@Freedom Scientific Newsletter
JAWS 12 is Released
Our JAWS®12 screen reading software is now shipping, and it’s packed with new features and enhancements, including:
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The What’s New audio presentation describing these and other enhancements can be accessed from within JAWS as a DAISY book, or you can download the MP3 version.
JAWS 12 for both 32- and 64-bit systems is available for download now. SMA holders will receive JAWS 12 DVDs in mid-November.
MAGIC 11 FREE Update Brings First True Dual-Monitor Support to Screen Magnification Software
Our MAGic® screen magnification software now works on Windows 7 or Windows Vista® computers configured to use multiple monitors. You can now simultaneously magnify and run two different applications on two different monitors. For example, you can copy information from a spreadsheet open on one magnified monitor, and paste it into a document on a second magnified monitor.
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If you run both MAGic and JAWS screen reader software together, make sure to upgrade to the latest version of JAWS 11, or install JAWS 12.
Full details about this breakthrough, plus download links, can be found on the MAGic download page.
PAC Mate Omni Gets a New Lower Price and a FREE Update 6.5
The world’s most powerful notetaker just got more affordable. We’ve reduced the price of our PAC Mate Omni™ accessible Pocket PCs by $900, while releasing a FREE firmware update for existing users.
The new prices are:
- PAC Mate Omni Speech Only — $1,495, reduced from $2,395
- PAC Mate Omni with 20 cells of Braille — $2,895, reduced from $3,795
- PAC Mate Omni with 40 cells of Braille — $4,695, reduced from $5,595
Already an industry leader in accessible mobile functionality for the blind, the PAC Mate Omni is now the clear leader in affordability, offering 40 cells of Braille for about 25 percent less than what competitors charge for a notetaker with just 32 cells. This price reduction coincides with the posting of the 6.5 release for English language users that expands the PAC Mate Omni’s capabilities with an array of new features including: |
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- RealSpeak™ voices available in a number of languages
- Expanded settings dialogs
- Unified Instant Messaging with Mundu® IM
- Built-in FSReader™ DAISY player
The 6.5 update is available for download now.
New Lower Price for the RUBY® Handheld Video Magnifier
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Owners of our RUBY handheld video magnifier are thrilled with the ways it helps them to be more independent every day. “The RUBY is my essential companion whenever I leave home," says Earl Leonard Langguth, a busy author, retired minister, and Bible teacher who is constantly on the go. "My RUBY enables me to deal with labels, restaurant menus, and other necessary visual challenges, wherever I may be. And the size is perfect, neither bulky nor too small. I do not leave home without it." This indispensible vision aid is now more affordable than ever. We are pleased to announce that the price of the RUBY has been reduced by $50 – the second price reduction this year, bringing the new price to only $645. Read all about the RUBY on the RUBY product page. |
Freedom Scientific Sessions at ATIA Chicago
Join Freedom Scientific at the Assistive Technology Industries Association (ATIA) 2010 Chicago Conference and Exposition at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Chicago, October 27-30, to try out our latest products and software releases.
The latest technology in the spotlight this year will be our new PEARL® portable reading solution with OpenBook® 9; the most recent release of our popular screen reading software, JAWS 12; and MAGic 11 screen magnification software with dual-monitor support.
Visit us at Booth #313 and sign up for our daily drawings. Winners will receive our RUBY® handheld video magnifier, MAGic Professional with Speech, or WYNN™ Reader literacy software.
Be our guest at the conference and download a free Exhibit Hall Pass.
Topics and Times of Freedom Scientific Sessions
- Thursday, October 28, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Supporting Literacy: The Intersection between Cognitive Strategies and Technology Support
Presenter: Roberta Brosnahan
Location: Nirvana A - Thursday, October 28, 2:35 - 3:35 PM
Breaking All Boundaries: Universal Design in the Global Future
Presenter: Ira Socol, Michigan State University
Location: Schaumburg H
- Thursday, October 28, 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Integrating Technology at the Hands of Every Student
Presenter: Mike Wood
Location: Utopia D
- Friday, October 29, 1:15 - 2:15 PM
Low Vision Solutions for the Classroom
Presenter: Brad Davis
Location: Schaumburg C
- Friday, October 29, 1:15 - 2:15 PM
Power in the Workplace: MAGic, OpenBook, and PEARL
Presenter: Dusty Voorhees
Location: Nirvana B - Friday, October 29, 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Increasing Test Scores for Both Special General and Education Students
Presenter: Mike Wood
Location: Nirvana A
Technical Support’s Automatic Callback Feature
We appreciate that your time is valuable, and that you don’t want to spend it on hold when you call us. That’s why we have implemented a new feature on our Technical Support line so you can choose to have us call you back rather than wait for the next available technician. You will not lose your place in line if you choose this option.
You will be prompted to input your phone number, and, when your call comes up in the order that it was received, an available technician will call you back. This can be a great convenience, because you do not have to hold while we serve those customers who called ahead of you. Depending on the wait time when you call, you may be given up to three opportunities to take advantage of the auto callback feature. Give it a try – it’s a great time saver.
