Re: MacSpeech Dictate Amazon reviews - comments?

On Apr 8, 4:52 pm, billmcc <william.mcclatc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 7, 2:07 am, "chuck.rog...@xxxxxxxxx" <chuck.rog...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



On Apr 6, 8:00 pm, billmcc <william.mcclatc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Apr 4, 10:23 am, "chuck.rog...@xxxxxxxxx" <chuck.rog...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Apr 4, 8:54 am, billmcc <william.mcclatc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Apr 4, 3:20 am, Lewis <g.kr...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <abbottNOSPAM-F39D6F.07322103042...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Abbott <abbottNOS...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

But I need to install on two machines: my Mac Pro in the office, and my
MacBook Pro when I'm on the road. Clearly as a single user, I will only
USE one machine at a time, but I need it on two machines.
In article
<e70d20ac-60f5-4591-82f7-1a6790e57...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
 billmcc <william.mcclatc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
2.  The real deal killer for me is the license structure.  I don't
believe that anyone has addressed this issue in the thread.  Unlike
many other software packages, and indeed unlike Dragon in Windows, the
license is to the hardware and not to the user.  ie you can only
install it on one machine at a time.

Wow, that was a spectacularly bad move on MacSpeech's part.  Seriously.

That's actually hard to believe.  Even the asshats at Microsoft let you
install software on a desktop and a laptop.

However, for businesses it likely makes no difference, right?  You install
it on the machines and whoever is using them uses the software.

And by 'enforces' this do you mean that Dictate has some sort of copy-protection
beyond the serial number?  How 1990's.

--
I do believe Marsellus Wallace, my husband, your boss, told you to take *me*
        out and do *whatever I wanted*. Now I wanna dance, I wanna win. I want
        that trophy, so dance good.

As Mark mentions, you can activate the software over the web on
sequential machines, but it is time consuming and laborious, and I
believe requires your serial #.  As a comparison, at our 600 bed
hospital, we have Dragon installed on one desktop at each nursing
station.  The facility is totally paperless with no paper charts, so
VR is a big deal.  The license structure for Dragon is tied to the
individual user, you can have multiple machines, but each user must be
licensed.   As a fully licensed and paid Dragon user, I can go to any
machine and use the software.  Many of our users carry their voice
files on a jump drive and simply plug in to the machine, and it is up
and running in moments.

The Dictate license makes the assumption that I am fixed in one
location and use only one machine, or move to another machine for a
period of time and am willing/able to spend ~5 minutes to bring out my
serial # and activate over the net.  This just isn't going to happen.

I am very sympathetic to vendors' needs to preserve their intellectual
property, and never knowingly violate a license agreement.  Indeed, it
does me no good for a company to be less than successful to a point
where they can't continue to upgrade and improve the quality and
performance of their products to my benefit.  I just hate it when
vendors cripple the usability of otherwise useful software in the name
of property protection.

It always feels as if in an effort to prevent thieves from stealing
your plasma TV, you put it in a safe and never are able to use it
yourself.  You effectively give away your ability to watch TV in an
effort to prevent someone from stealing it.  A Faustian bargain at
best.

So I guess I am stuck with four Windows XP machines in my life, whose
only function is to run Dragon and remind me how happy I am with my
other Mac machines where I don't have to mess with dreaded Windows..

I don't know what I am going to do in the future if the guys from
Redmond cease to support XP in an effort to force me to spend money on
the bloatware of Vista, just to run my one application.

Bill

Bill (and everyone else):

InstallingMacSpeech Dictateon multiple computers is neither
laborious or time consuming, starting with version 1.0.1, which was
just released. Those who already haveMacSpeech Dictatecan choose
"Check for Updates" in the software to download the update. Basically,
your unique license key is installed in your account on our web site..
You log into your account from the other computer on which you want to
install the software and download your license key from our site. Our
support staff can give you detailed procedures on this.

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc.

Thanks, Chuck.

