Computer Chit Chat

How Dragon Naturally Speaking increases earnings and pays for itself

I have known about the software named Dragon Naturally Speaking for many years. When I was in computer sales I sold more than a few copies. Never having used it, I thought that what it did was type what you say. I didn’t know until I saw the below video, which was made by a fellow blogger named Brett, that Dragon can also transcribe recordings.

How cool is that! Brett’s also shared some information on how Dragon will quickly pay for itself, part of which I’ve shared below.

This is an excerpt from a white paper discussing how bloggers can earn more money through several different monetization and freelance writing services. It shows that bloggers that utilize Dragon Naturally Speaking can earn more money through these various services and how fast these extra earnings will pay for the software itself.

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Blogger Break Even Analysis with TextBroker.com Earnings

I would like to walk you through several different scenarios to help all of us understand better what our words are worth.
I would like to start first by talking about a company that pays people to write. They pay them to write based on the number of words that are written. The company is called text broker.com and they are out of Germany and relatively new. I’m starting with TextBroker.com because the business model is very simple. The models will get more complex as I go through some of the other popular blog revenue sources.

Text broker.com will pay a person approximately 7/10 of a cent for a single word. They charge their customers approximately 1 penny per word. And they sell this service at increments starting at 100 words and go up from there.
That’s what they do; now let’s see how Dragon Naturally Speaking can pay for itself!
So, I’d really like to talk about how much you can earn from them based on how fast you type.
If you type 35 words per minute, and you typed for 50 minutes straight, you could theoretically type 1750 words.
Now at seven tenths of a penny per word, that work would be $12.25 per hour assuming that you take a ten minute break every hour. If you work four hours a day doing this, that would be forty-nine dollars per day.
If you could type 105 words per minute, that would be 5250 words in a fifty minute period of time. At that rate, you would earn $36.75 per hour assuming the same ten minute breaks every hour.

Obviously you can earn more if you can type faster.
If you could type 150 words per minute, then under this formula you could earn $52.50 per hour. That’s almost 5 times more than you can earn if you type thirty-five words per hour.
So in this example there is definitely a value in typing faster!
There is a cost associated with being able to type as fast as well. You could go and take a typing class and learn how to type 150 words per minute. That might take you many months of school, and many years of practice.
It’s also possible, that you may never be able to achieve that speed with your fingers.
Alternatively, you could buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking and be able to do it before the night was out. Dragon NaturallySpeaking costs $99 for the basic version and $199 for the preferred version.
As I write this, there are coupon code or discount code offers that you can use to save more money off that price. The coupon codes vary from $25-$50 off the price. Typically a bigger discount is offered for the preferred version, which I use myself.
Now in our example, if you bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking for ninety-nine dollars, and you did not use the coupon code to save twenty-five dollars, you would be able type 150 words per minute, and if you could previously type 35 words per minute, then based on the extra money that you could earn by typing faster, you would be able to pay for Dragon NaturallySpeaking in less than three hours of work using textbroker.com.
It kind of seems like a no-brainer. In many ways, it is a no-brainer with one exception. Not everybody writes for textbroker.com.
If you consider how much additional money you might earn by using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and consider how much more work you could do by being able to type at 150 words per minute, then you might be able to figure out how long it will take you to pay off the software with your earnings.
I will cover a number of other situations, which will highlight this using other examples where people that typically write a great deal, could benefit from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
If you have an example that you would like to share, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to share it with everyone.

Nuance is allowing us to offer our readers a 25% Discount Coupon CODE Exclusive for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but you must click the image below and use this code (DNSMSBG) Together. Code will not work from other sources.

Get Dragon Naturally Speaking using Discount code DNSMBG. You can get 25% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred.

If you’re interested in reading the rest of the white paper, it’s available at http://www.softduit.com/mavenmappersinformation/category/software/dragon-naturally-speaking/

Thanks Brett, for the terrific info and letting me share it! I found the video and white paper very interesting and informative, and it gave me food for thought. I plan on picking up Dragon for myself after my next computer upgrade.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blogrush shut down

On October 30 Blogrush members received an email that the service was shutting down. When Blogrush started a year ago many bloggers, myself included, had hoped that by placing the widget on our blogs traffic would increase. The widget would offer blog post headlines, which in theory would tempt site visitors to click on them to read the accompanying story. It was free to join so it only made sense to give it a try. I received almost no hits at all from the servicce, from the time I placed the widget on my blog until last week when I removed it.

