What's an easy-to-use dictation program for Mac?

September 29, 2011 10:39 AM

My dad's Parkinson's is affecting his typing, and he's interested in moving to dictation software. But it's got to be easy to use for a mid-70s, Mac-using, quasi-technophobe!

He has a hard time learning new technology, so usability (after some initial setup, which I can help him with) is absolutely key.

He's running Snow Leopard on a recent iMac, and the latest version of Word for Mac - updating the OS is not a problem, but changing word processing programs, probably a problem. (That would be more new technology.)

Less concerned about voice control of commands, etc., than with allowing him to write long passages of text. Tweaking the keyboard sensitivity, etc., hasn't really helped - he still ends up with long stretches of unreadable stuff, which he obviously finds pretty frustrating.

I have been impressed by Dragon's phone app, and the reviews of their desktop software are pretty positive. But a tech reviewer saying that something is "easy to use" is ... less than reassuring.

Any real-world experience with this program, other programs, or the whole dictation-for-technophobes experience would be much appreciated. Thanks, everybody!

posted by snoe to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

This might be relevant--rumors of a high-functioning virtual assistant coming to the iOS on the forthcoming iPhone 4s/5 (supposedly being announced next week. If this technology can be made to work on the iPhone, I'd be surprised if Apple didn't roll something out for the computer line, as well, which may be helpful for your father.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:44 AM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

No personal experience here, but David Pogue at NYTimes is always raving about the Dragon products, and has some insights into the Mac version here.
posted by dabug at 10:51 AM on September 29, 2011

I'm familiar with Dragon because it's been used by people with aphasia to produce written text. In my limited experience it has quite a learning curve and it takes a lot of training so you need to invest a lot of time at the start.

It also works much better if you don't have any speech difficulties. If your dad's speech has been affected then he might not find it works as well.
posted by kadia_a at 10:54 AM on September 29, 2011

I've tried out Dragon's desktop software (version 2, I think they're currently at 2.5). It's...okay. You have to get used to saying things like "period," "comma," and "new paragraph." I only tried it for dictation, not controlling the computer. Accuracy was okay, but correcting mistakes was sometimes frustrating. And there will be mistakes: even a 99% accuracy rate means that 1 out of 100 words will be wrong, which means an error every paragraph or so. In my experience it was worse than that, maybe 95% accurate.

Unfortunately, Dragon doesn't offer a trial version, and (as a colleague discovered) getting a refund is like pulling teeth. So be aware that if it doesn't meet your dad's needs, then he (or you) may be out a decent chunk of money.
posted by jedicus at 10:54 AM on September 29, 2011

Dragon Naturally Speaking 11 (home edition) works impressively well. As with any dictation software, it will take some time to learn his voice -- but if he has the patience to read to it for about 30 minutes up front, and then correct it during a 1-2 week learning curve, it will serve him very well.

Can't imagine it being too hard to use:
- you start the program
- it takes the form of a window which hovers in the corner of the screen while you open your word processor or whatever else
- you dictate
- you specify formatting, using a memorized list of maybe 10 formatting commands ("Select 'I am the very model' through 'Modern Major General', "Delete that", "New line"...)
- it types as directed
- you notice and correct its errors.
> "Correct 'ripe'."
> "Three." [The third instance of 'ripe' on the screen].
> "Right." [What you actually said].

It can do more, but it can be as simple as that.
posted by foursentences at 11:11 AM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: Although I agree with the warnings about Dragon's shortcomings expressed above, I'm afraid that it is the best of breed. It does have a bit of a training/learning curve, both for the software to learn your accent and for your dad to learn it, but it is the best product out there. Given that his frustrations with keyboards will only worsen over time, it may well be the best option despite the limitations.
posted by Lame_username at 11:12 AM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: I'm using Dragon on both Mac and PC platforms, and I have been really pleased with it. It's fairly easy to set up (it will walk you through the process and takes about 15 minutes the first pass). If you are willing to spend a bit more time talking to it at first the accuracy improves very, very quickly. It also searches your documents for frequently used phrases, abbreviations, etc. so will also improve a bit on it's own. The Mac version was a little clunkier to use in the past, but with the most recent update has really been quite easy to work with. I would absolutely recommend it.
posted by goggie at 11:34 AM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: The reviews of the most recent Mac version on Amazon.com are less than encouraging. Also: its technical requirements.
posted by dfriedman at 11:37 AM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: I just set up Dragon Dictate for my 85 year old grandfather and it worked impressively well. The accuracy rate was amazing to me, especially given his moderate accent.

As mentioned above, it does require that you speak the punctuation, and it does take about 30 minutes to set up -- when it would be useful if you were there to help. We also bought an external mic because he preferred not to use the included headset.

My only other caution is that it seems on his computer (a 18 month-old iMac) that leaving dragon on and running uses a ton of resources. The computer was almost unusably slow if the software had been running for more than a couple of days. If he's comfortable shutting down the software when he's done with it and also shutting down the computer every couple of days.

Feel free to follow up if you have more questions.
posted by mercredi at 11:38 AM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: My dad had Parkinson's and used Dragon for several years - he was in his 70's and not exactly technophobic, but very specific about his preferences in technology.
posted by matildaben at 12:22 PM on September 29, 2011

Best answer: I work in the disability advocacy/etc field. Dragon is the go-to for this in this field. I recently had opportunity to start working with the most recent version, and WOW has it come a long way. It even does mouse control surprisingly well now.
posted by TomMelee at 1:13 PM on September 29, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks y'all. The generally positive feedback on Dragon is reassuring, and I think we'll try it despite the negative reviews on Amazon. Any firsthand feedback on other Mac dictation software would still be welcome, though.
posted by snoe at 2:12 PM on September 29, 2011

Response by poster: And mercredi, thanks for the specific tip on system resources - I read about the problem in reviews but getting the specific feedback was helpful. I think he can probably manage shutting it down periodically. Again, thanks, everybody.
posted by snoe at 2:22 PM on September 29, 2011

A long-time Dragon user here, I use it in the workplace and at home. It's not perfect, but it is impressively fast and accurate. One thing that I will mention is that the software gets used to the sound of your voice, and therefore if you have a cold or some such, accuracy can go downhill. It also helps if you speak in long sentences rather then a word or two, as the software uses context in generating the text.

I would suggest that it is well worth a try, and if it doesn't work, you will probably be able to sell it and get most of your money back.

Good luck

(Yes, this was dictated using Dragon 11.5 Professional, no corrections FWIW.)
posted by GeeEmm at 5:55 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]