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Michael Tharrington
Michael Tharrington Subscriber

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Broken pinky... any suggestions for voice to text apps? 🤙

Hey folks!

I broke my 5th metacarpal (aka pinky) in what is commonly referred to as a boxer's fracture. 🥊

In short, I slipped up in the shower and clumsily threw my hand out, whacking my fist super hard against the tile wall. The tile basically looks untouched, but my hand took a beating. Cool story, huh? 🤦

Anyway, I have a Mac and started to use Dictation as a speech-to-text app to help get around one-handed typing, but I wonder if there's something better... anybody have any suggestions for a speech-to-text app? Would be particularly cool if it could easily output to Markdown...

Top comments (7)

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair

The spech to text that comes with MacOS or Windows is pretty much it. Based on my partner's recent experience, it'll take weeks to get it used to your voice and you used to its foibles anyway, by which time you'll be back to full boxing ability. I think Office 365 has its own separate system (because Microsoft is not exectly DRY) which is about as good but in different ways, and obviously won't let you control the day-to-day running of the machine.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

Word up! Appreciate the advice, Ben. I'll def look into the built-in voice to text app. And haha, I'll be prepped for the lengthy training process.

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soumyadeepdey profile image
Soumyadeep Dey ☑️

Dragon Professional v16 is a speech recognition software developed by Nuance. It is optimized for Windows 11 and backward-compatible with Windows 10. This software offers both front-end and back-end speech recognition, making it suitable for both real-time speech-to-text process and the transcription of existing audio recordings. It improves productivity and efficiency in businesses by enabling users to dictate, edit, and format documents using voice commands. Dragon Professional v16 supports over 60 languages and can integrate with various business applications, including Microsoft Office and popular web browsers.

Steps to use the tool
Install the software on your Windows 10 or 11 device.

Configure the microphone settings and train the software to recognize your voice.

Use voice commands to dictate, edit, and format documents.

Key Features:
Live speech-to-text and transcription capabilities

Optimized for Windows 11 and backward-compatible with Windows 10

Supports over 60 languages

Integration with various business applications

Voice commands for document editing and formatting

Pros:
High accuracy in speech recognition

Supports a wide range of languages

Integration with various business applications

Improved productivity and efficiency

Cons:
Expensive compared to other speech recognition software

Requires training to achieve high accuracy

Heavy resource usage may slow down the computer

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair

Dragon is impractical for something like a finger break, since it costs so much and will take longer to get used to than the injury takes to heal.

I hear it's very good though.

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vbd profile image
Volker B. Duetsch
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Chris Jarvis

Josh Comeau used Talon when he had a a repetitive-strain injury. He couldn't type without pain. He said there's a free public version it might work for a temporary condition.

There's some more link at the end of the article.

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juanfrank77 profile image
Juan F Gonzalez

Audiopen.ai is a great tool and is made by a fellow indie hacker. Check it out when you can.