MacSpeech Dictate Amazon reviews - comments?
Paul Fuchs
consider it a Beta at this point. Most recommend to wait for a later
version.
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0014KJ6EQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful
?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDat
eDescending
--
Never believe anything until it's officially denied.
Davoud
> The four reviews all give it one star, the lowest possible rating. All
> consider it a Beta at this point. Most recommend to wait for a later
> version.
You can dismiss three of the four reviews out of hand, because none of
those reviewers had used Dictate! What kind of a "review" is that!? Two
of them couldn't install it for some reason and the third was still
waiting for his copy. Those who failed to install it projected their
experience on the entire population. I do no such thing. I say that
Dictate _can_ work, because it works for me. I don't guarantee that it
will work for anyone else.
That leaves "M. Kirsch 'Cyber Reviewer.'" His written review more or
less parallels my experience, except that I haven't had any crashes
(I've been using Dictate for more than a month.) But I would give the
software five stars for out-of-the-box accuracy and deduct 1-1/2 stars
because it is not full featured _yet_ . Three and one-half stars for
now.
Look, what MacSpeech did was bold and brave. They tacitly admitted that
they could not match the accuracy of Dragon Naturally Speaking with
iListen. Instead of closing up shop they licensed the DNS speech engine
and made it work as well as it does on Windoze in their first release.
The only thing it lacks is features, which are coming. And they gave
iListen owners an upgrade deal. What's the problem, whiners excepted?
Search the archive and you will find a post I made using Dictate --
CSMS or CSMA, I don't remember which.
Davoud
--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
Mark Conrad
paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink (Paul Fuchs) wrote:
> The four reviews all give it one star, the lowest possible
> rating. All consider it a Beta at this point. Most
> recommend to wait for a later version.
A few points to consider if you are trying to decide
whether to wait, or not.
MacSpeech Dictate 1.0 "Out-of-the-box" is more accurate
than their previous "mature" software named iListen.
My first test after I received my copy yielded slightly
better than 97% "raw accuracy".
Here is the _uncorrected_ NG post I created, it has
two mistakes:
(minus the asterisk lines, of course)
**************************************************************
Just received MacSpeech Dictate Monday, slapped it
into my Mac, dictated this post.
I used the supplied headset. Noticed that MacSpeech made another
great decision by including an external sound card in their package.
It is the identical brand of "translator" I used with Dragon.
Well accuracy of text is almost as good as Dragon.
It is 4 AM now, so am going to hit the sack.
We'll wring it out some more after I grab some sleep.
Mark -
****************************************************************
Two mistakes in the post above.
1) "Well accuracy" S/B "Raw accuracy"
2) "We'll wring it out" S/B "Will wring it out"
Two (mistakes) divided by 78 (words) equals .02564 inaccuracy,
or slightly better than 97% accuracy.
You are correct, in my view, in considering it a beta release,
despite Chuck Roger's protestations to the contrary.
It was rushed to market to take advantage of the MacWorld expo'.
MacSpeech justifies that decision for two reasons.
They desperately needed an influx of money, otherwise they
would risk going out of business altogether.
They (correctly) figured that their existing loyal customer base
would rather have an incomplete product in their hands NOW,
instead of having to wait a year to get a fully complete product.
Properly completed, MacSpeech Dictate should be very nearly as good
as Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Below is an example of the raw accuracy of my
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.5 (medical version) software,
which costs $1,200
(I run it on my MacBook Pro, in a Vista partition)
Example using Dragon -
------------------------------------------------
X-Linked agammaglobulinemia (Bruton's agammaglobulinemia)
is a hereditary immunodeficiency disorder due to an
abnormality in the X chromosome and resulting in few are
no B lymphocytes and very low levels of antibodies.
-----------------------------------------------
Its raw accuracy was a bit worse than 97%
(31 words with one mistake)
"resulting in few are no" S/B "resulting in few or no"
The decision is yours. If you have an extensive background
in using speech-to-text software, you may very well prefer
to wait until MacSpeech adds the missing correction
and spelling features. (could take a year)
Keep in mind that you might have to use Windows, meanwhile.
(ugh, what a horrible thought)
...if you want to seriously play with text-to-speech software.
DISCLAIMER -
Your milage may vary from mine, because I have been using
speech recognition software for years, so am aware of most of
the pitfalls involved in using that technology.
Mark-
Paul Fuchs
much longer. But I am reserving the right to whine on this forum :-)
Davoud <st...@sky.net> wrote:
--
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article <1iegga7.1j56fnt5mfp5mN%paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink>,
> paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink (Paul Fuchs) wrote:
>
> > The four reviews all give it one star, the lowest possible
> > rating. All consider it a Beta at this point. Most
> > recommend to wait for a later version.
>
> A few points to consider if you are trying to decide
> whether to wait, or not.
>
> than their previous "mature" software named iListen.
>
> My first test after I received my copy yielded slightly
> better than 97% "raw accuracy".
>
> Here is the _uncorrected_ NG post I created, it has
> two mistakes:
>
> (minus the asterisk lines, of course)
> **************************************************************
> into my Mac, dictated this post.
>
> I used the supplied headset. Noticed that MacSpeech made another
> great decision by including an external sound card in their package.
> It is the identical brand of "translator" I used with Dragon.
>
> Well accuracy of text is almost as good as Dragon.
>
> It is 4 AM now, so am going to hit the sack.
>
> We'll wring it out some more after I grab some sleep.
>
> Mark -
> ****************************************************************
>
> Two mistakes in the post above.
>
> 1) "Well accuracy" S/B "Raw accuracy"
> 2) "We'll wring it out" S/B "Will wring it out"
>
> Two (mistakes) divided by 78 (words) equals .02564 inaccuracy,
> or slightly better than 97% accuracy.
>
> You are correct, in my view, in considering it a beta release,
> despite Chuck Roger's protestations to the contrary.
>
> It was rushed to market to take advantage of the MacWorld expo'.
>
> MacSpeech justifies that decision for two reasons.
>
> They desperately needed an influx of money, otherwise they
> would risk going out of business altogether.
>
> They (correctly) figured that their existing loyal customer base
> would rather have an incomplete product in their hands NOW,
> instead of having to wait a year to get a fully complete product.
>
I would just like to say a couple of things.
First, MacSpeech was in no way in danger of going out of business.
iListen sales were at the highest point ever, with sales increasing in
numbers almost month-to-month. That having been said, we reached a
point several months ago where we had to make a decision on what our
development path would look like in the future. I have provided more
detail on our reasoning elsewhere, but suffice it to say we determined
going with the Dragon engine - despite the fact it required we raise
the price of the software - was the best choice for everyone.
Second, those Amazon reviews certainly are troubling. It would be nice
if some of you who have rebutted them here would also do so on Amazon.
That would certainly help us out, as well as help dispel confusion. As
Davoud said, three of the reviews weren't even reviews.
Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc.
frangelica...@gmail.com
wrote:
My crossgrade copy of MacSpeech Dictate came a few days ago. I was
one of the lucky ones with a working copy. As a "founder" of iListen
who bought version 1 in 2001 and continually upgraded because I wanted
to see this product working, I still couldn't make iListen work well
enough to use it.
MacSpeech Dictate worked right out of the box, there was less than 10
minutes of voice training. The accuracy is amazing. I have a sharp
clear voice, mind you. The program isn't recognizing my husband's
voice for whom I have maintained this on-going interest in voice-to-
text. He still can't make Dictate work because disability has changed
the timbre of his voice.
The other couple of things that people should know is that they should
try Dictate without a microphone. I have equal accuracy using Dictate
by speaking directly to my MacBook as I do using the MacSpeech
recommended headset (an earlier version from iListen days, not the one
included with the program.)
Those who are buying MacSpeech Dictate for the first time, never
having had iListen, should know that there are dictation and control
commands from iListen that work on Dictate. Why they weren't included
in a PDF with Dictate as they were in iListen, is beyond
understanding. The major thing that is missing in Dictate is the
ability to change into a Spelling mode in order to spell words that
are unique or not understood by the program, like my name.
If any one wishes a copy of the iListen 1.8 commands, your can email
me offline and I will send you the PDF.
I know that I am following on the comments from Chuck Rogers - so here
you go, Chuck. Why weren't the commands included in the package (or
was it just previous iListen users that didn't get this information)
and if the commands weren't included with new copies of Dictate, why
aren't they on the website for downloading?
Now I am going to move over to Amazon and see if I can raise you some
support there.
Chief Supporter
Frangelica
Mark Conrad
<0c6efb02-272a-4340...@s13g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,
frangelica...@gmail.com wrote:
> I know that I am following on the comments from Chuck Rogers - so here
> you go, Chuck. Why weren't the commands included in the package (or
> was it just previous iListen users that didn't get this information)
> and if the commands weren't included with new copies of Dictate, why
> aren't they on the website for downloading?
>
> Now I am going to move over to Amazon and see if I can raise you some
> support there.
>
> Chief Supporter
> Frangelica
Good for you, Frangelica, I like 'glass-half-full' reports
like yours, they encourage Mac users to try this newly
available Mac speech technology.
(for Mac users that is, not for PC users,
who already have excellent speech tools)
That said, it is absolutely critical that new users
have access to all the documentation available that can
help them master the glitches, gotchas, idiosyncrasies,
quirks, and other molehills they will surely trip over
in their attempts to get "acceptable" performance
out of MacSpeech Dictate.
As regards Chuck, he claims that MacSpeech no longer jumps
when he barks.<g>
They should jump, because Chuck has his ear to the ground
when it comes to the frustrating issues that bug those
loyal customers who have stood by MacSpeech for years.
...stood by MacSpeech despite their inferior past products,
and decided tendency to ignore their own customers when it
comes to _which_ features are most important.
But there I go, tending to look at a half-empty glass.
Beating up MacSpeech will get us nowhere.
What is needed most right now is a free-for-all "place"
where MacSpeech Dictate "issues" can be discussed,
such things as "workarounds" to get the most out of the
present beta version of 'Dictate, while we are spinning
our wheels waiting for MacSpeech to upgrade the product to
something that can compete head-to-head with Dragon.
We need a non-moderated forum where dirty laundry can be
hung out to dry, and where new users can get valuable tips
about how to solve their most pressing speech problems.
I suggest "commandeering" an already existing (unused)
Usenet NG for this purpose, one named: comp.speech.users
That NG started out great, was a fine meeting place for
Dragon PC users, but was recently destroyed by a nasty
feud between two users, one named "John Doe", and another
named "mmarkoe".
(Martin Markoe, a somewhat aggressive marketer of
microphones and other speech accessories from an
outfit called emicrophones.com)
Basis of the feud was the contention that marketing has
no place in a Usenet NG, and the other guys contention
that he was not really doing marketing, merely 'helping'
people who had speech-recognition problems.
I do not really care which one was "right". Between them
they managed to destroy that NG, no serious users populate
that NG any more.
If we can put up with the likelihood of reviving that feud,
we have a place to discuss MacSpeech Dictate issues.
I suggest ignoring both parties to that feud, then perhaps
they will dry up and cease wasting everyone's time.
It _might_ be worth a try, or not, I don't know.
BTW -
(forgive me Chuck for calling MacSpeech Dictate a "beta"
version, but that is exactly what it is in the minds of
knowledgeable speech-recognition users - - - a version
rushed to market without essential correction, spelling,
and documentation features in place)
Right now the only thing that 'Dictate 1.0 can compete with
is another "new" speech software from $MS called Vista speech
recognition, and I think that crappy Vista speech app' would
come out on top in a head-to-head shootout
with MacSpeech Dictate, due to the 'unfinished' nature of
MacSpeech Dictate 1.0
All the above rant is just my 3-cents worth, right now I want
to get back to playing with the "text macro" capabilities
of MacSpeech Dictate, I have that feature half-ways working.
Final Remarks for prospective future users:
In my opinion MacSpeech Dictate 1.0 is a good product,
i.e. the main part of it that is completed thus far.
It has the potential to be a GREAT product, when much needed
features are added as future free upgrades.
It is well worth buying in its present unfinished state,
because like any specialized app' it will take new users
a fairly long time to learn all the 'tricks' to make it
useful to _them_ .
By that time, the free upgrades should be created by
MacSpeech, and Mac users will then have a jump-start to really
put MacSpeech Dictate through its paces, thanks to our
early adoption of the present version.
Why should Windows users be the only ones with great speech
applications - - - support MacSpeech, then we Mac users might
have the same great speech technology for ourselves.
Ignore MacSpeech's heroic efforts, then for sure we will have
to wind up using PCs/Windows when we need serious dictation
projects that need doing. The choice is ours.
Mark-
frangelica...@gmail.com
> In article
Thanks for the perspective. Although I am in full sympathy for those
who those frustrated people who received a bad disk copy and aren't
getting quick replacements from MacSpeech, those of us who have good
copies need to get on with the "beta" testing if that is what we are.
It will only help those people when they get their good disk and those
people who buy new copies.
I can see a future for this product and hope that it continues to
develop. Meanwhile - I hesitate to say this - "good enough" to be
useable.
I would support setting up a discussion site, either as you suggested
or as a Yahoo or Google group. I was actually hoping that MacSpeech
would offer such as discussion site, much as Apple does. It would be
to their benefit.
I have been monitoring all the sites that are open to comment and have
been contributing. But I am surprised at the lack of discussion so
far.
I have no expertise in application installation problems, my program
worked right out of the box. But I do have an interest in useage and
am willing to contribute whatever I have figured out.
You are right on - we won't get anywhere by beating up MacSpeech.
Frangelica
Mark Conrad
<3203dc8f-00d3-4ae9...@c26g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
frangelica...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for the perspective. Although I am in full sympathy
> for those who those frustrated people who
> received a bad disk copy...<clip>...
I don't think it's so much getting a bad disk, instead I think it is
just stumbling over the basics of speech recognition. For a sample,
right now I am dictating this text into MacSpeech Dictate, and having
little difficulty at all getting fairly legible copy.
However, here is a bad test to put MacSpeech Dictate to -
Bill
Salo
fellow
hello
Jell-O
Millwall
yellow
Exact same test again -
Bill
so all
fellow
hello
Joel
Millwall
yellow
(turned off the microphone now so I can explain
what is going on in the 2 examples above)
Namely, I had a list of similar sounding words, here is
the CORRECT list of words I spoke into MacSpeech Dictate:
bellow
cello
fellow CORRECT
hello LIST
Jell-O FOR 2 PREVIOUS TESTS
mellow
yellow
'Dictate got half of those words wrong in the 2 tests above.
I do not know WHERE it got "Millwall" from, it is not even
a word according to the Mac OS X dictionary.
Needless to say, Dragon on a Vista partition got ALL of that
list dead right, because Dragon has no trouble with slightly
different sounding words.
When MacSpeech adds correction features, it should perform
every bit as well as Dragon does.
(okay, I will presently turn the microphone on briefly
for one more quick test on a word that I know that
MacSpeech Dictate has a lot of trouble with,
namely the word "cello" - - -
which is pronounced "CHEL-LO") - "hard" CH, as in "change"
I will speak that same word "cello" 9 separate times:
(turning microphone on now)
Jell-O
shallow
Joel
shallow
you will
well
show
sure will
Joe
(turned the microphone off now for the rest of this post)
What a mess. Can't you imagine how unhappy a new user
would be when he finds that his $200 bought that sort
of performance! Not one "cello" in the whole bunch.
Again, the Dragon software yielded 9 perfect "cello" rep's.
'Dictate should also, when the upgrades ship.
Oh, one last thing, at the very first of this post MacSpeech made
one tiny mistake:
"For a sample, right now I am" S/B "For example, right now I am"
Mark-
--
Much more to discuss, but let's face it, presently dictation
software holds little attraction for most Mac users, so I will
move the bulk of my comments to that unused "comp.speech.users"
newsgroup, to test the waters there, so to speak.
Hopefully, perhaps the feud there will subside somewhat.
Paul Fuchs
> Thanks for the perspective. Although I am in full sympathy for those
> who those frustrated people who received a bad disk copy and aren't
> getting quick replacements from MacSpeech, those of us who have good
> copies need to get on with the "beta" testing if that is what we are.
> It will only help those people when they get their good disk and those
> people who buy new copies.
