 |
Products & Services | Purchase | Downloads | Support |
News | Distributors | Corporate Info | Contact Us | Search |
|
 
|
||||||||||||
|
BiMonthly Newsletter @Freedom Scientific is a free newsletter packed with the latest information about deploying and maintaining Freedom Scientific technology. Please feel free to send us your feedback. In This Issue of @Freedom Scientific:
Freedom Scientific's PAC Mate QX and BX Series ShippingFreedom Scientific has announced that the PAC Mate QX and BX series of accessible Pocket PC devices are now shipping. The PAC Mates are the world's first accessible Pocket PC devices. The revolutionary PAC Mate Series incorporates JAWS®, the world’s most popular screen reader, and Microsoft® Pocket PC to create the world’s first accessible Pocket PC device for those who are blind.
This QWERTY or Perkins-style device is an accessible industry standard platform. It provides not only access to Microsoft Pocket PC software but it will also run other third-party software, for example software to control your cell phone. It is easy to add third party hardware, such as a barcode scanner or a wireless LAN card. In other words, the PAC Mate is an accessible mainstream computing platform, like the desktop PC, which means having continued access to the latest software and hardware. Its versatility makes it ideal for most professional, educational and recreational needs from basic notetaking to mobile Web access. There is no other device like it in the world. Turn on a PAC Mate and hear the familiar Eloquence speech synthesis run by JAWS. If you know JAWS, you will begin using the PAC Mate right away. If you get stuck, there is context sensitive help, keyboard help, even Windows help is available.
Add a 20 or 40-cell Braille display to the PAC Mate in seconds without tools or cables. Just release the latch on the underside of the unit and snap in a PAC Mate Portable Braille Display. Remove the display just as easily to use it with your desktop or laptop computer via USB. The economy and flexibility in this design means you get the most from your Braille display investment.
The PAC Mate runs “small” or “Pocket” versions
of the popular Microsoft Office applications
and uses ActiveSync to seamlessly integrate with
a desktop computer. Manage your e-mail and
appointments anywhere throughout the day on your PAC Mate and connect with your
desktop to The PAC Mate X Series is compact, but very extensible. Sporting two CompactFlash Type II slots, it can drive many of the available off-the-shelf peripherals compatible with Pocket PC 2003. Add a WiFi card to access the internet wirelessly. Check your e-mail using a modem and your cell phone. Forget cables and connect to your desktop, cell phone, or printer with Bluetooth. Even add a bar code scanner. Use one slot for virtually unlimited compact flash memory and the other for connectivity. The two-way Infrared port lets you share documents wirelessly between PAC Mates and other IrDA enabled devices. You can even use it to print or emboss. The PAC Mate is truly a mainstream Pocket PC device and supports many "off-the-shelf" applications and peripherals. The JAWS you use on your desktop is also on the PAC Mate.
For more information on PAC Mate accessories check out www.PacMateGear.com For more detailed information and pricing go to http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/PACmate2.asp To order a PAC Mate, contact your local dealer or call Freedom Scientific at (800) 444-4443 or (727) 803-8000. Return
to Top from First Story
At this year's ATIA Conference
held in Orlando, Florida January 14th through 17th, PAC Mate users
were able to take advantage of the available WiFi connectivity on the
conference floor. Using an off the shelf WiFi CompactFlash card, PAC
Mate users were able to
"phone home", check email, surf the net and use Microsoft
instant messenger while streaming their favorite radio station. PAC
Mate users were also exchanging documents and contact information with
each other by "beaming" the data using the infra-red port. Brad Davis,
the PAC Mate product manager, also demonstrated how easy it is to use
the PAC Mate to place cellular phone calls using BlueTooth technology. Totally connected, totally
wireless, totally cool. For more information on WiFi
connectivity on the PAC Mate, please visit PAC
Mate Gear. New! - Continuing Education Units (C E U's) "
For the last few years the Training Department has been adding to the
course offerings and improving the quality of the training we provide
both at our state-of-the-art training facility in St. Petersburg, Florida
and at client sites around the country. At this point our courseware
is top notch and our trainers outstanding in preparation and delivery
of our classes. Awarding C E U's for our training participants recognizes
the excellence of our course offerings." Susan Mallison, Director
of Training and Documentation said. C E U's are an internationally recognized unit of credit for continuing
education courses. They are awarded by various training and conference
organizations as a measure of efforts made by Assistive Technology trainers,
teachers, social workers, and other professionals who continue to learn
and grow in their professions. C E U's are obtained by professionals
in the Assistive Technology field by attending learning activities related
to their field of specialty. One continuing education unit is defined as ten contact hours of participation
in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship,
capable direction, and qualified instruction. Our training workshops follow quality outcome guidelines and: Current Freedom Scientific training workshops
include: Freedom Scientific cannot guarantee that all professional organizations
will accept our C E U's for your accreditation. Each Professional Board
has its own specific Rules and Regulations for Continuing Education
Credit acceptance. If you have questions concerning your specific Continuing Education
Rules, please contact your Professional Board for clarification, before
you register. As time goes on we hope to continually update the new script manual.
