Last night on Twitter's Litchat several people asked if there were any software programs which could help writers work and while I suspect that most are no more than expensive procrastination tools, I bet that there are a few which are useful.
The thing is, I just don't know which ones they are. I'm relatively non-technical: I write most of my work by hand, using a real pen and real paper, and then I "type" up my work into Microsoft Word using Dragon NaturallySpeaking and a couple of associated gadgets which I've reviewed here, but I don't use anything else to produce my work.
So if you use any specialist writing software, hardware or gadgets, then I'd be grateful if you'd consider writing a review of it for me, listing its good points along with its bad, and explaining just who you think might benefit from using it. Email your review to me at "HPRW at tesco dot net", and put "HPRW review" in the subject-line so I don't mistake you for spam (and while we're at it, I would welcome some more reviews of writing-related books if anyone feels so inclined).
Showing posts with label gadgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gadgets. Show all posts
Monday, 3 August 2009
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
What Did You Just Say?
I’ve been typing every day for twenty five years, often for long stretches at a time, and as a result I’ve developed RSI in both my hands. It’s painful and disabling: I can’t open bottles very easily (and with a gin habit like mine, that’s a terrible thing); I struggle to carry heavier things; and my grip is dreadful. I drop things very easily, particularly if they’re cold (which also plays havoc with the gin). It’s no fun, and I strongly advise all of you to take better care of your hands than I have of mine.
Because my hands are so bad, I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred from Nuance to do most of my typing. This program had a bit of bad reputation a few years ago: the earliest versions were challenging to use, and required their users to Sound. Like. The. Queen. And. Speak. In. Single. Words. Dictating was time-consuming, frustrating and dull, and the accuracy of the results was very poor. But my, how Dragon has changed.
I’ve used v8 since it was released and it’s great: it gives very accurate results; it’s simple to use; and it’s quick. I liked it so much that I missed out v9 completely, and was doubtful that v10 would be significantly different: but I was completely wrong.
I’m amazed by the difference that v10 has made for me. It responds phenomenally quickly to my commands; its accuracy is amazingly good (I’m using it to write this and it’s made just one error so far, despite all the cut-and-paste editing that I do as I work); and it’s incredibly simple to use. I’ll accept that as a long-term Dragon user I’m going to find it more intuitive to use than a complete newcomer would but honestly, it’s a very easy program to learn to use and if my eight-year-old son can sneak my headset on when I foolishly leave my computer unattended and manage to fill a whole page with a Zen-like stream of consciousness, liberally studded with swearwords, before I discover what he’s up to, it’s got to be good. He hadn’t even trained it.
Dragon isn’t just for typing: you can navigate the internet with it, and use it to move from program to program, and window to window. All I now have to do with my hands is start my computer, put my headset on, and stop the cat from clambering about on my keyboard as I try to get any work done.
And (without wishing to sound like an infomercial), that’s not all. Previous versions of Dragon required ultra-high quality headsets if you wanted to get a decent level of accuracy, and they’re expensive: I spent around £140 on a Sennheiser ME3 headset and Andrea soundpod to use with v8, which gave me far greater accuracy than the headset that my Dragon was packaged with. But v10 is far less temperamental: I got the wireless version which comes with a natty little bluetooth headset, and I get better results with it than I used to get from v8 with my Sennheiser. I tested them alongside one another yesterday and while v8 made fifty-seven mistakes over a 587 word test, the cordless v10 made just twenty-one: not only that, but I completed the test more quickly with v10 than I did with v8 (I’m sorry, but for once I wasn’t obsessive enough to keep a proper record of the times: it’s not like me to be so lax). And when I use v10 with my Sennheiser headset, the speed and accuracy are abso-bloodly-lutely brilliant.
There’s just one downside. When I was tethered to my computer by the cable of my Sennheiser I did at least remember that my computer was listening to me. With this new little bluetooth headset I keep forgetting that I’m on, and have subsequently managed to dictate several pages of text in which I advise my children to sharpen up their acts and tidy their bedrooms, tell the dog to get off the kitchen table, and suggest to a double-glazing salesman that I’d chew my own feet off before I’d put uPVC windows into my glorious house. At least this has this proved that the headset has a greater range than either Dragon or Plantronics advertise. I can only hope that I’ve edited all of it out of the book I’m working on at the moment.
