Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 is available for 30% off through Nuance starting Today and lasting until 11/30.

You can get the Preferred Version or the Standard version (if you are a blogger the Standard version is likely what you are looking for, if you happen to be a podcaster you might get more out of the Preferred version. If you are a business user, I’d recommend Standard.

Here’s How you can get 30% off Dragon Naturally Speaking with the Coupon Codes Below

30% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred

Start Date:11/26/2009 – End Date:11/30/2009

Dragon Coupon Code:giahh897e

Copy your link code below.

30% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard

Start Date:11/26/2009 – End Date:11/30/2009

Dragon Coupon Code: 2r22fbz7z

Copy your link code below.

About 10 days ago, we were tipped off by a reader that Dragon Naturally Speaking prices were SUPER low on Amazon.  At the time, you could get Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 10 Basic (an excellent program) for just $29.99!  Prices have gone back up (just a little bit), but that software is still only $42.99 new.  That’s less than the $89 retail price it normally sells for, and only about $13 more than it was selling at when it was the cheapest its been in years and years.

Someone asked me the other day if I thought maybe version 11 was getting ready to come out.

I do not have any inside information on this one way or another.  However, I have worked in product pricing in a past career, and I would hazard to say that it would appear that this recent price drop is either one of two things

1. Amazon is selling the product at very discounted levels with or without the permission of Nuance.

2.  Nuance is not coming out with a version 11 anytime soon. 

I think the second option is more likely.  I find it very doubtful that Nuance would sabotage the perceived value of Dragon Naturally Speaking by selling version 10 at prices one half the amount the product sold for originally.  Doing so would fill a lot of demand, demand that might not be willing to shell out more money for a version 11 upgrade.

I’m guessing that version 11 is probably at least a year away, and Nuance is simply trying to squeeze out more sales during a very tough economy for software sales.  Version 10 launched into the very start of the economic crisis last fall.  From my own experience with an extremely modest affiliate account on dragon (might get a referral per month these days) I saw sales go completely flat in October last year, only 2 months into the launch of Dragon Naturally Speaking version 10.  That didn’t pick up at all until after the beginning of the year and since then, things have been anemic at best.

Now, it would also appear that Nuance is letting their affiliate channel move forward on auto-pilot.  Pricing for Dragon Naturally Speaking through the affiliate program still sells at full retail price through the Nuance site, even with Amazon running these amazing deals.  Maybe Nuance doesn’t want to sell produt through their own site?

That may sound crazy, but if for some reason they actually packaged up a large number of units and Amazon has them sitting in a warehouse (no idea why they would have a JIT solution in place) but in that case, it might make sense for deep discounts at Amazon even at the expense of direct sales.

I’ve been covering Dragon Naturally Speaking from Nuance for a long time but have not seen the prices this low before.

UPDATE – Amazon prices have gone up slightly since this all time low on July 20, still an amazing discount!

Right now you can buy Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 for $29.99!  For your average user, that’s all you need!  If you want to have the extra ability to utilize an MP3 voice recorder (I use a Sony) you can get the Preferred version for as low as $117.99 and the ‘wireless’ version for $155 (that’s bluetooth wireless, I personally use an after market 2.6ghz wireless logitech headset that will work with any version).

You could buy the basic version for $30 and an $90 logitech clearchat wireless headset for a total price of $120 or just jump to Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 bluetooth wireless at $155.

No matter what these are great prices.  Typically the lowest prices you will se are about $80 for Basic, $150 for preferred and $250 for bluetooth wireless.  The best part about this is that at $30 for Basic, this is a great price for a first time user to get in and see just how great this software is these days.

This is the question I recently received from a viewer on YouTube.  Can Dragon transcribe a Professor’s lecture using a pocket recorder device?

The answer is maybe, if you jump through a few hoops, but the software does not make the claim that it can do this.

Here’s my more in depth answer explaining the maybe a bit more….

This version of the program is only intended for a single voice.   With version 10, you might be able to have some level of success if you setup a profile exclusively for your teacher/professor.  You would have to record the lecture, then go through and make corrections in the program to help train dragon to recognize that voice, train it to recognize that voice through your voice recorder, and train it to recognize the voice from what ever distance you are sitting at.  (the better the sound the better the transcription, so if you sit in a different location, if people talk a lot or make noise, or if your instructors voice changes (uses a microphone/speaker system one day and not the next) you might run into complications. 

All in all this program isn’t intended for this purpose yet, but if you want to get your geek on and see how to make it work, I think there is potential there.  Expect to play with it quite a bit,  . . .  (might be more fun than taking notes and studying    )

So this would be one of those situations where if you try to make this tool work in this environment, you may waste some time and money, but if you find a way to be successful, you could save a lot of time!

