Dictation software companies have pretty much been reduced to two viable contenders: the worthy Mountain Lion who roams unchallenged in Safari Land and the high-flying Dragon Dictate which captured Lion’s share of the OS X market. There are advantages and disadvantages for each. Here is a rundown of the pros and cons of each:
Mountain Lion
Mountain Lion for OS X Pro’s
Simple “Open System Preferences” allows for easy activation. Just open the Dictation and Speech pane and dictation tab and click it “ON”. You can immediately begin dictation by pressing the FN key and start talking. To insert dictated words, just click to locate them where you want them in the text. Click “Done” and Mountain Lion will begin transcribing your dictation and send it back for your review. This is available for any OS X system.
Mountain Lion Con’s
Results can vary if you are employing Mac’s internal microphone. Also, you can only speak for periods not exceeding 30 seconds at a time. Unlike Dragon Dictate, Mountain Lion does not improve in performance with the operator’s increased usage.
Dragon Dictate
The Pro’s
Dragon Dictate has a distinct advantage over its feline counterpart. Unlike Mountain Lion, the dragon platform actually improves with time as it “learns” from the operator’s dictation style and voice inflections. It is designed to create a profile of your initial five-minute programing and the software begins to detect nuances in dialect and constantly improve quality in voice recognition. There is no limit to the amount of talking time you have.
Cons
Although Dragon will function on a Mac internal speaker, it’s recommended that an external audio device be used for improved performance. Dragon Dictate will set you back about $200.
