The ability to type by voice can be an incredibly powerful productivity tool. That is why I always use a version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking on my Windows computers, and why I quickly found a voice-to-text transcription application when I moved over to Mac. Unfortunately, at the time, voice recognition on the Mac was, at best, [...]
Plantronics Blackwire C720 Headset Review
I’m always impressed by Plantronics headphone offerings. Time and again they are able to combine excellent functionality with comfort; they even mix in a bit of style in the process. The Plantronics Voyager Legend is an amazing headset, and you can read our review here. We have a review of the UC (Unified Communications) version [...]
BitQwik 1.0 a Free Siri-Style Virtual Search Assistant for Evernote Released
Now, it doesn’t work for me too well, I admit. Voice recognition software just plain doesn’t like me. I don’t know if it’s because I mumble (which I do), or my weird combination of New England, Southern, and Santa Cruz beach bum surfer dude accents, but I get some of the whackiest results from it [...]
MXL TRIO USB Condenser Microphone Review
The MacBook Pro with retina display really improved on the built-in microphones Apple had been previously using. By including dual-array mics, Apple was able to create a system that allows users to use voice and video chat without a headset. The dual-array setup is also quite useful with the built-in voice recognition that comes with [...]
Nuance Announces Dragon Dictate for Mac 3
A few weeks ago, we brought word that Nuance was releasing the next version of their Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Windows. The update brought a host of advances and new features, not the least of which was a significant improvement in the accuracy of the voice recognition. At the time, I assumed Nuance would soon be announcing [...]
With Nuance’s Nina “When in Doubt, Just Ask Your Phone”
Between Siri, OS X Mountain Lion’s global voice recognition and Google’s voice to text not stinking on Android any longer, the days of tapping out your messages are rapidly coming to an end. Yes, voice recognition is becoming commonplace, accurate and fast. And more and more people are finding that it’s a great way to [...]
With Dragon 12 Voice Recognition Gets Smarter… and Faster
The global voice recognition in Apple’s new Mountain Lion operating system is already by far my favorite feature. It is incredibly fast, quite accurate (when I speak slowly and clearly in a quiet room), and it’s so easily accessed (you hit Fn twice) that it makes voice recognition something you don’t even need to think [...]
With Mountain Lion, Global Voice Recognition Comes to OS X and It Is Awesome
If you read the site you know how much I like, use and rely upon voice recognition. I use Siri on my iPhone more for voice recognition than for the actual “power” of Siri. I use global voice recognition on my iPad ALL THE TIME. And on my Mac I use Dragon Dictation and Dragon [...]
Dragon Drive! Messaging Arrives in BMW 7 Series This Month
A short time ago we brought word that Nuance Communications, the company behind Dragon Dictation and many other voice-to-text technologies, was bringing even more woeful voice to the case through Dragon Drive! Messaging. Dragon Drive! Messaging ‘is Nuance’s new automotive-grade connected car service that lets people speak emails and text messages”. Now word comes that [...]
Can You Hear Me Now? Dragon ID Lets You Log In by Voice
For years Nuance, makers of Dragon Dictation, Dragon NaturallySpeaking and, although unconfirmed, the force behind Siri, has been collecting data on how we speak, what is different from one voice to the next etc. Data collection is a big deal but, unlike Google collecting data so they can better target ads and generate revenue off [...]
Nuance’s Dragon Drive to Take on Distracted Driving
Last year Apple sought to bring “natural-language voice control” to the mobile market through the iPhone 4S’ Siri. While some have complained that Siri is too limited or simply doesn’t work well enough for them, there is no question that it is a taste of things to come. Now Nuance, the folks behind Dragon Dictation [...]
There’s an App for That, the Adele Version
As Mike recently pointed out, Adele is a phenomena who popularity exploded this year because… she has a great voice and the songs are great! She’s had a rough time lately however thanks to throat surgery and a silent recovery. After a polyp was removed Adele was told not to speak for a month. According [...]
Gear Chat 2012- We’re Back!!
It has been over a year but Gear Chat is back and we’re talking tech. In this first episode Thomas and I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Series 7 Slate tablet and what configuration of Apple computing products is best. Future episodes will include Gaming and eBook segments and much more. We also [...]
Quick Tip: Transcribe Audio and Video for FREE
Have you ever had a YouTube video or audio segment you wanted to transcribe but didn’t have the patience to sit and manually type out what the speaker/s said? I ran into just such a situation yesterday and, instead of it taking hours for me to listen, pause, type, listen, pause, type etc I was [...]
The ivee Flex Personal Assistant Video Review
This isn’t the first time we’ve looked at an alarm clock that not only speaks the time but understands when YOU speak. No, two years ago we reviewed the Moshi Travel Alarm Clock, and before that we took a look at the bedside version of it. Despite some limitations both worked fairly well. Yes, voice [...]

















