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Understand that Mac OS dictation transcription works for a maximum of 30 seconds at a time. If you need longer, you may want to use an alternate technology such as Dragon. Audio playback needs to start before dictation/transcription begins in TextEdit. Not everyone was happy about Apple’s terms and conditions when it introduced dictation to OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion). Speech-to-text was done in the cloud, so Apple got to listen to what you were. May 29, 2011. Oct 28, 2015. Oct 16, 2013.
- Mac Speech To Text Software
- Speech To Text Dictation Software For Windows
- Speech To Text Dictation Software For Mac Os X Download
28 July, 2017
**UPDATE 2019** AWS, Amazon Web Services, throw their hat in the ring for automatic speech-to-text with their AWS Transcribe service. We offer a service for clients worldwide to convert recorded voice to text, click the image below for more details:
In this day and age of digital technology disruption it only makes sense to see the major tech giants look towards voice recognition to start to replace that clunky, push button, major taker of space on your laptop .. your keyboard. The thing we hammer daily and have done since its invention back in 1868, yes 1868, 149 years ago when Christopher Latham Sholes patented the QWERTY typewriter that we commonly use today. Long overdue for some kind of digital disruption as you can see.
What is voice recognition? Simply speaking, your spoken voice is automatically converted to text, as you speak. There are now a number of solutions that can do this, they range in features and cost but on the whole accuracy is high, speed is fast and cost varies from free to moderately expensive.
In this post we are going to look at the major tech giants offerings as well as the stalwart of the voice recognition world a company called Nuance who make a product you may have heard of called Dragon. Nuance have been developing speech recognition software since 1997 with their first release of NaturallySpeaking for Windows. Dragon is now available from Nuance for both Windows and Mac.
Google Voice Typing
- Mac & Windows
- Free $0
- Only works with Google Docs and Google Slides
- Extensive list of supported languages including the following English accents: Australian, UK, US, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Phillipines and South Africa
- No software to install, works via your Chrome web browser
- Extensive range of voice commands - Google Voice Typing Setup & Voice Commands
- Can not convert recorded speech to text, real time spoken voice only
- Internet connection required
Apple OS X Dictation
- Apple Mac only (obviously)
- Free - $0
- No internet connection required (with Enhanced Dictation enabled, just download a local language dictionary file)
- Large list of supported languages including the following English accents: Australian, UK, US and Canada
- Enables voice to text anywhere you would normally type (e.g. Word, Pages, Skype, TextEdit etc).
- Can not convert recorded speech to text, real time spoken voice only
Dictation in OS X can be enabled in the System Settings. For offline use you will need to enable Enhanced Dictation:
Microsoft Dictate (Garage Project) - Microsoft Office Add-in
- Windows only (Windows 8 and above)
- Free - $0
- Requires Office 2013 or Office 2016 (including Office 365 install)
- Real time voice to text in Microsoft Word, Outlook and PowerPoint
- Will convert spoken voice to foreign language (e.g. speak English and Microsoft Dictate will transcribe in French, very cool)
- Automated punctuation, no need to say 'comma', 'full stop' etc
- Can not convert recorded speech to text, real time spoken voice only
Nuance Dragon for Windows (formerly known as NaturallySpeaking) and Dragon for Mac (formerly known as MacSpeech Dictate)
- Windows & Mac versions available
- From AU$300 upwards depending on version
- Can convert from recorded voice
- Advanced learning. Dragon builds a profile of the way you speak and learns over time.
- Is widely used in the legal and medical professions to convert voice-to-text
- The goto solution for businesses
Ok so yes we have shown you the free versions from the big hitters but the old faithful when it comes to voice recognition is Dragon from Nuance. It has been around for years, it just gets better and better with every release and is packed full of features and functions to justify its cost over the other options listed here. But, we do want to highlight that Apple, Google and now Microsoft all have a vested interest in voice recognition. Dragons days may be numbered but for now it remains the pick of the bunch for day to day voice recognition.
A seemingly insignificant product cancellation is having a far-reaching impact on a particular community of Mac users.
Reg reader (and contributor) Colin Hughes wrote in to inform us about how Developer Nuance's decision to drop the OS X port of its Dragon Professional for Mac has left some customers with disabilities out in the cold.
A very important niche
Pitched as a productivity tool, Nuance's Dragon software is aimed at everyone from journalists and home users to medical professionals as a way to accurately transcribe spoken words into printed text.
