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MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

DOES NOT WORK WITH SNOW LEOPARD!!

Written by CF from Allentown

Sep 6, 2009

It was a so so program that I paid a bunch of money for. But I ended up saying "scratch that" so much it was annoying. And now it doesn't work with snow leopard. FML

70 of 81 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

HAS A LONG WAY TO GO! 6 REASONS WHY...

Written by JS

Jul 5, 2009

HAS A LONG WAY TO GO! 6 REASONS WHY...

I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking since version 3, and bought a Mac and began to use the latest version of MacSpeech. (I use a VXI Talk Pro microphone and repeatedly train my voice) Here's my analysis:

1.WHEN DICTATING CONTINUOUSLY: it is good, but still not up to the level of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (However, when first starting to dictate, it usually takes 3-5 verbal entries for MacSpeech to start up.)

2.WHEN CORRECTING WORDS: MacSpeech corrections system is in the dark ages. Absolutely terrible! MacSpeech also makes a lot of capitalization errors (when I had a word in the middle of a sentence, it is capitalized, or beginning a sentence that is not capitalized, something that Dragon NaturallySpeaking does not do).

3.WHEN ADDING ONE'S OWN VOCABULARY: another terrible rating! This function is so easy to use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

4.WHEN ADDING PERSONAL GLOBAL COMMANDS: for example, training "my address" and the computer prints my entire name and address... another terrible rating.

5: OVERALL EASE-OF-USE: A TERRIBLE TERRIBLE RATING! I have two computers: one with MacSpeech, and another with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. There is an unbelievable difference in my comfort level when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking compared to MacSpeech. With MacSpeech I am always making corrections, or adjusting to its inability to "flow smoothly" as I dictate.

6: MACSPEECH COMPANY PUBLIC RELATIONS: given the needed problems and upgrades necessary to make this dictation software work correctly, MacSpeech folks created a lot of bad press when they charged $55 for an upgrade that is ATTEMPTING to correct needed problems. This is an indication of their closemindedness regarding their commitment to improve an inferior product. With all of the problems they need to correct, they are now launching a legal and a medical version. It appears this company is out to make money rather than develop a superior product.

OVERALL ADVICE: keep the pressure on this company to improve their product, or get out of to business of voice dictation. And don't believe the positive "professional ratings" that you'll read regarding this product! It is the ratings of end users that have used both Dragon NaturallySpeaking and MacSpeech that really count. If you have a choice, use Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

203 of 223 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

Awful software

Written by JG from Philadelphia

May 25, 2009

If you are looking to quickly dictate your computer long documents and letters just in a few minutes, this is not it, dont buy this piece of software. It is horrible!!!!! It will take you hours to clean up the "dictation" mess up. That is only if you dont have any trouble installing the USB microphone that comes with the software. I will rather keep typing until my hands bleed. Good luck and please let me know if you find something good in terms of mac speech recognition.

48 of 74 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

Big disappointment . . .

Written by JH

Apr 18, 2009

First, forget all the 5 star reviews. Obviously written by insiders, or I don't know who.

I've used DNS on a PC for years. LOVED IT. For my Mac I had to buy Mac Speech, v1.3. VERY disappointing . . . UNLESS you are a "simple" dictator, that is no unusual words, or capitalization, etc. This is where the program fails. If you make a mistake training an incorrect word, FORGET IT. The incorrect trained word can not be corrected . . . Hello? All you can do is delete your profile, set up a new one, train again . . . how poor. In DNS, you could go into the vocabulary files and retrain, or delete trained words.

Guys, this is 2009 . . . poor design. And don't get me started about NotePad. Try to enter some text or correct using the keyboard. IT TYPES THE TEXT IN BACKWARDS . . .

You may not think these are big issues . . . try dictating anything other than a simple letter . .
I'm sending it back for a refund.

57 of 69 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

See for yourself.....