This evening I’m working on or from a mind map on a lake in North Carolina.  I work from Lake Wylie in my own wifi cove with a covered fishing dock. A high top bar serves dual purposes for serving drinks and serving as my desk.  I recently installed a pull down projector screen on the dock, and have moved my portable projector outside tonight to work from a mind map that I created with MindManager a few days ago.

The unique setting tonight with a thousand frogs chiming in their opinions about topic changes juxtaposed with the setting where the map was created made me pause.  I created the mindmap last week in the Nevada desert in Laughlin.  I worked with my friend Joe Klein on a brainstorm evolved into a business plan upgrade.  We worked from his home in Laughlin where I used the projector to display the map from his dining room table onto the vertical blinds that cover the sliding glass doors to his patio and hot tub.

The mindmap in the picture is of course the default map with MindManager 8, the map I’m working on in reality is top secret! 

Going from the desert to a lake in North Carolina is definitely two examples of the extreme.  In the past I’ve worked on planes, in conference rooms, at a soccer field and a McDonalds. Brainstorming, a function that is one of MindManager’s strengths, is definitely the type of activity that can work well when you place the participants outside the box. Its not required, but can produce some interesting results.  So where is it that you mindmap?  Do you use that location exclusively?  Do you mix it up and if so do you mix it up on purpose or just by chance?

I ask the question mostly because I’m curious and partly because I’m curious if the location drives better results or hinders results (like when the sun glares down on a screen outside, or when the mosquitoes get to thick on your projector screen or when the sun melts the silicon in your laptop back into sand particles in the desert). 

I just saw this update by Peter Mahoney on the Dragon blog at Nuance.  It would appear that the long long wait for 64 Bit OS support will end tomorrow with the release of 10.1.

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 24, 2009: Hi Everyone – a quick update as of Tuesday, March 24. We are almost ready to release the 10.1 download builds for English Preferred ad Standard, but we are still working out a couple issues with our download process. Once we resolve any outstanding issues, we will move the download pages into our production Web environment. At this point, it looks like that will be tomorrow, Wednesday. I will continue to provide updates as the become available. Peter

Update on Dragon for Windows Vista 64 — Frequently Asked Questions – Speaking About Dragon – from Nuance

Personally, I can’t wait, and I know a lot of other Dragon users and people that have purchased Dragon for a new laptop or computer only to find that it wasn’t yet supported will also be happy to get this software up and running.  The bottom line is that it is great software and definitely helps with productivity, but launching it last summer with out 64 bit support was a strategic mistake as retailers and manufacturers were resetting the last of the 32 bit Vista OS’s off the shelves and out of the stores and replacing them with more powerful 64 bit machines.

US

UK

Francais

I write tutorials, white papers, and reviews of Dragon.  I write them because I truly think the software is useful for many many people.  I consider myself something of a product evangelist with this product because I use it myself and it does help.  I’m glad that the last 7-8 months of grief are almost over so I can get back to doing what I do best with this software, showing it off and showing how it can help people like the kids in my wife’s classroom.  She teaches fourth grade in a title I school and several of the children either don’t have the physical capability to write or in some cases they have mental disabilities that make the obstacles of the writing process almost insurmountable.  Dragon helps them get over that barrier and keep up with the other kids in their class, in their grade, and more.  If nothing else it helps them to avoid falling further behind.

I use it for the productivity boost.  That boost can help a capable person do more and it can help a person with less capability do more as well!

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 will receive a Vista 64 bit OS upgrade by the end of March 2009.  This is the information that we found on the Nuance website after Peter Mahoney of Nuance left a comment here following one of our articles about 64 bit os rumors. 

Now,I normally don’t copy and paste FAQ’s as there is typically not an entire FAQ that is filled with important information.  However, in this case the entire FAQ is pretty important and I’m positive will answer a lot of question for a lot of Dragon Naturally Speaking Users. 

We’ve received a lot of comments and questions about the upcoming release of Dragon 10 that supports Windows Vista 64. I’ve compiled some of the most frequently asked questions here and included the answers to those questions. If I’ve missed something, please let me know (I’m sure you will…)

Peter

Update on Dragon for Windows Vista 64 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When will Dragon NaturallySpeaking supports Windows Vista 64 bit operating systems?
A. Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10.1 will start shipping by the end of March 2009. This release of the software adds support for Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems. In addition, this version fixes some bugs that were identified in Dragon version 10.

