Has anyone ever used voice recognition software?

Question

I'm considering buying the voice recognition software. Before I buy I want to find out if anyone has ever used it. I need to know if you found it very useful, easy to use, and worth the money?

Answer 1

I would recommend you use e-Speaking Voice and Speech Recognition software if you are using a Windows XP computer system. This software is a graphical front end to the Microsoft Speech Engine. It works very well.

Microsoft has a good summary on their website called: "How to install and configure speech recognition in Windows XP" (see last reference below).

The combination of Microsoft's software and e-Speaking should enable you to accomplish great things with voice recognition.

Check out the Speech Recognition videos at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYu6_cNRCD4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io40bTjlYCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZRSPXHOlLI

Answer 2

I work for Microsoft, and helped create the Speech Recognition software that is part of Windows Vista, which is about to ship to consumers.
You should give Windows Vista Speech Recognition a try. It is easy to use, comes with an interactive tutorial that teaches you everything you need to know to successfully use speech recognition. It's still going to take you some time to get used to speaking to your computer. It took me about 2 weeks to get used to it. There is a big conceptual difference between typing and speaking to your computer. You have to think before you speak, which most of us don't do anymore. :)
The speech recognition solution in Windows Vista is quite advanced when compared to what we shipped in previous versions of Windows. It is also much easier to use, and works in far more applications. Also, the only version of Windows we really ever shipped speech recognition on before was the Tablet edition. If you don't have a Tablet PC, you don't have Speech Recognition on it now. We also shipped a speech recognition solution as part of Microsoft Office before, but that version also doesn't come anywhere near the feature richness of what we have in Windows Vista. Therefore, I recommend Windows Vista Speech Recognition.
When you start using it, give yourself about a week, and then measure how much faster you are doing things with speech recognition. My guess is you'll see an increase in productivity, although you may not always feel like you are doing things faster.
Some tips to keep in mind:
When dictating, make sure you correct mistakes the computer makes in recognizing your voice. The more you correct mistakes, the fewer mistakes the computer will make.
Definitely take the tutorial! You'll learn all you need to know.
Good luck,
oliver

Answer 3

I don't know if they've managed to improve voice recognition software for home PC's by now, but I tried two different ones a few years back and they ended up typing nonsense! It was quicker to type the thing than go back and correct all the mistakes.

Answer 4

I also used dragon naturally speaking for awhile and was a little disappointed. There are just so many words you don't realize sound so alike such as ice cream and i scream that the computer just can't decipher the difference. Maybe one day we can teach the computer grammar and context, but until then i would recommend to hold up on it for a while.

Answer 5

I have played with Dragon a bit - found the technology just ain't there yet. Maybe if you used a VERY expensive microphone and talked the same all the time.

Answer 6

Yes, I have used it in many ways.

- WIndows XP has voice recognition built in. You need to turn it on and characterize it to recognize your voice, but it does work...kinda
- I use OnStar on my car, it recognizes my commands and numbers very well.