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The following is a copy of a message I sent on 18 Dec 1995: I'm 52, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1987, and I dictated this message using DragonDictate. I hope this doesn't sound like a spam, but I want to again urge everyone who has difficulty typing to consider this product. DragonDictate comes in three versions. The last time I looked, its starter version listed for $400, and its regular version (which I use and really like) listed for $700. (It also has a power version that costs about $1700, but seems to do little more than the regular version.) These prices include everything but the sound card. However, all it needs is is a Sound Blaster 16, which is a (perhaps the) standard sound card these days. For what it costs, I think it's spectacular! It works in all the Windows apps I have tried; I use it extensively with Microsoft Word. DragonDictate is produced by Dragon Systems, Inc. 617-965-5200. Their URL is: http://www.dragonsys.com/ The URL's of two resellers are: http://www.iglou.com/vrsky/brochure.htm and: http://nomius.com/~VOICE_RECOG/ My company bought the one I use from Metropolitan Technical Services, 703-968-7855; they were extremely helpful in getting it up and running on my 486/33 machine. Since then, I got a new machine (a 100 megahertz Pentium). It transfered successfully, and is amazingly fast. What I like best about it is how easy it is to use and how quickly and easily it learns my pronunciation and my words, like Parkinson's, Sinemet, Condorcet, and monotonicity. But it has other features that others might like even better. And it does a few cute things too, like being able to type, without help: This sentence ends with a period. (Note the ending "period.".) It's certainly neither perfect nor infallible. But, for Parkies that use a computer (and other non-typist computer users), it's certainly worth checking out. It has my "if my company hadn't bought it, I would have paid for it myself" seal of approval. Bruce Anderson, [log in to unmask]