Posted on 05/31/2008 5:09:53 PM PDT by Chickensoup
Because of an continuing disability of my hands I will need to move to speech recognition software. I need a laptop that can handle the internet, the software, Word and a few other programs. Internet recommendations say 2 to 5 gig of working memory to use Dragon expediently. I am having a difficult time finding a 3 to 5 gig laptop that is affordable. One can add memory but is it accessble?
Anybody been down this road recently. I would appreciate your input.
Starting back in 2003, Microsoft Office (including Word) had Voice Command built into it. I’m sure the Microsoft Vista operating system (including the latest version of Office) has expanded upon Voice Command even further, but I don’t have it, so I’m not sure.
http://www.nuancestore.com/v2.0-img/operations/scansoft/site/367062/367062_dns-talk.html
I too have adisability and have tested this software. It gets aboutb 95% with practice.
On Kim Komando this morning she said Vista has speech recognition built in. I haven’t played with it, so don’t know how good or bad it is. I do know Microsoft Sync in Ford vehicles works darn well, if they used the same code base for both products.
All you need is speech recognition software.You don’t need a new laptop.
As far as what brand you should by.I’ll leave that up to someone else.You might get a reccomendation from CNET.Com though.
I need more than voice commands, I need to dictate reports, letters and other work,
Thank you though.
I need a lap top because I am changing hardware. I need this particular software and a few others to run seamlessly on it.
What is it using for working memory?
Voice Command in Microsoft Office includes the ability to dictate text and numbers into a doc.
It needs at least 512k. I have 2gig installed in my laptop and it is a blast fast. Memory is cheap...<60.00 for 2 gig, so if you have the slots then it is a very easy upgrade. Just snap it in and you are done.
I need a lap top because I am changing hardware. I need this particular software and a few others to run seamlessly on it.
Well in that case I would buy a laptop with 2 GB of ram and a good size hard drive. since your not into video games you don’t need a specialised graphics card.
Get a notebook with those items and you’ll do very well and it should cost around a thousand bucks. Maybe less if you by an off brand unit.
The Dell XPS M1530 has 4gb ram, a very fast dual core processor, and is a relatively hardy machine. At just over a grand, it’s reasonably affordable.
Thank you, but it is a dell. I know I am being difficult but Dell is against my religion.
I havent found anything less than twenty-five hundred to three thousand. I have been looking at new egg and tiger direct.
That is the other thing I worry about...Do I have to run vista on the new machine? I love XP pro,
MacBook/MacBook Pro with MacSpeech Dictate:
http://www.macspeech.com/product_info.php?products_id=592
You can hunt around for a new laptop with XP, but you’d better hurry, and prepare yourself for the possibility of buying **gulp** a Dell.
You could get a recent off-lease used computer with XP that would run DVS9 without even breaking a sweat.
Or search around for a laptop that is known to have XP drivers available and pay to install XP on there.
I’d go the used route myself. I don’t touch Windows versions until they reach service pack 2. For all I know, DVS runs fine on Vista, but I don’t care.
Thank you but it is a little too late for me to become bisexual.
You could get a recent off-lease used computer with XP that would run DVS9 without even breaking a sweat.
Is there a point where xp isnt going to be available?
Ah, so President Bush and Rush Limbaugh are bi now? (They both use Macs.)
If this laptop is going to be your main computer (and lifeline), I would recommend a business level Toshiba model. If Dell is against your religion, I suspect that IBM/Lenovo is as well. The HP Pavilions and Compaq Presarios are consumer oriented models weighed down with a lot of stuff you probably don’t need or want.
The Panasonic Toughbooks/Fuhitsu Lifebooks are great but very pricey. I don’t have enough experience with Acer to judge them.
Here’s a decent Toshiba Tecra for just over $1000:
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/specs.aspx?EDC=1397125&cm_sp=Product-_-Specs-_-Main+Tab
Note well: It has XP Pro, NOT Vista, and I believe it has a dedicated graphics unit which is a plus even if you aren’t into games. (tapping into main memory slows down the PC.) I would NOT get so worked up on processor speed. More RAM is good. If money were no object, I would say go with a RAM based hard drive for fast random access in your application (voice rec.). Access speed is probably more important than raw throughout for what your are doing. More RAM is always better.
Finally, consider getting the manufacturer’s three year warranty if you can. Again MAN-YOU-FAC-TUR-ERS. NOT CDW or CompUSA or Fry’s or Geek Squad, MANUFACTURER’S ONLY. That also goes for other name brands.
I should mention Sony. I know of no bad experiences. I just won’t buy a laptop with the insipid name “VAIO.”
