It has been almost 5 days since I set out to purchase a new laptop with Bluetooth capabilities built into the laptop. I thought this would be as simple as going to the store and buying a laptop that had Bluetooth capabilities.  I want a Bluetooth capable laptop so that I can use it with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10, which now supports Bluetooth noise cancellation microphones.

Boy, I could not have been more incorrect.

Things you can do with Dragon Naturally Speaking include setting up something of a macro so that you can say one word and Dragon Naturally Speaking will write an entirely different word, phrase or paragraph, essentially triggering the completion of a form!

As it turns out, these laptops are pretty hard to find. I’ve scoured Best Buy and Circuit City and Office Depot with no success. Maybe I should be a little bit more explicit, I have found a couple of laptops with Bluetooth capabilities, but these laptops were definitely not designed for someone like myself in mind. In fact, I have no idea who in the world they could have been configured for.

Then I started looking for Bluetooth headsets. I figured those two would be a relatively easy thing to do.

Boy, I could not have been more incorrect.

Looking in the same stores I could not find Bluetooth headsets, anywhere. I did find some Bluetooth headsets for telephone systems at Office Depot, but these were not designed to plug into USB or anything else related to computer as far as I can tell in the price tags were approximately $350, which is at least $250-$300 more than what I wanted to pay.  You would think that I was shopping for jogging strollers in a Florida Over 55 retirement community where children are banned from eye sight.

So now it would appear that I’m kind of stuck. I need to get a new laptop very soon, but it looks like I’m going to have to go with the laptop that does not have Bluetooth capabilities built into it. L

I will keep you updated as to how I deal with the situation, and hopefully I will figured out before too long. On a side note, I was very successful at finding my wife, a great laptop. I guess I have my priorities straight!

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Here are some additional quotes from blog articles covering Dragon NaturallySpeaking recently. The first one starts off with a blog article about the David Pogue, New York Times review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. That video from David Pogue is exceptional, and really does get the point across as to just how good the software is. And so I’ve included a quick video review of that video, so that you can get an choose one here and at the end of the video you can click on a link to actually go to the New York Times video and see the real deal.

I watched the NY Times Review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking with David Pogue and he does a lot of technical reviews on video so you can watch as he reviews the product. From the review he did you can tell that he really likes this product so that’s saying a lot. I watched some of the other product reviews he did and he tells you both the good and bad and all I heard was good with this product. I always like to get product reviews and recommendations before I buy something. This product even searches the web and types e-mail by voice command now that could save a lot of time. - Can You Type As Fast As You Talk? - Jude’s Eclectic Resources

The next bloggers talking about their intention to buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and I can’t fault them for that conclusion because I bought it myself two years ago when it was on sale. It definitely helps me with my work, and I am not competitive enough to tell bloggers not to go do it because it might take away my business. The reality is that there is plenty of work to go around in the blogosphere.

I can see myself actually purchasing this product and using it. I blog daily, sometimes 4-5 times a day or more and Dragon Naturally Speaking would come in so handy for me, and probably any one who blogs as much as I do. - Dragon Naturally Speaking

The final quote I’m covering this from a person whose brother was severely injured in an accident and try Dragon NaturallySpeaking years ago. They actually had a positive experience all those years back, which is surprising for me because I don’t know of too many people that had a positive experience with Dragon NaturallySpeaking before version 7 or eight. Then again, maybe there are a few people that have the right type of computer that was working the software with the right amount of RAM and some other set up but I couldn’t quite afford eight years ago. Regardless, the quote does reinforce the concept that people that do not have the luxury of being able to type, or possibly people that have difficulty seeing a computer screen, or using a mouse or a host of other issues that could give them difficulties in working with a computer the way many people do, Dragon NaturallySpeaking can definitely increase the number of options that you have to interface with computer, whether you’re standing up, lying down, or literally moving all around.

