Dragon NaturallySpeaking is amazing voice recognition software that lets you control the computer with your voice. It almost sounds like science fiction, but the truth is that Dragon NaturallySpeaking totally surpassed our expectations. Dragon NaturallySpeaking software is a speech recognition program that allows the user to speak into a microphone on a computer with the software translating the spoken words into text in a text program. With a software program such as this, typing isn't necessary and the user can do away with a keyboard. Things have moved on considerably, and when we reviewed version 11 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking (NS) two years ago we found it slick in operation, if somewhat lacking in the help and support. With Dragon Home, you’ll be surprised at how much productivity and creativity is inside you. Dragon understands what you say and how you say it. Simply speak words and they appear on the screen — three times faster than typing — with no typos. Tell your PC what to do and it does it.
- Nuance Website
- Download Dragon Naturally Speaking
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Website
- Dragon Naturally Speaking For Mac
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Free Download
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Medical
Dragon Naturally Speaking offers solutions for business professionals, and those in the legal field, allowing them to create and streamline documents for faster turnaround.
| Developer(s) | Nuance Communications |
|---|---|
| Initial release | June 1997; 23 years ago |
| Stable release | 15 / September 2016; 4 years ago |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, macOS |
| Available in | 8 languages |
| Type | Speech recognition |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.nuance.com |
Dragon NaturallySpeaking (also known as Dragon for PC, or DNS)[1] is a speech recognition software package developed by Dragon Systems of Newton, Massachusetts, which was acquired first by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products and later by Nuance Communications. It runs on Windowspersonal computers. Version 15 (Professional Individual and Legal Individual),[2] which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, 8 and 10, was released in August 2016.[3][4] The macOS version is called Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, version 6[5] or Dragon for Mac.
Features[edit]
Dragon Naturally Speaking uses a minimal user interface. As an example, dictated words appear in a floating tooltip as they are spoken (though there is an option to suppress this display to increase speed), and when the speaker pauses, the program transcribes the words into the active window at the location of the cursor. (Dragon does not support dictating to background windows.) The software has three primary areas of functionality: voice recognition in dictation with speech transcribed as written text, recognition of spoken commands, and text-to-speech: speaking text content of a document. Voice profiles can be accessed by different computers in a networked environment, although the audio hardware and configuration must be identical to those of the machine generating the configuration. The Professional version allows creation of custom commands to control programs or functions not built into NaturallySpeaking.
History[edit]
Dr. James Baker laid out the description of a speech understanding system called DRAGON in 1975.[6] In 1982 he and Dr. Janet M. Baker, his wife, founded Dragon Systems to release products centered around their voice recognition prototype.[7] He was President of the company and she was CEO.
DragonDictate was first released for DOS, and utilized hidden Markov models, a probabilistic method for temporal pattern recognition. At the time, the hardware was not powerful enough to address the problem of word segmentation, and DragonDictate was unable to determine the boundaries of words during continuous speech input. Users were forced to enunciate one word at a time, clearly separated by a small pause after each word. DragonDictate was based on a trigram model, and is known as a discrete utterance speech recognition engine.[8]
Dragon Systems released NaturallySpeaking 1.0 as their first continuous dictation product in 1997.[9]
Joel Gould was the director of emerging technologies at Dragon Systems. Gould was the principal architect and lead engineer for the development of Dragon NaturallyOrganized (1.0), Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile Organizer (3.52), Dragon NaturallySpeaking (1.0 through 2.02), and DragonDictate for Windows (1.0). Gould also designed the tutorials in both DragonDictate for DOS version 2.0 and Dragon Talk.[citation needed]
The company was then purchased in June 2000 by Lernout & Hauspie, a Belgium-based corporation that was subsequently found to have been perpetrating financial fraud.[10] Following the all-share deal advised by Goldman Sachs, Lernout & Hauspie declared bankruptcy in November 2000. The deal was not originally supposed to be all stock and the unavailability of the Goldman Sachs team to advise concerning the change in terms was one of the grounds of the Bakers' subsequent lawsuit. The Bakers had received stock worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, but were only able to sell a few million dollars' worth before the stock lost all its value as a result of the accounting fraud. The Bakers sued Goldman Sachs for negligence, intentional misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty, which in January 2013 led to a 23-day trial in Boston. The jury cleared Goldman Sachs of all charges.[11] Following the bankruptcy of Lernout & Hauspie, the rights to the Dragon product line were acquired by ScanSoft of Burlington, Massachusetts, also a Goldman Sachs client. In 2005 ScanSoft launched a de facto acquisition of Nuance Communications, and rebranded itself as Nuance.[12]