Q. Which editions of Dragon will be released first?
A. Dragon Standard, Preferred and Professional Version 10.1 will be released by the end of March in English. Other editions (including Medical and Legal) and additional languages will be released over the next few months. Please check back here for additional detail.

Q. How will I know when it is available?
A. We will update this blog and our website when Dragon 10.1 is available.

Q. How much will it cost to upgrade?
A. Registered users of Dragon 10 are eligible for a free download of version 10.1. Special upgrade pricing will be available for customers of previous versions of Dragon for a limited time.

Q. Is this a patch release or a full release?
A. Dragon 10.1 is a full release. That means that a full installation is required to upgrade to version 10.1.

Q. I don’t have Vista 64, do I need this release?
A. Dragon 10.1 works on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. The primary new functionality for Dragon 10.1 is support for Windows Vista 64. In addition, Dragon 10.1 fixes a number of bugs that were identified in Dragon version 10.

Q. Can I download the upgrade?
A. Yes. The download will be available for registered users of Dragon 10. Because this is a full release, the image size is quite large (almost 2 GB), so we only recommend downloads over high-speed Internet connections.

Q. Can I get the upgrade on a DVD?
A. Yes. We will make DVDs available for upgrade customers. There will be a small shipping and handling fee for the DVD.

Q. Will Dragon 10.1 work on windows XP 64?
A. Dragon 10.1 is not supported on windows XP 64. The only 64-bit operating system that was tested during our quality assurance process was Windows Vista 64. While it may install and operate on windows XP 64, we do not recommend that you attempt to do this since we cannot support that configuration.

Q. Will Dragon 10.1 work on Windows 7?
A. We have tested Dragon 10.1 on the current beta release of Windows 7 and it appears to operate adequately. However, since Windows 7 is beta software, we cannot support these configurations.

A couple years ago I was introduced to a very interesting mind mapping program called Topicscape.    The program is rather unique in that it provides a three dimensional landscape view of a mind map of information.  That was version 1 and I worked with the software up through about version 1.5x beta if memory serves.

Now Topicscape Pro Beta 2.0 is on line.  The new version has a number of new features driven by user feedback that include but are not limited to:

• An improved tag cloud
• Capability to customize the Home view position to your own taste
• Another zoom option

From a strictly mind mapping perspective one of the things that is very cool about Topicscape is that it allows you to refocus your perspective on the entire landscape by changing any given topic into the ‘central’ topic of focus.

Navigating the map itself has the look and feel of flying through a video game interface similar to something like Entropia or SecondLife (without all the crazy looking avatars).

The program also runs on a database essentially, which gives it more horsepower and potential than most mind mapping programs that are more common in this software category.  In many ways despite the look and feel this is a seriously powerful mind mapping tool for people with seriously complex sets of information or knowledge to classify, map and categorize.

If you are looking for a unique mind mapping experience, or if you are finding that more conventional mindmapping programs are not enabling you to see the real level of complexity of the information you are working with in a single glance, or restrict you too much in viewing things from a single perspective, I highly recommend you try Topicscape.  There is both a Pro and Basic version as well as an education version.  You can typically try the program with a free 30 day trial as well.

Video Reviews of the Older version of Topicscape

For those of you looking for Nuance to offer a version of Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 that supports 64 Bit Operating Systems on either XP or Vista, I’m sad to report that you have to keep waiting. 

I’ve seen a number of reports and rumors flitter through in Google alerts over the last few days that seem to incorrectly hint that Nuance now supports this capability.  Unfortunately, these seem to be false and inaccurate.

Nuance has not released any press release or change in their support pages that would indicate that they have started supporting this growing segment of computers users, especially those people that have purchased a new laptop in the last few months.

I look forward to the day when they will support this, but unfortunately that day is not yet here.

Today, I’m publishing the fourth video demonstrating how you can mindmap with your voice.  I have Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 and MindManager 8 installed on my computer and when I add this great little tool, called VoxEnable, I can mind map with my voice.

I can say something and it creates a topic, say something more and create a sub topic, say something more and move a topic around. I can say something and a boundary is put around a set of topics.

If you missed the former video entries on this topic, I will next work with the software in a more in depth way once I have had a chance to deep dive into the software.  If you have questions about the software or suggestions on something I should/could test, let me know and I’ll try to generate a video of the result. 

Related Articles:

1. MindManager Powered by Your Voice is Here!

2. MindManager Powered by Your Voice Part 2 Navigation Demonstration

3. VoxEnable Powering MindManager 8 with Your Voice Using Dragon Naturally Speaking Part 3