Review by Dennis Meek

It took me a while to review the software due to some initial bugs that caused my Mac to stop responding and maxed out the process. However, the manufacturer released a few bug fixes that addressed the major performance issues that resulted in a much better experience.

Computer Used with Dragon 5.0 for MacnnMacBook Pro Retina, early 2013, 13-inchnProcessor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5nRam: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3nOperating System: Mac OS X 10.11.5nnOverview of the Key ModesnnDictation Mode: Prior to the last update, the application would peg my processor and hang fairly often. I tried shutting down everything I could find running, but the app continued to use between 85 percent and 110 percent of processor and RAM. After the update, the processor worked between 40 percent and 55 percent of the total capacity. The drop in needed processor capacity was significant.

Voice fine tuning: I went through each of the voice ID tuning session that was available to try and improve the amount of content Dragon got correct. However, after multiple attempts using both the external microphone and a headset, the correct dictation rate never got beyond approximately 85 percent correct.

Number mode: This feature still has the most promise, but I was disappointed by the level of correct input until the release of the latest update. Prior to the latest update, I would dictate five to ten cells of data then the application would either hang or place random numbers in the cells. After the last update, I was able to dictate one hundred cells of data with only a handful of errors. I did notice that the app was sluggish when more than one workbook open at a time. The one issue that continues to appear deals with decimal points. Dragon 5.0 does not recognize the command to place a numeric decimal point well.

Transcription mode: This mode works well when you use recordings from a source repeatedly. However, if you work with unique sources each time it tends to have a low success rate. The accuracy level with unique voices was about 65 percent, but that was also 65 percent of the original report I did not have to type.

In the end, many of the shortcomings with the Dragon 5.0 software have been addressed and the software turned out to be quite useful.