iDictate – Digital Voice Blog

One of the three words being used to describe the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 from Nuance is Smarter. By Smarter I take it to mean that the voice recognition engine can not only learn from its mistakes (DNS11 will now learn from corrections you make) but also be contextually aware. By contextually aware I mean smart enough to know the difference between to and two, or their and there and they’re, the types of basic grammar we take for granted having all been through years of schooling and listening intently in English class. I don’t recall sitting next to a Dragon speech recognition engine in class so the software really is geting smarter. In this very brief video demo from the US arm of Nuance we hear someone dictate a short sentence with plenty of contextual curve balls, as you will see the context is handled perfectly by Dragon Naturally Speaking 11.

Dragon Naturally Speaking 11 HOME, PREMIUM and PROFESSIONAL are available to buy online in Australia from Dictate Australia.

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One of the improvements with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11, the premium voice recognition software for the Windows world, is multiple matches in text. This, in my opinion, is something I don’t know how we did without before. When correcting, formatting or editing words Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 will now highlight all relevant multiple matches. For example, if you say “underline Australia” while dictating a document, for each match of the word Australia a number will appear in a small green box. You can then “Choose” the number matching the entry you require to be underlined or you can select all.

Above is a screen shot of multiple word selection in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11. The green boxes highlighting the number or each word matched have been slightly increased in size to make them easier to view in this blog post. Multiple match text during formatting and editing, one of the new features in version 11 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance. Below is a video example of multi text match in use, once we get a copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 in the office we will produce and Australian video of this feature, until then we have to rely on our friends from the US

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 HOME, PREMIUM and PROFESSIONAL are available to buy online in Australia from Dictate Australia.

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As we sit twiddling our thumbs waiting for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 to arrive in Australia we are keen for any information on the latest and greatest version from Nuance. Here are some screen shots of DNS11 to whet your appetite.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 HOME and PREMIUM editions can be pre-ordered from Dictate Australia, will be available in Australia early September 2010.

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Barely a year goes by without a major release for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, not surprising with the huge advances in technology being made especially in the voice recognition world. The latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the leading speech recognition software in the Windows world has now ticked over from version 10.1 to version 11. With the new release comes the usual claim of faster, more accurate and easier to use: exactly what is expected of any major upgrade. Also thrown into the mix is support for Microsoft’s latest Office 2010 along with much needed improvements to the UI which has been kicking around in its existing look and feel for some time, the UI improvements should make DNS11 even easier to navigate and use.

The product names for the NaturallySpeaking family have also had a revamp, gone are the Standard, Preferred and Professional editions, now we have Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Home (was Standard), Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium (was Preferred) and Professional which remains as is. These new versions will appear in Australia towards the end of August or early September, pre-orders are being taken now by most certified Dragon resellers, including us, Dictate Australia.

I currently own an older version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, can I upgrade to Version 11?

This depends on the version of Dragon you currently own. If you currently run Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard then you are out of luck. But, if you own version 9, 9.5, 10 or 10.1 Preferred or Professional then yes, you can get an upgrade package to version 11.

• You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium
• You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Professional
• You can upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred version 9, 9.5, 10, 10.1 to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Professional

What digital voice recorder comes with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium Mobile edition?

Packaged in the Premium Mobile edition is the Philips Digital Voice Tracer (DVT) 662. This is a good little recorder which is both Mac and Windows compatible. It records in either .mp3 or .wav (PCM) audio formats and has 2Gb of built in memory. The 2Gb gives you 23 hours of .mp3 recording in the highest quality recording mode and just over 6 hours of recording in the high quality PCM .wav recording mode. This recorder is excellent for recording your voice notes for Dragon NaturallySpeaking but will also be good for recording interviews and small meetings.

What is the bluetooth headset in with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium Wireless edition?

The wireless edition comes with the Plantronics Calisto bluetooth headset. This is the over-the-ear typical bluetooth style headpiece and gives you freedom from wires whilst dictating to your PC. Plantronics are leaders in the headset world.

I use a couple of PCs, one in the office and one at home is there a multi install licence for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11?

Yes, with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium you have the choice of a standard single install licence, two install licence and five install licence packs.

How much does the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 cost?

To celebrate the launch of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 in Australia, Nuance have a promotion which lasts until the end of September. I will write a new post with the pricing post-September when the information becomes available. The initial pricing is as follows:

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 HOME – $99.95 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PREMIUM – $249.95 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PREMIUM (2 install) – $299.00 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PREMIUM (5 install) – $699.00 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PREMIUM Wireless – $299.00 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PREMIUM Mobile – $299.00 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PROFESSIONAL – $649.00 incl. GST
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 PROFESSIONAL Wireless – $769.00 incl. GST

And the cost of the upgrade packages:

• Upgrade from DNS Preferred 9/9.5/10/10.1 to DNS11 PREMIUM – $99.00 incl. GST
• Upgrade from DNS Preferred 9/9.5/10/10.1 to DNS11 PROFESSIONAL – $369.00 incl. GST
• Upgrade from DNS Professional 9/9.5/10/10.1 to DNS11 PROFESSIONAL – $269.00 incl. GST

At Dictate Australia we plan to list all versions of Naturally Speaking version 11 as it becomes available in Australia.

Official Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 press release.

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