 |
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:
Join Freedom Scientific for Three Pre-Conference Seminars at the NFB National Convention in Atlanta—June 29, 20049:00 AM to 1:00 PM -- JAWS for Windows 5.1Join Eric Damery, the JAWS Product Manager, for this great opportunity to learn and discuss the JAWS 5.1 release. In addition to a demonstration of the New Internet-based authorization. Eric will also spend time exploring and customizing the exciting new Speech and Sounds Manager, learning how to configure JAWS in Excel, Word, and even on the Internet. You'll also get a first hand demonstration of JAWS running with Remote Desktop and a Citrix solution. There will be plenty of time for questions so mark your calendars. 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM – PAC MateThis session, led by Brad Davis, PAC Mate Product Manager, will include a basic introduction to the PAC Mate including synchronizing with the desktop PC. Brad will also cover using the onboard applications for word processing, printing/embossing, e-mail, contacts, calendar, spreadsheets, and the Internet. The second half of the session will teach users to install and use third-party peripherals and applications such as Bluetooth, bar code scanning, wi-fi cards, an audio recorder and editor, an encyclopedia, a second language speaker, and performing a full or partial back up and restore. Learn about the latest features and get a preview of what is coming. 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM – Magic and OpenBookAttend this session to see Dusty Voorhees, MAGic and OpenBook Product Manager, demonstrate the exciting new features in the latest versions of MAGic screen magnification and OpenBook scanning and reading software. This will be an interactive session, where you can ask questions and present suggestions on new features that you would like to see in these flexible software solutions. Return to Top from First Story
PAC Mate Training Sessions to be Held throughout the NFB and ACB National ConventionsWhether you plan to be at the NFB National Convention in Atlanta, or the ACB National Convention in Birmingham, Alabama, be sure to set aside an hour for one of the rotating PAC Mate training sessions. Here you will have the opportunity to work with a trainer in a small group to get some hands-on experience using the various productivity applications that ship with the PAC Mate. Take advantage of this opportunity to try some of the third-party peripherals and applications that expand the PAC Mate’s capabilities. Get your key questions answered. Sessions will be held each hour while the exhibit hall is open. Room numbers will be posted as soon as they are confirmed. Return to Top from Second Story
Deadline Extended for Competitive and Millennium Special Trade-in Program to PAC Mate QX/BX Series until July 10, 2004The response to our previously announced trade-in program has been fantastic. We have received a number of requests to extend the deadline to allow more time to take advantage of this offer. To honor those requests, we have decided to extend both the competitive and Millennium trade-in programs until July 10, 2004. Users who trade in a VoiceNote can receive $1,000 toward the purchase of a new PAC Mate QX400 or BX400 and $1,500 towards a QX420, BX420, QX440 or BX440. Users who trade in a BrailleNote can receive $1,000 towards the purchase of a new PAC Mate QX400 or BX400, $1,500 towards a QX420 or BX420 and $2,500 towards a QX440 or BX440. Millennium trade-ins are worth $1,000 towards the purchase of a QX400 or BX400, $1,500 towards a QX420 or BX420 and $2,500 towards a QX440 or BX440. Please contact your Freedom Scientific authorized dealer or call 1-800-444-4443 (within the U.S.) or 727-803-8000 (worldwide). You can also visit us on the web at www.FreedomScientific.com The Notetaker Competitive and Millennium Trade-in Program is in effect through July 10, 2004. This offer is valid in the U.S. (including territories), Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. This program cannot be combined with any other discounts and is available to end-user customers only. The trade-in unit must be in good working condition. Freedom Scientific reserves the right to change or cancel any aspect of this program at any time. Return to Top from Third Story
New Millennium Firmware Version 4.5 ReleasedFreedom Scientific has released a new English language firmware update for the Millennium line of notetakers. This new firmware release, version 4.5, is available for free to all Millennium M20, M40, and Type Lite owners who already own firmware version 4.10. Alternatively, you can purchase this update, along with version 4.10, for only $95.00 U.S. Some of the exciting new features and enhancements available in version 4.5 include the following:
You must load firmware version 4.10 on your Millennium before updating to version 4.5. If you do not yet have version 4.10, you can purchase it from a dealer that carries Freedom Scientific products, or you can purchase it directly from Freedom Scientific. Our domestic sales department can be contacted by e-mail at: sales at FreedomScientific.com. Our international sales staff can be contacted at: intlSales at FreedomScientific.com. You can also order by calling (800) 444-4443 within the U.S. or (727) 803-8000 outside the U.S. Return to Top from Fourth Story
