Dragon mentions that a microphone is optional, and that you can use the mic on a laptop, but those results were spotty because of the combination of my relatively soft voice and even minimal background noise

The Dragon English NaturallySpeaking Home 13.0 software is effective dictation software which could possibly be improved with a background noise canceling headset.

I spend SO much time correcting, resetting, repeating, being told the mic isn't picking up, being told there's too much background noise in my nearly SILENT den

Simple InstallEffective and accurateAttempts to help beginners learnCONS:Background noise can be problematic

Dragon mentions that a microphone is optional, and that you can use the mic on a laptop, but those results were spotty because of the combination of my relatively soft voice and even minimal background noise

It does a good job listening to the user's voice while their is background noise.

I removed all background noises, had my mouth close to the microphone, and it still did not dictate correctly, even after I read their paragraph and it told me that it recognized what I have said

I’m not sure if it was background noise or the software learning to recognize my voice patterns.

That said, Dragon does improve as it goes, they say, and it can learn from your other written material, including documents and email

The only way it works as of right now is if I keep hitting the Dragon icon that turns the microphone on and off.

I know that this will help me with my side business as well as with my regular job

I have a figure named da Ponte, and it took about 500 pages for Dragon to learn to call him that rather than "the Ponte," (or maybe it's because I now exaggerate the D in dictating).

It is a piece of crap and if it keeps causing my system to crash I'm sending it back!

but even with a better headset that I can't afford I simply cannot see that it would get to the point of being fast or fun

Perfect for those lengthy e-mails.