As of 2012 LG Smart TVs include voice recognition feature powered by the same speech engine as Dragon NaturallySpeaking.[13]
Versions[edit]
| Dragon Naturally Speaking Version | Release date | Editions | Operating Systems Supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | April 1997 | Personal | Windows 95, NT 4.0. |
| 2.0 | November 1997 | Standard, Preferred, Deluxe | Windows 95, NT 4.0 |
| 3.0 | October 1998 | Point & Speak, Standard, Preferred, Professional (with optional Legal and Medical add-on products) | Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0. |
| 4.0 | August 4, 1999 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical, Mobile | Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 SP3+. |
| 5.0 | August 2000 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | Windows 98, Me, NT 4.0 SP6+, 2000. |
| 6.0 | November 15, 2001 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | |
| 7.0 | March 2003 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | Windows 98SE, Me, NT4 SP6+, 2000, XP. |
| 8.0 | November 2004 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | Windows Me (Only Standard and Preferred editions), Windows 2000 SP4+, Windows XP SP1+. |
| 9.0 | July 2006 | Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical, SDK client, SDK server, | Windows 2000 SP4+, XP SP1+. |
| 9.5 | January 2007 | Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical, SDK client, SDK server | Windows 2000 SP4+, XP SP1+, Vista (32-bit). |
| 10.0 | August 7, 2008 | Essentials, Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | Windows 2000 SP4+, XP SP2+ (32-bit), Vista (32-bit). Server 2003. |
| 10.1 | March 2009 | Standard, Preferred, Professional, Legal, Medical | Windows 2000 SP4+, XP SP2+ (32-bit), Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2003. |
| 11.0 | August 2010 | Home, Premium, Professional, Legal | Windows XP SP2+ (32-bit), Vista SP1+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2003, 2008. |
| 11.0 | 2011 | SDK client (DSC), SDK server (DSS) | Windows XP SP2+ (32-bit only), Vista SP1+ (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2003 and 2008, SP1, SP2 and R2 (32-bit and 64-bit) |
| 11.5 | June 2011 | Home, Premium, Professional, Legal | Windows XP SP2+ (32-bit), Vista SP1+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2003, 2008. |
| 11.0 | August 2011 | Medical (Dragon Medical Practice Edition) | Windows XP SP2+ (32-bit), Vista SP1+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2003, 2008. |
| 12.0 | October 2012 | Home, Premium, Professional, Legal | Windows XP SP3+ (32-bit), Vista SP2+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. |
| 12.5 | February 2013 | Home, Premium, Professional, Legal | Windows XP SP3+ (32-bit), Vista SP2+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. |
| 12 | June 2013 | Medical (Dragon Medical Practice Edition 2) | Windows XP SP3+ (32-bit), Vista SP2+ (32-bit and 64-bit), 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. |
| 13 | August 2014 | Home, Premium, Professional, and Legal. | 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8.1 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. Mac OS X 10.6+ (Intel Processor) |
| 13 | September 2015 | Medical (UK, French, German) (Dragon Medical Practice Edition 3) | 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8.1 (32 and 64-bit), 10 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. Mac OS X 10.6+ (Intel Processor) |
| 14 | September 2015 | Professional (individual, and Group) | 7 (32 and 64-bit), 8.1 (32 and 64-bit), 10 (32 and 64-bit). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. Mac OS X 10.6+ (Intel Processor). Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012. |
| 15 | August 16, 2016 | Dragon Professional Individual; Dragon Legal Individual; Dragon Professional Individual for Mac (version 6) | |
| 15 | May 1, 2017 | Dragon Professional Group (Languages: English US and German only) | |
| 15 | January 22, 2018 | Dragon Medical Practice Edition 4 (Languages: English US) |
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 is available in the following languages: UK English, US English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese (aka 'Dragon Speech 11' in Japan).
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Sarnataro, Valerie (2012-11-08). 'Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS) 12 Review'. technologyguide.com. Technology Guide. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^'Nuance Announces Major New Releases of Dragon for Windows and Mac OS X'. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^'Nuance product support for Microsoft Windows Vista'. Archived from the original on 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^'Nuance product support for Microsoft Windows 7'. 2010. Retrieved 16 Aug 2010.
- ^'Nuance Announces Major New Releases of Dragon for Windows and Mac OS X'. 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^Baker, James K. (1975). 'The DRAGON System - An Overview'. IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing. 23 (1): 24–29. doi:10.1109/TASSP.1975.1162650.
