.

Nuance emphasizes Dragon’s ability to translate speech-to-text up to three times faster than typing. This capability is borne out by the experiences of users all over.

People report being able to speak at a natural cadence. As long as their hardware was powerful enough, Dragon Home had no issue keeping up with their voice.

Playback feature – This is an exciting addition and one that is unique to the Dragon software. It does what it sounds like: it plays back entered text. What’s interesting is that it does so in your voice. It’s a handy function to have, as one’s voice is infinitely easier to understand than a robotic and generic one. Although it can be eerie at times to hear your voice, with subtle modifications, played back at you.

Fast – Nuance claims to be able to transcribe three times faster than a typist, though this does not include the time spent dictating punctuation and special characters. Dragon Home also requires you to indicate every punctuation mark and special character verbally if you want fully punctuated text. Tutorials are available here.

Resources – Keep in mind, real-time speech-to-text recognition and translation are bound to be resource-intensive. Especially when paired with their machine learning functions, users should prepare for that reality. Unless you have a powerful machine, avoid running it, even Dragon Home, alongside other beefy software.

Commands – Dragon software provides extensive command functionality for selecting the text, fixing mistakes, moving in lists, searching or copying and pasting information. However, it is good to know the limitations here. While it can be convenient to be able to launch and instruct applications with just your voice, one must be careful not to leave the functionality on when not needed. For example, you don’t want your conversation to unintentionally become the content of your next Twitter post.

Practice commands – It can also be a clumsy tool until one has the hang of it. Individual commands must be voiced in the correct manner and sequence for them to operate. Once one is familiar with the feature though, it can significantly increase the ease with which one interacts with a PC or Mac. Cheat sheets are available.

Verdict – Dragon Home has much improved over the course of the years, and it does what it is meant to do: reliable voice communication. It is suitable for those who want to use a voice-based approach to web browsing and search, shopping, writing or social media. As discussed it is also resource-intensive and requires some type of training that is available online. Those who need more business features should, however, consider one of the professional editions which I review below.

Systems: Windows, Explorer, Firefox, Chrome
Price: $150. Visit website.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Note: Home v15 is the successor of Dragon Naturally Speaking v13.

2. Dragon Professional Individual v15

Dragon Professional (view website) contains the features of Dragon Home with some additional customizations intended to make life easier for the typical professional.

Dragon Professional makes it easier to create custom words and phrases consisting of proper names or unusual industry terminology. Both of these might be used unusually frequently in a user’s line of work.

There is also custom functionality to make it easier to work on multiple kinds of devices, like PC touchscreens, smartphones and tablets.

Benefits – Do you find yourself repeatedly using the same text and graphics? Use custom voice phrases to have Dragon Professional include them instead. The Professional edition allows you to leave your work at your desktop PC and pick it up again on another device using the Anywhere functionality.

Documentation – Apart from memorizing words and phrases, it is possible to set smart format rules to implement abbreviations, contact details or dates based on corporate styling schemes. Text can be highlighted, underlined or set bold or in different sizes by voice. It works within common business applications.

Verdict – In some ways, though, Professional is the app without a home in the Dragon software portfolio. Dragon Home is ideal for home users. Legal is custom-built for lawyers and legal professionals. Nuance also has solutions for law enforcement, financial services professionals, and medical professionals.

This makes one wonder why anyone would choose a generic “Professional” version when there is likely an industry-specific version with a fuller feature-set? Well, Dragon Professional is suitable for businesses, freelancers and even ambitious home users who want to settle between Home and Legal, and do not need specific vocabulary but require solid documentation functionality.

Systems: Windows and Windows Server, iOS or Android
Price: $300. $400 with Bluetooth headset. View website.
Rating: ★★★★☆

3. Nuance Dragon Legal v15

Dragon Legal (view website) is a specific version of Professional and designed for anyone in the legal industry. The Legal edition comes preloaded with hundreds of legal terms and words, obviating the need to train the software in the use of those terms.

It has the same features as Dragon Professional, including custom voice commands, names and terminology as well as Dragon Anywhere functionality. These features are very useful in the legal realm, which relies heavily on boilerplate contracting language and precedent documentation.

Benefits – Legal comes with the ability to dictate and pre-record a string of text, or conduct an interview, and transcribe it using the tool at a later time. For lawyers in remote locations who are required to perform their interviews of witnesses outside of more formal deposition environments, this feature could be worth the $500 cost alone.

Who for? – Dragon Legal may be most useful for small and mid-sized firms in the private sector. Governmental organizations (including the courts) frequently have access to proprietary methods of dictation and transcription, while large firms can often afford to hire full-time transcriptionists. If you find yourself at one of the small or medium-sized firms and are without a transcription or dictation solution, this Dragon software may be an appropriate tool to use.

Good to know – Similar to the legal issues that may arise for professionals using Dragon Anywhere (discussed below), Dragon Legal may raise some problems for lawyers. Regulations surrounding solicitor-client privilege and confidentiality are notoriously stringent. Lawyers and those who work with them will need to pay close attention to the storage and security of the files created by Dragon Legal. Privacy and data security will be paramount considerations for legal professionals here.

