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| CALL TOLL-FREE 1- 866-359-7137 (In NJ, 908-359-7137) (for tech support, 908- 359-5182) |
VoxScripta
| WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PREFERRED AND PROFESSIONAL? |
Boy oh boy, if we had a nickel for every time someone asked this...
Here are the ways in which they do NOT differ:
Here are the ways in which they DO differ:
In short, if you are a casual computer user - for instance, a home user who doesn't type very well and wants to use Dragon for emails and
letters, to surf the Web, and for instant messaging - Preferred is probably the right choice for you. If your work requires heavy computer
use - i.e. you churn out a great deal of text, fill out forms, cope with a lot of email, need a specialized vocabulary, are interested in
streamlining your workflow, are disabled, produce recorded dictation that someone else edits, or use an EMR or other professional
software - Preferred will not provide the level of integration or workload-reduction that you need and are probably looking for. Ask for a
demonstration: we can show you what's possible. And we won't tell you you need Professional if you don't, even though it would help us
feed our children and send them to college.
Here are the ways in which they do NOT differ:
- Both versions have the same speech engine and thus the same base accuracy (more on that in a moment)
- They both have a plain English vocabulary, to which you can add individual words.
- You can have Dragon analyze your writing style in both versions.
- With both, you can make your own Text & Graphic commands to insert images or boilerplate text.
- Both will transcribe recorded dictation.
Here are the ways in which they DO differ:
- The ability create (or add) multiple custom vocabularies to Professional (and above) generally produces higher accuracy rates than
Preferred, since accuracy does not rely solely on the speech engine.
- With Professional and above, your user profile can be available to you anywhere on your network via mapped drive, UNC path, or
http. It automatically synchronizes updates and adaptations centrally. Preferred does not have networking capacities.
- Dragon 9 supports Citirix deployments, giving users access from thin clients. (This has nothing to do with weight.)
- In Microsoft Word, users can include un-transcribed instructions for third-party editors using "Voice Notations" - included in
Professional and above. For instance, you can invite someone out for a drink before launching into your patient data, and it won't
show up in the chart. With Preferred, what you say is what you get (to coin a phrase).
- Enhanced tools for network management of Dragon user profiles, vocabularies, and installations using a new GUI. IT people with
Preferred in their offices have to run around and do one machine at a time.
- Smart Text & Graphics shortcuts in Professional and above let you instantly define the variable values in any boilerplate text, or
have Dragon prompt you with variable value choices. Sort of like a menu: when you get to the appetizer section, you get a list that
does not include chocolate mousse or martinis, and when you get to the dessert section, the process strips out things like
rhutabagas.
- If you ARE a programmer (or know one you can call up at the above number), you can speech-enable all sorts of things like forms
and applications, using the VBA-compatible Advanced Scripting language.
- With Professional and above, you can save the audio portion of your dictation embedded in the document itself. This allows third-
party editing, or later editing by you if you have no peons to command. With Preferred, once you close the document, the audio is
gone, gone, gone.
- Some applications just work better with Professional and above. For instance, Natural Commands included in Professional and
above allow you to edit, navigate, and send emails more easily in Lotus Notes, and additional Natural Language Commands have
been included that enhance your use of Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel®, Microsoft® Outlook, Microsoft® PowerPoint®,
Microsoft® InfoPath, and Corel® WordPerfect® . (This is the classic "you get what you pays for" paradigm.)
- Smart Commands allow you to change the meaning of a command depending on the context in which it's used. Stupid commands
are available as well. Preferred allows neither (which is 50% a good thing).
- Use the Macro Recorder to record your keystrokes and mouse-clicks, then subsume the actions under a single voice command.
Like, you could drive your officemates crazy by recording a macro that played a recording of "YMCA" every time you said, "Play my
song."
- Automate routine tasks: use Step-by-Step commands to create voice commands one step at a time, even if you're not a
programmer. Very effective and very easy.
- Dragon Professional and above are Section 508 Certified, while Preferred is not. Thus, Preferred is not a suitable choice for
people with disabilities, and the Federal government will make your life miserable if you try to get away with it.
- Dragon Professional will accept industry-specific vocabularies. Dragon Medical contains several new specialty vocabularies, and
Dragon Legal contains a legal language model and has formatting capabilities for legal citations.
In short, if you are a casual computer user - for instance, a home user who doesn't type very well and wants to use Dragon for emails and
letters, to surf the Web, and for instant messaging - Preferred is probably the right choice for you. If your work requires heavy computer
use - i.e. you churn out a great deal of text, fill out forms, cope with a lot of email, need a specialized vocabulary, are interested in
streamlining your workflow, are disabled, produce recorded dictation that someone else edits, or use an EMR or other professional
software - Preferred will not provide the level of integration or workload-reduction that you need and are probably looking for. Ask for a
demonstration: we can show you what's possible. And we won't tell you you need Professional if you don't, even though it would help us
feed our children and send them to college.