In this issue:

Announcements
Happy Holidays
Updates and Specials on Dragon 10 Medical
Calisto Bluetooth Headset
Buzzwords
Tech Tools & Tips
Contact Us

Announcements

Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays to You and Yours from All of Us at Zephyr-TEC

The Zephyr-TEC offices will be closed December 24 to January 4 to celebrate the season with our friends and family. Here's hoping you have a wonderful holiday season and beginning to 2009!

Updates and Specials on Dragon Medical 10
Small Practice Edition at Last

At long last, the Dragon Medical 10 Small Practice Edition (SPE) is finally up and shipping, including the upgrades. To celebrate, we've got a special on both the "regular" Dragon Medical 10 as well as the Small Practice Edition. Both specials include 24/7 technical support from Nuance as well as Upgrade assurance, but there are specific cutoff dates of June 2009 or June 2010, depending on the package ordered.

The Small Practice Edition can not be purchased by Hospitals or large medical groups. It is the same software EXCEPT for the following:

• No radiology or pathology vocabularies
• No DragonTemplates
• No Hidden Mode
• No Citrix Support
• No Correction Only Profile

But you can also look at this Medical Version Comparison Chart to see all the details - or just give us a call, and we can help you figure out what you need.

1-877-493-7497

Calisto Bluetooth Headset
Not your favorite nymph or moon ...

The Calisto is a relatively new Bluetooth headset made by Plantronics that we have been testing recently. The headset itself is fairly light but has a long microphone boom, which lets the microphone be close to your mouth, producing a better signal and less background noise. It has an over-the-ear attachment, and charges via a USB cable connected to a computer. You can pair it with any Bluetooth enabled device (e.g. laptop, cell phone, VOIP phone, etc.), or use a Bluetooth dongle to pair it with a computer that doesn't have Bluetooth built in.

The speech recognition results were good - similar to the other headsets we regularly recommend. This headset did seem better than other bluetooth headsets we've tried at ignoring background noise (and let's hear it for ignoring co-workers). It would be a good fit for someone using a tablet or slate PC because it doesn't require a base station or wires.

The best part about it, though, is that the Calisto bluetooth headset can also be paired with a cell phone or VOIP phone - at the same time. In other words, you can use the same headset for a phone call, hang up, turn on Dragon's microphone, and start dictating notes. One of our reviewers really liked this feature; it was a bit confusing to remember which device you were talking to, but you'd get used to switching reasonably quickly.

We did notice one problem, which was that at low battery levels (a typical charge seemed to last about 8 hours) the recognition seemed to get worse. Not a huge issue, as it was reasonably quick to charge, but if you need to be able to dictate for long time periods without recharging, this might not be the best choice.

If this headset interests you, you can order it here, or give us a call.

1-877-493-7497

Buzzwords
Not sure what it means? Well stay tuned ...

With all the constant change in the field of dictation technology, we thought it would be useful to start a new feature where we throw out a few buzzwords from speech recognition and digital dictation and then give actual definitions. So, to start:

Digital Dictation: a method of recording and editing the spoken word in real-time within a digital audio format. Compared to tape-based methods, Digital Dictation allows for faster editing, quicker transmission, better tracking, and smaller storage.

Digital Recorder: a (usually) handheld device that records sound in a digital format. Usually uses some form of electronic memory (memory cards).

Speech Recognition: a process for converting spoken words to text, generally with an extensive vocabulary and a specific acoustic profile. There used to be a distinction with Voice Recognition, which was recognizing specific words from a limited vocabulary but from any voice (e.g. automated telephone systems), but those distinctions have mostly disappeared at this point.

Deferred Correction: refers to a speech recognition process where the correction of any errors is done later (usually not by the author). A doctor who uses a digital recorder, then runs the files through a speech recognition program before having a transcriptionist correct them would be an example of deferred correction.

More to come in future issues of the Zephyr-TEC Voice!

Tech Tools & Tips
Upgrading to 10 on a new computer ... where's my %&^* CD?

The upgrade disks for version 10 require you to "prove" that you are eligible for the upgrade as part of the installation process. If version 8 or 9 is already installed on your computer, this is no problem, as it will automatically detect that and happily install. But if you're trying to install Dragon 10 onto a new computer, there are a couple tips that will help.

• You will need a version 8 or 9 disk of Dragon from a program that allows you to purchase the upgrade you are trying to install. [For example, if you have a Pro to Pro upgrade, you'd need an 8/9 Pro disk - upgrade or full, either would work.]
  
  
• You won't need to install 9 (or 8) first.
  When the installation starts, it will note that no qualifying version is installed, and ask you to insert the disk from version 8. It says version 8, but either version 8 or 9 will do. Remove the version 10 disk, insert the old disk, and click on the OK button
  
  
• If Windows starts installing 9, cancel out of it.
  Depending on your settings, Windows XP/Vista may react to the new disk being inserted by trying to run its installation program, or may just ask you about it. Cancel or close that box.
  
  
• Once Dragon has identified the qualifying older version, it will bring up another box asking you to reinsert the version 10 disk. Do so; again, Windows may bring up an extra box asking you what to do with the new CD - close it and go back to Dragon's installation window and continue.

After that, the installation should proceed normally. If desired, you can export your profile from an old computer and import it on the new computer as well.

And if all that sounds like complete gobbledygook, then get yourself a Telephone Technical Support Contract with Zephyr-TEC and we'll walk you through the entire process, step by step!