[access-uk] Fwd: screenreader.net Newsletter No. 1
- From: "Christopher Hallsworth" <chrishallsworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:39:48 +0000
I apologize for those who has already received this newsletter, but here
it is for all those interested. Enjoy!
Christopher Hallsworth
Skype name chrishallsworth7266
----- Original message -----
From: ask@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, roger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
screenreader@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To: chrishallsworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: 25 Jan 2007 15:34:14 -0000
Subject: screenreader.net Newsletter No. 1
Dear=20
In this newsletter
Thunder Latest Version
About WebbIE=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20
Feedback from you
Offering Your Services=20
Financial
The Hard Sell:
Better voices,=20
Scanning Software
Memory Stick Technology=20
Magnification software=20
For Braillists=20
Some good news=20
First, an apology. Please don=E2=80=99t give up on us. We promised to email
you but things just take so long when a project is new. Since the launch
in July, we have been very busy. Thousands of you have downloaded the
Thunder software and two thousand of you have registered to receive
emails. One hundred and fifty of you have given us useful feedback and
twenty of you have wanted to help with the Thunder project in some way.
We thank you all and look forward to Thunder staying the course,
continuing to improve and opening up computer literacy to those of us
with little or no sight round the world.=20
Thunder Latest Version: We put up the latest version of Thunder on the
website early in January. The next upgrade will be in March. We fixed a
few bugs and made the Document Read function work as it should in MS
Word, WebbIE and Outlook Express etc =E2=80=93 the keystroke is CAPSLOCK WI=
TH
DOWN CURSOR. You will experience crashes very rarely now if ever and its
all for free. Enjoy.=20
WebbIE: This is our very own text browser and Alasdair continues to
improve and develop it on top of his busy daily chores as a Computer
programmer. Go to www.webbie.org for the latest information but a
pretty up-to-date version of WebbIE is part of the Thunder download. The
list of Accessibles is growing and now includes News from the BBC,
Telegraph, New York Times etc, a radio tuner, live and listen again BBC
radio broadcasts and thousands of books online from the Gutenberg
project which is absolutely fantastic. There is also a Podcast option
and podcasts are still growing like fury. Try WebbIE, it=E2=80=99s so easy =
to
use, and it even allows you to choose your print size if you have some
reading=20
vision. If you have downloaded Thunder, WebbIE will be in =E2=80=9CAll
Programs=E2=80? together with the list of Accessibles. Once in WebbIE, type
the name of your favourite website and you will be taken to it, or press
SHIFT, CTRL W and type in what you want to find, press ENTER and you
will have a choice of sites. You may have lost this search facility when
Google made changes in November. If so, download the latest version of
WebbIE to get the facility back.
Feedback from you: Personally, when I come across those words in a
newsletter my heart sinks and I find myself thinking =E2=80=9Ccan=E2=80=99t=
the
editor find anything to write about?=E2=80? but not so here. We want you to
write to us only if you have something to tell us as follows:
Feedback: Please tell us what=E2=80=99s wrong or what=E2=80=99s right with =
Thunder.
Tell us about interesting websites you go on and amuse us by odd speech
funnies.=20
Offering your Services: screenreader.net is not for profit and we
welcome help from all quarters if we are to continue to be successful.
We want people who can write Visual Basic Scripts so that more and more
computer programs can be made accessible to us. We want a group of
volunteers who will set up a mailing list and support those who struggle
with making sense of the talking computer, accessing particular websites
or troubleshooting PC problems. Often we blind people are the best
source of help for each other. We want offers to write =E2=80=9CHow To=E2=
=80?
files which again will assist beginners to get going with new programs
or tasks. Lastly, we need everyone to spread the word about Thunder to
local blind-friendly organisations and to friends and colleagues who
might benefit. Viral marketing is our friend and the internet is
spreading Thunder round the world at a terrific rate. The larger the
customer database we build up, the more likely we are to pull in
resources to improve the software.
Financial: Margaret and I are committed to this project long-term and
so is Sensory Software Ltd, the Manchester-based company which developed
the Thunder code. However, it is an ever-increasing financial and
time-consuming burden and so we do ask you, please, if you know of
possible sources of funding for our project, let us know, put us in
touch and give us a warm introduction. Some of you have already
indicated that you wish to contribute to the project and we welcome this
with thanks. Every little helps.=20
The Hard Sell: No, we don=E2=80=99t go in for the hard sell but we want you=
to
know about some of our other products for sale. Sorry they can=E2=80=99t be
free but the pricing is very reasonable.=20
Other Voices: When you download Thunder, the voice you get is OK but we
do sell a range of superior voices in various languages so ask if you
want to know more. British Daniel is a very upmarket-sounding English
BBC voice and is excellent when you want to listen to a book online. The
price for each voice is =C2=A340, Sterling.=20
Scan2Text: This is a software package allowing you to use a standard
scanner with your talking PC. Scanned documents are popped straight into
MS Word as if you have typed them. They can be read, saved, edited etc.
Much better than storing masses of paper you can=E2=80=99t see to read. The
price is =C2=A360 Sterling.=20
Memory Stick Technology: This is the most exciting development. We sell
Thunder with two superior voices on a memory stick so that you can
access any modern XP computer merely by plugging the memory stick into a
USB port. It=E2=80=99s a miracle!!! No administrative permission needed, no
video card conflicts; Thunder just talks to you in seconds in a school,
library, University or in your friend=E2=80=99s house or an Internet Caf=C3=
=A9.
The cost is =C2=A3160 Sterling.=20
Magnification software: Lightning is the name of our magnification
software and you can purchase it on a memory stick or disk for =C2=A3100
Sterling.=20
For Braillists: We don=E2=80=99t go in for Braille Displays but Six-in is o=
ne
of my favourite computer programs. On any PC or laptop, you can write
Braille-style, Grade one or two English. Keep your fingers on Sdf and
Jkl and you have a kind of Perkins Brailler setup. It works in Notepad
on all keyboards and in MS word on some. It costs =C2=A360 Sterling.=20
If you are new to working with blind people and computers, you may find
our explanatory video =E2=80=9CNo Blind Mice=E2=80? useful. It costs =C2=A3=
30
sterling.
Well, I think that is enough of the hard sell for now but remember that
profits from the hard sell do subsidize the delivery of free Thunder.=20
Thunder in Eastern-Europe: Let=E2=80=99s end with some very good news. Earl=
ier
in January, we were told that we are to receive a significant grant from
the European Union so that Free Thunder can be translated and made
available in some East-European countries. This is a lot of work for the
developer and for partner organisations in those countries but how
wonderful that thousands more blind and visually impaired people on low
incomes will be able to access computers in their own language for free!
It=E2=80=99s just not right that they are barred because of the traditional
high cost of access software. With a phone and a talking computer, a
blind person can earn a living, take part in mainstream education and
manage their affairs with a high degree of independence.=20
So stay with us and respond by emailing us. Please, when you=20
email, do flag up the subject of your email clearly, i.e. =E2=80=9CThunder
Feedback=E2=80? =E2=80=9CVisual Basic Scripting=E2=80? =E2=80=9CI want to d=
onate=E2=80? or =E2=80=9CA
Good Thunder Story=E2=80? or whatever else it is.=20
Good wishes.=20
Margaret and Roger.
ask@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx=20
www.screenreader.net=20
=20
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