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Dragon Naturally Speaking is simply the best speech recognition software available. I've used Dragon NaturallySpeaking for many years as an author (JavaScript Concepts & Techniques: Programming Interactive Web Sites), a teacher, and before that a student. Why? Because Dragon records dictation much more quickly than I can type; and I'm not a slow typist by any means. Not only does this allow me to get my thoughts on paper more quickly and accurately before they disappear into the cosmos, but it also reduces the repetitive stress of typing - something my body appreciates profusely. There's nothing like kicking back in your chair in a relaxing position while working. It seems sinful almost. One of the things I like best about Dragon NaturallySpeaking is its ability to learn quickly. The first speech recognition program I used didn't become super accurate until I'd used it regularly for a couple of weeks. The folks who wrote Dragon NaturallySpeaking, however, seem to have realized that time is money, so they've built a Vocabulary Optimizer tool into Dragon that helps it learn how you put words together, so to speak. Here's how it works: after you set up your microphone and perform an initial dictation Dragon's New User Wizard will ask if you want to adapt the program to your writing style. If you accept, and I highly recommend that you do, Dragon will scan all of the text, Word, and WordPerfect documents in the My Documents folder on your hard drive to analyze your particular writing style. This process significantly, and I do mean significantly, increases Dragon NaturallySpeaking's overall recognition accuracy from the get-go. You can always run the Vocabulary Optimizer later, too. Dragon NaturallySpeaking also includes lots of other tools that can help improve its accuracy. Occassionally, you may notice that Dragon has trouble transcribing a particular word or phrase. The most likely cause is that the troublesome word isn't in Dragon's vocabulary. Not only can you add the word to Dragon's vocabulary, but you can also train the pronunciation of it so the next time you use the word during dictation, Dragon can better recognize it. If you do a lot of technical writing like I do, there are likely lots of words you use that Dragon doesn't have in its vocabulary. No problem. Just use its Add Words tool and have Dragon scan documents you've already written for words it doesn't know and improve its vocabulary in nothing flat. You can also type a list of words and phrases you want Dragon to learn, on separate lines in a plain text file, and have the program scan it with the "Add a list of words to your vocabulary" tool. Dragon NaturallySpeaking can also analyze your sent email and add names from your email address book. If you've never dictated your thoughts before, it may feel awkward at first. It takes a little time for your brain to make the transition from typing your thoughts to dictating them. I had trouble with it at first: similar to the transition I went through when I switched from handwriting my thoughts to typing my thoughts. Give yourself some time to adjust to the process. It's well worth the effort in terms of time savings, thought recording accuracy, and less wear and tear on your body. Dragon NaturallySpeaking also makes the transition to dictation easier than other speech recognition programs. You don't have to talk like a robot to dictate successfully to your computer. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you just speak naturally.