Written by RR

Feb 10, 2009

Note: this was written with MacSpeech Dictate. I have done a considerable amount of voice training and I do not stutter, have an accent or lisp. Read for your self before you make the purchase..... Eter reading the reviews, I had to stop to see about my owner you. When I decided to do here, insert after point is to prove a point. if what I'm about to write is fully legible or lease clause then I will leave it up to you to decide whether or not this is an accurate program. When I first bought the program it seemed that everything worked perfectly. After using it for a little while I noticed that things started to do for. Anytime a win to write an e-mail, for whatever reason, it was impossible to get anything right. What I'm doing here is wearing out my 300 words or allotted for this review. To be completely honest with you, I am having a hard time with it right now. You links to help you-I said things- to help you like the recognition window and the available commands window. You will use them a lot. The available commands window is more effort than one it is worth concert after after. Insert after. When it comes to inserting after a word. It's easier to just do it manually. Ortiz the option, move backward/forward one -- 99 words. But you have to count the words. So it's best just to manually move your cursor. okay I had just hold it to insert after and he just went back and deleted half of what I had written. Of course I hit undo. Now for whatever reason, the latter he is constantly after my cursor. I'm going to try setting out again, I'm going to try to say that again. For whatever reason, the electorate he..... (I am typing this part manually. The letter E is constantly set after my cursor. When this happens, sometimes it's a C, then it really starts to type crazy things.) e now I just placed my cursor after the EE and we'll see what happens. No fee is back, he, E is back. I'm not sure if I have done my 300 words yet or not but this is pretty much a good example of the accuracy of this program. E. I would say I have a very good vocabulary. No list node list... nevermind. E Anyways makeup your own mind. I'm tired of hailing everybody talk about how great his program is es. I agree that's just people from the company putting in the reviews. I wish I never bought this time, thing. Now I have two ease. EE Oh and before I forget I have to point out the fact that tech support is Just ewful. E let me rephrase that. Tech support is just awful. You will wait and then get somebody soul and rude. But the moment cells is really... I give. E

140 of 185 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

This Product is NOT Good!

Written by TM

Dec 28, 2008

Whoever is writing these five-star reviews, they must work for the company-as someone said in another review. I have already had to manually correct the first sentence five times. Ten the little...? (times total!)
Originally an employee of mine bought this program. Being the fact that I'm the owner of a consumer advocate company, she gave it to me to try. Unless you do not have fingers that work relatively correctly, this program is more hassle than it is good. I do not believe under any circumstance that other than severely physically impaired users of this product are writing five-star reviews. It is that simple. And to be completely honest, some of the things this program types out makes me wonder if there is a wizard behind the curtain pulling the strings.
The reason this product was first purchase was because of physical limitations that the original owner has. I reimbursed her the money for it. If it made her job easier, to me it was worth the $200. She had to return the original headphones that came with the package and pay $55 for an upgrade. Along with the software update, the program works a little better. (It no longer types even after you quit talking.) But the moment it runs into one snag, it will continue to snag. It will erase entire paragraphs over and over again. It will decide to type over a sentence or delete a sentence somewhere in the middle of a paragraph, and for no apparent reason. You'll spend a lot of time using the undo option with this program. Only buy it if you truly have physical limitations that make it worth the effort. My employee has decided to just type through it.
I spoke to someone who purchased the Windows version for medical dictation. I can honestly tell you that this is one of the most laid-back individuals I have ever met. But I can also say that I heard anger in his voice and saw fire in his eyes when he spoke of having to use the words, "Scratch that... scratch that!" over and over again. And then I knew, I wasn't the only one. A lot of the time, the commands meant for correcting errors, do little if no good.
This review is the truth... It's what I do for a living. And the staple of my commitment to my job is, "Is it Fair?" Yes this is. When they do get this program to work well, what a wonderful thing it will be. It will sell like Elmo. And I will buy a new one... I hope it's a inexpensive upgrade. Note: By the end of this review, I have made 38 corrections.

111 of 128 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

MacSpeech is a MacFlop

Written by SB from Oakville

Nov 17, 2008

This is truly the worst software that I have ever had the misfortune of using on the Mac.
It does not recognize even the most basic of my dictation. I have used Dragon Dictate and it is light years ahead of this poor excuse for a product.
Do yourself a favour and avoid this at all costs.

55 of 97 people found this useful

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5

Not ready for serious users!

Written by DW from Spokane

Oct 12, 2008

I cannot recommend this product until they finish fulfilling their obligation to create a COMPLETE application. As it stands, it is very accurate, but the correction features are almost completely missing... it's supposedly currently in beta testing, but if you check the website forum, it's a common frustration, and tech support is notoriously bad. Too bad, I could really use this product and paid for the upgrade from iListen, which was slow to train and very inaccurate. This technology is almost there, and this may be a struggling company trying to make good on their claim to fame, but it is not, at this point, a tool for the power user, or anyone who needs to do a lot of training with the use of technical/medical terms.

Do not buy it yet... someday, it may be a wonderful app, but right now, it's like buying a Porsche without a reverse gear. Lots of fun until you have to actually make a correction.

43 of 51 people found this useful