MacSpeech Dictate
Encyclopedia
MacSpeech Dictate was a speech recognition
program developed for Mac OS X
by MacSpeech
. The first version of MacSpeech Dictate was released in March 2008 after being showcased at the Macworld Conference & Expo
in 2008 and winning the Macworld 2008 Best Of Show award. On September 20, 2010, Nuance Communications, which acquired MacSpeech in February 2010, released a new version of the product, renaming it "Dragon Dictate for Mac
".
MacSpeech Dictate ran as a Mac-native application. It used the Dragon speech recognition engine (v9 or v10), licensed from Nuance Communications
. This is the same technology that powers speech recognition in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
for the PC, although across platforms there are significant differences in features, functionality and integration. One major difference with MacSpeech Dictate was that it did not allow training by typing misrecognized words as Dragon NaturallySpeaking products do on Windows. Another notable difference was the lack of a transcription feature for recorded voice dictation, as found in NaturallySpeaking. MacSpeech released a separate product, MacSpeech Scribe
, to handle this.
MacSpeech Dictate Medical, a version with specialized vocabularies for doctors and dentists, was released in June 2009. MacSpeech Dictate Legal, with specialized vocabulary for lawyers, was released in July 2009. MacSpeech Dictate International, with support for speech recognition in English, French, German and Italian, was released in September 2009. Localized versions of MacSpeech Dictate are available in German, French and Italian.
MacSpeech Dictate products used the highly successful and very accurate Dragon NaturallySpeaking
speech recognition
engine from Nuance Communications
. In February 2010, MacSpeech Inc. was acquired by Nuance Communications
, which continued development of native Mac speech recognition applications under the Dragon brand name.
Later versions of the software added the features listed as lacking in David Pogue's initial review.
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
program developed for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
by MacSpeech
MacSpeech
MacSpeech was a company that developed speech recognition software for Apple Macintosh computers. It has been acquired by Nuance Communications....
. The first version of MacSpeech Dictate was released in March 2008 after being showcased at the Macworld Conference & Expo
Macworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
in 2008 and winning the Macworld 2008 Best Of Show award. On September 20, 2010, Nuance Communications, which acquired MacSpeech in February 2010, released a new version of the product, renaming it "Dragon Dictate for Mac
DragonDictate
DragonDictate and Dragon Dictate are proprietary speech recognition software. The older program, DragonDictate, was originally developed by Dragon Systems for Microsoft Windows. It has now been replaced by Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows, developed by Nuance Communications...
".
MacSpeech Dictate ran as a Mac-native application. It used the Dragon speech recognition engine (v9 or v10), licensed from Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...
. This is the same technology that powers speech recognition in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
NaturallySpeaking
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a speech recognition software package developed and sold by Nuance Communications for Windows personal computers. The most recent package is version 11.5, which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and 7. The Mac OS version is called Dragon...
for the PC, although across platforms there are significant differences in features, functionality and integration. One major difference with MacSpeech Dictate was that it did not allow training by typing misrecognized words as Dragon NaturallySpeaking products do on Windows. Another notable difference was the lack of a transcription feature for recorded voice dictation, as found in NaturallySpeaking. MacSpeech released a separate product, MacSpeech Scribe
MacSpeech Scribe
MacSpeech Scribe is speech recognition software for Mac OS X designed specifically for transcription of recorded voice dictation. It runs on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. The software transcribes dictation recorded by an individual speaker. Typically the speaker will record their dictation using a...
, to handle this.
MacSpeech Dictate Medical, a version with specialized vocabularies for doctors and dentists, was released in June 2009. MacSpeech Dictate Legal, with specialized vocabulary for lawyers, was released in July 2009. MacSpeech Dictate International, with support for speech recognition in English, French, German and Italian, was released in September 2009. Localized versions of MacSpeech Dictate are available in German, French and Italian.
MacSpeech Dictate products used the highly successful and very accurate Dragon NaturallySpeaking
NaturallySpeaking
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a speech recognition software package developed and sold by Nuance Communications for Windows personal computers. The most recent package is version 11.5, which supports 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and 7. The Mac OS version is called Dragon...
speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
engine from Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...
. In February 2010, MacSpeech Inc. was acquired by Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...
, which continued development of native Mac speech recognition applications under the Dragon brand name.
| Version | Release Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | March 2008 | Initial Release. Dragon v9 speech recognition engine. |
| 1.0.1 | April 2008 | Minor bug fixes, improved documentation, easier license key handling, enhanced AppleScript AppleScript AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language.... support including the ability to create commands. |
| 1.2 | October 2008 | Major update, with spelling mode, phrase training, interface enhancements. |
| 1.2.1 | November 2008 | Maintenance Release. |
| 1.3 | February 2009 | Major update, with outside document editing, interface enhancements. |
| 1.5 | May 2009 | Major release, with vocabulary editing, MS Word integration, accuracy enhancements. Dragon v10 speech recognition engine. |
| 1.5.1 | May 2009 | Maintenance Release. |
| 1.5.2 | June 2009 | Maintenance Release. |
| 1.5.5 | October 2009 | Maintenance Release, with improved Snow Leopard support. |
| 1.5.6 | November 2009 | Maintenance Release. |
| 1.5.7 | November 2009 | Maintenance Release. |
| 1.5.8 | December 2009 | Maintenance Release, fixed compatibility with newer iMacs. |
| 1.5.9 | June 2010 | Minor update, added support for Extended ASCII, volume licensing and GROWL notifications. |
| 2.0 | September 2010 | Renamed "Dragon Dictate for Mac DragonDictate DragonDictate and Dragon Dictate are proprietary speech recognition software. The older program, DragonDictate, was originally developed by Dragon Systems for Microsoft Windows. It has now been replaced by Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows, developed by Nuance Communications... ". Dragon v11 speech recognition engine. Flexible voice commands for editing. Proofreading text-to-speech. Voice shortcuts for web search. MouseGrid. New profile microphone options. |
A review/comparison to NaturallySpeaking for Windows
Reviewing MacSpeech Dictate 1.0 in the New York Times in January 2008, David Pogue concluded:So Dictate 1.0 is attractive, simple and Mac-like. It is not, however, as good as NaturallySpeaking 9.0 for Windows ($200). It lacks features like audio playback of what you said, a simple “add word” command, legal and medical versions, and non-English language kits.
It also lacks voice correction.
When NatSpeak makes an error, you just say “Correct ‘ax a moron’ ” (or whatever it typed); and choose from a list of alternate transcriptions. The program not only corrects the error in your document, but also learns from its mistake. Over time, the accuracy edges ever closer to 100 percent.
In Dictate 1.0, however, you have to fix transcription errors by hand. The company intends to add voice correction in a 1.1 update; in the meantime, though, your accuracy won’t improve.
The late beta version I tested has some bugs. The company intends to get these fixed by the 1.0 version’s mid-February release.
Even so, Dictate gets the big things — speed and accuracy — right, which may be enough for a lot of people. This program and the new Mac Office fill big holes in the Macintosh landscape — a landscape that’s looking brighter all the time.
Later versions of the software added the features listed as lacking in David Pogue's initial review.
External links
- Dragon Dictate for Mac Manual(basically a slightly-upgraded MacSpeech manual)
- QuickStart Manual for Dragon Dictate Mac
- Review of MacSpeech Dictate in ATPM
"Why Speech Dictation is Difficult" http://speech.kth.se/~rolf/gslt_papers/MarkusForsberg.pdf