so, I've been suffering from various RSI symptoms for the past nine years. Initially the problem was with my wrists and hands. I want to various doctors and there is no conclusive diagnosis, but seem not to be carpel tunnel and more like a tendinitis. Through frequent breaks and wearing of wrist braces, that got better. I'm still braced them a lot of the time but I am not in pain from my wrists much anymore. However about nine months ago I started getting a lot of pain in my shoulders, primarily my right shoulder. I've been going physical therapy for about six months and then going to a massage therapist for about a month and a half.
I got to a point where I wasn't getting worse, but I wasn't getting better while I was still working. So, I quit my job about one week ago, and I've been trying these computer as little as possible since then. It's very difficult.
In order to be able to use a computer, and not continue to injure myself, I am learning to use Dragon. Here's a link to an old forum post that I found about using Dragon and Firefox together. http://www.speechcomputing.com/node/942. One of the suggestions that I'm trying out right now is the use of the mouse lists browser extension, which if you're not familiar with it, puts numbers next to each link on the page that you can then type on a keyboard or with dragon speak the equivalent. One thing to note though, is that the defaults option for it requires you to press enter before it will follow the link.
Also, something helpful that I've been using for years he is the ergonomic timer "work rave", which you can find on sourceforge.net.
This post was composed probably about 75% with Dragon. One of the problems with using Dragon and Firefox is that Dragon treats all text entry fields in Firefox as nonstandard applications, so doesn't work as well. One workaround would be to dictate into the Dragon pad and then copy and paste whatever you're dictating into the appropriate Firefox field.
Todd
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No, I am not a Boy Scout, but I am a Project Manager, and I like to be prepared. My hardware specifications may be generous, but I think it's better to over do it then run on a budget in this case. I am very confident that the minimum specifications from DNS are inadequate. I based my specifications on experience and recommendations from redstartsystems.com.
I guess I should say I also can't be bothered with understanding the difference between memory, RAM, & hard drive... (lame, I know), so why not over do it?
What I find really interesting is how each dragon user evaluates if her system is powerful enough. Response time is certainly one metric, is recognition accuracy another?
Hi Molly,
I think that response time and recognition accuracy are linked somewhat. If one's computer is not powerful enough to run Dragon (say it doesn't meet the minimum specs that Nuance recommends) performance will be suboptimal.
I fully believe that if one is buying a new computer that one should buy a powerful computer and your stats are as good as any. However, I still think that they are a bit over the top.
I would hate to see someone who's interested in trying out speech recognition with an existing computer, not do it because their computer did not meet your recommended specifications. In addition, the system that you need to run might be "beefier" than someone who is not running Utter Command.
I'm not sure that I trust the recommendations from redstartsystems; when I asked about their measurement process, it wasn't methodological.
In terms of computer terminology; it's pretty simple. If we use a "desk" type analogy, your RAM (i.e. memory) is like the size of your desk work surface and the hard drive is like the size of any drawers or shelves that your desk has.
Todd
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