@Freedom Scientific Newsletter


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November - December 2009
Volume 8 Issue 6

In This Issue

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Technical Support e-mail: Support at FreedomScientific.com


Update to JAWS 11 Now Available

Since releasing our JAWS® 11 screen reading software in October, our development team has continued to work hard to bring you enhancements.

An update to JAWS 11 is now available. It can be obtained from the JAWS Download page on the Freedom Scientific Web site. If you are running an existing build of JAWS 11, you may also update the software by using the Check for Updates feature in the Help menu.

This new version of JAWS 11 brings stability improvements in Windows 7, as well as a host of new features for our powerful, popular Research It tool. For details on Research It, see the article by our Technical Support Department later in this newsletter.


Free SARA 9.0 Upgrade Adds USB Support

Freedom Scientific is proud to announce the latest SARA™ update that includes new functionality for saving to and reading from USB storage devices. This new feature provides enhanced flexibility in library and school environments where multiple users, who have access to the same SARA appliance, can save and take their files with them after using the unit. The default format for files saved to USB storage devices is RTF (Rich Text Format). This lets students open their scanned documents using any text editor on their personal computer, and then read them with the assistance of JAWS or MAGic® software.

The previous Save to CD and Open from CD menu items have been replaced with the new Save to Media and Open from Media menu items. When the menus are activated, SARA automatically opens the file listing for the attached device. If more than one device is attached when the menu is activated, such as a writable CD and a USB drive, a listing of the available devices opens, allowing the user to select which device to use.

SARA units are now shipping with this new update, which is available to existing SARA owners. Contact your Freedom Scientific dealer to request your update.


Join Freedom Scientific at ATIA Orlando 2010

Freedom Scientific will be presenting and exhibiting at ATIA Orlando, to be held between January 28-31. The venue is:

Caribe Royale Hotel & Convention Center
8101 World Center Drive
Orlando, FL 32821

Our booths in the exhibit hall are numbers 700 and 701. If you are not attending the conference but are in the area, you can still come visit us in the exhibit hall to see all that’s new.

There are prizes to be won at the Freedom Scientific booth in the exhibit hall, including a RUBY™ handheld video magnifier, a copy of MAGIC® screen magnification software with speech, and a copy of Openbook™ scanning and reading software. Each day, we will also be giving away the winner’s choice of either WYNN™ literacy software, or TestTalker®.

For conference attendees, Freedom Scientific has a range of informative presentations at ATIA Orlando.


Freedom Scientific’s Secure and Compatible Braille Display Initiative

Overview

Freedom Scientific is committed to providing our JAWS customers with seamless access to refreshable Braille displays. We are also committed to the expansion and support of braille literacy. That is why a few months ago, Freedom Scientific announced the Secure and Compatible Braille Display Initiative. The goal of this program is to improve the user experience for JAWS® for Windows® customers regardless of whose Braille display they use. Under this program, Freedom Scientific will test braille displays to ensure compatibility with JAWS and then digitally sign the driver. Starting with the JAWS 11 release, only drivers that have been digitally signed by Freedom Scientific will work with JAWS.

Freedom Scientific has already signed all 32-bit braille drivers that have been historically included with JAWS, and these drivers will continue to be included with JAWS. However, all braille display manufacturers will need to develop new 64-bit drivers to support 64-bit Microsoft® Windows. If you have a question about the status of a driver for your display, call Freedom Scientific Technical Support or the manufacturer of your braille display.

The program provides a driver development kit for third party braille display manufacturers and a test suite that Freedom Scientific will use to ensure compatibility of the driver and its installer with JAWS before digitally signing the driver. This new driver development kit is easy to use, and it typically takes only a few weeks for a manufacturer to develop and test a new driver.

This is an open program and we hope all braille display manufacturers will participate. The cost of the program is $9,000 for the first year which includes technical support and testing of the braille displays. After the first year, the cost is $5,000 per year to cover braille display compatibility testing with new releases of JAWS. These costs are very reasonable and Braille display manufacturers will recover them several fold in reduced customer support costs.

Braille display manufacturers that wish to participate should send an e-mail to: brailledisplays@freedomscientific.com

Q & A

Question: Given the benefits, low cost, and ease of participation, why am I still waiting for a driver from my braille display manufacturer?

Answer: Many manufacturers are developing drivers using the new driver development kit. See Participating Braille Display Manufacturers below. A few have chosen not to sign up because they think they can gain a competitive advantage over Freedom Scientific by attacking the program … these few have taken this approach even though it hurts customers that have purchased their braille displays.

