Digital recorder and voice recognition software
 

Curious if people are using these to dictate -- and later transcribe -- the details of their travels. Seems like it would be a real time-saver (no writing or typing... though editing will obviously be necessary) and much better than relying on a foggy memory for details.

Dragon Naturally Speaking (Windows) and Dictate (Mac) are apparently the 'gold standards.' The few reviews I've read, however, are mixed. Reading the experiences of the grizzled Fodorite travel veterans (or even rookies) would be very valuable. Thanks.

Is anybody using this kind of setup?

I've been looking into it but haven't jumped yet.

I saw a Sony digital voice recorder (around $250) that is compatable with voice recognition software (around $100). The software will either transcribe as you speak in front of your desk or pull dictation off your digital voice recorder. It's supposed to be 98 or 99 percent accurate (better than my typing).

I'm thinking of replacing my typical journal with the voice recorder and compiling an electronic journal when I get home. The pictures, wine labels, ticket stubs, etc. that I normally glue into a journal can be scanned/electronically placed.

One issue I still have to look into is how much memory I'll need on the road and how to manage it.

The Sony is compatable with Dragon Naturally Speaking.

I just bought a small Sony handheld recorder for around $35 at Office Max. It will hold 350 hours of taped messages. My plan is to carry this in my pocket as we're travelin in France and Spain this Fall. I think it will help tremendously when I'm settling down to journal at day's end and when I'm trying to organize my photos,etc. I have it in my car right now and already it has been helpful to record things as I think of them - much better than trying to write it down (especially if I'm driving!)

Thought I would resurrect this topic to see if anyone else has experience with this. Thanks.

You might also want to post this topic in the lounge.

We have a small voice recorder that we use and we find it very helpful when trying to put together the notes, etc. to document our trips. All technical info is my hubby's domain-I'll have to see what we have. Our recorder is small and pretty easy to use. I don't think we have the voice recognition software. Often when making nightly emails I will check the recorder for info. We are able to drop it on the computer and save it as a recording on the computer once we get home. Much easier than jotting notes as you go. Good luck. Shirley, Waukesha

Hi nole,

i'd never thought of this - thanks for posting and resurracting it.

I'm particularly interested as my son uses Dragon for his college essays, as he has the worst and slowest handwriting on the planet - and probably the slowest key-board skills too. at the moment, he has a scribe in lectures who takes notes for him but a facility which enabled him to record then transfer onto the computer would be ace.

bdjtbenson - which model sony is this?

regards, ann

I don't know if this is what you mean but I have a teeny tiny digital recorder that I used for our 3 week walk across Burgundy last year. I didn't start writing the trip report until 9 months later and everything was recorded perfectly and still there - hours of stuff. It's an Olympus WS-100 and is 1.5"x3.75"x.5" - really small - and it only used a AAA battery for the whole 3 weeks of recording.

When I went into BestBuy to find out about them I asked the teenage employee where I could find tiny tape recorders. He looked at me, tipped his head a bit and then took me promptly over to the VCRs. No, I said, a RECORDER FOR MY VOICE - the kind that doctors use. OH he said, A DIGITAL recorder.

Sigh. I was born in 1950 and we always called them tape recorders.

How old do I feel. But I'd love to see HIM walk 150 miles and run 5 days a week. Not.

By the way, I only looked at them at BestBuy to see what I wanted, then went home and ordered it for one third the price online. Pas de probleme.

BTW, if you click on my name: Lizcakes, it'll take you to my two long-distance-walk trip reports.