Review of Gadget Advisor

After putting in more than ten years in the computer industry I like to try and keep up with what’s happening in the industry. It’s partly habit and partly a desire to keep my knowledge of the field current. Sometimes I just don’t have time to read through tons of articles or visit a bunch of different sites. My favorite way to stay informed is by visiting sites that highlight what’s new and what’s hot at the time. Gadget Advisor is one of these sites.

Gadget Advisor hand picks their articles in order to offer visitors an overview of the biggest computing and tech news and the hottest gadgets at a quick glance. Those that are really into software releases and upgrades will look forward to more articles like their Blaze Media Pro review. One of my favorite articles on the site is about the Best Extensions for Firefox. The article offers lots of information and has become one of their most popular. The other article I found really useful is 34 Recommended Software Downloads of the Best Windows software. I’ll be checking back in hopes of seeing more of this type of article from them in the future.

How to properly email a group of individuals

You’re wondering why someone would write a how to about sending an email, aren’t you? Here’s the deal. Anyone who works with email a lot has seen this happen. You open an email and it’s been send to you and twenty other people. Not necessarily the worst thing except you don’t know them and now they have your email address. After that, who knows who else will get your email address.

When emailing a group of individuals, be sure to be considerate to others and do it correctly. I am not referring to emailing all members of one group, such as a PTA board. I am referring to emailing multiple individuals that are unrelated, such as a bunch of your friends that don’t know each other or a bunch of different companies that you’re reaching out to.

The reason why emailing a group of unrelated individuals correctly is important is because you’re protecting them and the confidentiality they’ve shown you by giving you their email address. If you just put all of your email recipients in the to or cc field of an email, everyone will see everyone else’s email address. Not only is this giving out information that shouldn’t necessarily go out, it’s also opening all people on the list to people that collect email addresses to build databases and the needless reply all syndrome that some people have. The correct way to send a group of unrelated individuals an email is to put the addresses into the bcc field and send the email to yourself.

I don’t know about you, but I get enough spam and enough reply alls already.  I can’t recommend doing this enough, and the people in your address book will appreciate it too.

KidsClick

My oldest son is 12. He is only allowed to connect to the internet using my desktop computer in the living room. It’s one of the ways I try to make sure he doesn’t see inappropriate things, all of the stuff that I think he shouldn’t see. When he knows what site he wants to use he can go directly to it. But when he’s in the mood to explore, I have him start from the KidsClick site.

KidsClick was created by some public librarians in New York trying to ensure that the children using library computers were able to get to age appropriate websites. At first the site was called Kids Tools For Searching The Internet and it was just input boxes that connected to individual safe sites or databases. The site was upgraded in 1997 to be more visually appealing and now functions as a human edited directory designed for children. Something you might not notice at first when looking at the site is the link on the bottom that says “What does this page look like through a Librarian’s Eyes?”. When you click on it the site appears using the Dewey Decimal System Classification. I think it’s really neat.

Machspeed Trio winners

One winner in the Machspeed Trio Giveaway will receive a Machspeed Trio 2 GB MP3 Player with Voice Recorder & Thumb Drive.

All qualified entries were placed onto a spreadsheet and assigned a number. This number is not necessarily the same as where you fall in the order of comments left. The list was placed on random.org and the number that came out on top is the winner. A screenshot is attached.

The winners of the Machspeed Trio giveaway are #6 Jessica, #7 Anna, #10 Peggy, #11 Ilissa and #13 Tiff.

Congratulations everyone! Please reply within 72 hours if you wish to accept the prize.

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway! I hope this helps you get your laptop questions answered.

Work smarter and healthier with Dragon

I’ve had to use a computer for work for over fifteen years now. It’s become a necessity in the office, helping in productivity, accuracy and potential. While there’s not a computer in every home yet I do think we’re heading in that direction. With people like myself working at least eight hours a day on the computer, I think companies need to look into ways to make computer use safer and healthier for employees.