>
> I can see a future for this product and hope that it continues to
> develop. Meanwhile - I hesitate to say this - "good enough" to be
> useable.
>
> I would support setting up a discussion site, either as you suggested
> or as a Yahoo or Google group. I was actually hoping that MacSpeech
> would offer such as discussion site, much as Apple does. It would be
> to their benefit.
>
> I have been monitoring all the sites that are open to comment and have
> been contributing. But I am surprised at the lack of discussion so
> far.
>
> I have no expertise in application installation problems, my program
> worked right out of the box. But I do have an interest in useage and
> am willing to contribute whatever I have figured out.
>
> You are right on - we won't get anywhere by beating up MacSpeech.
>
> Frangelica
Also, some venders are out of stock - Small Dog for one.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
>
> frangelicafrangel...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Thanks for the perspective. Although I am in full sympathy
> > for those who those frustrated people who
> > received a bad disk copy...<clip>...
>
> I don't think it's so much getting a bad disk, instead I think it is
> just stumbling over the basics of speech recognition. For a sample,
> little difficulty at all getting fairly legible copy.
>
>
> Bill
> Salo
> fellow
> hello
> Jell-O
> Millwall
> yellow
>
> Exact same test again -
>
> Bill
> so all
> fellow
> hello
> Joel
> Millwall
> yellow
>
> (turned off the microphone now so I can explain
> what is going on in the 2 examples above)
>
> Namely, I had a list of similar sounding words, here is
>
> bellow
> cello
> fellow CORRECT
> hello LIST
> Jell-O FOR 2 PREVIOUS TESTS
> mellow
> yellow
>
> 'Dictate got half of those words wrong in the 2 tests above.
>
> I do not know WHERE it got "Millwall" from, it is not even
> a word according to the Mac OS X dictionary.
>
> Needless to say, Dragon on a Vista partition got ALL of that
> list dead right, because Dragon has no trouble with slightly
> different sounding words.
>
> When MacSpeech adds correction features, it should perform
> every bit as well as Dragon does.
>
> (okay, I will presently turn the microphone on briefly
> for one more quick test on a word that I know that
Part of the issue here is that the spoken words lack context. If you
were to speak each word in a sentence, it is far more likely the
software would get it right. The current state of speech recognition
is that it is NOT word recognition, but considers context when
deciding what word to type. Without context - or a vocal reference
that helps define your unique pronunciation (training helps some, but
that's where Correction really helps), the software will randomly
choose words that use the same - or very similar - phonemes.
Mark and I are basically saying the same thing here, I just wanted to
add the bit about how important context is to accuracy - especially
with MacSpeech Dictate 1.0.
TENS...@gmail.com
Please Check the Forum
http://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum36&Number=853106&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1
I hope they fix cause it CRASHES when i create the PROFILE !!!
Majority are facing the same problem, PROGRAM is not worth the money
190 bucks and
billmcc
a day professionally. It works great in a medical environment, and
like most others in this thread, I am a also a confirmed Mac user. I
purchased IListen several years ago, and would try again with every
upgrade, only to put it away as klugey. The only time I use the
Windows operating system now is to access Dragon, so I was really
excited to read of Dictate when it was introduced. I thought someone
was addressing the large medical Mac market with a good VR product.
After installing and using it for a week on my MacBook Pro, I too am
impressed with the accuracy and ease of use of Dictate, but have come
upon three issues the will render it less than useful.
1. There are no professional vocabulary packages, and I would have
thought that the professional markets would be core targets for the
product (legal and medical). This is a major shortcoming for
professional use, and coupled with the absence of the training mode
available in Dragon, makes it much less useful than it might be.
Hopefully this will be addressed over time.
2. The real deal killer for me is the license structure. I don't
believe that anyone has addressed this issue in the thread. Unlike
many other software packages, and indeed unlike Dragon in Windows, the
license is to the hardware and not to the user. ie you can only
install it on one machine at a time. And this is enforced, not
allowing more than one hardware activation. In Dragon, multiple
machines are allowed to install the software, but only one user per
license. This is a really big deal in the medical world where most
providers have several locations, and multiple machines. This will
render the software unusable in the medical professional environment.
A real shame since this is one of the highest penetrations of Mac
hardware in the market, and a market that should have been a slam dunk
for Dictate. I don't understand the logic of single hardware install
license, but I guess it is not the first time that a company has shot
itself in the foot over this issue. A much more reasonable license
structure for a product of this type, since an individual purchases,
uses, and licenses the software, is to restrict the use to one
individual on any machine.
3. There is no good microphone for the Mac available as of yet. And
I don't mean in terms of the audio quality, but in terms of the
ergonomics. Can you imagine your doctor with a headphone and boom
mike seeing you?? There needs to be a more traditional dictating
microphone, similar to the Philips Speech Mike used in Dragon on
Windows, that contains some control buttons as well as a quality
microphone for the audio input. This is the microphone shape that has
stood the test of time, not the goofy and geeky headphone with boom
mike.
I hope the company addresses these three issues, The software has the
potential to serve as the foundation of a much needed and superior
product for the Mac, but it is not ready for prime time in a
professional medical environment yet.
So for the present, I will still have to keep my multiple Windows XP
machines using Dragon as the only remaining software in use on the
other guy's clumsy OS.
Bill
Mark Conrad
<b51881eb-71b4-43e0...@q27g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
TENS...@gmail.com wrote:
> 190 bucks and...
Wow, what a bunch of horror stories there!
Apparently the _main_ problem was that some customers got a bad
"data disk" - - - there are two disks for installing MacSpeech,
one of them is called a data disk.
After a LOT of hassle, those unfortunate customers managed to
get MacSpeech to ship a new data disk, which remedied the problem
of not being able to initially train MacSpeech Dictate.
i.e., in other words, not being able to "create a profile".
A new re-install of MacSpeech Dictate is necessary, AFTER removing
all traces of the existing MacSpeech Dictate, especially the
corrupt "data" file.
I do not know exactly where that data file is stashed, I think it
is somewhere in one of the Library folders.
Ah wait, I located the data file in _my_ MacBook Pro:
(my main hard drive is named "MacBook Int", and my
user name is "mark")
MacBook Int -> Users -> mark -> Library ->
Application support -> MacSpeech -> Data
Throw the entire Data folder into the trash.
Re-install MacSpeech Dictate from scratch, using a new "data disk"
from MacSpeech.
The new "data disk" should get things running for you.
Hope so, anyhow.
I was lucky, I got a good set of disks, so did not
experience that nasty problem.
Mark-
Mark Conrad
<e70d20ac-60f5-4591...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The only time I use the Windows operating system now is to
> access Dragon, so I was really excited to read of Dictate
> when it was introduced. I thought someone was addressing
> the large medical Mac market with a good VR product.
I get the impression that MacSpeech is not after that market.
MacSpeech is a small company, with only 24 employees,
ten of whom are their programmers.
Likely most of the remaining 14 employees are engaged in
semi-critical "ordinary" business tasks, such as shipping,
advertising, disk-duplication, packaging, legal concerns,
foreign-sales and advertising, web-master, and policy-making
by the Big Cheese, whoever that is.
So _maybe_ five of them have a little time to handle the
flood of concerns from all their customers; let us guess that
there are 5,000 total MacSpeech Dictate customers right now.
We can't expect that little company to seriously go after
a big market of potentially 50,000 medical users worldwide.
Heck, they are having problems right now servicing a measly
5,000 customers. (assuming that figure is somewhat accurate)
Another concern is that Nuance might decide to chop them off at
the ankles by revoking their Dragon lease, if MacSpeech tries
to go after the medical market.
We are stuck with using Dragon for medical speech recognition.
I made the mistake of buying the "latest-and-greatest"
Dragon medical for $1,200.
Why? Because I was naive and stupid; I actually thought that
Nuance was going to add extra features to justify the
$200 price increase. They added nothing, grrr.
<sigh> - So like you, I continue to use Dragon.
...in my case, with no hope of replacing it with MacSpeech,
at least as regards medical application.
I _am_ looking forward to using MacSpeech for every Mac task
that I can apply it to, however.
...then using Dragon "when-I-have-too" along with the
frustrating Windows Vista OS. Grr, grrr, growl, grumble...
Mark-
Abbott
upgrade from iListen to Dictate.
But I need to install on two machines: my Mac Pro in the office, and my
MacBook Pro when I'm on the road. Clearly as a single user, I will only
USE one machine at a time, but I need it on two machines.
The pain involved in moving licenses and reinstalling software isn't
worth the hassle. Buying two licenses and then future upgrades
(discounts of which are often limited to one/customer) isn't worthwhile
for me.
So I guess I'll move to Dragon when the time comes. Bummer.
On the good news front, it sounds like they've figured out how to
install a license for every account on a machine. I wish all developers
would do that. I have a number of packages (shareware and commercial)
that require entering license keys for each account on the system, even
though the license terms read like a machine-wide license.
In article
<e70d20ac-60f5-4591...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2. The real deal killer for me is the license structure. I don't
> believe that anyone has addressed this issue in the thread. Unlike
> many other software packages, and indeed unlike Dragon in Windows, the
> license is to the hardware and not to the user. ie you can only
> install it on one machine at a time. And this is enforced, not
> allowing more than one hardware activation. In Dragon, multiple
> machines are allowed to install the software, but only one user per
> license. This is a really big deal in the medical world where most
> providers have several locations, and multiple machines. This will
> render the software unusable in the medical professional environment.
> A real shame since this is one of the highest penetrations of Mac
> hardware in the market, and a market that should have been a slam dunk
> for Dictate. I don't understand the logic of single hardware install
> license, but I guess it is not the first time that a company has shot
> itself in the foot over this issue. A much more reasonable license
> structure for a product of this type, since an individual purchases,
> uses, and licenses the software, is to restrict the use to one
> individual on any machine.
----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
>
> billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > The only time I use the Windows operating system now is to
> > access Dragon, so I was really excited to read of Dictate
> > when it was introduced. I thought someone was addressing
> > the large medical Mac market with a good VR product.
>
> I get the impression that MacSpeech is not after that market.
>
> MacSpeech is a small company, with only 24 employees,
> ten of whom are their programmers.
>
> Likely most of the remaining 14 employees are engaged in
> semi-critical "ordinary" business tasks, such as shipping,
> advertising, disk-duplication, packaging, legal concerns,
> foreign-sales and advertising, web-master, and policy-making
> by the Big Cheese, whoever that is.
>
> So _maybe_ five of them have a little time to handle the
> flood of concerns from all their customers; let us guess that
>
> We can't expect that little company to seriously go after
> a big market of potentially 50,000 medical users worldwide.
>
> Heck, they are having problems right now servicing a measly
> 5,000 customers. (assuming that figure is somewhat accurate)
>
> Another concern is that Nuance might decide to chop them off at
> the ankles by revoking their Dragon lease, if MacSpeech tries
> to go after the medical market.
>
> We are stuck with using Dragon for medical speech recognition.
>
> I made the mistake of buying the "latest-and-greatest"
> Dragon medical for $1,200.
>
> Why? Because I was naive and stupid; I actually thought that
> Nuance was going to add extra features to justify the
> $200 price increase. They added nothing, grrr.
>
> <sigh> - So like you, I continue to use Dragon.
>
> ...in my case, with no hope of replacing it with MacSpeech,
> at least as regards medical application.
>
> I _am_ looking forward to using MacSpeech for every Mac task
> that I can apply it to, however.
>
> ...then using Dragon "when-I-have-too" along with the
> frustrating Windows Vista OS. Grr, grrr, growl, grumble...
>
> Mark-
All:
I'd like to clarify a couple of things.
First of all, Mark's characterization of our company is a bit off. We
certainly do not have 24 employees. We are actually smaller than that.
We do contract out a lot of our services, so we could also claim to be
bigger than that if we claimed all of those who are contracted.
Second, we definitely will be coming out with a medical vocabulary at
some point in the future. There is nothing in our Dragon license that
would prevent us from doing so. We first have to get MacSpeech Dictate
up to speed before we can offer any professional vocabularies or
"specialty" features.
smgo...@mjh.org
wrote:
> On Apr 3, 3:16 am, Mark Conrad <non...@urbusiness.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>
> > In article
> > <e70d20ac-60f5-4591-82f7-1a6790e57...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
>
> > billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > The only time I use the Windows operating system now is to
> > > access Dragon, so I was really excited to read ofDictate
> > > when it was introduced. I thought someone was addressing
> > > the large medical Mac market with a good VR product.
>
> > I get the impression thatMacSpeechis not after that market.
>
> > that I can apply it to, however.
>
> > ...then using Dragon "when-I-have-too" along with the
> > frustrating Windows Vista OS. Grr, grrr, growl, grumble...
>
> > Mark-
>
> All:
>
> I'd like to clarify a couple of things.
>
> First of all, Mark's characterization of our company is a bit off. We
> certainly do not have 24 employees. We are actually smaller than that.
> We do contract out a lot of our services, so we could also claim to be
> bigger than that if we claimed all of those who are contracted.
>
> Second, we definitely will be coming out with a medical vocabulary at
> some point in the future. There is nothing in our Dragon license that
> would prevent us from doing so. We first have to getMacSpeechDictate
> up to speed before we can offer any professional vocabularies or
> "specialty" features.
>
> Chuck Rogers, Chief EvangelistMacSpeech, Inc.
Thanks, this is good news. I, too, have used Dragon for years in my
practice & I HATE BEING TIED TO WINDOWS. I'm so close to ordering a
Power Mac for the Office if only I can trust Dictate to be a reliable
substitute.
Does anyone have an idea how long one could expect before Dictate will
have a trainable Vocabulary?
thanks
Stefan
billmcc
Thanks, Chuck, and really glad to hear you are going to support the
professional markets. I don't have the marketing data on the
penetration of Macs in this market, but if simple observation is worth
something, it is quite a bit higher than most other groups. And they
are hungry for this product's functionality. The training capability
will also be a requisite. Think of the diversity of names as well as
the multitude of technical terms that you could never program into a
vocabulary. One of Dragon's strengths.
I do hope the company addresses the license structure. It is not
practical at present even with the good vocabulary. Although I can
certainly understand the software vendor attempting to use the
hardware metaphor for licensing, it just doesn't represent the real
world, particularly for a product of this nature. You sell the
product to individuals, not to machines. You need to consider a
license structure that sticks to the individual user, and not the
hardware. There must be data on the number of people who own/use
multiple machines in different environments and for different reasons,
but I suspect it is large. Perhaps you could determine a way to tie
the license to the user voice files, and activate against that for one
user only at a time, but on any machine. I suspect the product is
useless without the voice file and might solve both the customer and
the company's needs in this area.
Also, you did not comment on the microphone. Prime time for Dictate
in the professional world will arrive with a different microphone.
Dragon solved this some time ago with help from Philips in the Speech
Mike.
Lastly, I love your title. Good job. Need to use it in my practice.
Bill
Mark Conrad
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> Wow, that was a spectacularly bad move on MacSpeech's part.
> Seriously.
>
> That's actually hard to believe. Even the asshats at Microsoft
> let you install software on a desktop and a laptop.
Yep. Sign of the times, more software vendors are getting
hard-headed, at the expense of their customers.
> However, for businesses it likely makes no difference, right?
> You install it on the machines and
> whoever is using them uses the software.
Normally correct with most types of software, but not with
speech software, because speech software is "trained" to
work well with the speech of the guy who "trains" it.
Would work crappy if someone else with a different voice
tries to use it.
(about transfering MacSpeech Dictate from one Mac to another)
> And by 'enforces' this do you mean that Dictate has some sort
> of copy-protection beyond the serial number? How 1990's.
Not needed. Being a user "activates" the speech software
with MacSpeech over the web, MacSpeech merely "deactivates"
the older Mac's speech software, so the next time you try
to use it on the older Mac, it will not work.
Likely tied in to the "Media Access Control" number of
the individual Mac.
All these activation gyrations are a real PITA for doctors
as "billmcc" mentioned in his post.
Mark-
billmcc
> In message <abbottNOSPAM-F39D6F.07322103042...@news-server.bendcable.com>
> Abbott <abbottNOS...@MYbendbroadband.com> wrote:
>
> > But I need to install on two machines: my Mac Pro in the office, and my
> > MacBook Pro when I'm on the road. Clearly as a single user, I will only
> > USE one machine at a time, but I need it on two machines.
