Earlier today, I was testing out some video creation concepts for developing Dragon Naturally Speaking Tutorials and Demos.

I created a video and uploaded it to several video serving sites and was most impressed with the video quality of HowCast.com a video sharing service that specializes in How to videos.

For a couple years now I have been using the free service at Revver, and contemplating paying for bandwidth on Screencast.com, but today when I saw the quality of the video at Howcast, I was definitely impressed and may switch from Revver to Howcast when I’m working on free hosting.

HowCast Version

Revver Version

This video is a little unfocused, as I had some difficulty getting my basic camera to focus well on both myself and the flat panel screen in less than ideal lighting conditions that would at least keep a teen on Differin happy.

TEXT FROM THE VIDEO - - I can type relatively quickly compared to many People. But I can speak much much faster than I can type.
I can type just as fast as I can speak when I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I do have to insert punctuation at times, and that doesn’t make for good conversation, but it does make for exceptionally fast typing on my computer.

Currently I’m using the old version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9 preferred. But today it’s August 7, 2008 and nuance the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking have released Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10 preferred. The new version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking will not only enable me to type faster than I could type in Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9, which you are witnessing as I created this video, but it will also display the words faster on the screen so by financial he began to compose my writing while a speak and so just transcribing the words that I have spoken. This will give me immediate feedback as to what I just said in enable me to prepare to compose speak and write my next words.

I can’t wait to get my hands on the new version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking so I can begin to compose with my voice as opposed to transcribing with my voice.

Regardless of which version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking I’m using, I can type exceptionally fast. I’ve even clocked myself typing at speeds up to 150 words a minute using Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9 and that was a huge timesaver I can’t wait to see what I can do with version 10.

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Today, Nuance is launching Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.  When Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 was created, the program delivered on the promise and expectation of rapid digital transcription.  Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 is striving to surpass transcription and enable writers to tackle written composition.

There is a difference in reciting or transcribing words as compared to composing them.  With the older versions of Dragon Naturally Speaking (8 & 9), a user had to pretty much know in their head what they intended to say or write.  The feedback they received on the screen came too slow and too late to help guide their composition.

When we type on a keyboard, the words appear on the screen as fast as we can push a button or series of buttons.  With DNS9 the words would appear in batches several seconds after the words were spoken.  They were ‘transcribed’ very very accurately and in total it was possible for the computer and the program to keep up with a speech rate of up to about 150 words per minute (I’ve clocked it faster, but 150 words per minute is what they advertise.)

With Dragon Naturally Speaking 10, Nuance has increased both the recognition or transcription speed, and they have cut the speed from the time a word is spoken until that word shows up on the screen by almost 50%.  That means the feedback of the word reaching the screen has increased significantly, enabling users of Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 to potentially utilize DNS 10 as a composition tool and not just a transcription tool.

As I write this Nuance is pushing out the new pages on their website for the launch of the product.  One of those pages helps to emphasize the speed benefits that a person gains by leaving their keyboard behind and moving to Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.  Its a very useful comparison that lets you see how much faster you could type with DNS10 versus how quickly you type now.

That’s very cool, but even cooler, for writers, creative writers, business writers and even Dragon Naturally Speaking users from past versions is the promise of being able to SEE a composition unfold before your eyes at speeds that are starting to match the speed of your own brain. 

For existing Dragon Naturally Speaking users, they do offer an upgrade rate for the software.

I sure enjoy working with this product, much more than my days spent at Motorola working with 2 way radios. 

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