I will download the update and give it a try.  It is not clear in your
documentation that you intend installation on multiple machines, and I
am still anxious that it will require internet access, and an as yet
undetermined amount of time to certify the installation.

But I will certainly give it a try, a real college try.  I wish you
could come up with a scheme to apply a digital certificate to the
voice files, and not the software.  I think that this would meet your
protection needs while making the user truly portable.  More after I
use it for a time.

I understand the hardware issues attendant to the microphones, and
hope that some external battery driven preamp, as is used in other
mics on the Mac, might be devised.  I also understand that you are
limited to whatever the microphone manufacturers provide.

I trust that your website or your tech support staff can provide
information on which files are needed for my voice files.  I hope to
load my unique voice files, which are the result of my training, to a
jump drive and port between machines as we do with Dragon.

I hope you guys are successful with this product.  I really do.

Dragon is the only Windows program I have left, and it is a real pain
in the rear to keep using it.

The medical market is ready for you when you have solved the
microphone issue, the portability problem, the training of the
vocabulary, and the medical professional vocabulary.

I will keep at it....

Bill

Bill (and everyone else):

Your voice profiles are stored in a folder named "MacSpeech Profiles."
You will find this folder inside your document folder. You can move
your profiles to another machine simply by copying this folder to the
Documents folder of the user you intend to log in as on the other
computer.

BTW, you do need an Internet connection to activate the software, but
you do not absolutely need to have an Internet connection before you
start using the program. (I can't remember who it was, but someone
stated that in this thread, and that is incorrect.) There is a built-
in grace period that will allow you to fully use the program until you
are able to connect.

If you are not going to have Internet access on the computer on which
you intend to useMacSpeech Dictate, you can contact our support
department for instructions on how to move your license key file to
that computer.

I do want to comment about our policy that requires you to connect to
the Internet. First, we do not spy on you. No information is collected
and sent back to our servers except for the required information to
register your software. Any other information you provide is your
choice as to whether to provide it or not. In this day and age, it is
very rare that someone would be unable to connect to the Internet at
all. We understand there are a few people out there, and our Support
department can help those people get successfully registered. But for
well over 99% of the people who would use our software, connecting to
the Internet at some point simply isn't an issue. We are sorry for
anyone that is inconvenienced by this policy, and, as I said, our
support department can provide a means to get you registered. But we
are going to maintain this policy simply because it provides the
absolute easiest way for us to meet all of our obligations - not just
to our customers, but also to our shareholders and licensor.

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc.

Chuck,

I just went through the installation process for a new Mac Mini.

It seemed to install ok, but would not activate.

When I called your tech support people, I was told that moving a voice
file was not supported, and that I would have to retrain on each
machine.  I assume someone is misinformed.  Retraining on each machine
is not an option.

I will try to perform the transfer of the voice file in spite of your
customer support person asserting that this was not supported.

Also, My license key is not visible on my account on the web site,
don't know what this means.

But the ultimate fix of rebooting the new install Mac Mini and
installing your update, seemed to solve the problem.  But this appears
to be much more of a process than I had expected from your message
thread.

Will keep trying....

Bill

Bill (and everyone else):

I can't address why you would be told moving the voice profiles is not
supported, or why your License Key isn't available in your account in
our store (you will have to contact our support people about that, as
I have no access to the store).

But if you look inside your Documents folder you will see a folder
named "MacSpeech Profiles." Here is what I would do to make sure that
folder gets moved correctly:

1). Control-click on the "MacSpeech Profiles" folder and select
"Compress MacSpeech Profiles" from the contextual menu.

2). Copy the file named "MacSpeech Profiles.zip" to the Documents
folder for the user you log in as on the second computer. You can do
this by copying over the network, burning it to a CD, using a USB
Thumb drive (or other external drive), or by connecting one computer
to the other via Firewire and mounting it in disk mode.

3). Once the file has been moved, double-click it to expand the folder
in the new location.

This process insures all your profiles are moved and eliminates the
possibility of you mistyping the name of the folder, or not moving all
the information.

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc.
.

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