{"id":416,"date":"2009-06-15T08:50:42","date_gmt":"2009-06-15T16:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/messofpottage.com\/blog\/?p=416"},"modified":"2009-06-15T08:50:42","modified_gmt":"2009-06-15T16:50:42","slug":"macspeech-dictate-a-users-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accretiondisc.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/15\/macspeech-dictate-a-users-review\/","title":{"rendered":"MacSpeech Dictate – a User's Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been using MacSpeech Dictate<\/a> for about half an hour, once or twice a week, since early spring. My experience is that it is great out of the box and has gotten better as I’ve learned to use it.<\/p>\n

The hardest thing about using voice-recognition software is to not watch it guess. I do best reading material (from a book, for example). To compose, I have to turn my head away from the screen, or I … start … speaking … in … single … words.<\/p>\n

When I look away and just talk, MacSpeech Dictate<\/em> does much better. I’ve found that, when I’m reading from another source, I do best when I speak in complete sentences, or at least long phrases. Then I go back and fix whatever it guessed wrong.<\/p>\n

I was impressed at MacSpeech Dictate<\/em>‘s vocabulary. It routinely guesses words that the Mac’s spell-checking doesn’t know. (I remember being impressed when it guessed “Tertullian.”)<\/p>\n

I was also impressed that they keep any eye on what people say about it on Twitter<\/a>. A shocking number of software companies aren’t so clueful.<\/p>\n

MacSpeech Dictate<\/em> does what it claims to do, and does it well. For that reason, I’d give it five stars. But I won’t. I’ll give it four, or more honestly 3.5. Here’s what I don’t like about MacSpeech Dictate<\/em>.<\/p>\n