> > <e70d20ac-60f5-4591-82f7-1a6790e57...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> > billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> 2. The real deal killer for me is the license structure. I don't
> >> believe that anyone has addressed this issue in the thread. Unlike
> >> many other software packages, and indeed unlike Dragon in Windows, the
> >> license is to the hardware and not to the user. ie you can only
> >> install it on one machine at a time.
>
>
> That's actually hard to believe. Even the asshats at Microsoft let you
> install software on a desktop and a laptop.
>
> it on the machines and whoever is using them uses the software.
>
> beyond the serial number? How 1990's.
>
> I do believe Marsellus Wallace, my husband, your boss, told you to take *me*
> out and do *whatever I wanted*. Now I wanna dance, I wanna win. I want
> that trophy, so dance good.
As Mark mentions, you can activate the software over the web on
sequential machines, but it is time consuming and laborious, and I
believe requires your serial #. As a comparison, at our 600 bed
hospital, we have Dragon installed on one desktop at each nursing
station. The facility is totally paperless with no paper charts, so
VR is a big deal. The license structure for Dragon is tied to the
individual user, you can have multiple machines, but each user must be
licensed. As a fully licensed and paid Dragon user, I can go to any
machine and use the software. Many of our users carry their voice
files on a jump drive and simply plug in to the machine, and it is up
and running in moments.
The Dictate license makes the assumption that I am fixed in one
location and use only one machine, or move to another machine for a
period of time and am willing/able to spend ~5 minutes to bring out my
serial # and activate over the net. This just isn't going to happen.
I am very sympathetic to vendors' needs to preserve their intellectual
property, and never knowingly violate a license agreement. Indeed, it
does me no good for a company to be less than successful to a point
where they can't continue to upgrade and improve the quality and
performance of their products to my benefit. I just hate it when
vendors cripple the usability of otherwise useful software in the name
of property protection.
It always feels as if in an effort to prevent thieves from stealing
your plasma TV, you put it in a safe and never are able to use it
yourself. You effectively give away your ability to watch TV in an
effort to prevent someone from stealing it. A Faustian bargain at
best.
So I guess I am stuck with four Windows XP machines in my life, whose
only function is to run Dragon and remind me how happy I am with my
other Mac machines where I don't have to mess with dreaded Windows.
I don't know what I am going to do in the future if the guys from
Redmond cease to support XP in an effort to force me to spend money on
the bloatware of Vista, just to run my one application.
Bill
chuck....@gmail.com
Bill (and everyone else):
I am not sure where people are getting the idea MacSpeech Dictate
cannot be installed on more than one computer. The deal is that you
can install it on as many computers as you would like (work, home,
desktop, laptop, etc.) as long as only one copy of the software with
the same license file is being used at any one time. Our support staff
can provide instructions for installing on multiple computers.
Regarding microphones, we hope to certify many more mikes later this
year. We are waiting until we have Correction and Spelling Mode in the
program before doing any more certifications. Most microphone issues
involve Mac OS X, and have nothing to do with MacSpeech Dictate (or
our older program, iListen, for that matter). The issue is that Mac OS
X wants a gain level that is about 10db higher than that of Windows.
Most microphones are designed with only Windows computers in mind.
Lower gain typically means less accuracy. Regarding the Philips Speech
Mic, I have one here. It does not work with either iListen or
MacSpeech Dictate. I am sure there is some technical reason for this,
but I don't know what it is.
Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech,. Inc.
chuck....@gmail.com
Bill (and everyone else):
Installing MacSpeech Dictate on multiple computers is neither
laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
just released. Those who already have MacSpeech Dictate can choose
"Check for Updates" in the software to download the update. Basically,
your unique license key is installed in your account on our web site.
You log into your account from the other computer on which you want to
install the software and download your license key from our site. Our
support staff can give you detailed procedures on this.
Madwen
<8c78ba65-e239-4c75...@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Installing MacSpeech Dictate on multiple computers is neither
> laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
> just released. Those who already have MacSpeech Dictate can choose
> "Check for Updates" in the software to download the update. Basically,
> your unique license key is installed in your account on our web site.
> You log into your account from the other computer on which you want to
> install the software and download your license key from our site. Our
> support staff can give you detailed procedures on this.
Oxymoron. If the process is neither laborious nor time consuming, then
how can you justify that people have to contact your support staff for
"detailed procedures"?
Why not just include it in the instructions or post the instructions on
the web site? Better yet, why not just deal with this problem in a
(professional) manner that is not dependent on the consumer, instead of
using such an half-assed approach that is bound to inspire the ire of
lots of users?
IMO, this is just another indication of the sub-professional, rinky-dink
kind of a manner in which your organization sometimes does business.
I'm reminded of the microphone, correction protocol, and other fiascos
with iListen. And it's why you've yet to be truly successful. If you
all spent more time concerning yourselves with professional standards
for your software and how to properly interface it with standard
microphones and headsets, I doubt you'd have to keep posting to Usenet
to defend your organization.
Mark Conrad
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
Lewis posted -
> >> And by 'enforces' this do you mean that Dictate has some sort
> >> of copy-protection beyond the serial number? How 1990's.
>
Mark responded -
> > Not needed. Being a user "activates" the speech software
> > with MacSpeech over the web, MacSpeech merely "deactivates"
> > the older Mac's speech software, so the next time you try
> > to use it on the older Mac, it will not work.
>
Lewis commented -
> Wow. I am stunned. No, really.
>
> Well, despite all the mostly good things I've heard about Dictate,
> MacSpeech is not long for this world with that sort
> of blinkered stupidity.
>
> I mean, I'm not their target demo, but I would never ever buy
> something that behaved liked that.
>
> Does Dragon also do this sort of crap?
No, Dragon does not want to antagonize their large medical base.
I applaud and support MacSpeech in their efforts to restrict
piracy, however as you suggest they should use the more mainstream
approaches that other software companies use, instead of
hamstringing their own customers with
an oppressive protection scheme.
Dragon licenses the user, not the machine, which is much more
convenient from the customers viewpoint.
Granted that the Dragon approach is more difficult to "enforce",
however Dragon _listens_ to what their customers want in the
way of convenient operation, and sacrifices some piracy
protection in order to satisfy their customers.
It is a tradeoff; I have no doubt if piracy of Dragon shot way up,
Dragon would go the more restrictive way that MacSpeech chose.
Of course then Dragon would lose a lot of their cash cow, the big
medical market, because medical workers would not put up with that
restrictive nonsense.
Whoops! - I screwed up on my previous post when I stated:
> > Not needed. Being a user "activates" the speech software
> > with MacSpeech over the web, MacSpeech merely "deactivates"
> > the older Mac's speech software, so the next time you try
> > to use it on the older Mac, it will not work.
That is incorrect, I should have posted:
> > Not needed. Being a user "activates" the speech software
> > with MacSpeech over the web, MacSpeech has record of that,
> > so will refuse to activate the newer Mac at all, until the
> > older Mac has been "officially deactivated" by jumping
> > through all of MacSpeech's hoops.
> > Jumping through those hoops is a very tedious and infuriating
> > process, given how difficult it is to get prompt MacSpeech
> > support.
Mark-
Mark Conrad
<e70d20ac-60f5-4591...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There is no good microphone for the Mac available as of yet. And
> I don't mean in terms of the audio quality, but in terms of the
> ergonomics. Can you imagine your doctor with a headphone and boom
> mike seeing you?? There needs to be a more traditional dictating
> microphone, similar to the Philips Speech Mike used in Dragon on
> Windows, that contains some control buttons as well as a quality
> microphone for the audio input. This is the microphone shape that
> has stood the test of time, not the goofy and geeky headphone
> with boom mike.
Quick question, Bill.
I went to the Philips website, it appears to me that the
several models of "Philips Speech Mike" were all combination
products, i.e. both a microphone AND a digital recorder in
one hand-held package that looks like a TV remote control.
Was I looking in the wrong place on their website?
I am confused because most all digital recorders nowadays
have built-in microphones, but they _call_ the combination
device a "recorder", not a "microphone".
Only some of these combination recorder/microphone devices
are of sufficient quality to earn Dragon's blessing,
according to the Dragon/Nuance website.
Usually the higher priced recorders in the $300 range perform
well, like the Sony model ICD-MX200, (my recorder) - and the
higher priced Philips and Olympus models.
The best recorders in the world will not be able to be used
until _someone_ grinds out the necessary driver software
to allow their high quality sound files to be transferred
over to the MacSpeech Dictate app'.
I think MacSpeech presently supports one older Olympus
model MS-2, they have not got around to certifying any
more modern recorders yet.
In fact, even the old Olympus MS-2 will not presently
perform well with MacSpeech Dictate, because there are
no software drivers to pump in the high quality sound
from the Olympus MS-2 to the MacSpeech Dictate app'.
Only way presently to get the recorded sound from the
Olympus MS-2 recorder to 'Dictate is via the headphone jacks
- and we all know that method yields very low quality sound.
In the case of Dragon and Sony, Dragon got Sony to create the
necessary driver utility for the Sony ICD-MX200 recorder.
What a friggin' circus that was. I paid extra to get a Sony
model ICD-200R9 model recorder, because supposedly the driver
software was included with the recorder, on a CD.
Come to find out it was obsolete driver software on the CD,
so I had to download an upgraded driver from the Sony website.
Only difference between the Sony ICD-200 and Sony ICD-200R9
is that infernal obsolete driver CD. grrr
Just another case of "buyer beware".
Sorry for the rant, but it really bugged me.
Back to my question, was I looking in the wrong place on
the Philips website, concerning the Philips "microphone"?
Mark-
--
I really wanted to get into WHY digital recorders are so
important to medical professionals, but that can wait for
another post.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
> <8c78ba65-e239-4c75-a8b9-2a6adf43c...@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
>
> "chuck.rog...@gmail.com" <chuck.rog...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > InstallingMacSpeech Dictateon multiple computers is neither
> > laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
> > "Check for Updates" in the software to download the update. Basically,
> > your unique license key is installed in your account on our web site.
> > You log into your account from the other computer on which you want to
> > install the software and download your license key from our site. Our
> > support staff can give you detailed procedures on this.
>
> Oxymoron. If the process is neither laborious nor time consuming, then
> how can you justify that people have to contact your support staff for
> "detailed procedures"?
>
> Why not just include it in the instructions or post the instructions on
> the web site? Better yet, why not just deal with this problem in a
> (professional) manner that is not dependent on the consumer, instead of
> using such an half-assed approach that is bound to inspire the ire of
> lots of users?
>
> IMO, this is just another indication of the sub-professional, rinky-dink
> kind of a manner in which your organization sometimes does business.
> I'm reminded of the microphone, correction protocol, and other fiascos
> with iListen. And it's why you've yet to be truly successful. If you
> all spent more time concerning yourselves with professional standards
> for your software and how to properly interface it with standard
> microphones and headsets, I doubt you'd have to keep posting to Usenet
> to defend your organization.
Um - I *did* give everyone the procedure: log onto your account in
our online store from the other computer on which you want to install
the program and download your license key. It really is that simple.
Perhaps, instead of saying "contact our support staff to get detailed
procedures," I should have said "contact our support staff if you have
trouble with this procedure." I apologize if my wording mislead anyone
as to the level of expertise required to accomplish this very simple
task.
Look - I really take exception to your insinuation that we are in any
way "rinky dink" or "sub-professional." What we are is small. And that
means we don't have all the resources of larger companies. The
Correction mechanism in iListen was very inventive for its time - it
allowed you to do something no other speech recognition program had
ever done: employ Correction while dictating inside of virtually any
application. The reason MacSpeech Dictate 1.0 does not have Correction
is because we are again attempting to do something innovative so Mac
users will have that same luxury (and benefit) over Windows users.
Regarding "truly successful," we passed that threshold many years ago.
iListen was literally selling off the shelves at many Apple stores,
and MacSpeech Dictate is doing even better.
I post on forums and usenet groups for two reasons: to help people get
the information they need, and to defend MacSpeech against inaccurate
and misleading statements by others - which are usually made out of
ignorance, not malice, btw. I do not need to defend MacSpeech for
being small, and trying hard to find the correct balance between
protecting its intellectual property and providing convenience to its
customers.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
>
> I think MacSpeech presently supports one older Olympus
> model MS-2, they have not got around to certifying any
> more modern recorders yet.
>
> In fact, even the old Olympus MS-2 will not presently
> no software drivers to pump in the high quality sound
>
> Only way presently to get the recorded sound from the
> Olympus MS-2 recorder to 'Dictate is via the headphone jacks
> - and we all know that method yields very low quality sound.
>
> In the case of Dragon and Sony, Dragon got Sony to create the
> necessary driver utility for the Sony ICD-MX200 recorder.
>
> What a friggin' circus that was. I paid extra to get a Sony
> model ICD-200R9 model recorder, because supposedly the driver
> software was included with the recorder, on a CD.
>
> Come to find out it was obsolete driver software on the CD,
> so I had to download an upgraded driver from the Sony website.
>
> Only difference between the Sony ICD-200 and Sony ICD-200R9
> is that infernal obsolete driver CD. grrr
>
> Just another case of "buyer beware".
>
> Sorry for the rant, but it really bugged me.
>
> Back to my question, was I looking in the wrong place on
> the Philips website, concerning the Philips "microphone"?
>
> Mark-
>
> --
> I really wanted to get into WHY digital recorders are so
> important to medical professionals, but that can wait for
> another post.
A couple of things here, if I may:
First, you would want to hook up a recording device to a Mac through a
USB adapter - not through the sound input jack (and certainly not
through the headphone jack, as that is output only).
Second, for the absolute best quality for a digital recording use an
iPod with the Voice Notes feature. That would be the iPod Video,
Classic iPod or iPod Nano (2nd or 3rd generation). Use it with any of
the three external microphones available (From Belkin, Griffin, or
XtremeMac), but plug the microphone that came with iListen or
MacSpeech Dictate into the microphone adapter's sound input port
instead of using the built-in Mic. For those who fine this
inconvenient, we recommend the XtremeMac MicroMemo because it has a
boom mic that allows you to hold the iPod in a more ergonomically
comfortable position while maintaining the proper distance between the
microphone and your mouth.
The reason the iPod is better is because a). it samples at 22kHz in
low quality and 44kHz in high quality - digital recorders typically
sample at lower rates, usually around 11 or 12kHz; and b). the samples
are saved in a format that can be easily converted to something
useable by iListen using iTunes. (MacSpeech Dictate does not have an
option for transcribing files yet. That will be coming later, at some
point after Correction and Spelling Mode are done.)
Finally, here is a link to the Philips SpeechMike page on the Philips
web site: http://tinyurl.com/69hfqn. But keep in mind that it is not
supported for use with either iListen or MacSpeech Dictate.
Paul Fuchs
> Regarding "truly successful," we passed that threshold many years ago.
> iListen was literally selling off the shelves at many Apple stores,
> and MacSpeech Dictate is doing even better.
This may be true as Small Dog is sold out at the moment. Hope you start
to replenish.
Abbott
Internet (or call Tech Support) is absolutely NOT acceptable to me.
Let me give you a real-life example:
I'm traveling with my laptop. My license is activated on my desktop at
home.
I'm somewhere that doesn't have an available Internet connection
(believe it or not, there are still a lot of places like this; sometimes
I even choose these deliberately, but I guess MacSpeech would view that
as my problem).
I don't feel like placing an international call to MacSpeech. Especially
since I might have to do it in the middle of the night my time.
So now I'm hosed. Can't use Dictate even though I'm clearly using it
only on one machine at a time (honest...I've made my dog promise not to
use it at home when I'm not there...).
And yes, I really get into these situations. I'm departing on such a
trip tonight.
I've seen too many horror stories about this sort of activation scheme.
I need the software much less than I need the activation headaches. I'm
sure there are a lot of people who will deal with the headaches (and a
lot for whom the process will work properly, and others who will simply
"deal with it").
Apple, BBedit, and a number of other companies softwares I use have
figured out how to *adequately* ensure that their licenses are
*sufficiently* enforced to make the business work. I would expect
MacSpeech to be able to do the same.
