Dragon for mac discontinued

[Dave MacRae]

I just saw this today:

https://www.nuance.com/dragon/support/professional-individual-for-mac-eol.html?fbclid=IwAR1vKso4z2yNSFhTlCR5kOe0f663_fnsnlu34mcWzvkNqBSKUishZJr7ZHM

I am totally bummed as it is the only decent voice recognition software. There is built in dictation but that is not the same as you cannot train it. Hopefully 6.0.8 which is working now does not get broken by a MacOS update anytime soon.

[Mark Gardner]

If I had to wager a guess, it might have something to do with Mojave and Apple abandoning OpenGL. I suspect that the compatibility will last until 10.16, when OpenGL is completely gone from the operating system. So, three years or so. Of course, I just recently updated several of my machines to Sierra from El Capitan, so despite Apple's planned obsolescence, there are likely many years of using Dragon, even if you have to install a separate partition and existing Operating system like High Sierra just to do your dictating/writing.

[Dave MacRae]

I personally think that the move to metal is a good one as apple is able to control the standard. Apps will run better. However, it does suck for those who get lost in translation. Those who for whatever reason cannot move to metal. (Although, I do not think this is the reason Dragon abandoned mac.)

I will use the current version as long as I can. I still use one app that was abandoned 10 years ago but still works (will not after move to all 64 bit). The one thing I am worried about is being able to transfer the license to a new machine as that is where I have seen many programs that might still work fail because license servers are gone.

[Mark Gardner]

I disagree with your assessment to the advantages of Metal, but that's another conversation.

Why would you need to reinstall on a new machine? Wouldn't cloning your drive via Disk Utility maintain your installation and license on the new machine? You might run into the issue like I have with my 2017 MacBook-- It doesn't support operating systems earlier than Sierra, necessitating my upgrading all my machines from El Capitan to Sierra to maintain interoperability. But there are methods to overcome the artificial blockages that Apple builds into their operating systems.

[Dave MacRae]

No because the machine id changes. Licenses are usually for 2 machines (home and office) So when the software fires up the first time I checks the license server to see how many instances are registered which it does by checking the machine id. So even if you clone the drive and move it to a new computer the id is different. That is why it has the unregister this machine in the preferences tab. They are a big company and still in business so hopefully it will not be a problem. It is just that this has happened to me in the past.

Software from the app store is different because it has no license.

Note:Re-reading the press release does say: "Customers who have purchased Dragon Professional Individual for Mac version 6 (“Software”) benefit from a perpetual license to the Software and may continue using the Software." so I assume that means we should have no problems with deregistering and reregistering it on new machines.

[Dave MacRae]

Even though I love my Apple machines they have one major flaw. the batteries expand as they get older and cannot be replaced.

I have a 2015 MacBook Pro 15 in. it was fully spec'd out and quite expensive. Like other macs I have had I believe the hardware will easily last 10 yrs. But recently the trackpad started getting stiff because the battery is expanding. It just passed the 3 ry extended warranty. Before it did I took it to apple and they said no need to change the battery as it is in good condition and only has 80 cycles on it.

It still tests fine but like I said the trackpad is getting stiff so I took off the back and noted some swelling. I have an appointment with the genius bar. My guess is when they physically check the battery they will just give me a new machine which they did something similar before for the price of a battery replacement (They will not try to repair a machine that has a swollen battery). One of the reasons I am so pro Apple is their customer service.

[Post-Crisis D]

No because the machine id changes. Licenses are usually for 2 machines (home and office) So when the software fires up the first time I checks the license server to see how many instances are registered which it does by checking the machine id. So even if you clone the drive and move it to a new computer the id is different. That is why it has the unregister this machine in the preferences tab. They are a big company and still in business so hopefully it will not be a problem. It is just that this has happened to me in the past.

Adobe?

[ragdoll]

Wasn't dragon for mac also 3x or so as expensive as dragon for PC?

[Dave MacRae]

My Adobe CS6 serial was still working with High Sierra, but I removed it and switched to Affinity products which are incredible products for the price.

I think the Mac and PC pricing was the same for the professional version, but I think the PC had a personal version that was cheaper. I believe it did not do transcription but only dictation. It might have been different in the past as the Mac version was a whole different company bought by Nuance. I bought the Mac professional version retail $300 for $200 on sale at Best Buy in May.

Dragon does have the mobile version for IOS and Android which is probably what they will try to push people to use. However, it is pretty pricey at $15 month subscription. Also, it cannot be trained with a profile, so I fail to see how it would be any better than the Mac built in dictation. It does not do transcription either.