Best voice to text software? Dragon Naturally Speaking?

[LordX]

Had a customer call me today asking about a voice to text program for her older husband.

She mentioned Dragon, but that there were some bad reviews for the current version.

Caught me off guard, as I began to realize that I have zero experience in software like this - and was unable to give her any recommendation.

Anyone used software like this for clients? Obviously ease of use is the top determinant for this older couple.

 

[Markverhyden]

All of those require learning. Does he have a medical issue? My Dad had Parkinson's and it did not prove feasible.

 

[Larry Sabo]

A quadriplegic customer of mine used it very effectively. I tried it briefly for inputting repair details to invoices but editing took more time and effort than just typing the damn thing to begin with. If customer is short on patience and learning skills, he may give up on it.

 

[timeshifter]

Had a customer call me today asking about a voice to text program for her older husband.

So I guess her younger husband is pretty proficient with a keyboard?

 

[timeshifter]

I would only get involved if you are charging by the hour for your help. Dragon is probably pretty good for what they need, but... someone who is old usually means their computer skills suck. So they will struggle with things like knowing where the cursor is or which program has focus. Shortcut keys and hot keys might be especially challenging. I think you need to be reasonably proficient using a computer to use Dragon.

 

[Your PCMD]

Just do what I do. I use my cell phone. Just hit the microphone button and speak away. I send the message to my email then copy and paste it into word and edit from there. Some of it is automated but there are aspects that need the final touch. Still, it takes less time then actually typing it myself.

 

[MichaelBits]

Windows 10 has this built in... You can also add dictation to MS Word.

 

[Markverhyden]

So I guess her younger husband is pretty proficient with a keyboard?

Or could be the middle hubby

 

[DataMedics]

Dragon is pretty good, but you've got to get used to the annoying things like verbalizing your punctuation.

Google has by far the best voice recognition, and I hope one day they'll API it so it can be implemented into other applications.

With any voice transcription though, be sure to pay attention to what microphone you're using. A typical laptop/pc mic is not sufficient for accurate transcription. You'll want to get something in the $75-100+ range to get better results.

 

[DataMedics]

I stand corrected....They have API'd their voice transcription: https://cloud.google.com/speech-to-text/