In article <slrnfvdfv7....@cerebus.local>,
Lewis <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> Here's how BBEdit works. You are allowed to run it on two machines, though
> *you* are supposed to be the only one using it. If you launch it on a third
> machine it comes up and says "Hey, this is already running on two of your
> Macs."
>
> And go you "Oh, doh!" and go quit the one that's been on the tasked-out user
> on
> the laptop for six weeks.
>
> But even then, it let's you work. It just nags you.
>
> I dunno about anyone else, but it really pisses me off when a company I pay
> money too assumes that I am a thief.
>
> > All these activation gyrations are a real PITA for doctors > as "billmcc"
> mentioned in his post.
>
> Does Dragon also do this sort of crap? I'd have to guess not.
Davoud
> Finally, here is a link to the Philips SpeechMike page on the Philips
> web site: http://tinyurl.com/69hfqn. But keep in mind that it is not
> supported for use with either iListen or MacSpeech Dictate.
>
> Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
> MacSpeech, Inc.
Does the SpeechMike work with the Mac OS? (If it does not require
special drivers, it will probably work.) As a long-time Mac user I have
bought many peripherals that a store salesperson guaranteed would NOT
work with the Mac, brought them home, plugged them in, and put them to
work.
As for the SpeechMike being unsupported by Macspeech Dictate, I have
used a number of unsupported mics with Dictate, with greater or lesser
success.
Davoud
--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
Paul Fuchs
Well, I could be totally wrong, but the way I read Chuck Rogers posting,
registering a second laptop is a one shot deal. So when you receive
MacSpeech Dictate, you install it on your desktop. When that is
complete, you install it on your laptop, go on-line from your home
office to the MacSpeech website, and register it. It is then good to go
on your laptop forever whether you are in New Jersey or Arcturus. If
this is incorrect, please disabuse me.
My laptop is a Pismo 400 so I am SAOL regarding this issue.
Mark Conrad
<08174d40-3a63-4e51...@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> A couple of things here, if I may... <snip>...
Hi Chuck, we unwashed medical people certainly appreciate
all the effort you go through in order to beat a little
sense into us - - - you know how bull-headed we can be.<g>
> First, you would want to hook up a recording device to a Mac
> through a USB adapter - not through the sound input jack
> (and certainly not through the headphone jack,
> as that is output only).
I think there is a bit of confusion here concerning what I meant
by "headphone jacks" in my statement:
"Only way presently to get the recorded sound from the
Olympus MS-2 recorder to 'Dictate is via the headphone jacks
- and we all know that method yields very low quality sound."
I was referring to the headphone jacks on the
Olympus _recorder_ , not the headphone jacks on the Mac.
...as per your own comment in an earlier post:
> More importantly, you can actually use a digital recorder now with
> MacSpeech Dictate - there just aren't specific features to support it.
> Simply run a cable from the headphone jack of the recorder to the
> microphone in jack of the USB adapter. It isn't optimal, but it does
> work.
>
> Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
> MacSpeech, Inc.
As you yourself mentioned, it is not "optimal".
By "not optimal", I believe we both meant "poorer quality sound".
(at least I meant that, I assume you did also)
BTW, thanks for your tips about the iPod, I will check that out
to see whether the higher sampling rate provides ANY increase
in text accuracy.
One question though, are you certain that the 44kHz sampling
rate does not pertain just to stereo mode?
As you know, stereo mode is useless for speech recognition, because
speech recognition is strictly monorail by nature - - - i.e. meaning
it can't benefit from stereo input. Speech app's just "throw away"
one of the stereo inputs, and automatically revert to monorail.
(unless you want "stereo text" output. hee hee)
Enough of this picking of nits, let me describe some fun stuff
that medical people sometimes go through with their high quality
digital recorders.
(or high quality digital microphones,
if one prefers to call them that, as Philips inc. does)
The stuff I am about to describe is what MacSpeech will have to
match eventually, before they can "nail" the medical market.
The following was produced by me using my tiny Sony ICD-MX200
recorder, yielding 100% text accuracy
with _no_ correction needed:
(excluding the two lines of asterisks, obviously)
*******************************************************
X-Linked agammaglobulinemia (Bruton's agammaglobulinemia)
is a hereditary immunodeficiency disorder due to an
abnormality in the X chromosome and resulting in few or
no B lymphocytes and very low levels of antibodies.
*******************************************************
At the risk of scaring off Mac newbies to speech-recognition,
this is what I actually spoke into the recorder in order to
yield the above 100% accurate text:
BeginSpellMode Cap x-ray BeginNormalMode NoSpace
Hyphen Cap linked agammaglobulinemia
OpenParenthesis BeginSpellMode
Cap bravo romeo uniform tango oscar november Apostrophe sierra
BeginNormalMode agammaglobulinemia CloseParenthesis NextLine
is a hereditary immunodeficiency disorder due to an NextLine
abnormality in the Spacebar BeginSpellMode Cap x-ray
BeginNormalMode chromosome and resulting in few or NextLine
no Spacebar BeginSpellMode Cap bravo BeginNormalMode
lymphocytes and very low levels of antibodies
Period NextParagraph
Fortunately for ordinary Mac users, such gyrations are not
necessary for the ordinary uses of speech-recognition.
It is just what us weird medical users of Dragon have to go
through in order to make certain that proper names like
"Bruton's" appear in the text output correctly, when those
proper names are not likely to exist in my
trained speech "profile".
BTW, digital recorders are necessary from another standpoint.
(in medicine, anyhow)
The doctors/surgeons time is extremely valuable, can't be
wasted by needing to personally correct obvious
text errors.
With recorders (and Dragon) - the routine text correction
can be done by any subordinate medical personnel who are
familiar with medical terminology, thereby freeing the surgeon
from that time-consuming correction task.
Final, final, text correction still HAS to be done by the
doctor however, to catch any subtle mistakes made by subordinates,
such as mixing up "hyperglycemial" with a "hypoglycemial" condition,
both of which require radically different treatment.
Mark-
Mark Conrad
paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink (Paul Fuchs) wrote:
> Well, I could be totally wrong, but the way I read Chuck Rogers posting,
> registering a second laptop is a one shot deal. So when you receive
> MacSpeech Dictate, you install it on your desktop. When that is
> complete, you install it on your laptop, go on-line from your home
> office to the MacSpeech website, and register it.
Paul, that very last part is what I think is confusing Abbott
(and me).
How do we "go on-line"?
We can't do it from the second laptop, because MacSpeech Dictate
is not operational yet. (no "trial" period)
(I assume one has to "go online"
from the MacSpeech application itself)
If we try to "go online" from the desktop machine's MacSpeech app,
that will do us no good as far as activating the laptop is concerned.
Perhaps I am missing something really obvious here?
Very very confusing, not nearly as simple as Chuck makes it out
to be.
> My laptop is a Pismo 400 so I am SAOL regarding this issue.
Ya better worry, because some day you will have a weak moment
and buy a new Intel Mac, then you will be in the same pickle
as the rest of us.<g>
Mark-
--
Posting from MY old Pismo 400,
can't wear the darn thing out.
smgo...@mjh.org
office notes. Currently, each patient has a note (Word or Pages
document) which when opened has all the information from my last
dictation (medications, allergies, surgical history, etc). With Dragon
NS I simply select and change a few sections as appropriate for each
visit (e.g. patient's concern today & my recommendations/tests for
that visit). If I want to use Dictate it seems that I can't do this as
Dictate doesn't recognize any of the previously transcribed words --
consequently I'm forced to select multiple parts of the document
manually, using far more time than a simple dictation would.
So my question is whether Dictate will ever be able to recognize these
previously transcribed words and allow them to be verbally selected as
can be done with Dragon NS?
Mark Conrad
<c1fde9d5-ecd4-4cb5...@a22g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
smgo...@mjh.org wrote:
> So my question is whether Dictate will ever be able to recognize these
> previously transcribed words and allow them to be verbally selected as
> can be done with Dragon NS?
Unfortunately 'Dictate does not (yet) have the capability of
saving your original audio file with the text, like Dragon does.
That audio file is necessary in order for you to select text
by voice, as you indicated that you want to do.
Even the low priced versions of Dragon do not save the audio.
($99 "Standard" and $200 "Preferred")
The "Preferred" will kind-of save audio, but only if you do _not_
quit the Dragon app' for any reason.
The $900 "Pro" version does save audio, also the $1,000 "medical"
version which myself and some others here use.
Nuance recently increased that price to $1,200 - - - a $200
increase without adding any new features.
That is why we are all cheering-on MacSpeech; we hope that
breaking Dragon's death grip on the medical market will
force prices down.
Mark-
Davoud
Yes. You should read the archives in this group for the lengthy
discussion on MacSpeech Dictate. It is apparent that Dictate will reach
feature parity with DNS, and perhaps surpass DNS (because Mac users
tend to have higher expectations than Windows users) but it is not
there yet. Until then, it will be suitable for some users and not for
others. MacSpeech appears to be giving priority to building the
correction mechanism and perhaps other editing requirements over
building specialized vocabularies, e.g., and I think that is
appropriate. Dictate cannot yet learn from your mistakes, and that is a
priority. I have considerable confidence that we will end up with a
speech recognition program at least as good as DNS (of which I, too,
am, or was, a user).
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
>
> "chuck.rog...@gmail.com" <chuck.rog...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > A couple of things here, if I may... <snip>...
>
> Hi Chuck, we unwashed medical people certainly appreciate
> all the effort you go through in order to beat a little
> sense into us - - - you know how bull-headed we can be.<g>
>
> > First, you would want to hook up a recording device to a Mac
> > through a USB adapter - not through the sound input jack
> > (and certainly not through the headphone jack,
> > as that is output only).
>
> I think there is a bit of confusion here concerning what I meant
> by "headphone jacks" in my statement:
>
> "Only way presently to get the recorded sound from the
> Olympus MS-2 recorder to 'Dictate is via the headphone jacks
> - and we all know that method yields very low quality sound."
>
> I was referring to the headphone jacks on the
> Olympus _recorder_ , not the headphone jacks on the Mac.
>
> ...as per your own comment in an earlier post:
>
> > More importantly, you can actually use a digital recorder now with
Mark (and everyone else):
I have used an iPod for voice recording and then transcribed using our
older product, iListen. I can tell you that 44kHz not only works, but
works extraordinarily well. I was getting better accuracy from that
then I was with my wired TalkPro Xpress - widely regarded as the most
accurate microphone we sell. I have no reason to believe that the same
would not be true of MacSpeech Dictate.
Regarding the headset jack on the Olympus - my apologies for
misunderstanding. I don't know about the model of Olympus that you
have, but my experience with the DS- series of Olympus digital
recorders is that I got excellent results by using the sound out of
the recorder into the mic in of a USB adapter.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article <1iexezz.wkksdl15rdhctN%paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink>,
> paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink (Paul Fuchs) wrote:
>
> > Well, I could be totally wrong, but the way I read Chuck Rogers posting,
> > registering a second laptop is a one shot deal. So when you receive
> >MacSpeech Dictate, you install it on your desktop. When that is
> > complete, you install it on your laptop, go on-line from your home
> > office to the MacSpeech website, and register it.
>
> Paul, that very last part is what I think is confusing Abbott
> (and me).
>
> How do we "go on-line"?
>
> is not operational yet. (no "trial" period)
>
> (I assume one has to "go online"
> from the MacSpeech application itself)
>
> If we try to "go online" from the desktop machine's MacSpeech app,
> that will do us no good as far as activating the laptop is concerned.
>
> Perhaps I am missing something really obvious here?
>
> Very very confusing, not nearly as simple as Chuck makes it out
> to be.
>
> > My laptop is a Pismo 400 so I am SAOL regarding this issue.
>
> Ya better worry, because some day you will have a weak moment
> and buy a new Intel Mac, then you will be in the same pickle
> as the rest of us.<g>
>
> Mark-
>
> --
> Posting from MY old Pismo 400,
> can't wear the darn thing out.
Mark:
You go "online" by opening your browser, going to www.macspeech.com
and you enter the email address you used when you registered your
software to log in to your account. If you didn't create an account,
one was created for you when you first registered MacSpeech Dictate.
If this is the case, click the "Forgotten Password" link on the web
page and your password will be reset and mailed to you. If you created
your account, then use your password or click the "Forgotten
password?" link to have it reset and mailed to you.
Once logged in, click on the "Account Overview" link. This will take
you to a page with a link for viewing your license key(s). You can
download a copy of the license key from that page. Once downloaded,
instead of registering again, you simply point the software to that
license key using the built-in interface in MacSpeech Dictate.
Here is why I think this is a good thing:
1). The procedure is simple. I'm sorry if you don't think so, but I
think it is.
2). We store your license key offsite for you. If any thing happens to
your computer or its hard drive, simply download it again.
chuck....@gmail.com
All:
We typically don't comment on unreleased features. Our statements on
Correction and Spelling Modes being free updates being an exception.
All I can tell you about the feature you are requesting is that we
already have it as a feature request. As to when or if it will ever be
implemented, we first need to get Spelling Mode and Correction done
before moving on to other things.
As far as that is concerned, anyone who asks anything about features
not currently in MacSpeech Dictate will be told exactly the same
thing: we aren't working on anything but Spelling Mode and Correction
right now, and won't comment on when or if any other features will be
implemented in the program.
Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
Macspeech, Inc.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In message <noneof-140792.00212005042...@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>
> Mark <non...@urbusiness.invalid> wrote:
>
> > In article <slrnfvdfv7.j1t.g.kr...@cerebus.local>,
> > Lewis <g.kr...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> >> Does Dragon also do this sort of crap?
> > Dragon would go the more restrictive way that MacSpeech chose.
>
> company I will not divulge to protect his stupi-- er, reputation :) in the late
> 80's and early 90's off and on, and they had a rather complicated anti-piracy
> feature on their software that they were very proud of, having written in-house
> and which they thought was just brilliant. And yet every time there was a new
> version released, it was out on the BBSes within a few hours, and there was
> rampant piracy of the application.
>
> What I found out was that even some (many) legitimate customers were using the
> pirated versions because they were less hassle and easier to install and also
> ran faster (their software checked multiple times for a 'legitimate' version,
> often multiple times a minute). Also, many of these customers were not updating
> their software because of the copy protection. Their version worked and they
> weren't willing to go through the hassle again, so the company was loosing a lot
> of money on upgrades.
>
> I suggested they eliminate their copy protections scheme and just go to a simple
> one time serial number entry. They didn't take my advice, but I sure did see a
> lot of other companies move to that sort of model, and successfully. I pointed
> out that _I_ would never buy their software with the copy protection they had.
>
> When you treat your customers like thieves, you are way more likely to have
> thieves as customers.
>
> --
> Behind every great man there's a woman with a vibrator
> -- Hawkeye Pierce
Lewis (and everyone else):
We certainly don't treat our customers like thieves, but we do have a
right to protect our intellectual property. In a way, we treat our
customers like neighbors. We trust all y'all, but we still lock our
doors at night to keep those out that are less neighborly.
That having been said, our license key scheme is even better than the
one serial number method Lewis mentioned, as it allows you to use your
"one serial number" (our license key file) on multiple machines, but
also gives us the flexibility to deactivate your key if it ends up
posted on a BBS somewhere (and it also tells us which of you are not
being neighborly!).
chuck....@gmail.com
> In message <990a6c33-5a7d-45f9-ab00-48abcdbea...@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>
> chuck.rog...@gmail.com <chuck.rog...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Apr 4, 4:14 pm, Madwen <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> >> In article
> >> <8c78ba65-e239-4c75-a8b9-2a6adf43c...@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
> > our online store from the other computer on which you want to install
> > the program and download your license key. It really is that simple.
> > Perhaps, instead of saying "contact our support staff to get detailed
> > procedures," I should have said "contact our support staff if you have
> > trouble with this procedure." I apologize if my wording mislead anyone
> > as to the level of expertise required to accomplish this very simple
> > task.
>
> least two machines (like a Desktop and a Laptop) or do you have to do the
> authority dance every time you want to switch from one to the other? And does
> that dance require Internet access?
>
> Say I have your software on my MacPro at home. Say I then install it on my
> MacBook Pro and go to my friend's house 40 miles from anywhere in the wilds of
> the Rocky Mountains. Can I use the software?
