The Chicago Apple User Group
MacSpeech Dictate: Seeing What You’re Saying
02/27/2009 08:45 PM
a review by Tom Piper
When the original Mac 128KB was released in 1984, you heard this new computer speak to us. Haven’t you since wanted to be able control the Mac by voice, and have it transcribe what you are saying? I have a great voice recognition program now; but first, a brief history of such software for the Mac.
In 1993, Apple introduced PlainTalk which thereafter evolved into Speakable Items which has been integrated into Mac operating systems ever since (pseudo voice recognition). Twelve years ago, Dragon PowerSecretary ($700) was one of the first speech recognition programs (my first for OS9), followed by Dragon NaturallySpeaking for the Mac (became PC only shortly after), and IBM ViaVoice for Mac (Best of Show at Macworld NYC 2001 -- my second voice program for OSX). It was about that same time that MacSpeech came out with iListen (my third such program for OSX) which was a significant step forward. Then, at Macworld 2008, MacSpeech announced that iListen would be replaced by Dictate (a new Mac solution built using the recognition engine from Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Windows). As my fourth voice recognition program, this one is by far the best and most advanced such product yet.
According to early reports, MacSpeech claimed that MacSpeech Dictate was a great improvement on iListen. "Now for the first time, Mac users can begin dictating straight into their applications with very little time spent training the software to recognise their voice." They claimed that training MacSpeech Dictate up to a 99 percent accuracy level, generally takes less than five minutes and that the product "...performs at the highest accuracy level on the market today...Using the new MacSpeech Dictate, user-spoken commands are recognized separately from dictation, liberating the user from the need to tell the software to change modes, simplifying the experience." The product is targeted not only at those who for whatever reason find keyboard use difficult. MacSpeech Dictate is "designed to simply make computer input easier for anyone. Whether composing email, writing a report or even a novel, MacSpeech Dictate makes the computing experience more comfortable," the company claimed.
Quite simply, I can verify that the promotional language is true. No more hours and hours of reading text to “condition” the software for my voice, but rather a few minutes of selecting preferences, and reading some paragraphs of text. Not only that, other users of your computer can also be setup to use Dictate, customized to their voice and preferences. Voice recognition really does start right out of the box with easy-to-following instructions and immediate feedback. And, you won’t believe the accuracy, which actually gets better and better over time (yes, some mistakes still do happen, but it remembers corrections).
Here is a summary listing of features and benefits:
- Minimal Training Required: provides astounding accuracy and productivity;
- Essential Command Capabilities: instead of using your mouse to select menu commands or your keyboard to type shortcuts, just speak a command;
- Uses the Legendary Dragon Speech Recognition Engine: the core is the world-renowned Dragon® speech recognition engine by Nuance;
- Works With The Applications You Already Have: iChat, Mail, iPhoto, Keynote, Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, and more;
- Spelling A World Of Words: spelling mode lets you easily spell words, names, and acronyms with either natural language or the International Radio Alphabet;
- Make Your Move: a keyboard or mouse is not needed to move around in your documents because your voice moves your cursor forwards, backwards, and more;
- Even Greater Recognition: includes robust Phrase Training capabilities allowing it to learn as it goes based on your voice input;
- Built Especially For The Mac: MacSpeech Dictate was built from the ground up to ensure the ultimate experience on Mac OS X;.
- Comes With Everything You Need: instantly productive as soon as you start using it, including a high quality headset microphone;
- Document Freedom: works great with almost any text document, even those created with other applications;
- Exceptional Online Help: boasts a complete online, searchable help book; and
- Key Command Savviness: it understands key commands where you can enter specific keys and even keyboard modifiers like Command, Option, Shift, and Control.
website to Install MacSpeech Dictate, Create a Profile, Use Phrase Training, Create a Voice Command for a Text Macro and Editing a Document. Additional assistance is also available through the MacSpeech Forums, their Facebook site, following them on Twitter, and using their Support Center Knowledge Base. To their credit, they believe in communication and support for their product.
From its inception, MacSpeech has always believed speech should be ubiquitous on the Macintosh. This vision originates with the company’s founder, CEO, and the Chief Architect, Andrew Taylor. There is a terrific story about Andrew’s experience and influence from the early fledgling days of speech recognition in the mid-90s all the way through today’s leading-edge Dictate product (see: http://www.macspeech.com/pages.php?cID=4&pID=24). Persistance and patience has paid off in a great product. For more information, visit www.macspeech.com, where Macspeech Dictate can be purchsed for $199. The program requires an Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.5.2 or greater ("Leopard") or Mac OS X 10.4.11 ("Tiger"). An Internet connection is also required for product registration, plus a MacSpeech-certified noise-cancelling microphone (included in box). A variety of optional microphones is also available, depending on your needs (wireless, iPod-mounted, desktop, alternate earphone/mic combos). If you are looking for a quick and reliable way to convert speech-to-text, and/or verbally control many commands on your Mac, this is the product to buy.