(You’ll also find a preinstalled version on every iPhone and iPad, and Nuance confirmed earlier this year that the company makes Siri for Apple.) Otherwise, your lowest-cost preview is the $20 Dragon Notes, which lets you test out the voice-recognition capabilities in a stripped-down program.ĭragon NaturallySpeaking steps you through its training. If you have a recent Intel-powered Ultrabook or all-in-one desktop, you might have Dragon Assistant preinstalled. Nor did it respond well to my German accent, so other accents may stymie it as well.Ĭhrome users might have noticed the little microphone at the far right of the search bar in Google. I found the accuracy level dipped when I dictated long texts into a MS Office doc.
BETTER DS3 TOOL NOT READING CONTROLLER WINDOWS
It’s easy to use, and the price is right, but Windows Speech Recognition’s performance could stand some improvement. When you are finished, just say “stop listening” and it will go to sleep, waiting for you to wake it up again. You can also tell the computer to shut down or restart, as well as call up the start menu or a command line box. Once you have a document open, you can dictate text and it will instantly appear there. It can open browsers (including new tabs), apps, as well as Microsoft Office documents. You can tell Windows Speech Recognition to pretty much do anything on your PC. To begin, just say clearly into the microphone “start listening.” The app then beeps and springs into action, waiting for your next command. You’ll use that to switch Speech Recognition on and off. Once everything is set up, a small status box will pop up. You can also access the feature through the Control Panel. Click the option that pops up, and a window will open where you can enable the feature, as well as read a short text to give Windows an idea of what your voice is like. To switch on Windows Speech Recognition, go to your Start menu and in the search box at the bottom, type speech recognition. Windows Speech Recognition is unobtrusive, free, and already installed.
BETTER DS3 TOOL NOT READING CONTROLLER WINDOWS 8
I thought I was going to detest it, but I came away impressed-especially considering it’s free, and you already have it on your Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 PC.
While none was quite able to slay the powerful Dragon, they could still be useful for many tasks.Īlthough Microsoft doesn’t trumpet the fact, newer versions of Windows arrive with the company’s own Windows Speech Recognition software preinstalled. They were tested under pretty rugged conditions, too: my native Scottish brogue, and my German accent honed by 13 years spent in Wuerzburg. We found five Windows-based options worth a test drive. The spoken word also suits some projects better than typing.
The more choices, the better, too, given that using voice commands can stave off or reduce repetitive strain injuries. Dragon has long ruled supreme over the landscape of speech recognition-but no more. Simpler or less expensive (if not quite as powerful) options are carving out little fiefdoms.