News from the Training Department
JAWS 12 Basic Training Now Available
The new Basic Training for JAWS 12 is available now in text and audio DAISY format as well as individual MP3 modules.
Updated items include:
- Using the new Settings Center
- Updated lessons on surfing the Internet
- JAWS user interface changes
- JAWS Startup Wizard changes
The JAWS 12 Basic Training is included on the new JAWS program DVD. It is also available on the Training Downloads page.
Upcoming Workshops in Saint Petersburg
Get the latest training on new JAWS and MAGic capabilities by attending a hands-on, instructor-led workshop held in our Saint Petersburg, Florida, headquarters training lab. This is the best way to learn more about JAWS screen reading software and MAGic screen magnification software in the Windows 7 environment. There are still seats available in the following workshops:
- Basics of Scripting with JAWS and MAGic, November 1 through 5 - $1,249
- Supporting and Teaching Windows with JAWS and MAGic, December 6 through 10 - $1,249
- Script Development with JAWS and MAGic, December 13 through 17 - $1,249
Purchase two or more workshops at the same time or attend two workshops back-to-back and receive a 10 percent discount on each workshop.
Visit the training workshop page for more information on these and other training workshops.
Winter Webinars
Remember to visit the e-Learning page and check out our new free and paid Webinars for the winter months. The schedule for the first quarter of 2011 will be posted soon. In the meantime, don’t miss the four free Webinars in November with new topics for JAWS 12:
- Research It for the Everyday User, November 9
- Virtual Ribbon Menus Feature — New in JAWS 12, November 15
- Settings Center — New in JAWS 12, November 16
- Text Analyzer — New in JAWS 12, November 30
WYNNing Can Make a Difference
While Patty Nizio was attending the Assistive Technology Industry Association Conference in Orlando, Florida last year, she put her name into our drawing and won a copy of WYNN Reader.
We contacted Patty for her thoughts about WYNN, and she had quite a story to share.
Patty is a Speech and Language Pathologist in the Rehab Technology Program of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Novi, Michigan. This facility provides assessment and individual therapy services to clients in an outpatient setting, for either speech/language pathology or occupational therapy. Clients can access other services if necessary, such as seating and mobility clinics, physical therapy, physician services, etc.
One area of specialty at the center is the Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Assistive Technology Program. If a client is experiencing any difficulties with written or verbal communication, the client can be referred for an assessment to determine the type of service and anticipated length of intervention needed. This is where TestTalker® and WYNN have proven to be especially valuable to the center’s clients.
Patty's Impressions
When asked how WYNN and TestTalker make a difference for their clients Patty responded, “Some of the most consistent progress we see in our clients who are using the WYNN Reader and TestTalker include:
- Improvements in motivation, increased optimism, and positive attitudes toward reading and writing activities
- Positive change in self-image and self-confidence
- Ability to achieve criterion levels on goals and objectives established for them
- Significant increases in some clients’ abilities to answer comprehension and retention questions from printed material
“We use the programs, not only for educational and demonstration purposes, but we often use them with individual clients during their intervention sessions. We typically teach them the skills to use WYNN independently or to practice taking tests using files customized for them in TestTalker. Then the excitement really begins, as we move on to using these skills to deal with printed material and to help them demonstrate what they have learned. Our clients and parents/caregivers are consistently pleased when they see how these two programs can accommodate the clients’ needs and provide them with the beginning of a future of more positive experiences with text and printed material.
“Some of our clients are using all or many of the features of WYNN. Others begin using a select number of features; then, as they gain experience and confidence, we can gradually add more features as we access more toolbars and items on the toolbars. We absolutely love the color-coded toolbars and icons for each tool in the toolbars. One grandmother said, ‘Even I can figure this out!’ She has successfully been helping her grandson, Alan, to use it to read and write about his favorite topics: the weather and outer space.
“The ability to customize the visual highlighting and speech options can really capture attention and help our clients focus on reading and writing activities. The integrated word processing features and word prediction are very helpful also. Providing positive literacy experiences for those clients with significant auditory processing and reading difficulties has been a consistent outcome. One of our clients will work diligently to complete his other tasks, just to be able to use WYNN as a reward to independently read jokes from the Internet and then write his own. Another client loved to bring in letters from a family member stationed overseas to read them on his own with WYNN, so that he didn’t have to have his parents read them to him.
“One mother remarked that signs of frustration in her child have decreased, and she, herself, now has a more optimistic outlook for her child.”
FSCast Demonstrates PAC Mate 6.5, Focus 40 Blue with iPhone
The September edition of FSCast features a demonstration of our new PAC Mate 6.5 software for PAC Mate Omni.
Did you know that your Focus 40 Blue can be a Braille keyboard for your iPhone®? We show you how to get these two portable devices talking with one another.
In the August FSCast, we demonstrated some of the new features in JAWS 12.
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.
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.