Systems: Windows and Windows Server, iOS or Android
Price: $500.
Rating: ★★★★★

4. Nuance Dragon Anywhere

Dragon Anywhere (view website) is the cloud-based version of Dragon’s speech- and voice-recognition technology. It is designed to be compatible, and sync with, several different cloud-based notetaking and file storage apps (like Evernote and Dropbox).

Effectively, Anywhere is a solution for anyone who requires Dragon software functionality away from their desks or laptops. The app works on Android and Apple phones, tablets, and allows for seamless cross-functionality between mobile devices and desktop or laptop computers.

Benefits – The app will enable you to share your work with colleagues and other people, making it a possible solution for teams of more than one person. Unlike some other software, Dragon Anywhere also imposes no word or time limits. You can speak for as long as you wish, and the program will continue to convert the words to text.

Good to know – Dragon Anywhere’s cloud-based technology may pose some legal difficulties for specific users, though. It’s integration with external servers, devices, and even users may run afoul of best practices or regulations concerning confidentiality and data security in some fields, particularly law-related ones.

Therefore, users in professional settings who frequently handle confidential information will want to peruse their organization’s privacy policies before using these features.

Systems: Cloud. All systems.
Price: $14.99/month or $149/year.
Rating: ★★★★☆

Nuance Dragon Software Review – Pros and Cons

There is only one feature that takes top billing in speech-recognition tools, and that is, obviously, its ability to recognize and translate voice to text.

Here, Dragon software does not disappoint. All of the downsides of the product (its tendency to devour a computer’s resources) are byproducts of the software’s ability to accurately, quickly, and adaptively take dictation. Dragon software understands a wide variety of speech well and converts it to text accurately.

It has other admirable features as well, namely:

• Excellent compatibility with popular apps like Dropbox and Evernote
• Wide feature-set including web search or documentation
• Diverse versions for professionals, especially in the medico-legal fields

Downsides – The major drawback to Dragon software is that, for many people, it will be a solution in search of a problem. In other words, if you are a reasonably competent typist, dictation will not be your bag. I am a full-time writer, and I have yet to see the need for such tools, despite spending eight hours per day at a keyboard.

Voice vs typing – That may be an unfair criticism though, given that many people are not reasonably good typists. For them, this product could be a godsend. Alternatively, typing programs offer a good opportunity to help speed up pace and accuracy and to reduce the time needed for editing, hence, getting the best of both worlds.

Dragon Software Review 2020 – Verdict

Dragon software products do what they say they are going to do, and they do it well. If you have difficulty typing accurately and quickly, and you deal with a lot of written work, this may be the product for you. You will want to make sure that you have a powerful device to run the software, and that you’re reasonably proficient with technology, to get the most out of the programs though.

Tutorials – It certainly requires some “training” and a person who has “significant” difficulties with computers may continue to have trouble with Dragon software. However, there are videos, webinars and material provided by Nuance to get you started quickly and to enjoy the benefits. Furthermore, there is eMail and phone support to ask questions. Below are some of the FAQs listed.

Bottom line – While there are many alternatives on the market, Dragon software is certainly one of the best solutions when it comes to human-computer conversations. If you want to use it to ease daily tasks such as email or writing, Dragon Home is the best option. For professional use, Nuance offers a wide range of customized versions.

Professional solutions – Dragon software includes a growing number of niche products designed to meet the needs of a diverse array of professional users. Lawyers, doctors, police officers, accountants, and other professionals can all choose from versions of the software designed specifically for their industries.

Nuance Dragon Software 2020

1. Dragon Home | ★★★★☆ | $150
2. Dragon Professional Individual | ★★★★☆ | $300
3. Dragon Legal Individual | ★★★★★ | $500
4. Dragon Anywhere | ★★★★☆ | $149
5. Dragon Medical | ★★★★★

Dragon Software – FAQ

Can I install Dragon software on other computers?

Usually, an installment can be made on one PC though each license is per user, not per computer. It is possible to create voice profiles that can be stored on other machines. Therefore, each speaker needs its own license.

Can friends or family use my license?

One license will serve one speaker. This also applies to create voice profiles for different speakers.

Can I use the software without any training

Dragon Naturally Speaking Software Update

There is a smooth setup procedure to quickly get users up and running. No training or research is needed to get started. However, there is a range of tutorials available to make Dragon software more accurate or to use commands more effectively.

Can I record lectures using Dragon?

As mentioned above, Dragon is not designed for multiple speakers. However, it is possible to use the tool to transcribe interviews or lectures using voice writing or parroting. A brief how-to guide is available on the company’s FAQ website.

What are the hardware requirements?

Dragon’s full feature-set comes at a hardware cost though as it taxes the typical computer setup. The minimum requirements for desktops are not outrageous, however, trying to run anything processor- or memory-intensive at the same time as Dragon Home may slow down your PC. Therefore, I recommend at least 8GB of RAM, a quad-core processor or higher and at least 8GB of free disk space.

Older editions: Dragon Naturally Speaking V13 is the previous edition. It is not being marketed by Nuance anymore. Beware of any offers selling Naturally Speaking particularly if you are in the market for the latest iteration which is Dragon Home V15.

What is your experience? Do you use Dragon Home, Professional, Legal or Anywhere? What could be improved? Please share your review in the comments below.

Dragon Naturally Speech Download

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Further resources:Wikipedia | AI and Transformation