MAGic Screen Magnification 9.0 ReleasedMAGic 9.0 is packed with exciting new features and improvements, making this the most flexible and powerful release of MAGic yet. Freedom Scientific released version 9.0 of MAGic Screen Magnification software in March, 2004. MAGic magnifies your computer’s screen and uses speech to read documents, Web pages, dialog boxes, and more. This latest version gives you maximum control over the appearance of your screen colors, cursor, and mouse pointer. MAGic offers you the freedom to customize the colors of your display in almost any way you can imagine. Select individual enhancements or mix features to create the perfect combination for your vision. Features include the power to invert colors and brightness, adjust brightness and contrast, make your screen monochrome, and replace colors. Replace any number of colors with other colors of your choice, or apply tinting and color blending. You can also add enhancements to the pointer or cursor – such as a crosshair, oval, or box – and change their transparency, line thickness, size, and color. You can even choose different settings for the unmagnified and magnified areas of the screen. Once you’ve found a configuration that you like, you can save it as a scheme. You can easily switch between schemes whenever you want. MAGic 9.0 also features many more useful tools and options. Use the Quick View Frame to monitor a small portion of your screen while you continue to work in other areas. Additional text highlighting options let you choose from different styles and colors. New tracking options give you more control over how MAGic tracks items on your screen. Version 9.0 includes even more keyboard commands for reading text, start-up preferences, magnified views, tracking options, and support for Adobe PDF and Java. MAGic version 9.0 is available as a FREE update for all MAGic 8.x customers and will not count against your software maintenance agreement (SMA). MAGic 8.x customers can either download MAGic 9.0 for free or order a program CD for a cost of $10. To download the 120-hour demonstration version of MAGic 9.0, visit http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/magic.asp. Additionally, check the Freedom Scientific Web site for the announcement of a new MAGic 9.0 update within the next few days. This free update features a number of bug fixes and enhancements. New features include a command for reading columns of text and complete Spanish resources, which allow you to switch the language of the user interface and Help system to Spanish. When the update is released, you can download it from http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/magic.asp. Return to Top from Fifth Story
Update on SAL Speech Assisted LearningThe SAL interactive Braille learning system continues to evolve. SAL extends the ability of teachers to provide Braille instruction over longer periods of time with greater results, while maintaining student interest. Mastering tactile perceptual skills and Braille reading techniques has never been easier with the pre-packaged curriculum courseware. Now there is new courseware available and authoring software for adapting your own curriculum to this breakthrough teaching aid. Check out the latest courseware offerings from Exceptional Teaching Aids, including Braille Math Fundamentals at the SAL Courseware page. If you would like to turn your current Braille lessons into interactive Braille lessons for SAL, Duxbury Systems now offers the SALSA script authoring package. Go to the Duxbury Systems Web site to find out how easy it is to author your own interactive Braille lessons using SALSA: Want to know more? Dr. Sally Mangold, Ph.D. will be holding SAL workshops on the following dates: June 14th - Annual Vision Conference,
Columbus, OH A SAL User’s Success StoryWe knew SAL could make a big difference in a person’s learning and enjoyment of Braille, so it was great to receive the following letter from Mary Kailihiwa: “I am a veteran of the US military, and I was diagnosed legally blind approximately three years ago. Soon thereafter, I attended a VA training center. While at the center, I attempted to learn Braille, but soon thereafter, I became very frustrated and discouraged. I had only accomplished learning most of the Braille alphabet prior to discharge. My technique was very sloppy, as I frequently tended to scrub at the letters. My motivation to continue Braille instruction was very low until my Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) Coordinator, Margie Donovan, introduced me to the SAL System. Margie was very enthusiastic about me using this to learn Braille. The SAL System has made it so much easier for me to learn Braille. I actually enjoy the process of learning Braille now. I especially like that I can study Braille at my convenience, with instantaneous feedback; this has enabled me to progress more rapidly. With the SAL I can go over each lesson and it's almost like having an instructor with me. If I am having problems, I can repeat the step as many times as I need to in order to learn what is being taught. I've had the SAL unit for approximately 10 months, and it amazes me how easy the lessons started and I've noticed that the lessons are becoming more challenging as I progress. The SAL has been an exceptional instructional aid and an enjoyment for me to learn Braille at a pace that is convenient to me.” Sincerely, Return to Top from Sixth Story
