Dragon Speech Recognition
Overview
Dragon Speech Recognition, formerly Dragon Naturally Speaking, is a very powerful form of voice recognition software. It is the only voice dictation software for purchase that lets you completely control your computer using only your voice. Microsoft's Cortana also enables you to control your computer using only your voice, but it is not as easy to use as Dragon. Dragon's only competitor on the market is Speechnotes. but Speechnotes is strictly a voice-to-text software and not as accurate as Dragon; it also does not have any of the hands-free options to control your computer that Dragon and Cortana have.
Function
Though Dragon by far leads the market in Voice Dictation software, it is not the only option. Google, Microsoft, and Apple all have AI type voice dictation software that do have some commands that enable hands-free use of your Mac, PC, or chromebook, but neither Google, Microsoft, or Apple offer software to control your a computer in as user-friendly way as Dragon. Google's Google Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, and Apple's Siri all are very accurate voice-to-text tools that can even take into account non-verbal sounds like "ah" and "um" without transcribing them into your text. Unlike Dragon, however, none of these options are able to learn from your speech. In this way, Dragon stands out from its competitors because it is always learning from you, learning how an individual user says specific words in specific ways, even allowing the user to train it to recognize specific words.
Varieties
Dragon's products come basically in two different varieties: Dragon Home and Dragon Professional. Dragon Home is strictly voice-to-text software; it does not have any of the features that allow the user to control her computer hands free. Dragon Professional allows the user to completely control the computer in a hands free way, though users often comment that a combination of a mouse and the microphone help them navigate their computer the most quickly. The other outstanding feature of Dragon Professional is its text-to-voice function, though it certainly isn't the only software to offer this feature.