Here’s a quick video showing Dragon in action.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both my right and left hands. After several cortisone shots didn’t help I ended up having to have the surgery on my right hand. In the past month or two my left hand has started flaring up a lot. By lunch my fingers would be turning numb and by the end of the day my hands  burning in pain. I reopened the workers comp case and the doctor asked me to try physical therapy and refitting my work station. It was at this time that I realized that the software Dragon Naturally Speaking would not only be extremely beneficial for me but it could reshape the workplace as we know it if used on a widespread basis.Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech recognition application that works with many of today’s popular applications. When paired with a noise cancelling microphone and headset, Dragon can transcribe your spoken word at a speed of about 150 words per minute. An average person only types about 40 words per minute. On a good day when I’m not in pain I can only type at about 65-70 words per minute, so it’s easy to see how Dragon could save a lot of time in an employee’s day and increase productivity. To get a glimpse of what I mean, try taking Dragon’s typing speed test! .

Dragon Naturally Speaking has been around for years and is known worldwide. Besides being a powerful piece of software, it is also the engine underneath the Macintosh software MacSpeech Dictate. Both of these products are ready to use out of the box with no expensive training.

I think that if companies offered use of a product such as Dragon they would end up saving money over time, not only because employees would be more productive but also because they could save money on some workers comp related expenses. Dragon would be a very useful tool for home computer users as well. Bloggers are a perfect example. Many bloggers such as myself spend a lot of time online - their blog is an online home of sorts and the internet and other bloggers are neighborhoods and communities.If a blogger used Dragon they’d be more productive, leaving them time to do other things (or blog some more). I’d save hours if I used this to work on my blogs. I can only imagine how nice it would be to sit back and talk instead of type. Check out video of Brett, a fellow blogger, using Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 outside. How cool is that!

I’d give just about anything to use Dragon. My Compaq desktop can’t run it, but my MacBook Pro could run the MacSpeech Dictate. Now all I have to do is save up the money.

Getting around automated phone systems

Nobody likes an automated phone system. Some of them are designed to be difficult to use. There are even some that are designed so people can’t get through them at all no matter what they do. GetHuman is a site that allows visitors to learn  how to navigate major company automated systems.The site is free to use. All you need to do is put in the name of the company you’re calling or the letter that the name starts with. You can also browse by company name and company industry, and a complete list is available for viewing as well.The part I like best about the site is the GetHuman Standard page. On the bottom is a chart that explains what the wording in company automated systems really means. It’s really funny, and it’s probably all true.

I know from much experience that if I want to speak to a Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield representative I have to tell the automated system that I’m calling for a reason other than I’m really calling for. GetHuman tells me that all I need to do to get to a person is press 3. I will be testing this on Monday.

How to save money and win a new car from Charter

If you live in an area where Charter offers service then you’ll want to keep reading. Charter Communications is a company that offers cable television, high speed internet and phone service. The more services you get from them the more money you save. Charter is giving a car away to one lucky winner in their Save Green, Go Green Giveaway. Anyone that signs up for one or more Charter services receives an automatic entry into the contest. The one rule of this contest is that entrants must live in an area that Charter services to be eligible to win. You have to love a contest without a bunch of rules!

The prize is a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid car, valued at over $24,000. What a fantastic prize! With the price of gas being what it is whoever wins this car is going to save a lot of money. They’ll not only save a lot of money by not having to buy a new car but they’ll save a lot of money on gas because the car is a hybrid. This Honda gets up to 45 miles per gallon on the highway. Holy cow! I’ll spare you the engine and transmission details except for saying that it’s a 4 cylinder so it gets great gas mileage. Instead I’ll tell you that it’s got a 160 watt sound system with a built in usb audio interface/mp3 player input. Why is that important? Well, since you won’t have to make payments on the car and since you’ll be saving a fortune on gas, you’ll actually be able to take a drive and listen to some music without worrying about how to afford the gas.

This contest is a win-win situation for you because you can save money with Charter’s packages and by spending less on gas. The planet wins because a hybrid car is better for the environment, which is good for everyone. I wish I lived in a Charter area.