>
> If I activate it before I leave, demonstrating an alarming degree of foresight I
> do not usually exhibit, when I come home and fire up my MacPro, can I then use
> Dictate, or do I have to do the dance again?
>
> If I swap between my laptop and my desktop several times a day, as I do in fact
> do, do I get to dance with your authorization servers every time I go from my
> desk to the couch to my desk to the back patio to my desk to the front yard to
> my desk to the bedroom?
>
> Your license sure seemed to say I couldn't do that.... perhaps I miss-parsed the
> legalese?
>
> --
> I loved you when our love was blessed
> I love you now there's nothing left
> But sorrow and a sense of overtime
The text in our license agreement is not incorrect - but we "look the
other way" for those who want to use the product on more than one
machine. We do ask that only one copy with the same license key is
used at any one time. The wording in our license agreement allows us
to be more strict with those who would abuse our intent by running the
program on two different machines - with two different users - at the
same time.
Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech. Inc.
frangelica...@gmail.com
wrote:
> On Apr 5, 4:27 pm, Mark Conrad <non...@urbusiness.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>
> > In article
> > <08174d40-3a63-4e51-8d9d-3e966f685...@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
>
> > "chuck.rog...@gmail.com" <chuck.rog...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > A couple of things here, if I may... <snip>...
>
> > Hi Chuck, we unwashed medical people certainly appreciate
> > all the effort you go through in order to beat a little
> > sense into us - - - you know how bull-headed we can be.<g>
>
> > > First, you would want to hook up a recording device to a Mac
> > > through a USB adapter - not through the sound input jack
> > > (and certainly not through the headphone jack,
> > > as that is output only).
>
> > I think there is a bit of confusion here concerning what I meant
> > by "headphone jacks" in my statement:
>
> > "Only way presently to get the recorded sound from the
> > - and we all know that method yields very low quality sound."
>
> > I was referring to the headphone jacks on the
> > Olympus _recorder_ , not the headphone jacks on the Mac.
>
> > ...as per your own comment in an earlier post:
>
> > > More importantly, you can actually use a digital recorder now with
> > > Simply run a cable from the headphone jack of the recorder to the
> > > microphone in jack of the USB adapter. It isn't optimal, but it does
> > > work.
>
> > > Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
> > >MacSpeech, Inc.
>
> > As you yourself mentioned, it is not "optimal".
>
> > By "not optimal", I believe we both meant "poorer quality sound".
> > (at least I meant that, I assume you did also)
>
> > BTW, thanks for your tips about the iPod, I will check that out
> > to see whether the higher sampling rate provides ANY increase
> > in text accuracy.
>
> > One question though, are you certain that the 44kHz sampling
> > rate does not pertain just to stereo mode?
>
> > As you know, stereo mode is useless for speech recognition, because
> > speech recognition is strictly monorail by nature - - - i.e. meaning
> > it can't benefit from stereo input. Speech app's just "throw away"
> > one of the stereo inputs, and automatically revert to monorail.
>
> > (unless you want "stereo text" output. hee hee)
>
> > Enough of this picking of nits, let me describe some fun stuff
> > that medical people sometimes go through with their high quality
> > digital recorders.
> > (or high quality digital microphones,
> > if one prefers to call them that, as Philips inc. does)
>
Hi, Chuck and anyone else who might be able to help
There are a few of us trying your suggestions using an Olympus DS 4000
recorder. I think you already thought your directions are very clear
and they might be to someone who is familiar with setting up audio
systems. However let me run this by you again so we can be clear on
how to do this.
1. Starting with the recorder, using a two-ended audio jack, Mono
referred, plug one end of the audio jack into the sound-out of the
recorder which on this recorder is labeled "ear", and the other end
into the microphone jack of the adapter which I get from my headset.
In my case it's a Telex headset with the USB adapter which has two
jack openings, one marked microphone and the other marked headset.
2. Turn on the recorder and select an file from the recorder.
3. Plug the USB adapter into the USB port of my MacBook laptop.
4. Open MacSpeech Dictate, open a MacSpeech Dictate notepad and turn
the MacSpeech Dictate microphone on.
5. Set the recorder to play the selected audio file.
If I'm on the right track so far, I'm wondering what happens next?
How does McSpeech Dictate "hear" the audio from the recorder. Are
there steps that I am missing?
At some point you suggested that a specific profile for this might
have to be created. How would I do that?
Frangelica
Davoud
> I have used an iPod for voice recording and then transcribed using our
> older product, iListen. I can tell you that 44kHz not only works, but
> works extraordinarily well. I was getting better accuracy from that
> then I was with my wired TalkPro Xpress - widely regarded as the most
> accurate microphone we sell. I have no reason to believe that the same
> would not be true of MacSpeech Dictate.
>
> Regarding the headset jack on the Olympus - my apologies for
> misunderstanding. I don't know about the model of Olympus that you
> have, but my experience with the DS- series of Olympus digital
> recorders is that I got excellent results by using the sound out of
> the recorder into the mic in of a USB adapter.
Can that be right -- headphone (or line) level output into a mic-level
input? Just wondering.
Jolly Roger
<91ff9c71-7c7a-4ce5...@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> All:
>
> We typically don't comment on unreleased features. Our statements on
> Correction and Spelling Modes being free updates being an exception.
>
> All I can tell you about the feature you are requesting is that we
> already have it as a feature request. As to when or if it will ever be
> implemented, we first need to get Spelling Mode and Correction done
> before moving on to other things.
>
> As far as that is concerned, anyone who asks anything about features
> not currently in MacSpeech Dictate will be told exactly the same
> thing: we aren't working on anything but Spelling Mode and Correction
> right now, and won't comment on when or if any other features will be
> implemented in the program.
>
> Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
> Macspeech, Inc.
That makes sense. Do you have any sort of roadmap for the product that
is publicly available though?
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
billmcc
wrote:
> On Apr 4, 8:54 am, billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 4, 3:20 am, Lewis <g.kr...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
>
> > > In message <abbottNOSPAM-F39D6F.07322103042...@news-server.bendcable.com>
> > > Abbott <abbottNOS...@MYbendbroadband.com> wrote:
>
> > > > But I need to install on two machines: my Mac Pro in the office, and my
> > > > MacBook Pro when I'm on the road. Clearly as a single user, I will only
> > > > USE one machine at a time, but I need it on two machines.
> > > > In article
> > > > <e70d20ac-60f5-4591-82f7-1a6790e57...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> > > > billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >> believe that anyone has addressed this issue in the thread. Unlike
> > > >> many other software packages, and indeed unlike Dragon in Windows, the
> > > >> license is to the hardware and not to the user. ie you can only
> > > >> install it on one machine at a time.
>
> > > Wow, that was a spectacularly bad move on MacSpeech's part. Seriously.
>
> > > That's actually hard to believe. Even the asshats at Microsoft let you
> > > install software on a desktop and a laptop.
>
> > > However, for businesses it likely makes no difference, right? You install
> > > it on the machines and whoever is using them uses the software.
>
> > > And by 'enforces' this do you mean that Dictate has some sort of copy-protection
> > > beyond the serial number? How 1990's.
>
> > > I do believe Marsellus Wallace, my husband, your boss, told you to take *me*
> > > out and do *whatever I wanted*. Now I wanna dance, I wanna win. I want
> > > that trophy, so dance good.
>
> > As Mark mentions, you can activate the software over the web on
> > sequential machines, but it is time consuming and laborious, and I
> > believe requires your serial #. As a comparison, at our 600 bed
> > hospital, we have Dragon installed on one desktop at each nursing
> > station. The facility is totally paperless with no paper charts, so
> > VR is a big deal. The license structure for Dragon is tied to the
> > individual user, you can have multiple machines, but each user must be
> > licensed. As a fully licensed and paid Dragon user, I can go to any
> > machine and use the software. Many of our users carry their voice
> > files on a jump drive and simply plug in to the machine, and it is up
> > and running in moments.
>
> > The Dictate license makes the assumption that I am fixed in one
> > location and use only one machine, or move to another machine for a
> > period of time and am willing/able to spend ~5 minutes to bring out my
> > serial # and activate over the net. This just isn't going to happen.
>
> > I am very sympathetic to vendors' needs to preserve their intellectual
> > property, and never knowingly violate a license agreement. Indeed, it
> > does me no good for a company to be less than successful to a point
> > where they can't continue to upgrade and improve the quality and
> > performance of their products to my benefit. I just hate it when
> > vendors cripple the usability of otherwise useful software in the name
> > of property protection.
>
> > It always feels as if in an effort to prevent thieves from stealing
> > your plasma TV, you put it in a safe and never are able to use it
> > yourself. You effectively give away your ability to watch TV in an
> > effort to prevent someone from stealing it. A Faustian bargain at
> > best.
>
> > So I guess I am stuck with four Windows XP machines in my life, whose
> > only function is to run Dragon and remind me how happy I am with my
> > other Mac machines where I don't have to mess with dreaded Windows.
>
> > I don't know what I am going to do in the future if the guys from
> > Redmond cease to support XP in an effort to force me to spend money on
> > the bloatware of Vista, just to run my one application.
>
> > Bill
>
> Bill (and everyone else):
>
> Installing MacSpeech Dictate on multiple computers is neither
> laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
> "Check for Updates" in the software to download the update. Basically,
> your unique license key is installed in your account on our web site.
> You log into your account from the other computer on which you want to
> install the software and download your license key from our site. Our
> support staff can give you detailed procedures on this.
>
> MacSpeech, Inc.
Thanks, Chuck.
I will download the update and give it a try. It is not clear in your
documentation that you intend installation on multiple machines, and I
am still anxious that it will require internet access, and an as yet
undetermined amount of time to certify the installation.
But I will certainly give it a try, a real college try. I wish you
could come up with a scheme to apply a digital certificate to the
voice files, and not the software. I think that this would meet your
protection needs while making the user truly portable. More after I
use it for a time.
I understand the hardware issues attendant to the microphones, and
hope that some external battery driven preamp, as is used in other
mics on the Mac, might be devised. I also understand that you are
limited to whatever the microphone manufacturers provide.
I trust that your website or your tech support staff can provide
information on which files are needed for my voice files. I hope to
load my unique voice files, which are the result of my training, to a
jump drive and port between machines as we do with Dragon.
I hope you guys are successful with this product. I really do.
Dragon is the only Windows program I have left, and it is a real pain
in the rear to keep using it.
The medical market is ready for you when you have solved the
microphone issue, the portability problem, the training of the
vocabulary, and the medical professional vocabulary.
I will keep at it....
Bill
billmcc
> In article
> <e70d20ac-60f5-4591-82f7-1a6790e57...@e39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
>
Mark,
The URL for the Philips SpeechMike is: http://www.dictation.philips.com/index.php?id=57
The SpeechMike Pro and SpeechMike Classic seem to be the most popular
microphones in the medical market. Note that Philips also sells these
with both hardware and their own software, but they clearly sell them
alone as single products. Sadly, they don't work with the Mac. I've
tried it.
This is the device that most closely matches the ergonomics of
dictation in a classical sense, a wand like device with controls for
"stop" "dictate" "playback" etc. This device is the one most
commonly used in the medical market today with Dragon. Unfortunately,
it is not Mac compatible at the hardware level, as Chuck accurately
notes in one of his posts. At least in our medical community, the
portable recorder devices have never been embraced as an interface
into Dragon. Too much fuss and bother.
Hope that this is helpful....
Bill
Bill
Madwen
<990a6c33-5a7d-45f9...@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Um - I *did* give everyone the procedure:...
Um..... you said one had to contact your support staff to get the
procedure. I merely quoted you. The restrictions and inconveniences
your process imposes on users are substandard and sub-professional.
> ...log onto your account in our online store from the other computer
> on which you want to install the program and download your license
> key. It really is that simple. Perhaps, instead of saying "contact
> our support staff to get detailed procedures," I should have said
> "contact our support staff if you have trouble with this procedure."
> I apologize if my wording mislead anyone as to the level of expertise
> required to accomplish this very simple task.
>
> Look - I really take exception to your insinuation that we are in any
> way "rinky dink" or "sub-professional."...
I stand by my opinion but I sincerely hope I can amend it someday.
Jolly Roger
<wyvern-8408DC....@sn-indi.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
Madwen <wyv...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> In article
My god. Get off your high horse, and grow up. Chuck has been very
helpful and forthcoming, and all you are doing is slinging insults.
chuck....@gmail.com
Frangelica (and everyone else):
When you have your recorder connected to the USB adapter that came
with your microphone, sound goes out of the recorder's headphone or
sound out jack and into the USB adapter. MacSpeech Dictate has no clue
you have a recorder hooked up to the USB adapter. All it knows is that
there is sound coming in - the same way as if the microphone was still
attached to the USB adapter and you were speaking live.
I'd like to add again (for those who may not have seen earlier
postings): transcription from a recording is subject to all the same
rules as live dictation. That is, there must be only one voice on the
recording, the speaker must have a trained profile in MacSpeech
Dictate, and must speak his or her punctuation. Transcription from a
recording is solely for the convenience of dictating when you are away
from the computer. It is not for use to transcribe lectures or
interviews.
chuck....@gmail.com
Davoud:
You can adjust the sound out volume of a digital recorder. You
typically cannot adjust the volume of a microphone external to the
computer unless you first put it through some sort of amplifier with a
volume control. Thus, by turning up the volume on the recorder, you
can get the sound loud enough to be used with the USB adapter. This
does require some experimentation, and common sense would tell you
that the quieter the background noise on the recording, the better
your accuracy will be.
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
> <91ff9c71-7c7a-4ce5-bf5e-4fdf55ed9...@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
All:
We never, ever post any roadmap. The reason is we don't want to have
anything misinterpreted by customers, or even worse, publish something
on a road map and then be unable to implement if for some reason.
Programming speech recognition is hard. Very hard. There is nothing
you will ask your computer to do that is as complex or needs to touch
so many different operations in the operating system. We write code,
we test it as best and thoroughly as we can, and we release it when we
think its ready. Sometimes, things we initially thought would be easy
end up being very hard. Other times, things we thought were going to
be tough end up taking not very much time at all. We have seen this
kind of stuff happen time and time again.
Very early on in our company's history, we used to sort of telegraph
features we were working on. Call it over confidence and lack of
experience, but we learned quickly that despite our best efforts and
knowledgeable guesses, things usually don't turn out the way we
anticipate.
I would say that if you are familiar at all with Dragon's products,
you can assume that we are going to work hard to implement as many of
the features they have as we can, but we will do so in a way that
leverages the uniqueness of the Mac environment wherever possible. As
MacSpeech Dictate matures, you will no doubt be surprised by some of
the things we implement, while remain anxious and impatient for
others. Such is the nature of software development in general, and
even more so for speech recognition software.
chuck....@gmail.com
Bill (and everyone else):
Your voice profiles are stored in a folder named "MacSpeech Profiles."
You will find this folder inside your document folder. You can move
your profiles to another machine simply by copying this folder to the
Documents folder of the user you intend to log in as on the other
computer.
BTW, you do need an Internet connection to activate the software, but
you do not absolutely need to have an Internet connection before you
start using the program. (I can't remember who it was, but someone
stated that in this thread, and that is incorrect.) There is a built-
in grace period that will allow you to fully use the program until you
are able to connect.
If you are not going to have Internet access on the computer on which
you intend to use MacSpeech Dictate, you can contact our support
department for instructions on how to move your license key file to
that computer.
I do want to comment about our policy that requires you to connect to
the Internet. First, we do not spy on you. No information is collected
and sent back to our servers except for the required information to
register your software. Any other information you provide is your
choice as to whether to provide it or not. In this day and age, it is
very rare that someone would be unable to connect to the Internet at
all. We understand there are a few people out there, and our Support
department can help those people get successfully registered. But for
well over 99% of the people who would use our software, connecting to
the Internet at some point simply isn't an issue. We are sorry for
anyone that is inconvenienced by this policy, and, as I said, our
support department can provide a means to get you registered. But we
are going to maintain this policy simply because it provides the
absolute easiest way for us to meet all of our obligations - not just
to our customers, but also to our shareholders and licensor.
Mark Conrad
<463b2387-7fc5-4fe7...@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The SpeechMike Pro and SpeechMike Classic seem to be the
> most popular microphones in the medical market.
