Coexistence of LipSurf & Dragon Naturally Speaking?

#1

Due to limitations imposed by ALS, I rely heavily on speech-to-text software. My default is Dragon Naturally Speaking (Professional edition 15.3) on a Windows 10 PC. (This is dictated using Dragon) Perhaps the weakest implementation across all PC software is Dragon’s web extension for Chrome. I’ve been delighted to discover LipSurf and find that it works incredibly well for navigating in Chrome. I do not have the Pro version installed (yet), but will likely do that to get the dictation features needed while using Chrome. Before going deeper into this I’m trying to explore a few issues:

  • Does anyone else out there have experience using both Dragon and LipSurf active at the same time?
  • Deciding when to use one vs. the other within a web app in Chrome?
  • With LipSurf Pro, can I avoid installing and using the Dragon extension completely within Chrome?

Any help navigating my way to more usable function will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

#2

Thanks for the interesting questions!

I don’t have firsthand experience using Dragon, but I know a bit about it. In regards to your second and third points, LipSurf at least aims to be a complete replacement for Dragon, and to do much more – with custom plugins for functionality that can be highly specific to your task.

Perhaps unlike Dragon, LipSurf is not only for accessibility, but also for productivity for the masses. We imagine a near future where everyone uses voice as 3rd interface right alongside the keyboard and mouse.

To your 3rd point, currently, the dictation feature in LipSurf is admittedly simplistic. However, that will completely change with v1.11 (v1.10 is being released this week). The current dictation is meant for short inputs such as search boxes. v1.11 will have more text editing features.

I would love to know your thoughts on must-have features other than a dictation mode for supplanting Dragon on the web.

#3

Your quick reply is most appreciated. While LipSurf and Dragon’s markets definitely overlap, Dragon’s speech recognition, command set and specialized vocabularies for target markets like legal and medical disciplines have all been evolving for decades and work really well in the Windows platform. However, it has been a long-standing complaint with their product that it doesn’t operate well in the browser environment. That’s where LipSurf seems to shine, to me anyway! I think you’re right in that there are both specialized and mass markets. As someone who’s limitations makes me dependent on speech to text technology, I think that’s good – if such products weren’t aimed at the very broad market, they certainly would not be affordable for specialized cases like mine.

Will the V1.10 and V1.11 features be available in the free version or Pro? I certainly don’t mind paying for useful function – still trying to assess my options here.

To supplant Dragon in the web environment (Chrome browser) the first must-have is that it’s reliable and doesn’t need refreshing/restarting often. After that, the function I’ve already found in LipSurf makes it highly usable. Following that a basic set of dictation correction and formatting commands: the ability to select a word or phrase that was misinterpreted and then correct it; basic formatting like caps, bold, underline, numbers. There is more, sure, yet that would be a really solid base.

Thanks once again for your quick response, and for listening.

PS: I rely on speech-to-text software due to ALS limitations; please excuse transcription errors.

#4

I’ve heard this from every dragon user so far. Is there a forum where people discuss this limitation in dragon?

Releases can have features for both the pro and free versions. v1.10 (just released about an hour ago https://www.lipsurf.com/updates#1.10.0) has wake-word support (pro only) and push-to-talk key as well as lots of structural improvements to help with maintainability and stability. v1.11 will be similar in offering features for both parts, with an inclination in pro features.

Bugs are always a top-priority. Also, I’m very responsive :slight_smile: so if you ever have even the slightest issue/annoyance with LipSurf let me know and I’ll get on it right away. I can also be reached privately via email or phone support.

#5

hi Miko – re: forums. Nuance Communications (the Dragon company) has no active user forums. However, another company called KnowBrainer is a large services firm operating in the speech-to-text market place, and they do. You can find out more about no-brainer here http://www.knowbrainer.com/index.cfm/about-us/
and find their forums here http://www.knowbrainer.com/forums/forum/index.cfm
There are about 31,000 registered users of the forums and by far the most active for them is the Dragon one. to date, there are no mentions of LipSurf in the forums.
…alan