Digital Dictation for Macintosh

As one of the few (if only) on-line digital dictation retailers that actually use Macintosh computers, we get a large number of inquiries each week about Mac compatibility among the leading brands.

When asked if a particular digital voice recorder is Mac compatible, our response never "yes" or "no." And that's why people ask us that question, because the answer is not clear-cut.

Since the beginning of 2007, new Mac models have been built with Intel processors - the same processors used in PC's from Dell, HP, IBM and others. This has given Macs the ability to run Windows operating systems as well as the graceful, secure and fun-to-use Mac OSX operating system. If you buy a Mac today, you have the opportunity to have your cake and eat it, too. That also means that you can use any digital voice recorder sold that runs on Windows, regardless of whether there's a pure Mac version of the download software.

So, if you have an Intel Mac, our answer is "yes."

If you don't, our answer is either "no" or "sort of." Currently, Olympus is the only manufacturer making recorders that either include software that runs on a Mac, or can be seen on the Mac as an external hard drive (much like a USB key drive). However, the Mac version of the DSS Player that comes with the Pro models (DS-7000, DS-3500) does not do all that the DSS Player Pro for Windows software does. I told the Olympus engineers from Japan that they should not discount Mac users, as we get lots of inquiries, but we'll have to see if they really take my input to heart.

I've been a "Mac-head" since the Mac Plus back in 1984. Although I'm pretty proficient with Windows and Unix, I truly find the Mac enjoyable to use. And considering I'm on my computer 8-12 hours a day, I prefer enjoyable to struggling.

However, I have to be able to support all of our customers who are PC-based. Fortunately, I can do that, as well, on my MacBook Pro. I loaded it up with 4 gigs of RAM and am currently running both Windows XP and Vista using a program called Parallels. Parallels allows me to run Windows in a separate Mac window, while still running the Mac OSX operating system. It provides sharing of files and applications (yes, applications!) between the two operating systems, which means I can open a Word document I receive in Apple Mail with Word for Vista, if I so choose (normally, I open those in Pages, Apple's new word processing program that reads Word documents).

If anyone needs help or advice using digital dictation equipment with Macs, just holler. We love "Mac-speak."