Its fitting that one of the training texts for this package is from Arthur C. Clarkes 2001: A Space Odyssey. This widely respected large-vocabulary voice-recognition application does an astonishingly good job at delivering what once seemed like technology of the distant future. There are a few catches, however. The system needs to be set up for a specific users voice through a training session: a time-intensive process that involves what seems like yelling into the small Time-Life operator headset bundled with the product (a procedure that wont earn you many friends if you work in a cubicle). Another important consideration: most of us dont talk in full, coherent sentences, but tend to sputter along with a healthy sprinkling of "ums" and "likes." This tendency became painfully clear in time spent with the Dragon system.
But the post-training payoff is, as you might imagine, substantial. With an accuracy rate that reminded us of handwriting recognition on the PalmPilot, Dragon does its best to make sense of your phrases. Largely, its successful. Even so, as the manufacturers readily admit, youll need to use a mouse and keyboard on your documents. But for the bulk of the time, youll have a great time-saving dictation and transcription system, and the more time you spend with it, the better your results will be. --Acton Lane