My partner in crime, Chris, has been laid up with a back injury for the last few weeks. In desperation at a mounting workload he simply couldn't do, he turned to dictation software. I was skeptical because, after all, last time I checked the stuff simply didn't work all that well. How times have changed.

Now, Naturally Speaking version 9 is not a "new" piece of software - it's been out a couple of years. But after trying it, we snapped it up. Turns out that it really can deliver - with some caveats.

First of all, it very quickly picked up his speech patterns. He is laying (literally) flat on his back, but he can dictate at a speed comparable to typing (he types QUICKLY) and with very few errors. The bad news? The Microsoft Office integration is infuriating. He simply dictates into the onboard "Dragon Pad" word processor, then cuts and pastes it into the application he needs. It makes things much easier, but doesn't entirely eliminate the need for typing. As a bonus, it's a bit like listening to Star Trek; "Bold that. The quick brown dog. Backspace." I keep waiting for Captain Picard to call out "Computer!"

If you have special needs then definitely try Naturally Speaking 9. If, however you're looking solely to improve your typing speed - give this one a pass.