Newsletter DC, July 20, 2000. This is an informal email newsletter from Dan Clark, of the Blind/Low Vision Group of Freedom Scientific. This newsletter is distributed to several listserves as well, so if you receive it, be sure to check the source. Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this list, or if you have friends who would like to be added. I will confirm with them before adding. Thanks!
Dan Clark, Account Development Manager
A. Freedom Scientific contact information.
B. JAWS 3.7 English version public beta posted.
C. New features in JAWS version 3.7.
D. JAWS for Windows wins CNIB's Winston Gordon award.
E. Accessible Web Design.
A. Freedom Scientific contact information.
For Immediate Release, July 18, 2000.
Contact:
Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group.
Sharon Spencer, Vice President, Sales and Marketing.
Phone: 727-803-8000
Freedom Scientific integrates customer interface for Blazie, Henter-Joyce, and Arkenstone products.
(St. Petersburg, FL) -- The Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group, a leader in assistive technology products for people with visual impairments, has taken the first step in the integration of its sales, marketing, order entry and administrative functions. Effective July 17, all customer inquiries and orders for products developed and manufactured by Blazie, Henter-Joyce, and Arkenstone will be handled by an integrated sales team located at the Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group in St. Petersburg, Florida.
In April of this year, Henter-Joyce and Blazie Engineering merged to form Freedom Scientific's Blind/Low Vision Group. In June, with the acquisition of Arkenstone's business operations and product lines, scanning and reading products were added to the Blind/Low Vision Group. Additionally, the Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group was formed with Arkenstone's WYNN product for individuals with learning disabilities as its flagship product.
Contact Information. Customers calling for information or to order products from the Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group should call 1-800-444-4443 or 727-803-8000. They can send faxes using 727-803-8001 or email to info@hj.com. Correspondence should be directed to: Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group, 11800 31st Court North, St. Petersburg, FL 33716. The new website address is www.freedomscientific.com.
The Learning Systems Group sales and marketing functions will remain in California. Customers calling for information or to order WYNN software should call 650-603-8880. They can send faxes using 650-803-8887 or email to WYNN@arkenstone.org. Correspondence should be directed to: Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group, NASA Ames Moffett Complex, Building 23, P.O. Box 215, Moffett Field, California 94035-0215. The new website address is www.freedomscientific.com.
Technical Support for all Freedom Scientific software products will be provided by the Henter-Joyce Division in St. Petersburg and can be reached by calling 727-803-8600. Technical Support for all Freedom Scientific hardware products will be provided by the Blazie Division in Stuart, FL and can be reached by calling 561-223-6443.
Facility Relocations. Effective July 17, the Blazie facility in Forest Hill, Maryland has been shut down. Blazie's product management, R&D, manufacturing and technical support activities have moved to Stuart, and it's sales, marketing, order entry and administrative functions have moved to St. Petersburg. Arkenstone blind/low vision activities have moved from California to Florida and split between the BLV Group (sales, marketing and order entry), Henter-Joyce (production and technical support of Open Book and WYNN) and Blazie (production and technical support for VERA, computers, and scanners). The Arkenstone engineering team remains in California operating under the name Benetech.
Commenting on today's announcement, Richard H. Chandler, Freedom Scientific CEO, said, "Today marks a critical first step in integrating the three Freedom Scientific blind/low vision product lines so as to improve service to our customers and dealers. All customer interface functions up to the point of sale are now being handled by the BLV Group sales and marketing department under vice president Sharon Spencer. Product development, manufacturing and technical support are still the responsibility of the Blazie team for hardware products, and the Henter-Joyce team for software products, including the Arkenstone Open Book line. With these changes, we are becoming one company with a broad array of products serving the needs of people with vision impairment."
Freedom Scientific is a privately-owned company dedicated to becoming the global market leader in the field of assistive technology. Freedom's mission is to change the world for people with sensory and learning disabilities by creating innovative, technology based products and solutions. Company information is available at http://www.freedomscientific.com.
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B. JAWS 3.7 English version public beta posted.
The new JAWS for Windows 3.7 English version public beta can now be downloaded by authorized users at the following URL:
http://www.hj.com/JAWS/JAWS37publicbeta.html
Note: this public beta will expire on September 1, 2000. Be sure to read the entire contents of the page above regarding the use of beta software.
