Hey Everyone,

I just showed my doctor Dragon Medical (which has just been sitting around) and he is super excited.

I was wondering if anyone has used it on a laptop before? If so does it work good? Also what headset mics do people use? I bought the sennheiser mic, but one doctor said something about being on stage...lol

Thanks!

Yes, we are using Dell laptops ad Jabra GN9350 wireless microphones with good results. We only dictate when docked, however, as the Jabra base has to go into a USB port. No reason another mike would not work.

Would this laptop be able to handle dragon medical effectively?

Or should I get one that docks?



What are the advantages vs disadvantages of a docking laptop?

Thanks!

That laptop certainly has a high end CPU, a 64 bit OS, a fast HD and enough RAM for Dragon Medical. Hopefully you have version 11 (or at least 10), to take advantage of a fast laptop.

David seems to be happy with a wireless microphone, so if you go that route, you should be fine. I have only used the wired mikes, and there are several speech microphone comparison matrixes to advise you on a good choice.

Thanks for all the advice!

The docking allows a large external monitor and keyboard, which makes it easier on my eyes and fat fingers. It works fine for me, as I do not try to take more than rudimentary notes in the room with the patient, then I come dock in my office and take my time with Dragon. It also means that I don't have to lug a charger with me room to room.

I went the cheap route with a mic, using the Andrea Electronics NC-185VM. I was holding out for the SpeechWare 3-in-1 TableMike (TK03) at John's recommendation. It now looks to be available...
John (or anyone else)...have you used this one yet? Is it as good as it was predicted to be? Or do we wait for the 6-in-1? And why are they not in the matrix?

Jon,
I've been using the SpeechWare 3in1 table mike since it's release in February. My old 2in1 was a tremendous improvement over my Revo xTag lapel mike, but the 3in1 is even better. You can dictate from a greater distance and with more background noise. I dictate notes at my office desk between each patient using narrative, Dragon templates, AC templates and mouse clicks. I have a kazoo hung from my neck and cymbals between my knees. Overall, I have gotten quite speedy, but I digress...
Yes, buy the 3in1, you won't be sorry. 6in1 just has more features you will never use.
Dave

Thanks for the advice, Dave. I have a similar style and completely get your kazoo and cymbals reference; who knew it would help to have four hands to do a note. Looks like I am finally headed from cheap-mike into expensive-mike territory. It appears that buying it directly from SpeechWare is the only current option.

I am still laughing at the mental image of Dave with the kazoo and the cymbals.

Jon, I haven't acquired the SpeechWare 3 in 1 yet, because I really want to use it with the foot pedal, which is promised but not available yet. Then I read that the upcoming 6 in 1 will come with a foot pedal. So now I am waiting for the next insanely great SpeechWare mike. I will probably get one or the other when my Dictaphone mike breaks. The button is already getting a bit flakey.

Ben,

I'm a little late getting back to you but your i7 2670QM notebook computer would be excellent. Because Dragon Medical Practice Edition utilizes 2 cores, when possible, it's better to purchase a quad core over a dual core and this computer is a fast quad core with plenty of RAM.

The only real disadvantage of a notebook computer is a smaller screen and smaller internal parts which means they're easier to break and easier to lose. I recommend opting for the docking bay because it'll give you more ports and there will be fewer items to unplug when you leave. I also have a slight preference for solid-state drives but this is by no means critical. Dgrauman?s additionally made some excellent points.

Although we carry the NC-185VM on our website, it's not recommended. We only offer it because Nuance overrates it on their website and creates demand for the product.

The SpeechWare 3-in-1 TableMike should finally be available within a few hours. We've been sold out for about 6 weeks. The SpeechWare 6-in-1 should also be available as of April 26.

From a speech recognition point of view, both the 3-in-1 and 6-in-1 microphones are identical. The 6-in-1 has a 4 inch longer gooseneck, a volume controllable speaker (which can only be used in VoIP situations under the blue light setting), an additional USB pass-through port and an option to add a $79 foot pedal control for toggling the microphone on and off. We believe that for most end-users, the only real value in the 6-in-1 would be the option to toggle the microphone on and off or utilize press to talk via the optional foot switch. Anyone who doesn't need this feature, should be equally happy with the 3-in-1.