After several attempts, it finally responds, but with an error box that literally reads, "catastrophic failure".

but you have to unlock those keys every time you reinstall if you should have some of the problems I've had there are times when it's almost impossible to unlock a key before having to reinstall everything because these things only happen when the whole computer goes to or some kind of catastrophic failure goes

Each time I get a "Catastrophic Failure".

However, I still get the 'catastrophic failure'.

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

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.