Dragon Dictate 2.0 Crossgrade

I’m dictating this using Dragon Dictate 2.0.1 for the Mac. This is a product a lot of people have been waiting for for a long time. Personally, Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the only reason I’ve even booted Windows this year. My initial impressions of the Mac product are reasonably positive. However, it still doesn’t have feature parity with NaturallySpeaking on Windows. For instance, I notice that you can’t actually select text and then modify it with commands like “Cap That” and “compound that”.

I’ll have to experiment more but it does seem that Dragon for the Mac does not edit quite as well as NaturallySpeaking for Windows. It has definite problems finding words earlier in the sentence. It’s good enough for a first draft, but I’m not sure you could really publish something–even a basic letter–without going back over it with the keyboard. Still, it is faster than booting up Parallels just to dictate a letter. Given the limited editing functionality, NaturallySpeaking for Windows is still clearly the superior product. Anyone who depends on voice dictation as their only means of input will definitely want to use Windows and NaturallySpeaking. However, the Mac product is at least good enough for occasional use in conjunction with a keyboard.

Nuance is offering a $79.99 cross grade price for registered owners of NaturallySpeaking for Windows. For some reason they aren’t advertising this on their website. You have to write in and ask them. Upgrades are also available from earlier versions of MacDictate.

4 Responses to “Dragon Dictate 2.0 Crossgrade”

  1. HabaneroGuy Says:

    Why should I care? That may seem callous, but I’ve been following this site for over a decade because at one point it was current and relevant to the ‘cutting edge’ developer. Following elharo was the next best thing to keeping your finger onthe pulse of the Java beast. I don’t think that’s the case any longer. Dragon Dictate? Choose what works for you. If you like it because it is so great, tell us about it so we can take a look ourselves. Otherwise, choose what works for you and get on with life. I want to know about the future of XOM, or Java, or your (most importantly) your next favorite language after Java, etc. If you have nothing else to say, maybe it’s time to roll up the shutters and call it a decade. It’s been a good run. If you have nothing else to say, there’s no shame in saying “nothing to see here, move along”. I thank you for the great insights you have given me, and the great toolkit (XOM). Take a break and relax.

  2. Bill Goggin Says:

    I’m curious to know if you ever use Dragon to write code? Is that possible or does it rely on context and only work for English? It seems like it would be a great solution for a programmer with carpal tunnel, if it would work for writing code.

  3. Elliotte Rusty Harold Says:

    I don’t, though I know some folks do this with a lot of macros and custom vocabulary using the Windows version. I don’t think the Mac version is nearly strong enough to support this yet.

  4. Andrzej Says:

    After many years of following this site, I’ve finally removed my toolbar icon for it. Cafe au Lait and Cafe con Leche are now officially dead.

    Elliotte has abandoned this site for the most part….and now it’s more a historical oddity with no relevance to much of anything.

    Pity…it used to be a very useful resource and source of Java news, as the hot pepper guy noted above.

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