C. New features in JAWS version 3.7.
1. Repeat Current or Advance To Next Unit During Say All.
2. Voice Settings Changes.
3. Combined Character and Word Typing Echo.
4. JAWS Installer.
5. Online Registration.
6. User Definable Verbosity Levels.
7. Windows Millennium Beta.
8. Graphics List.
9. Braille Key Interrupt Setting.
10. True 6-Dot Grade Two Braille.
11. Edit Spin Boxes Recognized by JAWS.
12. Tether JAWS to PC.
13. Brazilian Portuguese Language Added to JAWS Setup.
14. Triple Talk added to JAWS Setup.
15. Home Row Keystrokes.
16. Select Custom Highlight.
17. Colors ListView.
18. Dr. JAWS Retires.
19. JAWS Merge Utility.
1. Repeat Current or Advance To Next Unit During Say All.
A great new feature that can be used during Say All is to be able to have JAWS repeat the current or advance to the next unit of text as set in the JAWS Text Processing dialog. The default unit at installation is line. The choices include Line, Sentence, or Paragraph. Whether you repeat or advance, JAWS will continue in a Say All from the new location. To repeat the current unit use LEFT SHIFT. To skip ahead to the next unit use RIGHT SHIFT.
2. Voice Settings Changes.
Several important changes have been made to voice setting in this version of JAWS.
a. Change Voice Rate on the Fly
b. Application Specific or Default Voice Settings
c. Restore to Default added
d. Person and Pitch Removed from Global Dialog
a. Change Voice Rate on the Fly.
Another important change in JAWS 3.7 is a long requested feature that allows users to change the rate of speech on the fly. During Say All use PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to decrease or increase voice rate. Each time these keys are tapped, the voice rate will go up or down an increment at a time. The voice rate will automatically change without interrupting the Say All.
When Not in Say All:
Use ALT+CTRL+PAGE UP and ALT+CTRL+PAGE DOWN to use this feature. You will hear JAWS state, "Slower," or "Faster" at the decreased or increased voice rate.
When Say All is finished or interrupted, these keystrokes recover their standard functionalities. The new voice rates will stay in effect for all voices until you either move focus away from the present application or refresh the screen using INSERT+ESCAPE.
b. Application and Context Specific Voice Settings.
There is a new radio button set that has been added to the Voice Settings dialogs with the option of Default or Application Name. The Application name reflects the most recently used application before changing focus to JAWS. Users can now select whether the changes they are about to make should only apply to the application they are currently using or whether it should be applied as a default setting. When Default is selected changes made to Rate or Punctuation will apply to all applications you open unless they have application specific settings for these items. If you want the new speech rate to only apply to one application, open the application, ALT+TAB to JAWS and select the Application Name instead of Default. For example, if you are using Word, setting will read Application WINWORD, which is the executable file for MS Word.
c. Return to Default.
Once the Application Name option is selected a Return to Default button appears under the OK and CANCEL buttons. This is another new feature in this version. When pressed it will return the original voice parameters to what has been set up in the default file.
d. Person and Pitch Removed from Global Dialog
In Voice menu, Global dialog box the Person and Pitch selections have been grayed out and are no longer available in this dialog. This feature, also frequently requested, will help both new and experienced users to avoid the mistake of accidentally changing all of the cursors to have the same voice. If you wish to have all of your voices the same, you can still do this, but will need to change each voice independently.
3. Combined Character and Word Typing Echo.
A new feature in the User Options allows users to have JAWS echo both the characters being typed and the full word when the SPACEBAR is pressed. The space itself is not echoed. Turn this feature on using Configuration Manager, Set Options menu, User Options. In the dialog select Both Characters and Words in the Typing Echo options list.
4. JAWS Installer.
If you have already installed your new version 3.7 of JAWS for Windows you will already have experienced the new, user-friendly, install process. In just a few steps the installation is completed in a series of dialogs requiring little to no information from the person doing the installation. It is only necessary to select the Next Button to move ahead. There are now three types of installation, Automatic, Guided, or Advanced. This install program also gives you the opportunity to modify an existing install. In the Automatic installation the Eloquence Multi-language Synthesizer and All Languages are installed. The user is not prompted for an install folder. In the Guided and Advanced installs users are prompted to select the popular applications, Braille Displays, and hardware or software Synthesizers they may be using, as well as where they want the program to be installed. See the New Online Help System Topics regarding JAWS Installation for further details.
5. Online Registration.
You can now send your registration for JAWS in either by email or through the mail. When you launch a new copy of JAWS, you will now be prompted to register your product. If we have your registration on file or you are running a network version of JAWS, this prompt will not appear. It is recommended that you register immediately so that if you need assistance from Henter-Joyce Technical Support you will already have sent in the required information. If when prompted to register, you select to Register Later you will be prompted again the next time you run JAWS. Once the registration form is filled in, it can be sent directly via e-mail if you have an Internet connection. If you are not connected to the Internet you can save to Disk on a blank floppy or on the one provided by Henter-Joyce. There is also a shipping package for the floppy provided with the product. Once you have completed the registration process, you will not be prompted to register again.
