While it’s taken a little getting used to I’m using it more and more - and not just to transcribe from reference but also to get rough ideas into text form quickly. Within five minutes I was dictating directly into MacJournal with the ‘Recognition’ window showing me possible alternative transcriptions as I spoke - and it’s surprisingly accurate getting it right at least 95% of the time. Initial set up was straightforward - the first step being to create a profile for the specific audio system which involves reading through a set text which explains how voice recognition software works and how it differs from the way in which we hear and understand words. It didn’t work too well on my old 2008 MacBook but the MacBook Pro seems fine and now I have a low cost, comfortable and effective voice recognition (and Skype) set up. Audio 310 mono headset with noise cancelling microphone and looked for a cheap USB audio interface finding the 3D Sound adaptor on sale on ebay for £0.99 and free P&P. Initially I bought the recommended Andrea NC7100 USB Headset off ebay - now quite old and a bit bulky the headphones don’t work on OS X 10.6.x though the microphone does - and this was enough for a useful ‘proof of concept’. However it gave me the idea to try Dragon Dictate on my MacBook… and this is where it has come into its own. Also I’d be worried - with the relative instability of my jailbroken iPhone - to keep the app open and running for long periods. I spent a while playing with iPhone app and realised that while it works surprisingly well and was useful for dictation of short notes it became a bit cumbersome for anything longer… the lack of formatting without using the on-screen keyboard and the constant ‘Processing…’ to analyse the audio and transcribe the text interrupt the work flow a bit too much. If it works it seems like a really good way to help me transcribe copy and interesting ideas for later reference and quotation with the minimum of fuss. I have the free Dragon Dictation iPhone App by Nuance on my iPhone and though I’ve played with it a few times I’ve never really used it concertedly… until I realised I could probably capture notes as I read from the books, articles and papers I’m studying for my PhD research.

Nuance dragon software ebay