>
> Unfortunately, it is not Mac compatible at the hardware level,
> as Chuck accurately notes in one of his posts.
Too bad, because that mike/recorder has a bunch of useful
features for medical usage:
1) Built-in trackball.
2) 15 separate AVR (Automatic Voice Recording) sensitivity settings,
the most sensitive of which triggers on anything even slightly
above the background noise.
3) ...and of course support for Dragon NaturallySpeaking,
on the XP OS. There was no mention in the spec's
whether it would support Dragon on the Vista OS.
> The URL for the Philips SpeechMike is:
http://www.dictation.philips.com/index.php?id=57
Most brands of expensive digital recorders nowadays have
pretty decent AVC (Automatic Volume Control) - which is
absolutely necessary for good speech recognition.
One BIG drawback of present recorders is that they do NOT
have directional noise-cancelling microphones, which means
that they are useless for speech recognition purposes
in a noisy environment.
Most medical environments are quite noisy.
Fortunately on my Sony ICD-MX200 recorder I can plug in
a good noise-cancelling headset to it.
I hate headsets of ANY kind, they are too restrictive.
But my Sony ICD-MX200 recorder will not work with a Mac,
same problem there as with the Philips SpeechMike. (recorder)
I get a kick out of Philips calling it a SpeechMike,
when most of the device is a recorder.<g>
> This is the device that most closely matches the ergonomics
> of dictation in a classical sense, a wand like device with
> controls for "stop" "dictate" "playback" etc.
That is great for a doctor who has "made it" financially,
but not so great for doctors just starting their practice.
A "made it" doctor only needs to grab his SpeechMike,
rapidly slur & slobber comments into it, then let his
high priced transcriptionist figure out the recorded mess.
I know of some doctors so poor that they have to handle
their own transcription, using really old versions
of Dragon that they bought on eBay.
Then you have the great unwashed mass of doctors who are
"on their way up", have a pretty good hold on finances.
Some of them take an intermediate approach and delegate
transcription chores to one of their own immediate staff,
rather than subscribe to an outside transcription service.
Such a skilled "Dragonist" on the doctors payroll is a
real asset, because he/she can even pay their own way by
"taking in dirty transcription laundry" from other doctors,
time permitting of course.
> At least in our medical community, the portable recorder
> devices have never been embraced as an interface
> into Dragon. Too much fuss and bother.
Ah yes, here we have a real conundrum.
On the one hand, our Dragonized doctor wastes so much time
trying to throw a saddle on his Dragon that his practice
fails, because of his disgusted patients that he
never has enough time to see.
On the other hand, our other doctor who is waving his Philips
SpeechMike around, blissfully mumbling his ums, ers, ahs, with
never a thought about proper enunciation, pronunciation, or
converting his recordings to text...
...well _he_ goes bust also, because of the exorbitantly
high price he has to pay his transcription service to
figure out his mumbling.
Some sort of middle approach might be better, such as the
doctor paying more attention to recording accurately,
and allowing his staff to fix the bulk of the simple
text mistakes, using Dragon.
(or later, using MacSpeech Dictate, when
correction features are added to that fine app')
Financial benefit to one group of doctors who
switched from using commercial transcription services -
**********************************************************
> Affording it is the easiest part, we spend over $100,000
> annually for transcription services for 25 users.
> ($4,000 per year, per each user)
>
> Switching to using Dragon, 25 Dragon licenses cost $25,000
> 25 new laptops $25,000.
>
> First year total cost after switching to Dragon $50,000.
>
> First year savings, $100,000 minus $50,000 = $50,000.
>
> Every year thereafter saved $100,000.
*********************************************************
I know what you are thinking, what about the added
workload incurred by the doctors, because of Dragon.
Easy answer for that, shift the "extra" workload to a
member of the doctors own staff, thereby freeing-up
the doctor from needing to do _most_ of those extra
Dragon related chores.
High-end "Dragon supported" digital recorders are the
ideal solution for this "in house" fixing of text mistakes
by the doctors own employee, using efficient Dragon
correction features.
Correction goes very quickly, because the "bad text" is
synched with the doctors original audio, making it a
slam-dunk for the staff member to figure out what
the bad word should be, and quickly correct it.
Once there are _no_ text mistakes, the doctor's secretary
can enter that corrected text into the proper forms, reports,
and records.
Mark-
--
Eventually MacSpeech will get a good stable
of supported high-end recorders.
When MacSpeech sales go up after the much needed
correction and spelling features are added, it will
be fairly easy for MacSpeech to talk the recorder
manufacturers into grinding out dedicated drivers
to support the MacSpeech Dictate app'
Dragon did it, I see no reason why MacSpeech can't
do the same thing. Just a matter of time.
Mark Conrad
<560a2dd6-e2ac-45b8...@p39g2000prm.googlegroups.com>,
frangelica...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi, Chuck and anyone else who might be able to help
>
> There are a few of us trying your suggestions using an Olympus DS 4000
> recorder. I think you already thought your directions are very clear
> and they might be to someone who is familiar with setting up audio
> systems. However let me run this by you again so we can be clear on
> how to do this.
>
> 1. Starting with the recorder, using a two-ended audio jack, Mono
> referred, plug one end of the audio jack into the sound-out of the
> recorder which on this recorder is labeled "ear", and the other end
> into the microphone jack of the adapter which I get from my headset.
>
> In my case it's a Telex headset with the USB adapter which has two
> jack openings, one marked microphone and the other marked headset.
>
> 2. Turn on the recorder and select an file from the recorder.
>
> 3. Plug the USB adapter into the USB port of my MacBook laptop.
>
> 4. Open MacSpeech Dictate, open a MacSpeech Dictate notepad and turn
> the MacSpeech Dictate microphone on.
>
> 5. Set the recorder to play the selected audio file.
>
> If I'm on the right track so far, I'm wondering what happens next?
> How does McSpeech Dictate "hear" the audio from the recorder. Are
> there steps that I am missing?
>
> At some point you suggested that a specific profile for this might
> have to be created. How would I do that?
>
> Frangelica
Hi Frangelica,
Any lingering questions after you read Chuck's reply to you?
Do not know whether I can help, because I do not have the
necessary cables here to actually try Chuck's suggestions.
(cables with male mini-phone jacks on both ends of the cable)
...but I would be willing to take a crack at answering
any general questions you still have about the subject.
Mark-
Davoud
> > ... It is not clear in your
> > documentation that you intend installation on multiple machines, and I
> > am still anxious that it will require internet access, and an as yet
> > undetermined amount of time to certify the installation.
Chuck Rogers:
> ...
> If you are not going to have Internet access on the computer on which
> you intend to use MacSpeech Dictate, you can contact our support
> department for instructions on how to move your license key file to
> that computer.
> I do want to comment about our policy that requires you to connect to
> the Internet. First, we do not spy on you. No information is collected
> and sent back to our servers except for the required information to
> register your software...
I believe that billmc's unstated concern is that is will be necessary
to connect to the Internet _every_ time one wants to use Dictate on the
second machine.
My understanding is that one will need to connect to the Internet only
once, during the installation and registration process.
I hope I am correct, because the latter presents no problem; Apple
doesn't make machines that can't connect to the Internet and the second
installation is likely to take place at home or in an office, where one
has Internet access.
If the former, then the ability to install on a second machine would be
essentially meaningless for many users.
chuck....@gmail.com
> billmcc:
>
> > > ... It is not clear in your
> > > documentation that you intend installation on multiple machines, and I
> > > am still anxious that it will require internet access, and an as yet
> > > undetermined amount of time to certify the installation.
>
> Chuck Rogers:
>
> > ...
> > If you are not going to have Internet access on the computer on which
> > department for instructions on how to move your license key file to
> > that computer.
> > I do want to comment about our policy that requires you to connect to
> > the Internet. First, we do not spy on you. No information is collected
> > and sent back to our servers except for the required information to
> > register your software...
>
> I believe that billmc's unstated concern is that is will be necessary
> to connect to the Internet _every_ time one wants to use Dictate on the
> second machine.
>
> My understanding is that one will need to connect to the Internet only
> once, during the installation and registration process.
>
> I hope I am correct, because the latter presents no problem; Apple
> doesn't make machines that can't connect to the Internet and the second
> installation is likely to take place at home or in an office, where one
> has Internet access.
>
> If the former, then the ability to install on a second machine would be
> essentially meaningless for many users.
>
> Davoud
>
> --
> usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
Davoud (and everyone else):
I honestly don't know where people get some of these ideas. I hope it
is not something in the way I am wording things. So let me clarify.
Once you have the license key installed in the second machine (or
third, or fourth, etc.) MacSpeech Dictate behaves exactly like it did
on the first machine. It does not need to connect to the Internet
every time you launch it. If there is a valid license key file on the
second machine, it basically says "Cool. Let's get to work." No
Internet necessary.
Mark Conrad
<08c0e515-4d2b-4c1f...@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Davoud (and everyone else):
>
> I honestly don't know where people get some of these ideas. I hope it
> is not something in the way I am wording things. So let me clarify.
>
> Once you have the license key installed in the second machine (or
> third, or fourth, etc.) MacSpeech Dictate behaves exactly like it did
> on the first machine. It does not need to connect to the Internet
> every time you launch it. If there is a valid license key file on the
> second machine, it basically says "Cool. Let's get to work." No
> Internet necessary.
>
> Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
> MacSpeech, Inc.
FWIW, here I actually tried to activate 'Dictate on a 2nd Mac,
after you pounded on my head sufficiently. It works!
I can bounce between my two Macs at an instants notice,
without any stinkin' Internet games!!! Cool...
However, I really think everyone is "put off" by the
wording of the MacSpeech EULA, which states in essence
that if a user installs 'Dictate on two Macs...
...that the MacSpeech police will break down their front door,
confiscate both their Macs, throw them in jail, and arrange
things so that they will have to use Windows OSs
the rest of their lives.
I know you posted that MacSpeech "looks the other way" when
users install 'Dictate on two Macs, but the wording of
the EULA is really harsh.
So much so that I am rapidly removing 'Dictate from
my 2nd Mac, as we speak...
...because I don't want to be fined, thrown in jail,
and limited to running Windows OSs the rest of my life.
...besides, they probably would not replace my front door
after the MacSpeech Swat team broke it down.
(gawd, confession is good for the soul,
I really do not know what possessed me, that
caused me to install 'Dictate on that 2nd Mac)
Mark-
Paul Fuchs
Chuck, I don't wish to be rude, but many people on this thread have
repeatedly asked the question, "Is this registration on the second
machine a one shot deal?" and this posting is the first time where you
responded directly and clearly. Up to this posting, I had assumed you
had to do it every time you switched, otherwise why would you be
(apparently) evading the issue? As someone who wishes to buy your
program as soon as I can work out my USVI and back ordered logistics, I
am please to see my assumption was wrong. At the moment it makes no
practical difference to me as my laptop is PPC, but that is subject to
change.
--
Never believe anything until it's officially denied.
frangelica...@gmail.com
> In article
>
>
>
> frangelicafrangel...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Hi, Chuck and anyone else who might be able to help
>
> > There are a few of us trying your suggestions using an Olympus DS 4000
> > recorder. I think you already thought your directions are very clear
> > and they might be to someone who is familiar with setting up audio
> > systems. However let me run this by you again so we can be clear on
> > how to do this.
>
> > 1. Starting with the recorder, using a two-ended audio jack, Mono
> > referred, plug one end of the audio jack into the sound-out of the
> > recorder which on this recorder is labeled "ear", and the other end
> > into the microphone jack of the adapter which I get from my headset.
>
> > In my case it's a Telex headset with the USB adapter which has two
> > jack openings, one marked microphone and the other marked headset.
>
> > 2. Turn on the recorder and select an file from the recorder.
>
> > 3. Plug the USB adapter into the USB port of my MacBook laptop.
>
> > 4. Open MacSpeechDictate, open aMacSpeechDictatenotepad and turn
>
> > 5. Set the recorder to play the selected audio file.
>
> > If I'm on the right track so far, I'm wondering what happens next?
> > there steps that I am missing?
>
> > At some point you suggested that a specific profile for this might
> > have to be created. How would I do that?
>
> > Frangelica
>
> Hi Frangelica,
>
> Any lingering questions after you read Chuck's reply to you?
>
> Do not know whether I can help, because I do not have the
> necessary cables here to actually try Chuck's suggestions.
>
> (cables with male mini-phone jacks on both ends of the cable)
>
> ...but I would be willing to take a crack at answering
> any general questions you still have about the subject.
>
> Mark-
Thanks Mark
My interest in this matter is mostly a matter of curiosity, but I know
that others really want digital dictation recorders to interface with
their Macs. I guess that we should be happy that we are finally seeing
speech recognition mostly working on our Macs, and good things peeking
over the horizon.
I tried connecting the Olympus DS-4000 to my MacBook as I described -
recorder out to USB adapter with a male to male mini connector. I
turned the volume up on the recorder and watched the window on Dictate
to see if it was recognizing any sound. The graph which shows sound
being received reacted weakly. However, there were words on the
Notepad (the screen into which one can dictate - similar to
TextEdit). Those were words but they were not related to the text of
the dictation from the recorder. This flow of words lastly only
briefly and I couldn't make that happen again. What was interesting
was that I could periodically see the words of the text right on the
MacBook's screen just below the microphone icon. I don't think there
are words normally when one is dictating into an application.
I think for now my little experiment has reached its end and I'll wait
for further developments in this field. MacSpeech Dictate is working
well enough that every day when I sit down to put some text into my
computer I debate with myself whether I'm going to try the dictation
or just sit down and type in the text.
As each day goes by MacSpeech Dictate and I are getting better at the
process. I am looking forward to the reaction of other people when
they get a working copy of Dictate. It's really too bad there was such
a fiasco with the disks.
Thanks to Mark, Chuck, and all of you for this invigorating discussion.
Mark Conrad
<c58b8fc9-9010-484f...@i36g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
frangelica...@gmail.com wrote:
> My interest in this matter is mostly a matter of curiosity
Gotcha.
> but I know that others really want digital
> dictation recorders to interface with their Macs.
Yeah, it is nice not needing to lug around my Mac,
just to take advantage of speech recognition benefits.
(I have a Vista Ultimate partition on
my MacBook Pro, with the cheapie $1,200
version of Dragon medical software in it)
Basically the exact same Dragon "speech engine" in
that high priced software, as is in MacSpeech Dictate.
...but the devil is in the details, which MacSpeech
will sort out in time.
...something like getting a Lamborghini sports car engine,
the 1,000 horse-power engine that is in their 240 mph car.
BTW, that car is street-legal in the USA, little old ladies
can drive it to their corner grocery store.
Costs a million and a half, I think.
...sticking that 1,000 hp engine in a little Honda Civic,
and expecting the Civic to go 240 mph.
(well, it might, for a few seconds,
before it explodes into many pieces)
> I guess that we should be happy that we are finally
> seeing speech recognition mostly working on our Macs,
> and good things peeking over the horizon.
Yes. Newbies stand the most to gain, they can explore
the things that _do_ work in 'Dictate, which takes time.
...oh lordy, DOES it take time, to learn all the things
that make ANY speech program a useful tool.
First thing that newbies will run into is a bug in the
initial training, which you have probably ran into
yourself.
When speaking the required text, 'Dictate refuses
to recognize ANYTHING, even with repeated attempts!
That is enough to cause a newbie to throw 'Dictate
out the nearest window.<g>
...but we all got over that hump.
> MacSpeech Dictate is working well enough that every day
> when I sit down to put some text into my computer I debate
> with myself whether I'm going to try the dictation
> or just sit down and type in the text.
In my case I still use Dragon; I have to literally
force myself to use 'Dictate in its present state.
That should change as 'Dictate matures, give it a year.
Mark-
billmcc
Chuck,
I just went through the installation process for a new Mac Mini.
It seemed to install ok, but would not activate.
When I called your tech support people, I was told that moving a voice
file was not supported, and that I would have to retrain on each
machine. I assume someone is misinformed. Retraining on each machine
is not an option.
I will try to perform the transfer of the voice file in spite of your
customer support person asserting that this was not supported.
Also, My license key is not visible on my account on the web site,
don't know what this means.
But the ultimate fix of rebooting the new install Mac Mini and
installing your update, seemed to solve the problem. But this appears
to be much more of a process than I had expected from your message
thread.