- ^'History of Speech Recognition and Transcription Software'. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
- ^'DragonDictate product information'. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^'Dragon NaturallySpeaking 1.0 released'. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^'Dragon Systems purchased by Lernout & Hauspie'. New York Times. 2001-05-07. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^'Goldman Is Cleared Over a Sale Gone Awry'. New York Times. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ^'ScanSoft and Nuance to Merge'. 2005-05-09. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^'Samsung and LG smart TVs share your voice data behind the fine print'. ConsumerReports. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
External links[edit]
- Official website for Nuance Communications
Are you trying to buy a headset that you can use with Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking? Choosing a headset that can work flawlessly with voice recognition software can be a pretty hard task. Below, you can find the best headsets for Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking, as well as what you need to know to pick one of them.
Top Rated Dragon NaturallySpeaking Headsets
| Product | Wired | Microphone | Monaural |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKJ | Yes | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Mairdi | Yes | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Sennheiser SC30 | Yes | Noise Cancelling | Yes |
| Executive Pro | Yes | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Mpow 071 | Yes | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Leitner | No | Noise Cancelling | Yes |
| Sennheiser MB Pro 1 | No | Noise Cancelling | Yes |
| Jabra Evolve 75 | NO | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Koss CS100 | No | Noise Cancelling | No |
| Plantronics 3210 | No | Noise Cancelling | Yes |
Choosing The Right Headset For Nuance NaturallySpeaking
You’ll want to make your choices carefully when picking a headset for voice recognition software. Give these points some thoughts before making a decision.
Nuance Website
Microphone Quality
Priority should be given to the microphone quality, as it could affect the accuracy of how the software interprets and decode your narration.
Good microphone quality is always a must with voice recognition software such as Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Mics with noise-canceling technology help a lot in speech clarity, which is an essential criterion in delivering a clearly articulated speech to the software processor.
Download Dragon Naturally Speaking
Wired vs. Wireless
Headsets are built with or without wires. You should be aware that there is no best option: if you hate tangled wires, get a wireless headset, but if you prefer to have a headset that will never run out of battery, go with a wired one.
There used to be a perception that wired headsets offer better audio quality, but that isn’t the case with how far the wireless technology has progressed.
Monoaural vs. Binaural
Another matter of choice is monaural or binaural headsets. Monaural headsets only cover one ear, allowing you to keep one ear open to the environment while using voice recognition software. If you’d rather cover both ears while you speak, it is better to buy a binaural headset.
10 Best Headsets For Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking
1. MKJ USB Headset With Microphone
Key Features
- USB Wired
- Noise-cancelling mic
- Binaural headset
MKJ is a binaural wired headset that has been designed with voice recognition in mind. It features DSP processing for better sound quality and comes with in-line volume control that makes it easy to use. Its design ensures comfort while wearing the headset with soft ear cushions and an adjustable headband.
The high-quality materials ensure durability and the headset also incorporates hearing protection for those of you who will be using the NaturallySpeaking software for many hours. Overall, the MKJ806UC is highly recommended for those of you looking for a quality headset to use for long hours.
2. Mairdi USB Headset For Dictation
Key Features
- Wired USB
- Noise-cancelling mic
- Binaural headset.
The Mairdi USB headset is a binaural wired headset that you can use for voice recognition. It comes with soft ear cushions and circumaural design that blocks the sounds around you and lets you concentrate solely on speaking. You can rotate the mic 330° which allows microphone placement on both sides.
Featuring in-line controls, the Mairdi USB headset facilitates the process of voice recognition as it allows you to mute and unmute the microphone easily, in case you need to speak to someone else in the room. This headset works directly with Dragon Nuance Voice Recognition without the need for additional drivers.
3. Sennheiser SC30 Single-Sided Business Headset
Key Features
- Wired USB
- Noise-cancelling mic.
- Monoaural headset.
The Sennheiser SC30 is a monaural USB wired headset that you can use with Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking. Its single-sided design allows you to keep an ear on the environment around you while speaking, while the noise cancelling technology provides voice clarity.
The choice of materials for this headset ensures clear audio for voice recognition and comfort for all-day use. You can bend the boom arm in order to place the microphone in the optimal position for voice recognition. Finally, the in-line controls let you adjust the volume directly from the headset.
4. Executive Pro Premium Binaural Headset
Key Features
- Wired USB
- Noise-cancelling Mic
- Binaural headset.
