So my new Macbook Pro comes built in with voice recognition dictation. Cool, right? Apparently you have to be online, then hit the dictation button. It sends the recorded voice stuff to a server in North Carolina, where Dragon Dictation transcribes it, and voila! It shows up on your page.

So. We are going to do an experiment! First, I'm going to listen to some stuff on YouTube and see if it can dictate. Then I'll read a few lines from some books. Fun, fun!

Sweet Child O Mine, by Guns 'n RosesLyrics: She's got a smile that seems to me reminds me of childhood memoriesDictation: Comments: Didn't work. I guess Slash's guitar was too confusing. Or maybe Axl Rose was too Axl-y.
Walk on the Wild Side, by Lou ReedLyrics: Holly came from Miami, FLA. Hitchhiked her way across the USA.Dictation: The bathroom she was advised dog in the code to do Comments: Uh. What dog? What code? What bathroom? 
Let's try Lou again. This time, it's Perfect Day Lyrics: Just a perfect day. Drank sangria in the park. And then later, when it gets dark, we go home.Dictation: Chest of drinks and then later went if it still legalComments: Whoa. Apparently this song is going into nefarious territory, involving coolers of alcohol 
Darth Vader big reveal scene with LukeMovie dialogue: Darth Vader: "No. I am your father." Luke: "No. NO! It's not true! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"Dictation: Not at the student unionComments: I can't even...how can I respond to that interpretation? Dragon Dictation, haven't you ever seen this movie? I mean, really????
Me, reading the first line of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane AustenText: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Dictation: It is a truth universally acknowledged the single man in possession of the good fortune must be in want of life.Comment: HAHAHA. Because rich, single dudes live a marginal, semi-solid existence that can only be fixed by permanent matrimony. Obviously. 
Me, reading an excerpt from Skippy Jon Jones in the Dog House, by Judy SchachnerText: Oh my name is Skippito FriskitoAnd I heard from a leetle birditoThat the doggies have fledFrom the gobbling headWho goes by the name Bobble-ito!Dictation: Oh my name is keeping the depot and I heard from an Eatonberg people that the doggies have fled from the gobbling head who goes by the name Bubba beetleComment: Dragon Dictation doesn't like my lame accent. I also sang this one, which explains why the Eatenberg people are telling tales about Bubba. Also, I'm going to introduce myself as "Keeping the Depot" at the next cocktail party I attend.
But seriously. I think that if you got the hand of speaking your punctuation, saying your sentences clearly, this could be a great thing. If I ever had any physical issues with typing, this would be a god send! It's good to know this technology is out there. 
I know that Kristen Cashore (author of Bitterblue and Graceling) uses this type of program. Here's a great blog post about how she uses voice recognition software.

So. Have you ever tried dictating your writing projects?