ScanTalker Now ShippingScanTalker™, the bar code reading program designed specifically for the PAC Mate, is now shipping. ScanTalker works in tandem with Socket’s CompactFlash Laser Scanner System or In-Hand Scan Card to identify more than 500,000 products such as grocery, entertainment, and drugstore items. Now you can access important product information such as directions, facts, and ingredients or use the pre-printed bar code labels to help identify your personal items. ScanTalker comes on a 256 MB Compact Flash card that contains the program and the database of product information. There is ample space on the card for adding your own items for ScanTalker to identify. For more information on compatible scanners, please see the Socket Communications Web site. Return to Top from Seventh Story
Blind Tibetan Teenagers to Climb Himalayan PeakThis May and June, Erik Weihenmayer, the first and only blind climber to reach the summit of Mt. Everest and the “Seven Summits” – the tallest peaks in each of the seven continents – along with his Everest team will teach a group of blind Tibetan teenagers his specially adapted hiking and climbing techniques. Next September they will guide the teens on an ascent of the 23,100-foot Himalayan peak Lhakpa Ri; on the north side of Mt. Everest. The expedition plans resulted from a letter Erik received shortly after his Mt. Everest ascent from a blind German lady named Sabriye Tenberken who runs a school for the blind in Lhasa, Tibet. Ten years ago, Sabriye applied for a job with a German humanitarian organization serving the third world. Their response was immediate: “We don’t send blind people into third world countries.” So instead, she funded her own way to Tibet. When she arrived in Lhasa, she learned there was no written Braille code in the Tibetan language, so she developed one. She then discovered there was no Tibetan school serving blind children, so she created one. Braille without Borders, run by Sabriye and her partner Paul Kronenberg, instructs about 30 students. They teach them to navigate independently with their canes through the chaos of Lhasa, to weave along narrow streets through moving cars and mopeds, around construction sites never protected, and over random holes in the streets, several meters deep, filled with dirty water and excrement. They’re also taught Tibetan Braille and how to use computers with JAWS. Most importantly, she instils in her students a sense of self-respect and hope. Sabriye funds her center on a shoestring budget, only recently having the funds to buy the school building with an advance from her newly released book, My Path Leads to Tibet. The school’s Web site is www.braillewithoutborders.org. The plan is for Erik to visit Sabriye’s school, along with seven of his Everest teammates, from May 25 to June 10, 2004, and teach the students his specially adapted hiking and climbing techniques. Some of these include using long trekking poles to feel the terrain ahead and following bear bells attached to a leaders pack. They will take a 3-5 day trek and spend a few days climbing a nearby rock face. The students will then train through the summer and, in September, Erik and his team will return to lead them on a three-week expedition to Lhakpa Ri, 23,000 feet, on the north side of Mt. Everest and one of the most spectacular peaks in Tibet. Sabriye has already selected six physically fit, highly motivated teens as good candidates:
As the expedition gets underway, check back at the Freedom Scientific Web site to link to the climbers’ Web site and follow their progress and write notes to the expedition team or ask them questions. Return to Top from Eighth Story
Alliance Enterprises Hosts JAWS Training WorkshopAlliance Enterprises, Inc. develops, implements, and maintains Web-based case management systems. The Company’s flagship product, AWARE®, has been custom tailored for public vocational rehabilitation agencies. Thousands of rehabilitation professionals use the system every day to manage their vocational rehabilitation, independent living, older blind, and service delivery caseloads. Alliance’s mission is:
During the past 21 years, Alliance has lived this mission and assisted organizations in switching from out-dated to current technology. In keeping with their mission, Alliance Enterprises is hosting a JAWS training workshop for their own employees at their facility in Olympia, Washington, later this year. While this workshop is closed to the general public, this training will help their associates keep current with the latest screen reading technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired. Alliance Enterprises, Inc., (Alliance) was founded in 1981 with the objective of providing quality consulting, training, and system development services to business, government, and education. Since that time, the company has been involved in over 95 system development projects and trained more than 4,000 people. During the 21 years Alliance has been in business, the company has owned two computer stores, installed networks and AutoCAD systems, and developed mainframe, PC client/server, and Web-based information systems. Alliance has worked in more than 30 state, county, and city agencies in eight states on development projects encompassing vocational rehabilitation, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, accounting, grants management, automated tax payment, transportation construction management, and traffic engineering. For more information about
Alliance Enterprises visit www.AllianceEnterprises.com. 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.
|