The Executive Pro headset is a binaural wired headset that operates via USB connectivity. Covering both ears, it blocks the surrounding sounds for better concentration on the task and delivers detailed stereo sound. The noise-cancelling technology allows for crisp and clear voice performance for voice recognition purposes.
The cushion materials and swiveling design of the ear pads make this headset comfortable to wear for long hours. It doesn’t need any additional drivers to work with your computer and it is compatible with Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It is quite durable and comes with a 2-year warranty.
5. Mpow 071 Wired Headset
Key Features
- Wired USB
- Noise-cancelling Mic
- Binaural headset.
The Mpow 071 is an affordable wired headset that is widely compatible with most operating systems. It comes with binaural design and a unidirectional microphone that delivers clear audio for voice recognition software. The in-line controls let you adjust the volume from the headset, while the built-in sound card rejects the surrounding noise.
This headphone provides you with two connectivity options: either USB or 3.5 mm audio connectivity. The long cord allows you to move around while speaking. Additionally, the earpads are built with memory foam that makes them comfortable on the ears.
6. Leitner OfficeAlly LH270 Single-Ear Wireless Headset
Dragon Naturally Speaking Website
Key Features
- Wireless
- Noise-cancelling mic
- Monoaural headset
The Leitner OfficeAlly LH270 is a monaural wireless headset that allows you to speak and walk around the room without tangling cables. Its single-ear design lets you pay attention to the sounds around you, while the noise-cancelling microphone provides clear voice performance for vocal recognition. It is compatible with most operating systems and works well with Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
The headset comes with leatherette cushions and an adjustable and lightweight headband that provide you with a comfortable fit. The headset works both with computers and phones. Finally, it is a durable headset that comes with a 5-year warranty.
7. Sennheiser MB Pro 1 Bluetooth Headset
Key Features
- Bluetooth wireless
- Noise-cancelling mic
- Monoaural headset
The Sennheiser MB Pro 1 is a monaural wireless headset with Bluetooth connectivity. This headset lets you connect more than one device simultaneously and switch between them. Its battery allows for 15 hours of talk time, letting you speak and walk around the room without worrying about running out of battery.
You’ll able to have precise dictation with the noise-cancelling mic. Keep in mind that clear audio makes voice recognition an easier task. The single-sided design lets you pay attention to what is happening around you without the need to remove the headset.
8. Jabra Evolve 75 Bluetooth Headset
Key Features
- Wireless (USB Dongle)
- Noise-cancelling mic.
- Binaural headset.
The Jabra Evolve 75 is a binaural wireless headset that features Bluetooth connectivity. The included Jabra Bluetooth USB Dongle allows you to speak while being far away from the computer, as it has a range of up to 100 ft. The battery lasts for up to 15 hours of talk time and you can also use the headset while it’s charging.
Jabra Evolve 75 is compatible with both Windows and Mac and works flawlessly with Dragon Nuance. It comes with HD voice for crystal clear voice that allows for easy voice recognition. You can also connect two devices at the same time, in case you need to switch between computers.
9. Koss CS100 Speech Recognition Computer Headset
Key Features
Dragon Naturally Speaking For Mac
- Wired (3.5mm plug)
- Noise-cancelling mic.
- Binaural headset.
Dragon Naturally Speaking Free Download
The Koss CS100 is a low-budget headset with wired connectivity and binaural design. It doesn’t feature USB connectivity, but it uses two interdependent 3.5 mm audio cables for microphone and headphone connection. The binaural design distributes the sound evenly in your ears in order to hear your voice better.
This model provides clear enough audio performance to be used with Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking, thanks to noise-canceling technology. Covering both ears, it provides comfort that allows it to be used for extended amounts of time. All in all, this headset has everything you need for voice recognition at a low price.
Dragon Naturally Speaking Medical
10. Plantronics Blackwire 3210 USB-A Headset
Key Features
- Wired USB
- Noise-cancelling mic
- Monoaural headset.
The Plantronics 3210 is a monaural wired headset that is compatible with Nuance Dragon. Covering only one ear, it is good for keeping in contact with the environment around you while you speak. Additionally, the design is quite lightweight and comfortable for long hours.
It has a microphone that comes with DSP (digital signal processing) and noise cancellation, in order to deliver clear audio for voice recognition. The USB connection and in-line controls allow you to control the volume directly from the headset.
Summary
Mic quality must never be compromised in your quest to get a headset for the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Hopefully, you’ve found your best pick from the top-rated headsets mentioned in this guide.