Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac

• Pros

  Easy setup. Improves the more you use it. Very good dialogues for training software. Handles dictation, voice commands, and the recording of audio files.

• Cons Moderate learning curve, especially with commands. Pricey. Less flexible than Windows version.
• Bottom Line

  Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac is, as the name might suggest, a choice tool for dictation. While it does offer voice control too, that's not its primary selling point, and on the Mac the built-in tools work just fine.

By Jill Duffy

Dictation programs, which let you control your computer and type using only your voice, aren't for everyone. But those who use them for productivity, or to write dialogue more naturally, or for accessibility reasons, will likely turn to Nuance Communication's Dragon brand of software, the leader in this category. In sampling speech-recognition and voice-command software, I've had overwhelmingly positive experiences with Dragon products, and the same can be said for Dragon Dictate for Mac 3.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Premium for Windows (4.5 stars) impressed me like none other, enough to be named an Editors' Choice. I've also been extremely pleased with the smartphone apps Dragon Go! for search and other Web functions, as well Dragon Dictation for iPhone for transcribing when I am not in the mood to deal with Siri. Having set high expectations for Dragon Dictate for Mac 3, I can't say after testing that it hits quite the same marks as the Windows' version of the product, although it is still very good at what it does and is worthy of our Editors' Choice. Version 3 shows improvement in speed and flexibility , but it's still a very different product from the Windows version, Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The two are as different as their names. Dragon for Mac is a little more rigid than the highly flexible and intuitive NaturallySpeaking Premium, even though their price tags are the same. I was also surprised to find the Mac app's interface looks radically different than that of its Windows counterpart.

In core functionality, however, the two programs are similar. With both Dragon Dictate for Mac and NaturallySpeaking, you can control many applications and functions on your computer using just your voice, as well as dictate speech-to-text in word processing, note-taking, and email applications. You can also dictate to Dragon's own note pad app, which comes with the software, although I found Dragon responded much more quickly and with less lag when used in Mac's own TextEdit program. Speak it, and it shall be written.

Setup and Training
I installed Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac on an iMac running Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (more on the system requirements below). The installation took a minute or two, and the additional setup, which involves acclimating Dragon to your voice and accent, took less than ten minutes.

Setting up is by far my favorite part of the program, as the app does a fantastic job of explaining how the software works on the most general level while also walking you through some demos of operations. For example, as shown in the slideshow, the app might ask you to read the following text aloud: "Pause briefly before saying a command and Dragon will instantly recognize that the command is something you want it to do COMMA rather than something you are dictation PERIOD." While you're being told to say this or that and see the results on screen, the software is in turn learning more about how you speak, such as your accent and other characteristics of your voice.

One small difference that made setting up Dragon Dictate for Mac better than setting up NaturallySpeaking for PC is in the script you have to read to help Dragon learn to understand you. In the PC version, you can choose to read a political speech, a few paragraphs about computers by humorist Dave Barry, or a few other options. In the Mac app, you don't have a choice, but the dialogue provided is an overview of how speech-recognition software works, so you're effectively learning about the program while giving the software information, too. It's a minor difference, but you'll definitely have a better experience with any voice-control software if you learn how it works at the most basic level.

Other Nuance Speech Recognition

By Jill Duffy Analyst, Software

Jill Duffy is an analyst in the software, Internet, and networking team, specializing in productivity software, iOS, and apps and gadgets for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on...

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