DIGITALCAT USERS

[Kwanna Collins]

Hello everyone, I am thinking about purchasing the DigitalCat software and have a few questions. First, how is their techical support? Second, Is it user friendly? Third, does it have a number conversion feature, I am not good with numbers? Forth, what are the pros and cons about the software.

Thanks, and I appreciate all responses.

[LuAnn Parks]

Good morning, Glen

Thanks for commenting on my recent post. You're right....I was never told that after 12 months rent, I could have purchased the software outright. I was never told at 13 months that I was rolling into a continual lease/rental payment plan. It was never mentioned that I could send $200 a month or $50 to apply towards the purchase price after the first year. Nothing was said. Even after our "beef" three years later, I wasn't told this bit of information, even though it would have been too late. I'm questioning now with your information why would anybody opt to continue to rent this software after the first 12 months, if that's one of their options?? That's ludicrous! That's money being thrown away.

With that said, my beef is I still paid $79 a month for four years. They are still to this day claiming I owe them rent money for months that I wasn't reporting or even using the software after I quit reporting. And they last said that if I have to have "access" to any transcritps now that my key code has expired, I'll have to pay what I owe (three months, $297). And if I had to do that, pay the $297, my access will only last for the length of the key code, or ninety days. So not only have I paid $79 a month for four years and don't own a thing for it, I'll have to pay an additional $297 to get any access to my old transcripts should the need arise. I remember one of them even saying that I could incorporate the $297 into my invoice to my client and actually get them to pay for it. Thank God I haven't had a call for a large transcript. I have had calls for smaller ones and I just recreated the transcript from my tape backup. But if a large trial transcript gets called for on appeal, for instance, then I'd have to pay the $297 to get to it. And then I would only assume that since I'm WAY PAST the first 12 months, I could be back in the perpetual rental of the software and CONTINUE to pay $79 a month...just to maintain this access after ninety days. This is why it's an issue for me. This makes no sense to me.

If you are to going to point anyone to this software, I'd be sure to emphasize these points and have your people fully aware of what they need to do. I sure wish someone had told me!

[Greta Duckett, CCR, RPR, CRR]

Re a lease: The lease option is available, because that's what some people want. Some people don't want to buy. Also, support comes with the lease. There is no separate fee for support when you are leasing.

I have been selling digitalCAT for years and years, and I always tell people about the option of paying $79/month for one year, then having the option of paying off the software at any time after that and receiving the credit for twelve $79 payments. To me, that is a wonderful selling point, and one doesn't have to come out of pocket in the very beginning for the entire cost.

LuAnn, Are you saying that you didn't know you were leasing?

[LuAnn Parks]

Greta, what I'm saying is that after the 12th month of leasing, I didn't get any information on purchasing the software. I continued with the leasing because I thought that was the only option. I thought that if I ever wanted to stop leasing for any reason, I would just stop the $79 payment. I found out I was wrong on that, too. I got to thinking three years or more into paying monthly about how much money I had already paid and questioned why wouldn't I now own the software since I had paid nearly as much for it as other software options. And then after I informed Stenovations that I was no longer able to use the software and had to stop my lease because I was quitting reporting due to my hearing loss, and that I still needed access to my transcripts, all I got was that I'd have to continue with the regular lease payments for that to happen. At that point, I was told I still owed for three months payments after I quit reporting. But even still, since I wasn't aware that I could purchase the software outright in the 13th month, or 15th month, whatever, I paid $79 a month for four years, and in my opinion I paid enough to own it outright and get a permanent or lifetime key code when I had to quit, thus giving me access to my old transcripts when the need arose.

[Glen Warner]

LuAnn --

That's why I asked ...! Like I said, the math didn't work out, so I'll be updating The Good Stuff in the not-too-distant (Windows 7 being a big factor in that update ...), and the explanation of the payment plan will definitely be in there.

Wonder if the sales person you were dealing with is still with the company -- and if any of his/her other customers are in the same predicament ....

--gdw
-------------------------
"For a Good (steno) Time ...."
http://www.cheapandsleazy.net

[LuAnn Parks]

That's a good questions, Glen. I honestly don't remember talking with anyone initially. I remember picking up a packet of information and a demo disc at one of our court reporting conventions here in MS. After playing around with the demo and deciding it was the software for me, I think all I had to do was call Stenovations and get my account set up. I do remember talking with a female at that time. She told me I had to send in a disc with my dictionary on it so that they could convert it for me. I did that. I got a phone call back from a tech person (male) saying they were having trouble with the conversion. I got another call saying they couldn't convert my dictionary at all for some reason. I then received my training manual, the disc with the first version of DigitalCat on it, and my original dictionary disc. I went about the task of re-creating my dictionary which was a pain! It took weeks just to get the dictionary basics right. I didn't need help with the loading or interpreting the training manual. I just started using the software and spent time adding dictionary entries as I went, which I guess is a testatment as to how user-friendly this is. I flew out to Las Vegas and attended a three-day seminar out there to help me fine tune the software and learn more about it, hands-on with the ones that developed it. I was even more convinced this was going to be awesome. And Stenovations actually came to MS and gave a seminar for users here at one of our conventions. I attended that, too. We were given a recently released software update and we learned the basics of that and were allowed to ask questions. No one ever mentioned lease and then purchase at any time at these seminars, which I wasn't expecting anyway. We weren't there to talk about that. And, I was always under the assumption that we were all leasing. Glen, I was never, ever disappointed in the software. I was just extremely disappointed when I had to quit reporting, after adding up the numbers, finding out that I wouldn't own my software, and Stenovations wouldn't let me own it after four years of paying for the use of it. I guess I was the one that fell through the cracks.

[Jennifer Slessinger]

Hello Kwanna: I have been using Stenovations for over five years. I had to switch from my old software to Stenovations at 11:00 o'clock in the evening. I had ordered the software but never used it. I loaded the software and got out my rush by 10:00 the next morning. I called at around 1:00 a.m. and the tech support got back within 10 minutes. I have been reporting for 35 years and think this has to be the best software on the market. What other company allows you to put the software on three computers at one time and allows you to work without that dreaded key. I highly recommend DIGITALCAT to anyone.

[Mary Jo Cochran]

Well, if anyone needs this info:

I FINALLY got my old cheap Stenoram II set up with DigitalCat Student. When I downloaded DigitalCat I had already picked the Stenograph dictionary (and surprisingly, I did it right).

It was less than five minutes from the time I opened up my IOGear cable (had to cut it open with a razor), connected the realtime cable to the computer, opened up DigitalCat Transcriber, checked my port, picked a Steno source, picked Realtime - and wrote my first three words.

I got my RPR back in 1981 - no CAT system.

In only two days, I am actually writing realtime (210 wpm). I'm getting more and more strings of clean text. I did not ask for any help from Stenovations. I have no used their user manual. I am even adding words to my dictionary, (evening -nef), looking to see how to write words, etc.

I'm not dumb - but I had a lot of anxiety in getting started. I am now 51 and I do not go out of my way to learn new things. If I can do this, anyone can.