Question: If Freedom Scientific can sign the existing drivers that work in 32-bit, why can't they sign them to include in 64-bit?

Answer: Freedom Scientific does not have the source code for these third-party drivers, so it cannot create a 64-bit version. More importantly, Freedom Scientific has created an updated driver model for 64-bit which is more responsive, supports more braille display features, and is faster to implement. Since braille display manufacturers would need to develop a new 64-bit driver anyway, this was the natural time to transition to the updated driver model.

Question: If a braille display manufacturer develops a new signed driver, will customers have to wait for the next JAWS upgrade to use this new driver?

Answer: No. As soon as the driver is signed, the manufacturer can post it on their Web site for download.

Participating Braille Display Manufacturers

The following braille display manufacturers are developing secure and compatible drivers for their braille displays. Check their Web sites or contact them for more information.


Using WYNN with Windows 7

If you are looking to upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll be pleased to know that our WYNN 5.1 literacy software is compatible. Customers who are using WYNN 5.1 on Windows XP or Vista® can use WYNN with Windows 7 without purchasing a new version. However, the Freedom Import Printer (FIP), which is only available in WYNN Wizard, must be updated. A new version of the Freedom Import Printer (FIP) is available as a free download from our Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group Web site.

There is now a link on the Learning Systems Group home page to take you to a page with more information and to download the free FIP update installer. Note that the updater is only needed for WYNN Wizard, not WYNN Reader. http://www.freedomscientific.com/lsg/support/FIP-Windows7-Support.asp

All new shipments of WYNN Wizard now include an additional CD with the FIP update installer. Customers who want to use WYNN on Windows 7 should install WYNN as usual and then install the FIP updater.

From the Training Department

Harness the Power of Your Freedom Scientific Product in the New Year

At this time of year, we turn our attention to New Year’s resolutions. Why not make 2010 the year you take your assistive technology knowledge to the next level with our Freedom Scientific seminars and Webinars?

January 12 through 21, we are offering the “Web Page Testing with JAWS” paid Webinar in six one-hour sessions. In February, “Training for Teachers and AT Trainers" will be offered in 12 one-hour Webinars.

Register for these Webinars and check the schedule for other paid and free training sessions on our e-Learning page.


JSET Research Finds Increased Test Scores Using WYNN

A new article published in the Journal of Special Education Technology (JSET) found statistically significant test gains for students using Freedom Scientific’s WYNN literacy software. The article, entitled "Exploring the Effects of Digital Note Taking on Student Comprehension of Science Texts," appears in the current issue of JSET.

The article describes a study conducted in 2007 and 2008 to investigate the effects of text notes and voice notes on the comprehension of science texts by fifth grade students. Both special education and regular education students participated in the study. Researchers were able to evaluate results for each group individually, and for both groups combined. The results showed that both groups made some improvements in their test scores after using WYNN's study tools. The most statistically significant gains were made by general education students, while special education students also made statistically significant gains. Roberta Brosnahan, Vice President and General Manager of Freedom Scientific’s Learning Systems Group, says, "Note-taking is a critical study strategy for students to master. We are delighted that the research shows WYNN's note-taking tools to be effective study aids for students."

The study divided students into two groups. One group used WYNN's Voice Notes feature to summarize the science material they had read, while the other group used WYNN's Text Notes. The results showed that, although students made gains using both tools, most students made greater test gains using Voice Notes. The study concluded, "These findings suggest that recording voice notes is at least as effective as typing text notes, and perhaps more effective for some students in some situations."

WYNN was the first program to design Voice Notes as a feature for students and teachers to use in classrooms. WYNN's Voice Notes feature allows users to record spoken messages tied to specific areas of text. This feature is designed as a tool to allow students to verbalize their thoughts. For some students, verbal expression is preferable to aid in communicating the comprehension of written materials.

Additionally, teachers can create Voice Notes containing questions, messages, or assignments for students providing a more interactive reading environment. Students can use Voice Notes to record answers to the teacher's questions, create reminders, summarize or paraphrase, or ask questions about the text.

Text Notes allow users to create written annotations for text material. Text Notes can be instrumental in helping students remember important material. “The combination of Text Notes and Voice Notes creates a powerful one-two punch to benefit both visual and auditory learners,” said Brosnahan. These features exemplify WYNN's motto: WYNN helps users to use individual strengths to strengthen their weaknesses.


From the Technical Support Department

Research It

Note: For a demonstration of Research It, listen to the September 2009 FSCast.