Will keep trying....
Bill
Mark Conrad
<463b2387-7fc5-4fe7...@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hope that this is helpful....
Bill, darn it, I lost your most recent post to Chuck,
hit the wrong key here. grrr
Do you happen to recall whether Chuck posted the location
of the user speech file?
Like you, I want to try moving that speech file to
another Mac, despite what MacSpeech support said about
that file.
I can't understand why they "lost" your license-key at
the MacSpeech website, perhaps Chuck has a suggestion
as to how to remedy that oversight.
I assume you checked into your MacSpeech account by
using your MacSpeech password?
Fortunately for me, my license-key _was_ available at
the MacSpeech website.
Mark-
billmcc
> In article
>
> billmcc <william.mcclatc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hope that this is helpful....
>
> Bill, darn it, I lost your most recent post to Chuck,
> hit the wrong key here. grrr
>
> Do you happen to recall whether Chuck posted the location
> of the user speech file?
>
> Like you, I want to try moving that speech file to
> another Mac, despite what MacSpeech support said about
> that file.
>
> I can't understand why they "lost" your license-key at
> the MacSpeech website, perhaps Chuck has a suggestion
> as to how to remedy that oversight.
>
> I assume you checked into your MacSpeech account by
> using your MacSpeech password?
>
> Fortunately for me, my license-key _was_ available at
> the MacSpeech website.
>
> Mark-
Good news.
Chuck is correct, their support guy is wrong.
I have moved my voice files successfully and am now operational on
four Macs, and it works well. The activation process was actually
quite simple, and it seems to work flawlessly and transparently on
each machine. No hassles after the installation and activation. I
still don't know the impact of not having my license key on the web
site, but it is definitely present on all of the machines on my end.
Yea Chuck!
Mark, the voice files are locate on the Mac (and now on my USB jump
drive!) in the Mac's individual user "Documents" folder in the folder
"MacSpeech Profiles"
The product is growing on me, and like everyone else, when using it
more, its accuracy is most impressive. At least as good as Dragon 9.
My two remaining gripes, and they are absolute show stoppers for
serious professional use, are the microphone issue and the training/
vocabulary issue. Chuck has gone as far as he can to tell us that the
training and vocabulary issues will be resolved in time. I believe
him.
I currently use the Plantronics Audio .85, a certified mike, and the
audio quality is great, but the headset deal is awful. Cannot imagine
moving around a hospital or my office with one of these geeky things
on my head.
Surely this is a problem that can be solved.
But solve it they must if they ever want to get beyond the single
individual use of this product and into the serious commercial market
that is looking for their product to work.
Its getting better, and I look forward to addressing these last two
big issues.....
Bill
chuck....@gmail.com
> > > > laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
Bill (and everyone else):
I can't address why you would be told moving the voice profiles is not
supported, or why your License Key isn't available in your account in
our store (you will have to contact our support people about that, as
I have no access to the store).
But if you look inside your Documents folder you will see a folder
named "MacSpeech Profiles." Here is what I would do to make sure that
folder gets moved correctly:
1). Control-click on the "MacSpeech Profiles" folder and select
"Compress MacSpeech Profiles" from the contextual menu.
2). Copy the file named "MacSpeech Profiles.zip" to the Documents
folder for the user you log in as on the second computer. You can do
this by copying over the network, burning it to a CD, using a USB
Thumb drive (or other external drive), or by connecting one computer
to the other via Firewire and mounting it in disk mode.
3). Once the file has been moved, double-click it to expand the folder
in the new location.
This process insures all your profiles are moved and eliminates the
possibility of you mistyping the name of the folder, or not moving all
the information.
Mark Conrad
<f59f27c1-14b8-4784...@f63g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
billmcc <william.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Chuck is correct, their support guy is wrong.
>
> I have moved my voice files successfully and am now operational on
> four Macs, and it works well. The activation process was actually
> quite simple, and it seems to work flawlessly and transparently on
> each machine. No hassles after the installation and activation. I
> still don't know the impact of not having my license key on the web
> site, but it is definitely present on all of the machines on my end.
>
> Yea Chuck!
Great! Just be careful you have a spotter on lookout duty,
just in case you get a visit by the MacSpeech swat team.
(wording of their EULA, etc.)
Chuck is very knowledgeable and helpful to us unwashed
medical types, but MacSpeech banned him from their
inner circles when he would not participate in their
Nazi-like torchlight ceremonies while MacSpeech was
drafting the official EULA. ;-) ;-) ;-)
> My two remaining gripes, and they are absolute show stoppers
> for serious professional use, are the microphone issue and
> the training/ vocabulary issue. Chuck has gone as far as he
> can to tell us that the training and vocabulary issues will
> be resolved in time. I believe him.
Same here, I believe Chuck. The training/correction/spelling
issue is being coded as we speak.
However don't hold your breath waiting for a medical vocabulary,
that is way down on the MacSpeech priority list.
Fortunately, we can s-l-o-w-l-y draft our own medical
vocabulary, once MacSpeech has their correction-code update
completed. (and their spelling-code update)
I am looking forward to training 'Dictate to handle:
"pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism"
...which is an inherited disorder that simulates the symptoms of
pseudohypoparathyroidism - - - I think a woman who lives near
"Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu" has
that genetic disorder.
(57-letter name for a specific hill in New Zealand)
No problem doing all the above training with Dragon, but
MacSpeech will also eventually have that capability.
(hmm, wonder if I should add the name of
that New Zealand hill to my MacSpeech vocabulary)
> I currently use the Plantronics Audio .85, a certified mike...
Yep, is certified for iListen, looks comfortable to wear.
> Cannot imagine moving around a hospital or my office with one
> of these geeky things on my head.
Yeah, might scare your patients if you walk in looking like
Darth Vader from Star Wars.
Concerning Microphones/headsets/recorders -
*******************************************
There is a lot of voodoo associated with microphones, some of
it is valid, some of it is just hype designed to suck in
the customer.
I just listen to all sides, _then_ actually try the device
in a real-world situation.
Some that were tagged as being lousy worked just great.
Some that came highly recommended were lousy.
Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances, what can I say.
I practice my share of microphone voodoo, sitting crossed-leg
on the floor, painted body, small fire, droning incantations
to the Microphone Gods, throwing incense powder on the fire.
With headsets, I find that taping the microphone leads to
the headset frame prevents them from rubbing across the
headset frame every time I move.
That 'rubbing', believe it or not, generates noise output
in the microphone, as evidenced by the MacSpeech "meter"
responding to any rubbing movement of those leads.
Another source of trouble is the users breath.
Just look at the screwy meter dancing around as you do
nothing but breathe.
You would be surprised at how far to the side you have to
place the flexible microphone boom to get rid of _most_
of that breathing interference.
Another piece of personal voodoo I find pays off:
On MacSpeech microphone setup, I swing the microphone boom
w-a-y away from my mouth, in fact up near my eye.
I then speak _very_ softly when doing the automatic volume
part of the setup.
THEN when doing the "quality" part of the setup, I move the
microphone boom back closer to my mouth, again speaking softly.
I find these gyrations allow me to speak in a very low volume
manner, while still achieving near 100% recognition accuracy.
If a user finds himself/herself tending to speak loud, then
there is something definitely haywire with their setup.
My advice on the matter, do anything that works for you
personally, and take the "advice" of others with caution.
(that includes MY advice)
Oh, BTW I practice what I preach. I have one model of a
Sennheiser microphone that I routinely place 48 inches
from my mouth, and consistently get near 100% recognition
accuracy when speaking with "normal" speaking volume, like
you would speak if you were talking to a friend face-to-face.
(using Dragon, I will try it with MacSpeech shortly)
I have _never_ seen that model on anyone's "approved"
list.
A different model Sennheiser, highly praised by some
microphone vendors who claimed to have strong ties
with Dragon, was lousy, even though it cost as much as
the "good" Sennheiser.
Go figure.
Mark-
lko...@gmail.com
MacBook. The VXI Translator microphone works fine by the input meter
in the sound control panel, but there is no response in Dictate when I
read the text component of the microphone setup process. There is no
crash or hangup as reported in versions sent in March, I think I got
mine after that problem was resolved. I have used the same microphone
successfully in Dragon Speaking Naturally inside Windows under
Parallels.
I have sent an inquiry to MacSpeech Support, but if anyone here has
comments or suggestions, thanks,
LK
alove...@gmail.com
> I have run into an obstacle in trying to setup Dicate on my Intel-
> MacBook. The VXI Translator microphone works fine by the input meter
> read the text component of the microphone setup process. There is no
> crash or hangup as reported in versions sent in March, I think I got
> mine after that problem was resolved. I have used the same microphone
> successfully in Dragon Speaking Naturally inside Windows under
> Parallels.
>
> comments or suggestions, thanks,
>
> LK
Go to Profiles and make sure that it is showing the VCI Translator
microphone. If not, set up a new profile and choose that mike. Just
because you choose an input in the Sound Control Panel, does not make
it automatically be used for Dictate.... or Garage band for that
matter.
Mark Conrad
<537b179b-fd8e-4f36...@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
lko...@gmail.com wrote:
> ...but there is no response in Dictate when I read
> the text component of the microphone setup process.
Entirely normal.
You have to look really sharply to find any "response".
Unlike Dragon, MacSpeech Dictate does not make it obvious
when the text is read, by changing the color of the text, etc.
With 'Dictate, the ALL the sample text stays onscreen, and
is NOT removed as you read it.
There are two subtle indications that everything is going okay.
In the window containing the sample text -
******************************************
The vertical volume bar just to the right of the green
stop-sign icon will display a weak flickering yellow part
near the bottom of that volume bar, that flickers in response
to what you are speaking.
Usually when you are almost finished "speaking" all of the sample
text, MacSpeech will be satisfied with its volume adjustment
and automatically kick you into the next window, where
you click "Done" near the bottom of that window.
Mark-
lko...@gmail.com
Thank you, your suggestion did the trick!
lk
chuck....@gmail.com
Just a quick note to let you know that MacSpeech and I have parted
company due to differences of opinion on several matters. Although I
will continue to be active on matters of Macintosh speech recognition
software, I will no longer be representing MacSpeech when posting.
Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist, MacSpeech
Mark Conrad
<afd89e5d-5981-4c7f...@u69g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
That is a shame, Chuck.
I had hopes that MacSpeech management would have listened to you.
Now us Mac users have lost a valuable voice into MacSpeech,
because no one there seems to care a damn about user concerns.
You were our last hope.
BTW, did you get a chance to read my thread
titled "Hey Chuck (interesting tidbit)" - - - ?
It is about the upcoming new Olympus 5000 mike/recorder,
and how it compares to the well established
Philips 9600 mike/recorder favored by the medical community.
Mark-
Jolly Roger
<noneof-7C0858....@earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
Mark Conrad <non...@urbusiness.invalid> wrote:
> BTW, did you get a chance to read my thread
> titled "Hey Chuck (interesting tidbit)" - - - ?
I did, and i have to say, the first thought I had was "Why is Mark
Conrad using Usenet to send what is clearly an email between himself and
one other person?"
--
Please send all responses to the relevant news group. E-mail sent to
this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. I do not
read posts from Google Groups. Use a real news reader if you want me to
see your posts.
JR
chuck....@gmail.com
> I had hopes that MacSpeech management would have listened to you.
>
> Now us Mac users have lost a valuable voice into MacSpeech,
> because no one there seems to care a damn about user concerns.
>
That, Mark, is the crux of the issue. They think they care about their
customers - but their actions and policies seem to suggest otherwise.
Great people, and a great product. Its just that they are misguided
and the decision-makers are ill-informed.
> You were our last hope.
>
> BTW, did you get a chance to read my thread
> titled "Hey Chuck (interesting tidbit)" - - - ?
>
> It is about the upcoming new Olympus 5000 mike/recorder,
> and how it compares to the well established
> Philips 9600 mike/recorder favored by the medical community.
>
I saw it, but I have nothing to say since I have no experience with
it.
Chuck Rogers
Mark Conrad
<a09522a0-b3b5-4aaf...@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Now us Mac users have lost a valuable voice into MacSpeech,
> > because no one there seems to care a damn about user concerns.
> >
>
> That, Mark, is the crux of the issue. They think they care about their
> customers - but their actions and policies seem to suggest otherwise.
> Great people, and a great product. Its just that they are misguided
> and the decision-makers are ill-informed.
I agree.
At the worst, even with their poor management, they will
fare better than they did with iListen, as far as their
return-on-investment is concerned.
However with great management, i.e. listening more closely
to what their customers want, their profits could be very
much higher - sad that their management can not see that.
The medical market alone is huge, and there is presently
a _lot_ of dissatisfaction brewing with Microsoft.
It would be a great time for MacSpeech to siphon off a
big chunk of that market.
But medical people are very pig headed. When they perceive
that a software company is not listening to their concerns,
they refuse to deal.
'nuff politics Chuck, now you are just one of the great
unwashed "speech interested" masses, like the rest of us ;-)
While we all are waiting for MacSpeech to ignore us, I have
to ask you if you have dabbled with Dragon NaturallySpeaking?
I would be very surprised if you said "no", because of your
affinity for speech recognition.
Anyhow, I think I have found a great all-German company that
has a software product that expands what Dragon can do.
<http://www.sonic-labs.net/downloads/dcf_option_cd_user_manual_en.pdf>
The English version of their product allows doctors/surgeons
to "surf" other applications, such as digging out MRIs, CAT scans,
X-rays, etc., etc. in the foreground, while simultaneously
dictating their diagnosis of said X-rays etc. into Dragon
in the background.
As you know, Dragon does NOT support this by itself.
It is ordinarily impossible to dictate into Dragon _unless_
you keep the "focus" on the Dragon app'.
Lots of other great "Dragon expansion" features; hope I can get
that German application running with Dragon on my MacBook Pro.
Oh, I have to emphasis, I am in no way associated with anything
medical; I merely "dabble" in medical matters kind of as a hobby,
trying to help the medical community whenever I can.
I really hope MacSpeech Dictate succeeds big time.
In my opinion they have about a year to upgrade their product
enough to convince me that they are serious about keeping
their Mac customers happy.
After that, if they do not come through, I myself will just
consider them full of empty promises, and revert to Nuance
software such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, permanently.
I just speak for myself, I do not know how others feel.
Mark-
chuck....@gmail.com
> In article
>
> In my opinion they have about a year to upgrade their product
> enough to convince me that they are serious about keeping
> their Mac customers happy.
>
> After that, if they do not come through, I myself will just
> consider them full of empty promises, and revert to Nuance
> software such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, permanently.
>
> I just speak for myself, I do not know how others feel.
>
> Mark-
Mark (and everyone else):
I have "dabbled" with NaturallySpeaking, but being a Mac guy, I really
haven't done too much with it.
I don't think it is fair to say that MacSpeech ignores its customers -
they really don't do that. But they have become very poor at
communicating.
Writing speech recognition software is hard. Regardless of our
differences of opinion, what they are doing is a daunting task and it
is amazing that they did as much in such a short time to bring 1.0 to
market. But they seem to have adopted a sort of corporate arrogance
regarding their market - and their lack of any competition - that
seems to have them convinced that it doesn't matter if they don't
respond right away to customer needs.
In a way they are right - customers can complain all they want but at
the end of the day, there are no other choices if one wants to use a
Mac. I just don't think that is the right way to do business.
Chuck Rogers
Jolly Roger
<816fcf41-b9c6-4f9b...@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mark (and everyone else):
>
> I have "dabbled" with NaturallySpeaking, but being a Mac guy, I really
> haven't done too much with it.
>
> I don't think it is fair to say that MacSpeech ignores its customers -
> they really don't do that. But they have become very poor at
> communicating.
>
> Writing speech recognition software is hard. Regardless of our
> differences of opinion, what they are doing is a daunting task and it
> is amazing that they did as much in such a short time to bring 1.0 to
> market. But they seem to have adopted a sort of corporate arrogance
> regarding their market - and their lack of any competition - that
> seems to have them convinced that it doesn't matter if they don't
> respond right away to customer needs.
>
> In a way they are right - customers can complain all they want but at
> the end of the day, there are no other choices if one wants to use a
> Mac. I just don't think that is the right way to do business.