So, would I recommend it? You bet I would. If you’re considering Dragon NaturallySpeaking but wonder whether it’s worth it, stop wondering. Just buy it. Now. It’s wonderful.
Because my hands are so bad, I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred from Nuance to do most of my typing. This program had a bit of bad reputation a few years ago: the earliest versions were challenging to use, and required their users to Sound. Like. The. Queen. And. Speak. In. Single. Words. Dictating was time-consuming, frustrating and dull, and the accuracy of the results was very poor. But my, how Dragon has changed.
I’ve used v8 since it was released and it’s great: it gives very accurate results; it’s simple to use; and it’s quick. I liked it so much that I missed out v9 completely, and was doubtful that v10 would be significantly different: but I was completely wrong.
I’m amazed by the difference that v10 has made for me. It responds phenomenally quickly to my commands; its accuracy is amazingly good (I’m using it to write this and it’s made just one error so far, despite all the cut-and-paste editing that I do as I work); and it’s incredibly simple to use. I’ll accept that as a long-term Dragon user I’m going to find it more intuitive to use than a complete newcomer would but honestly, it’s a very easy program to learn to use and if my eight-year-old son can sneak my headset on when I foolishly leave my computer unattended and manage to fill a whole page with a Zen-like stream of consciousness, liberally studded with swearwords, before I discover what he’s up to, it’s got to be good. He hadn’t even trained it.
Dragon isn’t just for typing: you can navigate the internet with it, and use it to move from program to program, and window to window. All I now have to do with my hands is start my computer, put my headset on, and stop the cat from clambering about on my keyboard as I try to get any work done.
And (without wishing to sound like an infomercial), that’s not all. Previous versions of Dragon required ultra-high quality headsets if you wanted to get a decent level of accuracy, and they’re expensive: I spent around £140 on a Sennheiser ME3 headset and Andrea soundpod to use with v8, which gave me far greater accuracy than the headset that my Dragon was packaged with. But v10 is far less temperamental: I got the wireless version which comes with a natty little bluetooth headset, and I get better results with it than I used to get from v8 with my Sennheiser. I tested them alongside one another yesterday and while v8 made fifty-seven mistakes over a 587 word test, the cordless v10 made just twenty-one: not only that, but I completed the test more quickly with v10 than I did with v8 (I’m sorry, but for once I wasn’t obsessive enough to keep a proper record of the times: it’s not like me to be so lax). And when I use v10 with my Sennheiser headset, the speed and accuracy are abso-bloodly-lutely brilliant.
There’s just one downside. When I was tethered to my computer by the cable of my Sennheiser I did at least remember that my computer was listening to me. With this new little bluetooth headset I keep forgetting that I’m on, and have subsequently managed to dictate several pages of text in which I advise my children to sharpen up their acts and tidy their bedrooms, tell the dog to get off the kitchen table, and suggest to a double-glazing salesman that I’d chew my own feet off before I’d put uPVC windows into my glorious house. At least this has this proved that the headset has a greater range than either Dragon or Plantronics advertise. I can only hope that I’ve edited all of it out of the book I’m working on at the moment.
So, would I recommend it? You bet I would. If you’re considering Dragon NaturallySpeaking but wonder whether it’s worth it, stop wondering. Just buy it. Now. It’s wonderful.
Monday, 1 September 2008
Sound Pods
To get the best results out of Dragon Naturally Speaking you need to make sure that the speech that it’s processing is as clear as possible: which means that you have to use the highest-quality microphone and soundcard that you can get.
Inbuilt soundcards are good, but they're usually designed to maximise the quality of the sound which comes out of the computer, rather than the sound going in; and they’re not often properly shielded from the electrical noise and static that your computer’s other components cause. Consequently, you’ll usually get better results if you use a soundcard that is separate from the main body of your computer.
There are several you can choose from. I use an Andrea USB sound pod, which plugs into any spare USB port and has a jack for my microphone to plug into directly. It is relatively cheap (it costs around $40 in the USA, or £40 in the UK), works brilliantly, and improved my accuracy with Dragon all on its own. Money very well spent.