Pricier is an upgraded Lenovo Thinkpad T61 with the high speed processor, 3gb of ram, xp pro. Don’t forget to add in the bluetooth, as a bluetooth voice dongle is a heck of a lot easier to deal with than the wires from a mic. It’s got a big enough screen to read, but small enough to still be portable. And add in the unfortunately expensive service contract to protect your investment. Still well under $2k for a very speedy system.
If I have to switch to a Mac laptop with three PCs on a net in the house, I am definitely switchhitting.
XP goes bye-bye by the end of July. The last day Dell will take orders for an XP machine is 18 Jun 08.
Er, correction, XP goes away by the end of June.
So? Macs run Windows and are perfectly at home in Mac OS X on a regular small scale PC network.
I am putting all my client files and business on this machine
I suspect that IBM/Lenovo
I just won’t buy a laptop with the insipid name “VAIO.”
Good aesthetics!
No beef with them. They never done to me what Dell done to me.
/sONY VAIO laptop, Centrino (Pentium M) 1.86GHz, 2GB of RAM, Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Medical. Runs like a charm, very accurate if not quite realtime enough. I use a GN Netcom USB headset and accuracy is very high with it.
So? Macs run Windows and are perfectly at home in Mac OS X on a regular small scale PC network.
You are complicating my life here!!
LOL
That means I would have to start acting like 95% of the mac users I know, talk in low, fruity tones, listen to NPR, and wear Birkies and tweedy socks.
Nevah!!
Hm, you must be in California.
By the way, more gay people use Windows than use Mac OS X... so that means that Windows users are more likely to be gay. Are you gay, then? Not that there’s anything wrong with that....
bluetooth voice dongle
Is that the thing that hangs out of the ears of some of the men I see around town.
What is it really? Can it cause brain cancer? Is it like a telephone?
I’ve had good luck with a laptop from Acer, a Taiwanese electronics group. Very sturdy, lots of memory, smooth operation.
What a coincidence! That also is the last day I will ever order a PC from Dell!
That would be a Bluetooth wireless headset. Supposed to be low enough powered that it doesn’t cause cancer.
Bluetooth is a communication protocol with a brand name so it’s easy to identify.
more gay people use Windows than use Mac OS X... so that means that Windows users are more likely to be gay. Are you gay, then? Not that there’s anything wrong with that....
Not in Portland Maine. If you are homosexual or lesbian you HAVE to have a Mac or they won’t let you in the bars...and your dog will be ignored at the doggie daycare.
I have one of the Acer screens. No complaints there.
The whole rootkit hysteria was very overblown. Never affected anyone I know with a Sony. My Vaio is the best laptop I ever had.
Bluetooth is a communication protocol with a brand name so it’s easy to identify.
So it can be used as a telephone, a wireless mike and to notify all the other geeks in the area that you have arrived....kinda like GADAR?
Bluetooth is a communication protocol with a brand name so it’s easy to identify.
So it can be used as a telephone, a wireless mike and to notify all the other geeks in the area that you have arrived....kinda like GAYDAR?
As for cancer - I've yet to hear a scientist explain why so many people exposed to high levels of mercury, lead, and all the rest of the ‘dangerous things’ that we've eliminated from our society lived to be a hundred years old, experiencing far worse smog, pollutants, etc. Could just be that it's what happens when people get older.
I agree.
I am having a good time though.
I should probably add alcohol, but I think that is against FCC regulations.
[shrug]
Well, look at it this way. You have only two choices of maker if you want *any* of the money you spend on a laptop to stay in the US. If you buy from anyone but Dell or Apple (or Gateway, but who’s dumb enough to buy their crap???), all your money goes overseas. If you buy Dell or Apple, at least some of the money stays here and employs Americans.
Thank you. I have never heard of them but the prices look great.
My Sony laptop has Vista Ultimate and the speech recognition is extremely good. It requires no training so you can start usig it right from the word go. I would recommend a bluetooth capable laptop with a bluetooth microphone so your voice can be picked up even if you aren’t directly facing the laptop built-in microphone.
If you buy Dell
The last time I bought Dells, the nice but incompetent lady from India and I got emotionally very close over a series of weeeks.
The SOB in Texas made me cry.
I buy American whenever possible, but not here.
Thank you though.
Lenovo is the Communist Chinese “company” that bought the PC manufacturing concern from IBM. So, buying a Lenovo is “really” supporting the Chinese.
Oh, and I forgot HP on the list of the few American companies there - but HP laptops are crap now too, so they’re right out.
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