Certainly not. It shows arrogance. There are many, like myself, who,
rather than running out and sending their money to MacSpeech, are
quietly making note of how well MacSpeech listens to customers. In the
end, the quality of the software will be evident, and will determine how
well the product does in the market.
Mark Conrad
<816fcf41-b9c6-4f9b...@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
"chuck....@gmail.com" <chuck....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mark (and everyone else):
>
> I have "dabbled" with NaturallySpeaking, but being
> a Mac guy, I really haven't done too much with it.
I too am a Mac guy, having bought one of the very first Macs
when it came out in 1984. Had 128k of ram,
if I recall correctly.
I forget what OS it had in it. Anyone remember? 1.0?
> ...I really haven't done too much with it.
My primary use for speech software at the present time
is for longish dictation and documentation.
(complex non-simple text)
This is difficult at the present time with MacSpeech,
for anything except simple text.
For _simple_ text, both Dragon and MacSpeech perform
very well, as you can readily see from my prior posts
where my speech was at a very high rate, 336wpm,
and _both_ MacSpeech and Dragon are capable of 100%
accuracy at that high speed.
Complex words are another story. Dragon, including
any necessary corrections, was capable of 90wpm.
MacSpeech, including correction, was capable of 18wpm.
Now we all know that this four-to-one gap will close
in the future, when MacSpeech completes the updates.
I hate to use PC hardware and OSs, so my "solution" is
to run Dragon NaturallySpeaking on my Mac via Boot Camp.
My finished text documents get shuffled over to the Mac
partition, which takes a few seconds.
Let's face it, Chuck. Nothing we say will convince the
policy-making people at MacSpeech to adopt a more
conventional course in responding to their customers.
What I fear, and what you probably fear also, is that
MacSpeech will alienate a lot of their customer base.
MacSpeech might continue to shoot themselves in the foot,
much like Apple is prone to do.
At least Apple generally has an excuse for shooting
themselves in the foot, not all their innovations
"catch on".<g>
Price of being innovative.
Mark-
grokc...@gmail.com
> MACHSPEECH DICTATE SUCKSS, Its not only ME WRITING THIS
>
> Please Check the Forumhttp://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum36&Number=...
>
> I hope they fix cause it CRASHES when i create the PROFILE !!!
>
> Majority are facing the same problem, PROGRAM is not worth the money
> 190 bucks and
Don't give up on Macspeech yet. I just got off the phone with
Macspeech and discovered that they had a download that fixes the
"crash when creating a profile" error that is caused by "corrupt
English Data Disks".
The URL for the fixer app is: http://www.macspeech.com/release/Dictate_Data_First_Aid.zip
I don't know why they don't post this on their support page. It would
have saved me so many hrs waiting on hold and so much frustration.
I hope this helps. If they find themselves in this situation again I
hope they think about empowering the community. Their biggest problem
is not the software it is consumer interaction. (Why no update on the
home page saying: "Is Dictate crashing when creating voice profiles?
The problem is caused by a corrupt data disk. Click here to request a
free replacement disk or Click here to download a fixer application.
Learn more..."
Here is a copy of the tech support email they sent me:
-------------------
Hello,
The link below will allow you to download a tool called Dictate Data
First Aid:
http://www.macspeech.com/release/Dictate_Data_First_Aid.zip
This tool will assist in fixing your profile creation issue.
The profile crashing that you have been experiencing is possibly due
to a corrupted installation of the Dictate Data files.This may have
been caused by a faulty DVD or an issue that occurred during
installation. The Dictate Data First Aid will identify which files, if
any, have been corrupted. Once identified Dictate Data First Aid will
download uncorrupted replacement file(s).
The following are the steps for using Dictate Data First Aid:
1. Download the compressed application from the url sent to you in
this email
2. Unzip the application if your browser has not already do so for you
3. Please make sure that MacSpeech Dictate is not running
4. For proper use you must be connected to the internet when running
Dictate Data First Aid
5. Launch the application named "Dictate Data First Aid"
6. Please click the button named Check Data
7. This will then check your Dictate Data folder for any corrupted
files
At this point you will get a report of either corrupt files or the
fact that you have no corruption.
If you have corrupt files Dictate Data First Aid will inform you that
you must be connected to the internet and that you should repair your
data. Please click on the button marked Repair Data.
This will start a download from our server that will replace the
corrupted files with new ones.
At no time is any information from your system sent to our servers.
This process is just a request from Dictate Data First Aid for the
uncorrupted files. Depending on the files the time to download will
vary. Dictate Data First Aid will report how many files it needs to
download in the bottom of the window. Dictate Data First Aid will
report when it has finished with the message "Replacement of corrupted
files is complete."
You may receive a message that there was an error during download. If
you get this message then all you need to do is click the Check Data
button again and repeat the Repair process.
After Dictate Data First Aid is finished downloading you are free to
quit Dictate Data First Aid.
Please launch MacSpeech Dictate and create your profile.
If you continue to have issues please contact our Technical Support
with the information below.
----------------------
Geoffrey F. Green
<9e2938fb-8adc-4393...@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
grokc...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Apr 2, 10:28 am, TENSH...@gmail.com wrote:
> > MACHSPEECH DICTATE SUCKSS, Its not only ME WRITING THIS
> >
> > Please Check the
> > Forumhttp://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum36&Number=..
> > .
> >
> > I hope they fix cause it CRASHES when i create the PROFILE !!!
> >
> > Majority are facing the same problem, PROGRAM is not worth the money
> > 190 bucks and
>
> Don't give up on Macspeech yet. I just got off the phone with
> Macspeech and discovered that they had a download that fixes the
> "crash when creating a profile" error that is caused by "corrupt
> English Data Disks".
>
> The URL for the fixer app is:
> http://www.macspeech.com/release/Dictate_Data_First_Aid.zip
>
> I don't know why they don't post this on their support page. It would
> have saved me so many hrs waiting on hold and so much frustration.
I think they just put it up; this notice is dated April 29:
http://www.macspeech.com/article_info.php?articles_id=296
- geoff
jwb...@gmail.com
usen...@stuebegreen.com> wrote:
> In article
> <9e2938fb-8adc-4393-964c-4774b4e89...@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
>
> grokcod...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Apr 2, 10:28 am, TENSH...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > MACHSPEECH DICTATE SUCKSS, Its not only ME WRITING THIS
>
> > > Please Check the
> > > Forumhttp://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum36&Number=..
> > > .
>
> > > I hope they fix cause it CRASHES when i create the PROFILE !!!
>
> > > Majority are facing the same problem, PROGRAM is not worth the money
> > > 190 bucks and
>
> >Macspeechand discovered that they had a download that fixes the
> > "crash when creating a profile" error that is caused by "corrupt
> > English Data Disks".
>
> > The URL for the fixer app is:
> >http://www.macspeech.com/release/Dictate_Data_First_Aid.zip
>
> > I don't know why they don't post this on their support page. It would
> > have saved me so many hrs waiting on hold and so much frustration.
>
> I think they just put it up; this notice is dated April 29:
>
> http://www.macspeech.com/article_info.php?articles_id=296
>
> - geoff
Geoff,
I downloaded and ran Dictate Data First Aid and used it to download
and replace seven files. But MSD still crashed when I tried to set up
a profile. On crashing, it displayed a message that there was a new
version available -- 1.0/2226 -- and asked if I wante to download it.
But I couldn't click yes without first clicking ok on the other window
that quits MSD -- so downloading is not an option. I can't find any
mention of this new version on the MacSpeech web site. Any idea where
I could find it?
Joel
Crispin...@googlemail.com
Joel - you have to create a profile before you can download the update
(as explained in the manual).
MY main problem is that I cannot get the software to recognise the
microphone. The computer recognises it ok - and I have followed
everyone of Macspeech's trouble-shooting tips, but it still doesn't
work. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
Crispin
Mark Conrad
<cae71370-ad29-4ac8...@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
jwb...@gmail.com wrote:
Joel posted to Geoff -
> I downloaded and ran Dictate Data First Aid and used it to download
> and replace seven files. But MSD still crashed when I tried to set up
> a profile. On crashing, it displayed a message that there was a new
> version available -- 1.0/2226 -- and asked if I wante to download it.
> But I couldn't click yes without first clicking ok on the other window
> that quits MSD -- so downloading is not an option. I can't find any
> mention of this new version on the MacSpeech web site. Any idea where
> I could find it?
>
> Joel
Joel, sounds like you are in a Catch-22 situation, you can't
set up a profile as Geoff suggested, and you can't download
the supposedly new version of MacSpeech Dictate - 1.0/2226
I find that error message you are getting, VERY suspicious.
(bad error message, in other words)
To the best of my knowledge, there is only ONE version
of MacSpeech Dictate available at the present time.
When I use "Get Info" on my MacSpeech Dictate app', it shows
version 1.0 build 1331
If I were in your shoes, I would pester MacSpeech for a
completely new set of disks, _both_ disks, in exchange for
your older disks.
Then do a complete re-install, first making certain you
remove all traces of your previous MacSpeech Dictate files.
If there is ANY trace of the old MacSpeech left, such as
a pdisk file, you risk getting weird error messages again.
(you do know how to find that pdisk file, right?)
Mark-
Mark Conrad
<9646ac7c-bb04-4c63...@b1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
Crispin...@googlemail.com wrote:
> MY main problem is that I cannot get the software to recognise the
> microphone. The computer recognises it ok - and I have followed
> everyone of Macspeech's trouble-shooting tips, but it still doesn't
> work. Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks
> Crispin
Darn, that could be a lot of different things.
I assume you have already tried the obvious things, such as
making sure you are using the microphone _and_ the USB
adapter, which came in the box with MacSpeech Dictate.
Also, one more obvious thing I assume you already checked:
Make _sure_ that MacSpeech Dictate is the _active_ app',
in other words that the word "Dictate" is just to the
immediate right of the Apple icon, in the top-left of your screen.
> The computer recognises it ok
What exactly do you mean by that?
In other words, how did you determine that the Mac recognizes
your microphone.
Your only connection of the microphone to your Mac is by way
of the USB connection, correct?
(I think that Dictate only works with
USB microphones, not certain of that however)
Heck, I got my 'Dictate to work with every microphone that
I have thrown at it so far, as long as I remember to use
that USB adapter between the microphone and the Macs USB port.
I even got MacSpeech Dictate to recognize my $500 Sennheiser
model ME65 / K6 microphone, which yields the rated 99%
raw uncorrected accuracy even when that mic' is 48 inches
from my mouth, speaking in a low voice!
It _has_ to be some simple thing we are both overlooking.
Check and double-check. ;-)
Mark-
Madwen
> MY main problem is that I cannot get the software to recognise the
> microphone. The computer recognises it ok - and I have followed
> everyone of Macspeech's trouble-shooting tips, but it still doesn't
> work. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Sorry I have no suggestions but I would just point out that this is a
very old problem with this company's dictation software. I have three
products that *they* recommended, worth over $400 in total, that either
never worked with their software or stopped working after a very short
time due to software changes. I bought two directly from them.
Mark Conrad
> MY main problem is that I cannot get the software to
> recognise the microphone.
Crispin, one other really obvious possibility I forgot
to mention is:
1) Start the MacSpeech Dictate app'
(make sure your microphone is
plugged into the USB port of your Mac)
2) Navigate to the "Tools" menu, select "Profile"
Assuming your microphone headset is already plugged into
the USB post of your Mac, you should see something
like "VXI USB 7.02" as the "Microphone" in the Profiles
window.
If that is correct, then continue on to the following steps:
3) Press the "+" icon near the bottom-left of
the Profiles window.
4) Three new entries will appear in the Profiles window,
they will be "Name", "Microphone", and "Language".
"Name" will be something like "Crispin Jones", or
whatever name you entered when setting up MacSpeech.
"Microphone" will be its default entry of "Built-in Microphone"
IMPORTANT - THAT ENTRY HAS TO BE CHANGED !!!
5) Click on the arrows just to the right of
the words "Built-in Microphone", a sub-menu will open.
6) Select "VXI USB 7.02" as the microphone to use.
7) Navigate to the bottom-right of the Profiles window,
click "Create".
A progress bar will come up for about 5 seconds, then a new
window will open, a window named "Microphone Setup"
Hopefully, your microphone will now work, and you will be
able to follow the instructions in the "Microphone Setup"
window - - - if not, get back to me and let me know
what happened.
The only reason I mention the above really obvious steps
is because another user about a few weeks ago stumbled
across this same molehill, and I think that "Jolly Roger"
bailed him out and told him what to do in order to
get his microphone to be recognized.
Mark-
Crispin...@googlemail.com
> In article
>
> CrispinBate...@googlemail.com wrote:
> > MY main problem is that I cannot get the software to
> > recognise the microphone.
>
> Crispin, one other really obvious possibility I forgot
> to mention is:
>
>
>
> Assuming your microphone headset is already plugged into
> the USB post of your Mac, you should see something
> like "VXI USB 7.02" as the "Microphone" in the Profiles
> window.
>
> If that is correct, then continue on to the following steps:
>
> 3) Press the "+" icon near the bottom-left of
> the Profiles window.
>
> 4) Three new entries will appear in the Profiles window,
> they will be "Name", "Microphone", and "Language".
>
> "Name" will be something like "Crispin Jones", or
> whatever name you entered when setting up MacSpeech.
>
> "Microphone" will be its default entry of "Built-in Microphone"
>
> IMPORTANT - THAT ENTRY HAS TO BE CHANGED !!!
HEY! This worked! Thank you so much. My mistake was not to have told
the system (via preferences) to use the USB mike for input before I
set up the profile. I followed your instructions and created a new
profile, with the correct input mike, and bingo, we are away.
Installation of this software is clearly a step by step matter and it
only fails to work if you don't set things up in the right order. I
hope this advice gets disseminated more widely.
Mark Conrad
<3de97d24-9a33-4ea6...@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
Crispin...@googlemail.com wrote:
> > "Microphone" will be its default entry of "Built-in Microphone"
> >
> > IMPORTANT - THAT ENTRY HAS TO BE CHANGED !!!
>
> HEY! This worked! Thank you so much. My mistake was not to have told
> the system (via preferences) to use the USB mike for input before I
> set up the profile. I followed your instructions and created a new
> profile, with the correct input mike, and bingo, we are away.
Great :)
The app' is good to play with as-is, especially for any newbie
user who has not had any previous exposure to speech technology.
However we are all waiting for critical (missing) features
to be included by MacSpeech, as free updates, before the app'
becomes really useful.
Mark-
Jamie Kahn Genet
Paul Fuchs <paulfuchs@porkain'tkosher.oink> wrote:
> OK. I am going to buy it because I am over 60 and can't afford to wait
> much longer. But I am reserving the right to whine on this forum :-)
>
> Davoud <st...@sky.net> wrote:
>
> > Paul Fuchs wrote:
> >
> > > The four reviews all give it one star, the lowest possible rating. All
> > > consider it a Beta at this point. Most recommend to wait for a later
> > > version.
> >
> > You can dismiss three of the four reviews out of hand, because none of
> > those reviewers had used Dictate! What kind of a "review" is that!? Two
> > of them couldn't install it for some reason and the third was still
> > waiting for his copy. Those who failed to install it projected their
> > experience on the entire population. I do no such thing. I say that
> > Dictate _can_ work, because it works for me. I don't guarantee that it
> > will work for anyone else.
> >
> > That leaves "M. Kirsch 'Cyber Reviewer.'" His written review more or
> > less parallels my experience, except that I haven't had any crashes
> > (I've been using Dictate for more than a month.) But I would give the
> > software five stars for out-of-the-box accuracy and deduct 1-1/2 stars
> > because it is not full featured _yet_ . Three and one-half stars for
> > now.
> >
> > Look, what MacSpeech did was bold and brave. They tacitly admitted that
> > they could not match the accuracy of Dragon Naturally Speaking with
> > iListen. Instead of closing up shop they licensed the DNS speech engine
> > and made it work as well as it does on Windoze in their first release.
> > The only thing it lacks is features, which are coming. And they gave
> > iListen owners an upgrade deal. What's the problem, whiners excepted?
> >
> > Search the archive and you will find a post I made using Dictate --
> > CSMS or CSMA, I don't remember which.
> >
> > Davoud
--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.