Also see Andy's analysis of voice recognition technologies, consisting of a short and long term comparison of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8.0 and IBM ViaVoice 10.

My first introduction to voice recognition was Star Trek. It looked so easy. Just talk and the computer could understand what you were saying. You could be half asleep or panicking in the middle of a Klingon attack. No problem, the computer did its job perfectly. You never heard it ask, "Excuse me, Captain. Did you say ‘fire the torpedo’ or ‘fry all the dough’? I'm not sure whether to attack the enemy or create a tasty French dessert.”

Yes, real life is difficult and computers are far from perfect. Voice recognition software has been commonly available for over ten years, but only recently has technology developed to the point where we can use it effectively. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the result. This software lets you dictate to your computer with high accuracy. The words you speak appear in whatever program you're using. Word processing, email and even Web navigation can all be controlled with your voice.

People who dictate or type constantly can save time with voice recognition products. Carpal tunnel sufferers and those with similar disabilities can now work all day with no problem. For those whose brains work faster than their fingers, the ability to speak words directly to a computer allows for faster communication than was previously possible.

In order to work effectively, Dragon NaturallySpeaking needs to learn more about your speech patterns and what your voice sounds like. After you install, you'll spend some time talking into the supplied microphone. The program will listen to your voice by having you read snippets from Mark Twain, Dave Barry and others. It can even analyze letters and email on your computer to get an idea of your writing style.

At this point, you can really start using the program. After 15 minutes of training, it worked very well. I was reading from books and sending email with very few errors.

Most intentionally confusing sentences translated well. “Attila the Hun hunted Hunts ketchup” was fine, but “Dancing dingoes dangle like dew drops” required a few seconds of additional tweaking before my computer could understand exactly what I was saying.

The key here is patience. When the software mistranslates, you let it know by speaking a correction. That correction will be remembered. In this way the software learns. The more you use it, the better it performs.

After four hours of testing, I was able to achieve very close to 100% accuracy. I'm not yet ready to give up my keyboard, as there are certain editing actions where clicking a mouse is still faster than speaking a command. But I definitely see a productivity increase. My typing speed is 70 words-per-minute. Dictating to Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets me reach past 130 words-per-minute.

For those interested, yes, this week’s column was dictated to Dragon NaturallySpeaking. If you would rather speak than type and have the patience and time to practice, give it a try.