Five winning stories will be selected by a panel of judges, and the winning entrants will each receive an Amazon Kindle 2 as well as Dragon NaturallySpeaking upgrades for three years.
Although I'm entering in the personal category, I also have used Dragon for personal and educational reasons. Just recently, I experienced using Dragon socially for the first time. It made things a lot easier! I am a 46-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, from birth. I have used Dragon since version 3, and I'm now on version 10. I even gave up the Macintosh format that I learned on, because I knew that no voice recognition software that Macintosh had developed was even close to the performance provided by Dragon. This statement is true today as well. I tried the built-in voice recognition program that came with Windows Vista because I had heard good things about it and it was good- for a while. However suddenly its performance started to deteriorate, and I'm now back to Dragon. With the improvements -that have been made in versions 9 and 10. I don't think I would ever go back to using Vista.
I can only type with three fingers on one hand and so even version 3 was quite liberating. In fact have always wanted to express my thanks to everyone who works on this product . I have never heard of this contest before so I am glad I have a chance to do so now.
I have used dragon for personal letters and creative writings. However, I have also used Dragon educationally to help me complete two additional certifications which added to my original teaching certificate. Since I was working when I got these certificates,. I'm not sure i would have been able to complete my programs without Dragon's help. One of the Certifications I Added on Was a Special Ed Certificate. I am a strong advocate for voice-recognition when I speak to parents, who I believe have children who could benefit from it. In the professional realm, I have used Dragon should create lesson plans, and handouts for my students and school staff. Dragon helps me be more productive and do my job more effectively. Most recently, I have been using Dragon to write cover letters as I am looking for a new job.
I have noticed that the last two versions have made it much easier to use Dragon with my AOL e-mail. Just in the last month I have used Dragon to participate in an online class. It certainly has made chatting, online much easier and more enjoyable.
So as you can see I have grown along with Dragon, and I am continually surprised with your innovations. I really appreciate your commitment to making your product even better. Keep up the great work and I will continue to speak Dragon!
(Please note: I submitted an entry on June 29, but I never got notice that the moderator had approved my entry. When I got a note that the contest had been extended I went online to look for my entry. I looked twice and couldn't find it. So I'm reposting. Please let me know that you receive it.)