To make changes to your current registration, such as a new address, go the JAWS Help Menu and select Update, which is a new item on this menu. Note: If you have not registered yet, this item will not appear on the Help Menu. Instead, you will see an item called "Register JAWS for Windows".
6. User Definable Verbosity Levels.
In JAWS for Windows, verbosity refers to the amount of information spoken as you work in the Windows environment. JAWS gives you several options to set your preferences and personalizing the information you hear. There are three levels of verbosity: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. JAWS now allows you to define how much information you want to hear at each level. In the Configurations Manager, there is a new dialog under the Settings Menu called Verbosity Settings. The dialog allows you to select your verbosity level as well as define what is spoken for each verbosity level. In the verbosity level properties, you can check or uncheck the items you want spoken at that verbosity level. You can also define whether you want JAWS messages to be long or short.
7. Windows Millennium Beta.
JAWS 3.7 supports the Windows Millennium beta.
8. Graphics List.
You can now bring up a list of labeled toolbar graphics using INSERT+CTRL+SHIFT+G. Use the arrow keys to select the graphic you wish to click on and press enter. The action equivalent to performing a left click on the toolbar button will be performed.
9. Braille Key Interrupt Setting.
You can navigate freely with the Braille Display without interrupting the speech in progress.
10. True 6-Dot Grade Two Braille.
JAWS now displays Grade 2 Braille as 6-Dot Braille instead of 8-Dot Braille. When the Expand Current Word Option is checked, the word under the cursor is displayed in 8-dot computer Braille. When the Expand Current Word Option is not checked, all Braille will be displayed in 6-dot. This option is checked by default if grade two Braille is turned on.
11. Edit Spin Boxes recognized by JAWS.
JAWS now recognizes Edit Spin Boxes, which are controls found in Windows. When a control is recognized as an Edit Spin Box, you can either type in a new value or press the UP and DOWN ARROWS to change the value incrementally.
12. Tether JAWS to PC.
This new feature tethers the JAWS cursor (mouse pointer) to the PC Cursor.
13. Brazilian Portuguese Language added to JAWS Setup.
This language and all other languages supported by JAWS, are installed by default during an automatic install, accessible later through the language menu in the JAWS window.
14. Triple Talk added to JAWS Setup.
JAWS supports the new Triple Talk hardware synthesizer made by Access Solutions. This support can be installed in a guided or advanced format.
15. Home Row Keystrokes.
Home Row keystrokes are utilized by advanced JAWS users to customize JAWS to work with specialized applications.
16. Select Custom Highlight.
You can now assign application specific custom highlight colors. You can enable or disable these highlights as a group, or choose to use only Windows highlights, custom highlights, all highlights together, or multiple highlights.
17. Colors ListView.
Contains all of the defined color highlights. To delete items from the list just press delete.
18. Dr. JAWS retires.
New technology used by Henter-Joyce alleviates the need for Dr. JAWS during installation.
19. JAWS Merge Utility.
The Merge Settings option looks for your customized JAWS files, such as dictionary, configuration, and graphics files. If you have made customizations you will not have to change these settings again! Simply manually run the Merge Utility to merge configuration information from previous versions of JAWS in with this latest installation.
D. JAWS for Windows wins CNIB's Winston Gordon award.
"TORONTO, ONTARIO--The developer of the world's most popular and widely accessed screen- reading technology has been named the winner of The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's (CNIB) Winston Gordon Award 2000. Ted Henter of Henter-Joyce, Inc., based in St. Petersburg, Florida, will accept the award for JAWS (Job Access With Speech) for Windows, a program used worldwide to read aloud the words on a computer screen through the use of specialized software and simulated speech synthesizers."
You can read the entire text of the award, as well as links to the CNIB and others, including a link to Ted's biography, at the following URL:
http://www.cnib.org/news_media/stories/winston_gordon/index.htm
Now that Henter-Joyce, Blazie, and Arkenstone have merged to form Freedom Scientific, the company has two Winston Gordon award winners! In 1989, Deane Blazie accepted the award on behalf of Blazie Engineering, for the Braille 'n Speak.
You can read more about previous Winston Gordon award winners at the following URL:
http://www.cnib.org/awards_foundations/wga/wga_winners.htm
E. Accessible Web Design.
We often get requests for how to make web sites more accessible. Here are some places you might wish to visit to begin to learn about web authoring and accessibility. You may choose the links below to connect to some of just a few of the web accessibility resources on the internet.
WAI Authoring Tool Guidelines.
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-AUTOOLS/
Bobby 3.1.1 - Web Accessibility Validation Service.
Webable: Web site for disability-related internet resources.
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