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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:
- Professional just works in more applications. For instance, in Professional, you can use Natural Language Commands in applications like Outlook,
Lotus Notes, and Excel, as well as Word and Word Perfect. With Preferred, Natural Language Commands are not available for as many applications:
you have to learn to speak Excelese and Outlookese, and there's nothing natural about those.
- Professional allows the use of Voice Shortcuts for email and calendar, allowing you to send an email to anyone in your contact list just by saying "Send
an email to Mary Jones," or schedule an appointment just by saying "Schedule a meeting with Robert Smith." Preferred does not offer these
capabilities. You will have to run down the hall and talk directly to Robert Smith to set up the appointment, and since you're there anyway, you might just
as well talk to him then.
- There are advanced security features available for enterprise deployments of Professional, which are not available in Preferred, even in enterprise
deployments. Translation: Preferred has a water pistol, while Professional has tanks and mine fields.
- In Professional, the Text & Graphics commands offer the ability to create Dragon Templates with Voice Fields in them, which allows the insertion of
variable fields in boilerplate text. With Preferred, you can't insert variables.
- 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 10 supports Citirix deployments, giving users access from thin clients. (This has nothing to do with weight.) But this capacity doesn't exist in
Preferred.
- 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 rutabagas.
- 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. Even the person at the number above can't accomplish that with Preferred, despite having
many other sparkling qualities.
- 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.
- 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." Preferred will not allow such
misbehavior.
- 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: unless your brainpower is such that you need watering twice a week, you can manage it.
- 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.
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.