Features such as Web Slices in Internet Explorer 8 and gadgets saved in your Windows Sidebar are intended to make it easy for you to quickly obtain information. This material is presented in a format that is quick to scan visually. However, when using assistive technology tools, there is often extra information presented that is easier to ignore visually than when listening or reading with braille.

Research It is a new JAWS feature that provides quick access to information, while also making it easy to return to your primary task. Use just a few keystrokes to look up information and display salient data in the Virtual Viewer. When you have finished researching, press another keystroke to return to the task you were performing before the research started. All that is required to use Research It is an Internet connection.

There are multiple ways to launch and use Research It. The most efficient way to search for a term is to use the new layered keystroke, INSERT+SPACEBAR, R. By pressing and releasing INSERT+SPACEBAR, and then pressing R, you can open the Research It edit field to type a word or expression of interest. This can be a zip code, city and state, or city and country that can be used with the Weather lookup tool to read a forecast; a date that is used to view baseball or football schedules and scores; or a word to use with the Wikipedia search query to view its meaning or description. After viewing these results, press ESC to close the Virtual Viewer window and return to your original focus point.

By default, Wiktionary is the primary lookup source. This means that while the cursor is on a word in a document or Web page, you can press the default keystroke, INSERT+WINDOWS Key+R, to quickly lookup the Wiktionary description for that word. You can always change the primary lookup source at any time using the JAWS Configuration Manager, which lets you select which lookup source to use as the JAWS default or as the default for individual applications. As you become more familiar with Research It, and as more lookup modules are created and made available to you, you will want to change the default lookup source used by JAWS, or just use a different lookup source on the fly.

If you are a software developer or script developer, you can create and customize your own lookup module DLL and tailor it to your organization's needs. For example, if your company specializes in medical equipment, you can create a lookup source that is essentially a glossary of medical and industry terms. A developer's guide that outlines formatting for rule sets and debugging techniques is available in the Research It Developer's Guide.

The next section provides examples of how to use Research It. If you need more information, refer to the Research It topic in the JAWS help file.

Research It Examples

There are several ways to run Research It. You can use the default lookup source, or you can select a lookup source from the Research It list. The following examples show different ways to search for specific information with Research It.

Business Search

Use the Business Search lookup source to find a specific or general business in your area. Search results will provide the name, address, and phone number.

  1. Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. Type a business name or business category, followed by a semicolon, and then a zip code, city, or city and state for the location. For example, type:


    3. grocery store; 33716 and then press ENTER. This will show a list of grocery stores in and around the 33716 zip code.

    Italian restaurants; St Petersburg, FL and then press ENTER. This will show a list of Italian restaurants in St. Petersburg, Florida.

    Note: Always use a semicolon to separate the business name or business category from the location. Use a comma to separate the city and state location. Do not use periods when typing city name abbreviations, for example, type St Petersburg, FL, or Washington, DC.

  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select Business Search and then press ENTER.


  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays your search results.

Convert Currency

Use the Convert Currency lookup source to quickly convert an amount of money from one currency to another currency. The lookup source uses three-character abbreviations to represent international currencies. The conversion that appears is based on the day’s current conversion rate.

  1. Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. Type the amount of money and currency that you want to convert from, followed by the currency that you want to convert to. For example, to convert 100 U.S. dollars into Euros, type:

    100 USD EUR and then press ENTER.

    Note: Make sure to include a space between each item. Always use the currency’s three-character abbreviation. Select currency abbreviations for a list of currencies.

  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select Convert Currency and then press ENTER.


  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays the conversion results, for example:

    100 U.S. dollars = 67.4399784 Euros

    If you did not type a valid currency, Research It will display the currency abbreviations so that you can try again.

People Search

To quickly find an individual, you can enter their name followed by location. However, the key to a successful search is to enter as many details as possible, such as the person’s first and last name, street name, city, and state, to improve the odds of finding that person. This is important because only the first 10 results will appear in the Virtual Viewer. If more information is available, select the Next link. This will open your Web browser and place you on page two of this lookup source's Web site so that you can continue viewing search results.

  1. Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. Type an individual’s name followed by a semicolon, and then a location. For example, type:

    John Smith; St. Petersburg, FL and then press ENTER.

    Note: Always use a comma to separate the city and state.

  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select People Search and then press ENTER.


  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens. The following results are possible:

    The name that you are searching for appears in the list of results that display in the Virtual Viewer.

    No results are returned, so you will need to try a different name.

