MacSpeech Dictate
by MacSpeech
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Software Reviews of MacSpeech Dictate
Customer Review: MacSpeech Dictate
Summary: 5 Stars
just received MacSpeech Dictate and I love it! I was totally blown away at how easy the installation went on my 27 inch iMac, 10.6.2, and how easy, and quickly, the training process went. What made me especially happy was that it works seamlessly in Microsoft entourage, especially after reading some reviews where people had problems with entourage. As a small business owner I send and receive a lot of e-mail and this was the main purpose for purchasing MacSpeech Dictate. The headset that came with the box is very comfortable. I have used voice recognition software in the past and have to say this is the absolute best application for voice recognition I have used to date. I am giving this five stars without any reservations. Can't wait to install on my MacBook Pro!Customer Review: Good Item
Summary: 4 Stars
I had major trouble at first, but after contacting tech support a few times my problem was fixed. It takes some time getting use to though. I use a Logitech wireless chat headset and it works great.Customer Review: Well worth it
Summary: 4 Stars
Like some of the other reviewers who have posted here, I am using Dictate to write this. I'm using the current version (1.5.8) on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard. I have not used any other voice recognition software before Dictate.
I first learned about this software for the Mac several months ago, but hesitated a long time before trying it. I was worried that it would be more trouble than it was worth. I've been using it for nearly a month now, and I'm so delighted with it that I felt I really ought to write a positive review here.
It's true that using this software requires some patience. Initially, I had some problems with the program crashing. When it does crash, an automatic email is generated containing a log that you can send to MacSpeech. Impressively, I got an email from MacSpeech within a few hours explaining to me how to fix a setting in the preferences that was causing the crash. It is still occasionally unstable but has a good auto recovery function, so if it does crash you lose very little work after restarting the program.
Patience is required in other ways. First, of course, you have to learn the commands and get used to dictating for optimal recognition. Fortunately, the commands are not hard to learn and although you mustn't mumble or gabble, Dictate does work best when you speak in complete phrases.
Second, you have to train the program. When you say something, Dictate comes up with a number of interpretations of what you said. Its top choice is what appears in your document, and it is not always what you intended. But there is a floating window called the Recognition Window that shows a numbered list of all the possible interpretations Dictate has come up with of what you said. The trick is to have this window open all the time (you can set this in the preferences). Then, when Dictate types the wrong choice you can glance at the list and if the correct interpretation is number three on the list, for instance, you just say, "Choose 3" to make the correct interpretation appear. Every time you do this, Dictate learns more about how you speak and its performance improves. If the correct interpretation of what you said appears nowhere in the Recognition Window, then you can edit one of the options in the window to correct it. Again, Dictate learns from this. Working regularly with the Recognition Window improves Dictate's performance over time. (Dictate offers other ways of going through this kind of training.)
Two very valuable features in the program that are easy to use are Text Macros, which allow you to create boilerplate phrases or entire letters by saying a single phrase, and the Vocabulary Editor, which allows you to add new words and train Dictate to recognize the way you say them. The Vocabulary Editor also allows you to train recognition of words that are already in its dictionary. Its dictionary is surprisingly vast, making its recognition of proper nouns quite accurate. In the last resort, you can always spell words out. I found myself doing this a lot in my first few days of using Dictate, but I have to do it far less now. It takes experience, I think, to see how you can customize the software to work for you.
Many users will want to use the keyboard in combination with dictation. This works fairly well if you dictate into the notepad that comes with the software. Then you can select what you wrote and copy it into an email message, Word document, etc.
All in all, I would enthusiastically recommend Dictate to anybody who is looking for an alternative to hours of typing, is willing to learn how to use the software (just as you have to learn to type) and does not have unrealistic expectations -- it is not telepathic!
Customer Review: If You Need It, Then This Software Will Probably Work For You
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, blame me, I should have read the reviews first. But then who knew this software wouldn't work with the Mac's built in mic. That seems pretty gosh darned silly.
Three days later: Got an external mic from Best Buy and had another go. I have never used voice recognition software, but I thought it would be a good way to write. You know, get the words faster on paper. I found this not to be the case. I talk. I stop, fumble with a few words, the program puts the fumbles on paper. I found that I think better when my fingers are hitting the keys.
I didn't know I did my thinking, creating anyway, through my fingers. Also, speaking the punctuation sort of ruins my flow. Typing it, for some reason, I don't know I'm doing it. Those periods and commas just sort of wind up on my paper as if by magic.
Still, if you can't type for some reason, this program will more than likely get you up and functioning, writing up a storm in no time. I will say that the program and I didn't get on very well at first, but after time it and I seemed to get on better. But sadly, I'm afraid that after we've become so well aquatinted, that it's going to be sitting in a box up on my shelf, probably never to be used again. If you need it, then this software could be essential, but if you don't, if you are a fast typist (about 60wpm I am) than you're better off, I think, putting your words on paper the old fashioned way.
Reviewed by Stephanie Sane
Customer Review: Does not work with MacBook internal mic. DNS in bootcamp does.
Summary: 1 Stars
The fact that this program does not work with the internal MacBook microphone is a show stopper for me and I will be sending it back. I currently use Dragon Naturally Speaking for Windows on my MacBook under boot camp and get excellent results. MacSpeech will not even let you try to use the internal mic and forces you to use a bulky headset. If you search google you will find that previous versions of MacDictate did work with the internal microphones, but for some reason the latest update eliminated that functionality. I would not recommend this program because of that. Dragon Naturally speaking works fantastically with the internal mic. It's a pain to have to use Windows, but not as much of a pain as having to carry around an external microphone.