NaturallySpeaking using Boot Camp

In our opinion, this is the most reliable method of using speech recognition software on a Mac. It is, however, the least functional method if you are regularly using your Mac in the OS environment. Boot Camp was available for free in beta form before the newly released Mac operating system, and is included (at no extra cost) with Apple's new Leopard operating system.

When using Boot Camp, the hard drive on your Mac is simply divided into two partitions. The Mac OS sits on one partition and the Windows operating system sits on the other. Your machine can be booted up as either a Mac or Windows machine and when in either, it acts entirely in the manner of a native Mac or Windows machine. The problem is that communication between the two is very minimal and it is not possible to run Windows programs from the Mac side and visa versa. There is, however, the ability to see documents on the Windows side and open them (with Mac OS programs) while running your machine from the Mac side. We have not found a way to the do opposite (open documents on the Mac side while on the Windows partition).

In order to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking on your Intel Mac you will need to make a considerable investment and will require the following:

• Your Intel based Mac
• Leopard Operating System or the Tiger OS Boot Camp beta (if still available)
• Windows operating system installation disk (Windows XP or Vista)
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• Good quality microphone and external USB sound adapter

If you don't have the need for a Mac, this is an expensive way to go and you would be better off simply purchasing a Windows based PC. On the other hand if you already have an Intel based Mac or if you definitely need the ability to run both Windows and Mac programs, this method is one you should consider.

How does Boot Camp compare to using Fusion or Parallels on a Mac? Aside from the issue of needing to reboot to go from one operating system to another, Boot Camp offers the most stable and care-free way of running Dragon on a Mac. Dragon appears to run ever-so-slightly slower when used with both Fusion and Parallels. And, frankly, both Fusion and Parallels are a bit "twitchy" with the movement of sound from the Mac to Windows sides. This isn't a problem when using Boot Camp.

NaturallySpeaking on an Intel based Macintosh using Parallels:

Although a potentially costly method since it requires purchasing the Windows operating system to install on your Mac, many have found using Dragon NaturallySpeaking on an Intel based Mac using the Windows operating system set up as a "virtual machine" using Parallels a very viable option. In our experience, this is a highly successful process and Dragon operates extremely well in the context of a virtual operating system.

Requirement include:

• An intel based Macintosh
• Parallels Software
• Windows XP or Vista installation Disk
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• All necessary microphone hardware (we recommend using a good quality microphone and a USB adapter)

The set-up process: We recommend the following method for setting up your NaturallySpeaking with Parallels (adapted from the method of "Webair" on the Parallels forum) and describe it in detail on our Dragon Parallels Set-up Page.

NaturallySpeaking on an Intel Mac Using VMWare Fusion

Fusion is a product very similar to Parallels and for those already using this, we have testing Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Fusion and it works great! Like Parallels, you might sometimes run into some issues with proper translation of sound from the Mac OS side to Windows (and Dragon) within the virtual machine, but once you've worked out these issues, you will find that Dragon works beautifully.

As is the case with its competition, using Dragon with Fusion requires the following:

• An intel based Macintosh
• Fusion Software
• Windows XP or Vista installation Disk
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• All necessary microphone hardware (we recommend using a good quality microphone and a USB adapter)

We have tested a variety of microphones using the Windows XP virtual machine with Fusion and it appears to be virtually identical to the situation we found with parallels - the issue appears to be related more to the Apple hardware than the virtual machine software. In general most microphones worked best (and often worked only) when used with an external USB sound adapter. Please refer to our "Microphone Compatibility Page" for details of microphone compatibility with an Intel Mac.

Link to Fusion

MacSpeech's iListen Software

Our own experience with iListen is limited, but on first blush this seems to be an effective and stable product. It does not, however, appear to have nearly the flexibility, functionality, and ease of use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. In addition, it seems to fall short of Dragon in terms of accuracy. You can learn more about this directly from MacSpeech.com and if interested, you can purchase and download the product directly from MacSpeech.

For information about the compatibility of the various microphones with iListen either directly from MacSpeech or Speech Recognition Solution's Microphone Compatibility Chart.

IBM ViaVoice

ViaVoice has been around quite a while and has editions in US English, UK English, German, Italian and Japanese. It comes in four versions and the are compared in the Nuance ViaVoice Product Features Matrix. This is the description of the Mac OS version of ViaVoice from Nuance:

IBM ViaVoice for Mac OS X brings natural, continuous speech voice dictation to Apple's Mac OS X. Optimized to work with this cutting-edge UNIX-based operating system, IBM ViaVoice for Mac OS X brings a new level of accuracy and ease-of-use to voice recognition on the Apple Macintosh computer platform. All aspects of Mac OS X, including Command Center and re-designed Voice Center, use the Aqua OS X look and feel. Mac OS X Edition is also optimized for use with G4 and multiprocessors. Support is also available for specialized vocabularies such as legal and medical.

Users can dictate, correct, edit, and format text with their natural voice in the IBM ViaVoice speech-enabled word processor, SpeakPad. They can also take advantage of the new DSR technology, which enables direct dictation into text-fields of Mac applications, with correction and editing in SpeakPad.

Mac OS X Edition also provides voice command and control of the Internet, so users can move back and forth between Web sites. An enhanced Speech Recognition Engine takes advantage of Mac OS X audio features and provides for faster enrollment than previous IBM ViaVoice for Mac products.

We've yet to test this product on an Intel based Mac, but hope to do so very soon. Historically, ViaVoice has lagged behind Dragon NaturallySpeaking and to our knowledge, future development of the product was ceased after it was purchased by Nuance. Check back with us on this product in the future.

Links: Nuance IBM ViaVoice for OS X Page