Windows 2 Apples Episode 11
September 9th, 2007 — inetsynch(PDF) Full text page with PDF file allowing you to read or print.
As I look at the options available to me in the Mac world I’m constantly confronted with the reality that many of the applications and programs I have become dependent upon are simply not available or are in very early stages of development. Hopefully, the new-found popularity of the Apple brand in computers will help reduce this divide.
Case in point … Over the years I have experimented with voice recognition software and until the last year or so have always been frustrated by the very poor performance of speech to text products. Finally, when version 8 of Dragon Dictate was released for the Windows platform I felt I had finally found a product that was reliable enough to use on a daily basis. Version 9 is has proven to be in exceptional improvement over the previous versions and I have become dependent upon it it. Dragon not only saves me and others from my poor typing but also allows me to proof read using the built-in text to speech synthesizer.
When I purchased the iMac one of the first programs I looked for was an equivalent to Dragon Dictate. The only application that seemed to offer similar functionality was iListen marketed by MacSpeech. I have been spoiled by Dragon and find using iListen reminiscent of the early days struggling with Dragon Dictate as it evolved into a useful and reliable product. iListen is so inaccurate and poorly implemented it is almost useless. On top of that the headset is poorly constructed with the microphone constantly falling off the headset. For those of you considering iListen, I would recommend postponing your purchase until a product at least as good as Dragon Dictate becomes available for the Mac platform.
Too much of furry and rattling of chains for me not to make a few comments on last weeks unveiling of new iPods and the infamous iPhone devaluation!
When the iPhone was released I was more impressed by the iPod than cell phone features. I rarely need or use my cell phone. I have never sent or received text messages , never used it to bore my friends the latest photos of my beloved cat nor used it to play games. Perhaps you can understand why I found it hard to imagine paying $600 for a phone and many hundreds more over a two year contract with AT&T. However, I suspect I am not your typical cell phone customer.
The decision to drop the price makes excellent business sense but $200 did seem a bit much given it had only been in folks pockets two months and the unique historically rock solid price stability of other Apple products. iPods have traditionally maintained their introductory price much longer than products from competitors. I have never seen significant vendor to vendor discounts on iPods. In deed, the almost total lack of price differences between retailers has the look, smell and feel of good old fashion price fixing but I assume there is simply no incentive to discount iPods while they dominate and to a large extent define that market.
The day the new iPod Touch was introduced, I immediately placed an order assuming I could use it to test our video podcasts and get a feel for how they would play on iPhones as well as the new iPod. However, after the impressive and precipitous price drop in the iPhone I pulled my order … preferring to wait and see. In the mean time I will survey friends with iPhones and Touch iPods to get feedback on our video netcasts.
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