For some users, however, the software is much more than a convenience. Hughes explains that, for him and others whose conditions leave them unable to type with a keyboard, voice dictation software is a line to the outside world.
'I became wholly reliant on voice dictation software for corresponding, whether it is writing a business letter to the bank, a blog post, or a short text to friends and family,' he explains.
'I do not have a plan B for writing anything.'
That is why, when Nuance announced recently that it was cutting support for the Mac version of Dragon Professional for Mac, it left some users in a tough spot.
While the software will continue to function, there will be no future updates or support, meaning Colin and others who have come to depend on Dragon for everyday activities will have to find another way to get things done.
'I have followers on Twitter who are in employment and run businesses and they say this news will hit their productivity hard,' Hughes explains.
'Blind people, people with dyslexia are also likely to be affected adversely along with severely physically disabled people like myself.'
El Reg contacted Nuance for comment on the matter, but a spokesperson had only the PR boilerplate to offer.
Mac Speech To Text Software
![Text Text](https://macficionado.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/dragon-dictate.png)
'Nuance is constantly evaluating its product portfolio to see how we can best meet the needs of our customers and business. After much consideration, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the Dragon Professional Individual for Mac line-up,' the statement reads.
'Customers may still receive telephone support for up to 90 days from date of activating the software in North America and up to 180 days from date of software activation in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions. Customers’ statutory rights are not affected.'
In other words, the clock is ticking for anyone who relies on Dragon for Mac to either find a new app or migrate to Windows. Which leads us to the next part of the story.
Other options don't really stack up
It would be one thing if the other options for Mac users could match Nuance's now-discontinued offering. Unfortunately, Hughes tells us, there isn't anything close to Dragon at the moment.
'Apple’s own voice dictation app.(found in accessibility) is inferior because it doesn’t learn from your mistakes, it can’t cope with work jargon, foreign names, you can’t train it to recognize words so it doesn’t repeat the same recognition mistake, you can’t add to its vocabulary,' said Hughes.
'So if there is an error in recognition when dictating people like me can’t take to the keyboard and simply carry on. So Apple’s own offering is far inferior to Dragon for Mac and is not at all productive for me to use.' Adobe photoshop elements 2018.
That leaves users with the unenviable choice of either making do with an inferior product or dropping their Macs in favor of Windows, where Nuance still supports Dragon Professional.
'I am a Mac user, I am steeped in the Mac ecosystem with MacBook Pro, iPhone, and Watch with all that seamless integration between devices,' Hughes said.
'It is not a simple decision to switch to a Windows machine and get Dragon for Windows.'
Apple to blame as well
It is no secret that Apple does not play well with others and the strict limits it places with its APIs have prevented developers from making full use of hardware the way they can on other platforms. Many an Android developer, for example, has had to cut features from the iOS version of their app due to Apple simply not granting access to specific components.
Look ma, no hands! The machines are speaking our language
Speech To Text Dictation Software For Windows
READ MORENuance, it seems, ran into some of the same problems when it made Dragon for Mac.
Back in a 2016 user group presentation, Nuance R&D program manager Jeff Leiman noted how Apple's API restrictions left Nuance unable to implement some of the features it was able to offer for the Windows version.
Speech To Text Dictation Software For Mac Os X Download
While wanting to keep control of what happens on their platform is perfectly understandable, Hughes argues that Apple should also take it upon themselves to pick up where Nuance left off and develop a better set of access and dictation tools for disabled users.
Hughes says that, eventually, he does believe someone, be it Apple or Google, will step up and offer better voice controls and dictation. Unfortunately, in the meantime he and other users are tied to the business decisions of the few companies, such as Nuance, who offer a usable product.
Perhaps most frustrating is that the technology to do voice control properly is already here. Apple and others have made a point of working it into their hardware demos, but the involvement ends there, and when it can't be used to showcase a new product, speech recognition seems to get tossed aside.
![Speech To Text Dictation Software For Mac Os X Speech To Text Dictation Software For Mac Os X](https://i0.wp.com/jtcm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/reinstall-os-x-system-software-mac-610x434.jpg?fit=610%2C434&ssl=1)
'For some strange reason Apple keeps pitching voice control in terms of gimmicky things like ordering your coffee from Starbucks while turning your thermostat down on your way out to work,' Hughes says.
'For people like me being able to control my Apple device by voice can make or break my day. Apple just doesn’t seem to get that and it isn’t listening.'
Here's hoping they do, sooner than later. ®
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