This manual introduces you to many of the basics of the JAWS scripting
language and will help get you started writing scripts. You can create
scripts that provide keyboard access to unsupported applications. You
can also create scripts that automate many of your daily tasks. For example,
you can use a script to automate the process of typing a repetitive string
of text into a document with a single keystroke. Uses of the scripting
language are endless and are only limited by your imagination and creativity. You may ask, "Do I need a programming background to write scripts?" Although
a programming background is beneficial, it is not necessary. This manual
walks you through the steps needed to become a successful script writer.
You can get the new script manual, a 240 KB download, in a self-extracting
zip file from the following link: Updated Script Manual Visit the Freedom Scientific
training web page frequently for the latest news and helpful information! What do I need to know to install ActiveSync and the PAC Mate USB driver
from the PAC Mate Companion CD? Answer: On ME systems, continue with these steps if your PAC Mate is not automatically
detected and the Add New Hardware Wizard appears on your PC. On 9x systems, follow these steps if your PAC Mate is not automatically
detected and the Add New Hardware Wizard appears on your PC. Return
to Top from Fourth Story In our last newsletter, we
announced a new training class titled "Accessible Documents with
JAWS" where students learn how to improve the accessibility of
many types of documents including Microsoft's Excel. A new book titled "Excel
Best Practices for Business" by Loren Abdulezer (Wiley Publishing,
510 pages with accompanying CD, ISBN: 0-7645-4120-X) shows "best
practices" for constructing accessible spreadsheets. He takes this initiative one
step further and shows how to use an "Assistive
Portal", a special type of spreadsheet to make large and complex
spreadsheets accessible without having to change the original spreadsheet.
This approach radically alters the economics of making spreadsheets accessible.
He lays out a blueprint for businesses to follow and provides working
examples on the book CD. The complete book is included
on the book CD in PDF format. Also a text-only version of Chapter 13 "Assistive Technologies and Assistive Portals" for
use with screen readers is included in the CD. The book provides an introduction
to JAWS as well as an overview of the capabilities of JAWS is covered
in the book. It does a nice job of demystifying a complex subject and
of creating an approach that people can really use. More information about the book can be found on the Amazon site: and the author support site for the book: Return
to Top from Fifth Story Denise Schuh is a 17 year
old high school student in Wausau Wisconsin who wanted to find out
what could be done to help another student who was blind. That quest
eventually led to a conversation with Freedom Scientific and resulted
in over 15 people having access to the latest accessibility
technology. MAGic, OpenBook, Connect Outloud and JAWS all played roles
in the incredible
story of one person's dedication and desire to make a difference in
people's lives. You can read more about Denise's
story in the Wasau Daily Herald newspaper and we will keep you
updated as this story continues to unfold. Return
to Top from Sixth Story We have announced new pricing
on reconditioned PAC Mate TNS and BNS. Both are priced at $995 and
are available for immediate shipment. Reconditioned equipment
comes with a one year limited warranty against manufacturer's defects.
To
order, please call 1-800-444-4443 or visit our website for more information. Return
to Top from Seventh Story Freedom Scientific announces
the release of WinDisk 3.5. This program allows a Classic or Millennium
notetaker to be seen as another disk drive
when using Windows Explorer. A user can cut, copy and
paste files from a PC to the notetaker or visa versa. It also
allows full backup and restoration of the notetaker, saving
all files and folder structures to the PC hard drive. The WinDisk 3.5 Update will
be available as a free download from the Freedom Scientific website,
or
a compact
disc can be ordered from Freedom Scientific for
$10 (U.S.). Return
to Top from Eighth Story Continuing
our commitment to provide support to our customers world wide,
we have released Italian
and Continental Portuguese for our classic
family of notetakers. The cost for this update is $200 and is available
on
our
website. Freedom
Scientific now supports over 20 different languages. For a complete
list of languages supported along with pricing information
check out this link to the Freedom
Scientific Notetaker pages on our website. Ciao Return
to Top from Ninth Story Freedom
Scientific's mission is to develop, manufacture and market innovative technology-based
products and services that those with vision impairments and learning disabilities
use to change their world. @Freedom
Scientific is published by Customers
can email their software technical questions to Software Support at FreedomScientific.com.
|
||||||||||||
