Win 10 Speech Recognition any good or waste of time?

Now that I have shoulder issues in BOTH, I need to do a lot of dictation. Previously I used Dragon products about 8 years ago. This 'stock' version in win 10 is lazy and unpredictable. Am I wasting my time or does it really learn via the tutorials?

Many thanks!

I have used it in the past, and yes the learning tutorials do work. 

PS: All dictation software is prone to some small errors in recognition, but on the whole the Microsoft Windows version is very good once it has been trained.

Things you should remember?  Clear steady speech is important to accuracy, don't rush through your dictation - The program will improve the more you use it!

Edited by Willabong, 18 July 2023 - 03:46 AM.

Thank you! I wish mobiles still 'learned' speech recognition. google is the WORST

From what I've read, the Dragon series of products are still much better than Windows' built-in voice recognition. Anyone else have an opinion on that?

If you wish to pay an arm and a leg for the Dragon software then go ahead and buy, it's really good! But be prepared to part with over £600 ($748)!

Edited by Willabong, 10 September 2023 - 04:07 AM.

Oh, I didn't know Dragon was that expensive these days. What I usually do when I don't want to spend that much on software is buy an older version.

Example: This retail box of version 13 on eBay is $USD 81.00

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/126026095470?epid=6031752214&hash=item1d57bd9b6e:g:vIAAAOSw14Nkvesy&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0Kfhf2kyr8WEHdW1Sgs0TgeoW7aMwAicDSJcN5GPkmw1DBTgPp3atAMthXOESu9FRH3t3T%2FqmgzgF1nNMx0MHYX5acjf3qyhjxEW%2BI7y%2BeEPOHSePHtOXkzl%2FXkXYcoXCx5mPCYh97pM1qEvsRNyK1WUkFHVhpBYsnuZjF1b3wJsO5LouN1lo4vo1G9qM1fsOzPGczBNKHqlVPFjzI6DudMz8gR0ni6OtYJWdELKOc7jqfVAtDhHS4tOMfScsDMU8Rh8F54MShNU98e0Y51pBgY%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_izh_rPYg

Here's a version 15 retail box for $190.00

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/204034754813?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D253785%26meid%3D81e39b0e9e1b4970b6d114b33435e257%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D404464866575%26itm%3D204034754813%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecall%26brand%3DNuance&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A20403475481381e39b0e9e1b4970b6d114b33435e257%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABYNaJCFP3eaFlNU%252FMPxRY0TCMczVKEUB5MsBytoCwPnd71M08lfrVO4PuTCchnU42KC4W4fZqxBROE%252BM7tSL%252BgZgL1kWiIUBRsEpydVTA61DhOJDUizwNgM7HKYQEqSaBlDwczqufAU7Trl%252BbzkWHoSX4%252F1cyVea8mMGx8mauPctlJRIM9kYB%252BIkAyCtT4QlxGYiC63KqVcAG1vtjI8veAJpY1uhuRd%252F0gTiydgmcg33WqvZeiEWNJpuUr%252BnszR7QgukavCAMl1O4SW3k%252BV7yWjpFWXvZyI6t872%252BmUsU2EQi5u%252FeGxulBMIz5BN3MtKL0SAKx51pYUjY2EkhHgPST06Bg%252FYHmhZY27j6L2OLiCg6ZJBoZDnXDPclcKAlE1uMIUO5fjt6S0RT%252FfI3JbjZUWB%252B%252BtPLGmZRRFzj4l%252FvXmD35bPUj2h1vgmzAF5agZ26iW%252BgslxNn9%252FykuqlWBweYDA%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675&epid=24023283190

There's usually quite a bit of legitimate older software on eBay, at deeply discounted prices.

If you buy on ebay, make certain the product box is full sealed in shrinkwrap from the factory, otherwise, you don't know if the product key has been used or not. If it has, the software is probably useless. That's how I bought Abby Finereader 14. Retail price for the current version was high.

Downside: You may or may not get tech. support, based on the publisher's policy. If you need it, it's best to call the software publisher first and ask for their policy on that. Don't tell them you bought it/might buy it second hand. Just ask what info. you need to provide to get tech. support. Most companies usually just ask the product key, they don't ask for a receipt.

Edited by Shplad, 10 September 2023 - 10:20 AM.

Getting back to the Windows Speech software, once you finish training it, it is quite good, but the secret to using it even when training is to speak clearly and don't race through. The Dragon software is only better because it has many more bells and whistles and once trained can be better at recognition but it also needs clear steady speech to work correctly.

For the money (free) Windows is quite adequate unless you are an author or script writer who demands perfection. In Windows Speech Recognition software it is very easy to correct mistakes.

Yeahandmakesurenotosluryerwords.