Several years ago, my brother was paralyzed in a bicycle accident. He could not move his arms or legs. Soon after, he was moved to a hospital where they would help him to adapt to new ways of getting things done. One of the most interesting technologies that they used was speech recognition software called Dragon Naturally Speaking. I was amazed to see what could be done through using this software on a computer. Now, it’s about 8 years later and this software has come a long way. - Life With Rog: Typing At The Speed Of Your Voice

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As part of my series to reach out and gain more perspective on possible applications or in this case benefits from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking I received a little feedback from people that offered a couple amusing health benefits. 

I’m positive that these are not true product claims by any stretch of the imagination but there might be something to the breathing aspect . . . Let me know what you think (would more talking be better for your lungs?  Its good for child development, I’m not sure about adult maintenance though . . )

Now, this first little quote below is definitely one that I can relate to.  I’m in my late thirties and finally starting to experience some hair loss.  By family standards I’m about twenty years late to the game, so I have nothing to complain about.

I am imagining the time I’d save with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard. Not to mention the hair on my head that would be saved from being pulled out everytime I make yet another typo - Save Your Hair with Dragon Naturally Speaking?

Then again, I personally don’t have too many typos myself (although I get more than enough comments on my blog reminding me of the mistakes I do make! – Please keep them coming, I’d rather correct them than leave them broken).

But that leads me directly to one of the comments that definitely resonated with me in more ways than one.  When I first picked up Dragon, I had been working behind a computer for at least 10 years.  I have had a great deal of vocal experience throughout my life and even made a living in sales at one stage of my life, relying on my voice for a pay check.

Ten years later however, I was rusty.  I felt like I became tongue tied easier, more um’s and ah’s had slipped into my speech and I was dropping (forgetting) names left and right. 

So here is the quote that reminded me of this . . .

I’m a pro blogger and I spend 6-10 hours sitting in front of my pc working silently. There is no one who will disturb me and the same way, no one to talk. But talking less is not healthy and will  lead you to a un-healthy status and to a status of having a lack of talking skills. This is why I try my best to talk and talk loud with different people around me. The more you talk, the more you  can breath and can live a healthy life. - BlogKori: Dragon -for business, for health

Now, I can definitely say that after using Dragon for almost two years, I feel like I have significantly reduced and possibly eliminated um’s and ahs from my speech.  I’m not using a verbal keylogger to track and flag these sounds, but I do pay attention and think they are reduced if not gone. I do not get tongue tied as much, but I still have problems with names.  :)  Guess I’m getting older….

Anyway, I do think that the verbal judo I engage in now with Dragon Naturally Speaking has helped me.  I’m not sure if my lung capacity has improved or if I’m healthier, but I’m speaking better.

That then points to one of the last quotes that I kind of view as something I can’t quite relate to yet, but I’m trying.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is used at my husband’s place of employment. They use it for medical dictation and integrate it with their practice management software. This allows for quicker dictation enabling the doctors to see  more patients. - A Fil-Am Journey: NATURALLY SPEAKING

Now, I am not a doctor, but I can definitely understand the need to document things accurately, in a timely fashion and without a lot of wasted effort.

Here’s the thing.  I’ve used the preferred version and find that it works very very accurately with medical terms (I’ve tested this extensively actually).  I can’t quite see spending $900 for the ‘medical’ version when the preferred version would seem to cover that.  I’ve yet to hear from an actual doctor that has used both so that I could hear how much better the medical version of dragon might be from the Preferred version.  There may be some other value added component that I have missed, maybe a special mobile feature, or a networked solution or something, but I’ll wait and see on that one….