    Many results appear, but the name that you are looking for is not displayed in the Virtual Viewer. If the person is not in the list, the search criteria may need to be modified to narrow the search even further. In this case, repeat steps two and three, but this time, after typing the person’s name followed by a semicolon, type the street name. For example, John Smith; Yale Street N; St. Petersburg, FL.

Weather

Use the Weather lookup source to receive the current weather forecast for any location based on city name, airport code, or zip code.

  1. Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. In the edit field, type your current location, local airport code, or zip code. For example, type:

    St. Petersburg, Florida, or

    TPA, or

    33716, and then press ENTER

    The Research It dialog box opens with a list of available resource items. The primary search item always appears first in the list.


  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select Weather and then press ENTER.


  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays the weather forecast for the entered location. After reading the information, press ESC to close the Virtual Viewer.

NFL Scores

If you want to look at the NFL schedule or scores for a specific day, for example, Sunday, October 4, 2009, use the NFL Scores lookup source as described in the following procedure.


  1. Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. In the edit field, type the date using the MM/DD/YYYY format. For example, type:

    10/04/2009 and then press ENTER.


  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select NFL Scores and then press ENTER.
  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays a list of games scheduled for that day. Press ESC to close the Virtual Viewer.

Reuters Top News Stories

For a summary of current news stories, you can set Reuters news service as your primary lookup source, and then issue the default Research It keystroke so that you can review the news summary from any application. To do this, first configure the primary lookup source as described in the following procedure.

Note: This example uses the Default JCF file. If you want to select the primary lookup for a specific application, use JAWS Configuration Manager to open that application's JCF file.

  1. Press INSERT+F2 to open the Run JAWS Manager dialog box.


  2. Press C to navigate to Configuration Manager in the list and then press ENTER.


  3. Press CTRL+SHIFT+D to open the Default configuration file.


  4. Press ALT+S and then R to open the Research It Options dialog box.


  5. Press UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW to select a lookup source, and then press TAB to move to the Set Primary button.


  6. Press SPACEBAR to make the selected item the primary lookup module.


  7. Select OK to save changes and close the Research It Options dialog box.


  8. Press ALT+F followed by S to save the Configuration Manager changes, and then ALT+F4 to close Configuration Manager.

Now that Reuters is set as the primary lookup source, do the following to retrieve the latest news stories.

  1. Press INSERT+WINDOWS Key+R.


  2. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays a synopsis of the top five news stories. If you want more information about a specific story, select its Full Article link. This action closes the Virtual Viewer window and then displays the complete story in a Web browser. Otherwise, press ESC to close the Virtual Viewer.

Wikipedia

You can use Wikipedia to quickly research an item. The following example uses the INSERT+CTRL+WINDOWS Key+R keystroke.

  1. Press INSERT+CTRL+WINDOWS Key+R to open the Research It edit field.


  2. In the edit field, type the term that you want to look up, for example, type:

    Freedom Scientific, and press ENTER.


    3. The Research It dialog box opens with a list of available resource items. The primary search item always appears first in the list.

  3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW or first letter navigation to select Wikipedia and then press ENTER.


  4. After a few seconds, the Virtual Viewer window opens and displays the results returned from the Wikipedia lookup. Press ESC to close the Virtual Viewer.

In order to see Help topics on each category of search option, while in the edit field, just press ENTER without putting any text there, and choose the type of search you want to learn about from the list and press ENTER. Once you have read the Help for that item, just press ESC to close the window.


December FSCast Features Jonathan Mosen

December marks the fourth year of FSCast, Freedom Scientific’s popular monthly podcast. To celebrate, Glen Gordon takes the interviewer’s chair and talks with Jonathan Mosen, our Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Management, and FSCast’s host. Find the audio here.

The November edition features a demonstration of some of the new Research it functionality in JAWS 11, plus a look at the Braille Institute of America’s Braille Challenge, which Freedom Scientific is proud to sponsor.

You won’t want to miss any of these interviews, and you won’t if you subscribe to FSCast. The subscription is free, and delivers notification right to your computer when new FSCasts are released. If you did miss a previous FSCast, catch up by visiting the FSCast archives to download FSCast episodes in MP3.

Reminder: With JAWS now providing excellent support for iTunes, you can subscribe to FSCast through the iTunes Store.

Best Wishes to All for a Safe and Happy New Year from Freedom Scientific!


Freedom Scientific's Mission

To develop, manufacture, and market technology-based products that provide equal access to information and computing for those with vision impairments or learning disabilities.