Found it: the voice tool that just works

After years of frustration with unreliable voice dictation tools on my computers, I finally found something that actually work really well for my workflow: Aqua Voice. It's really speeding up how I handle everything from quick notes to lengthy outlines, offering the accuracy and natural language understanding I've always wanted, without the usual headaches of complex setup or long processing times.

The Search for Better Ways to Work

I spend a ton of time at my computer, whether I'm writing emails, documenting ideas, or managing projects.

Despite all the advances in AI and productivity tools, one ongoing challenge has been finding a reliable way to get my thoughts onto the screen without being tied to my keyboard. Sometimes I’m just tired of typing, and at other times I’d rather just get my thoughts out quickly.

I've tried everything from Dragon to built-in Windows solutions, but they always fell short. They either required learning specific commands (like saying "insert bullet point" in a robotic way), took forever to process, or simply weren't accurate enough to be useful in real-world situations.

Caveat here: I haven’t tried anything in the past 1-2 years since everything before was such a PITA.

What I really wanted was something that could keep up with my natural way of speaking.

Something that wouldn't make me pause every few seconds to correct errors or force me to memorize special commands.

Most importantly, I needed a tool that wouldn't slow down my workflow – because what's the point of a productivity tool that actually makes you less productive?

The frustration wasn't just about saving time – it was about finding a better way to work that matched how our brains naturally process information. After all, most of us can speak our thoughts much more quickly and naturally than we can type them.

This Week’s Favorite

A Simple Solution That Actually Works

Sometimes reading is believing, or you can see and believe by watching a video version here:

Here's what you need to know about using it:

Quick Start Basics:
• Hold F8 to dictate into any text box (you can customize hotkeys)
• Double-tap F8 to keep it running (great for longer sessions)
• When done, just hit F8 again to stop

Smart Features I Use Daily:
• Natural language formatting (just say what you want, like "make that a bullet point")
• Context awareness (it understands what application you're using)
• Nearly instant transcription (no more waiting around)
• Custom dictionary for specialized terms
• Simple history feature to retrieve past dictations

Practical Applications I've Found Valuable:
• Outlining ideas to an LLM like ChatGPT
• Taking meeting notes
• Documenting appointments to put into my notes
• Quick idea capture
• Project management updates
• Writing longer documents

The best part? You're not locked into any specific format or application.

I use it everywhere from Gmail to OpenAI in the browser to coding environments, and it just works. Also, and I think this is important, the billing is word-based rather than time-based, so you can take natural pauses without feeling rushed.

What really stands out is the accuracy level. I rarely need to make corrections, which means I can focus on my actual thoughts instead of constantly fixing errors. When I do need to edit, it's generally to reorganize my ideas.

For someone who spends a lot of time on the computer, this tool has become my go-to.

Have you tried any text to speech tools? Let me know if you have other recommendations that I should be checking out and comparing to Aqua!

Extra Extra

• Some solid feedback on Aqua on the HackerNews forum.

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P.S. Looking for resources to improve your productivity? Check out the tools I use right here.