I have installed windows 7 and have speech recognition running successfully within a few days and was so much easier than xp to install and didn't require a high amount of input from me so less effects to my TOS

For anyone wanting to upgrade to windows 7 thorougly reaseach that your PC is go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

install the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and then run it to check whether your PC has everything it needs to successfully run it. If you need to update RAM, sound and graphic cards etc... do so before hand then re run to make sure everything is ok.

Read as much as you can if you intend to install yourself. It's not as hard as you might think.

Get a good quality headset - it doesn't need to be expensive. I brought Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB for AUS $49 and can use it with the headset around my neck with the mike close to my mouth (headsets can drive you nuts if you have them on for a long time).

I checked product reviews and made sure my headset was windows 7 compatible before going shopping for the headset. One thing to remember is that the headset is only as good as your audio card and driver. The better the audiocard and drivers makes the headset work properly. Through my research a lot of people blame the headset when it in fact is their PC & audio device in the PC that is the problem.

If you choose to upgrade from xp or vista make sure you run the backup program on the CD to make sure you don't loose any documents or settings. It's amazing that you can back up and then install your files and settings back on your pc with very little pc input.

Once installed and speech recognition running do as many tutorials as you can so sr learns your accent and how you phrase words. I have found to combat accent issues I record words that are a problem so that sr understands me better.

With a little practice you can be chatting in forum's, facebook, messenger etc just using you voice to command your PC and type without the mouse or keyboard.

I hope this helps others

I highly reccomend using windows7 speech recognition. I have only used DNS more than 8 years ago and can't see the need for yet another program when windows 7 works well and voice command and speech recognition will be used by most people (even those without health issues) in the future.