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I have recently asked a number of bloggers to consider how they would use Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 and how it might impact their lives.  I’d like to share with you some of the responses from parents that stuck out to me.  I was specifically seeking unique comments and insights.  Overall, almost everyone was very impressed with the benefits that DNS10 can provide as it enables people to type at 150 words per minute.  They were impressed with the accuracy and much more.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the words that you speak and it does it 3 times faster than you can type! The accuracy rate is 99%! The special headphones keep background noises from  being an issue! This would be a must at my house, between the dog barking, little one always yelling "Mama" and the work they are doing on the house next door, it can be pretty loud in my  office. - It is nap time: Let your voice do the typing…

But I wanted to know how it might directly impact their lives, how they could use the tool.  I did not want to hear marketing messages resonating in their brains, but what it was that would actually be used in the field so to speak.  J  In general, I received two areas of feedback. 

The first area highlighted the fact that Dragon Naturally Speaking can filter out other noises including barking dogs and screaming children and pick up the words that you say.  This is more of a function of the noise cancellation headphones I believe, but has something to do with the programs ability to then listen to the words you are saying and ignore any other sounds that might make it throught he microphone itself.

Mothers using Dragon

"It will only recognize my voice and not the cry of my baby." - How to be a better blogger? read this

Here is what I love the most about this product: the background noise doesn’t affect the program! As a mother, that is awesome news because I usually have noise all around me most of the day. Three kids and a dog can be a loud  combination! - Dragon Naturally Speaking

Fathers using Dragon

So they like to sit on Daddy’s lap and watch him work, which makes it difficult to type, because my arms aren’t that long.

And because they help me type and it comes out like this:reklmef09ruew .

Plus, I’m not exactly the fastest typist in the world. I do okay, but I think a lot faster than I type, and I talk a lot faster than I type. I was therefore very interested in Dragon Naturally Speaking  10 Preferred, a computer program that automatically transcribes what you say and puts it onto the screen. - The Best of Everything: With this program, I can avoid this: reklmef09ruew

The second area then focused on parents that thought that they could use the tool to multi-task while doing household chores.  I personally, like to listen to audiobooks when I’m doing the dishes or laundry or even mowing the yard.  Many of the bloggers that I received feedback from indicate they would like to write and type while they did these chores.  Plus a few even thought that Dragon would be great for capturing recipes while they cooked, noting down all those simple meal customizations that you never quite have time to write while you are cooking or those healthy cooking tips you think of as you perform substitutions.

"I can dictate my post and do laundry at the same time. Now we all know that folding clothes takes the longest time and it is impossible to do it along with blogging. With this software, my problem is solved." - Clean and Blog by Using Dragon Naturally Speaking

I could certainly use this one! Just to think about being able to clean the kitchen, do laundry and blogging at the same time makes me want to get this software right now at this very moment.  I could just set my laptop close by, use a bluetooth microphone and bingo! As an added benefit, Dragon Naturally Speaking would free me from all the body aches and pains that come  along with sitting and "computering". - Live Laugh Love: Dragon Work and Health Benefits

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Image via Wikipedia

Below is a quick article I wrote using Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred and my wired noise cancellation microphone.  Tonight I’m hoping to pick up a new blue tooth capable laptop and headset so that I can start using Dragon Naturally Speaking with out a leash. 

Hello everybody. Today I’m excited because I’m going to become untethered with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. For a couple years I’ve been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I’ve always been attached to my computer via a wire. But today I’m headed to the store to pick up a new laptop. I’m going to get a laptop that has Bluetooth capabilities, and I’m going to try out some of the Bluetooth headsets with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. So that when I’m here working on my dock, I can get a little bit farther away from my computer than the seven or 8 feet that it allows me now. Actually, that is maybe 4 to 6 feet of cord that I have on my microphone, but I’ve never measured. But I do know that it keeps me a little closer than I need to be. So with a Bluetooth headset I’m hoping to be able to actually pace back and forth on my dock, because for whatever crazy reason, my brain works a little bit better when I’m able to walk around a little bit and get my blood flowing. So that’s what I’m up to, hope you’re having a great day and I’ll talk to you soon!

If you want to see the video that I created to make this article and edit you can see the previous article which has that fun stuff in video format. 

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