Can I Voice Type?

[TallSurfaceUser]

I have used Dragon Nat Speaking for Windows for many years and will be trying it out on S3 soon. Unless MS vastly improved the voice recognition built into the OS with Windows 8 -- which I doubt given my dabbling -- Dragon is the way to go.

Dragon Nat Speaking was a big motivation in getting a Surface over a Dell Android device. I'm hoping that the Atom can crank out voice recognition well enough since the program is heavier computing than MS Office. Anyone tried it yet?

 

[mtalinm]

what's your source for saying that Windows includes Dragon? I don't believe that. msft has always had its own speech recognition group, a very good one. plus, Dragon owner Nuance would not license its software cheaply enough for this, nor would it want to block its own primary market.

 

[jnjroach]

what's your source for saying that Windows includes Dragon? I don't believe that. msft has always had its own speech recognition group, a very good one. plus, Dragon owner Nuance would not license its software cheaply enough for this, nor would it want to block its own primary market.

I found out about it during the Windows Vista Beta, I worked closely with the input teams as a beta tester because I used tablets and was local. Microsoft helped fund the acquisition of Nuance by ScanSoft in 2005. Through this they licensed the Engine for DNS but from my understanding it was integrated with WSR and the two ended their licensing in 2009.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Windows Speech Recognition control panel and start training it.....

Thanks. I should know this!!!!!

 

[MrElectrifyer]

Windows speech recognition sucks at recognizing my voice on my Surface Pro 2, Google voice search in Chrome on the same Surface Pro 2 works much better. Hope the up coming Cortana's dictation engine isn't this disappointing. So far, haven't been able to test it here in Canada (it says it's not supported yet).

 

[TallSurfaceUser]

I installed Dragon Nat Speaking but am having trouble setting up the microphone. It does not want to use the internal microphone or does not recognize it. Has anyone set it up before? If I had to I might be able to use a USB headset but would like to be able to use the internal microphone. Thanks!

 

[Tsurugaya]

I use a USB headset because recognition is better to the power of n.

 

[hughlle]

I use a USB headset because recognition is better to the power of n.

I may have to try this, as i just tried using it again with the onboard mic and bad doesn't begin to describe it. It could not even work out simple and perfectly ennunciated 2 sylabol words. I opened word (with voice, that worked fine) and then said the same short centence 3 times, saying it as close to exactly the same each time as i could. Not one version was anywhere near close to being what i said and not one version was anywhere near close to the other versions.

 

[jnjroach]

Windows speech recognition sucks at recognizing my voice on my Surface Pro 2, Google voice search in Chrome on the same Surface Pro 2 works much better. Hope the up coming Cortana's dictation engine isn't this disappointing. So far, haven't been able to test it here in Canada (it says it's not supported yet).

The big difference between WSR and Google Voice or Cortana, the latter two require an internet connection and with Cortana it uses the Azure Service Fabric and Machine Learning which is going to be much more powerful than a on-device dictionary.

 

[TallSurfaceUser]

So with Dragon Naturally Speaking is it possible to use the internal microphone? I've used Thinkpads' internal mics before in quiet rooms and it's very effective. I would like this option with the Surface 3 when I don't want to wear a headset.

I don't see why the internal mic on the Surface 3 would not work with Naturally Speaking.

 

[HeavyHanded]

Does anyone know if Windows 10 will support native speech-to-text like iOS and Android do? That is the killer feature I am waiting for. I love dictating notes on my iPad and want the same on my Surface 3.

 

[TallSurfaceUser]

When you say "native speech to text" do you mean built into the OS? Windows has this but it does not run the speech through the internet to refine the output. I think that is why speech recognition on cell phones (and Google search) can be so good.

Consensus is that the Windows speech recognition is not that great.