Technovations
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By Issie Rabinovitch
Tech products seem to be appearing on the market faster than an Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor can
manipulate data. Some are more for entertainment than for work, but many have features you might find useful.
CAmagazine asked technology writer Issie Rabinovitch to test new products and write regular
assessments for this column. Issie has been working with CAs in the technology field for years and, in
choosing the products, he has your needs in mind. Issie rates each on a scale of one to three stars.
 good
product strong
product exceptional product
Digitally speaking
Many managers and partners in accounting firms yearn for a simpler time: when documents and reports
were created by dictating information into a tape recorder, then the cassette containing the information was
given to a typing pool and the document was typed and printed. Unfortunately, this typing resource no longer
exists. Modern hardware and software, however, can produce documents and e-mail messages without a person
ever touching a keyboard.
Today’s recording device of choice is small, compact and digital. Built-in flash memory is the new storage
medium, replacing the tiny cassette tape. And, the job of transcribing is performed not by a person but by
software that produces text files with a reasonably small error rate.
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Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional 8
Naturally Speaking is part of a family of products produced by Nuance, a vendor of speech solutions
for business and consumers. It is the best-selling speech recognition software in the world. I tested the
high-priced Professional 8 version.
Dragon 8 Standard is the entry-level version and Dragon 8 Preferred is one version higher. All Naturally
Speaking versions have the same engine at the core; they differ in features only. Please refer to
www.nuance.com to determine the best version for your needs. The Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional 8
software goes to work as soon as it is installed. First, it scans your e-mail and documents in order to learn
and adapt to your written style. Then, it requests you use the noise-cancelling headset provided to further
train it in your speech patterns by reading from a series of provided scripts. Set aside at least 90 minutes
to install the software and go through initial training. You’ll have to learn important voice commands to
ensure you remain hands-off the keyboard.
When you’re finished, you should be able to achieve an accuracy rate of at least 80% on a consistent
basis. Every now and then you’ll hit 100% and it will feel magical. If you are an average typist, at 80% you
will still be able to correct errors and finish your message or document in less time than if you had typed
it. The Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional 8 works the same way with files as a Palm, Pocket PC or a
dedicated voice recorder such as the Olympus unit. The software performs best on a fast computer containing a
lot of RAM and disk space. The minimum system requirements provided by Nuance aren’t realistic. For best
results, use this software on a computer with at least a 2.8 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM.
Price: $120 for Standard, $240 for Preferred, and $960 for Professional
Olympus WS-320M Digital Voice Recorder
The controls on the WS-320M will be familiar to any voice recorder user. The record, play and stop
buttons are located on the side of the recorder and are instantly recognizable. Volume and erase buttons are
situated on the front, as is a small LCD panel. Since the storage area is 1 GB and there are five folders to
keep files organized, reading the manual is required to determine the interface.
There is a choice of recording modes. The lowest quality mode is adequate for most recording purposes and
provides 277 hours of dictation storage. This number drops, however, to 70 hours in highest quality mono and
to 35 hours in stereo. The WS-320M unit has a built-in speaker and microphone as well as jacks for earphones
and external microphones.
The WS-320M connects to a computer via a USB port. Transferring files to and from your hard disk is as
easy as copying between any two drives. Files of any sort can be stored; only audio files can be used. In
addition to voice dictation files, you can play music and podcasts.
The recorder’s AAA battery lasts about 15 hours; complete, it weighs 1.6 oz. and measures 3.73”L X 1.50”W
x 0.43”D.
Price: $300
