Dragon used to sell a version of their software with a small speech
recorder. I cannot remember if the device contained software that
translated the speech into text or it just stored the voice for later
transcription. In any event, output would have to be converted to emails
at a later time either using a laptop or desktop computer. Although this
is not what Hugh asked for it would ultimately save time.

Orf Bartrop

Michael Wurster wrote:

> I actually did a little research on this subject back in the late 90's
> for
> a college class. The gist of the research is this:
> The fastest processor affordable.
> As much memory as possible.
> Since a laptop has integrated sound, you can't change it easily, but
> better
> quality sound cards produced higher accuracy.
> Most important factor.....A QUALITY mic. In this case, a unidirectional,
> noise cancelling unit would be best. I'm guessing there will be a fair
> amount of background noise. This single factor may make or break the
> deal.
> I'm not sure where the Blackberry device comes in. Most of the V/R mfgs
> have their own hand recorders where you talk now, transcribe later. These
> units worked but I got better results with a quality mic. Not as
> convenient
> though.
>
> Plantronics makes some great headsets. Be prepared to spend some
> money....50-75 US dollars for a really good and comfortable unit. I use
> their DSP-100 monaural USB unit which bypasses the sound card (kinda).
>
> Last but not least....spend as much time as possible "training" the
> software. 3-4 hours is minimum for good out of the box accuracy.
>
> Haven't spent much time lately keeping up with the latest and
> greatest, but
> back then both Dragon and IBM (ViaVoice) were pretty good.
>
> Hope this helps.
> Michael
>
>
> At 04:03 AM 2/26/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>
>> My client wants to dictate and transmit email messages while
>> travelling in
>> the DC metro area.
>> Research suggests that "Dragon naturally Speaking" may be the
>> appropriate
>> software, combined with a fast laptop and a Blackberry or similar
>> device.
>> I'd appreciate any input on this as my experience with this
>> technology is
>> very limited, and the client is computer challenged.
>>
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