There are several suppliers, such as KnowBrainer or eMicrophones in America, and the excellent IT Speaking in the UK. KnowBrainer has a good discussion forum too, where you can get lots of help with Dragon, and advice on the best peripheral hardware for your needs.
Inbuilt soundcards are good, but they're usually designed to maximise the quality of the sound which comes out of the computer, rather than the sound going in; and they’re not often properly shielded from the electrical noise and static that your computer’s other components cause. Consequently, you’ll usually get better results if you use a soundcard that is separate from the main body of your computer.
There are several you can choose from. I use an Andrea USB sound pod, which plugs into any spare USB port and has a jack for my microphone to plug into directly. It is relatively cheap (it costs around $40 in the USA, or £40 in the UK), works brilliantly, and improved my accuracy with Dragon all on its own. Money very well spent.
There are several suppliers, such as KnowBrainer or eMicrophones in America, and the excellent IT Speaking in the UK. KnowBrainer has a good discussion forum too, where you can get lots of help with Dragon, and advice on the best peripheral hardware for your needs.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Microphones: the Sennheiser ME3
I rarely type anything by hand now. Instead I use Dragon Naturally Speaking and dictate everything straight into my computer.
When I first used Dragon I used the headset which came in the box with the software. Despite all my efforts, my work was full of mistakes. Eventually I realised it was the headset: it introduced errors into my dictation because the quality of the sound it transmitted was too poor for Dragon to interpret effectively. It was also uncomfortable, and so I couldn’t wear it for long without ending up with a headache and sore ears.
After a bit of research I discovered the Sennheiser ME3 headset. It was developed for use on-stage and so does not have an ear-piece, just a microphone: it’s very lightweight and comfortable (even if you wear glasses, like I do), and it’s very easy to adjust to fit. It has a plastic-coated, metal frame which rests on the top of your ears and goes around the back of your head, with a flexible arm for the microphone which allows you to position it correctly at the side of your mouth; and a soft Velcro strap which holds it close to the back of your head (only I prefer to use mine without it, as I have a notoriously large head).
Just by using the Sennheiser ME3 with Dragon and a USB sound-pod (I’ll cover sound-pods later in a separate piece) rather than using your computer's inbuilt sound-card, you’ll get wonderful accuracy from Dragon.
The Sennheiser headset isn’t cheap: it costs around $150 US or £100 UK, but the improved productivity that it leads to means that it pays for itself within a few weeks if, like me, you depend on Dragon to work.
There are several suppliers: I’d suggest that you look first at KnowBrainer or eMicrophones if you’re in America, or IT Speaking if you’re buying in the UK. KnowBrainer has a good discussion forum too, where you can get lots of help with the program.
When I first used Dragon I used the headset which came in the box with the software. Despite all my efforts, my work was full of mistakes. Eventually I realised it was the headset: it introduced errors into my dictation because the quality of the sound it transmitted was too poor for Dragon to interpret effectively. It was also uncomfortable, and so I couldn’t wear it for long without ending up with a headache and sore ears.
After a bit of research I discovered the Sennheiser ME3 headset. It was developed for use on-stage and so does not have an ear-piece, just a microphone: it’s very lightweight and comfortable (even if you wear glasses, like I do), and it’s very easy to adjust to fit. It has a plastic-coated, metal frame which rests on the top of your ears and goes around the back of your head, with a flexible arm for the microphone which allows you to position it correctly at the side of your mouth; and a soft Velcro strap which holds it close to the back of your head (only I prefer to use mine without it, as I have a notoriously large head).
Just by using the Sennheiser ME3 with Dragon and a USB sound-pod (I’ll cover sound-pods later in a separate piece) rather than using your computer's inbuilt sound-card, you’ll get wonderful accuracy from Dragon.
The Sennheiser headset isn’t cheap: it costs around $150 US or £100 UK, but the improved productivity that it leads to means that it pays for itself within a few weeks if, like me, you depend on Dragon to work.
There are several suppliers: I’d suggest that you look first at KnowBrainer or eMicrophones if you’re in America, or IT Speaking if you’re buying in the UK. KnowBrainer has a good discussion forum too, where you can get lots of help with the program.
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