[techdivision] Fw: [AT] FW: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind

From: "kaye zimpher" <kayezimpher@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "techdivision" <techdivision@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 21:59:31 -0400

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zimpher Kendall J" <Kendall.J.Zimpher@xxxxxxx> To: <kayezimpher@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: "Tré" <tre_strother@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:32 AM Subject: FW: [AT] FW: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind

-----Original Message----- From: owner-at-share@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-at-share@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Greenway Michael M Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:08 AM Subject: [AT] FW: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind

"Greenway Michael M" <Michael.M.Greenway@xxxxxxx> writes to all on "at-share"

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Greenway [mailto:razorback@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 9:16 PM
To: Greenway Michael M
Subject: Fw: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ham Steve" <k8sp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <@googlegroups.com;>
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 12:07 PM
Subject: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind

Incidentally, I saw this PDA at the Dallas NFB convention and it is

quite

impressive. It has a bult-in 30Gb hard-drive. Although it runs on

Linux,

it boots almost instantaneously.

Depression is anger without enthusiasm.

Steve, K8SP


Rocky Mountain News, Colorado USA
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
LevelStar makes PDA for visually impaired: The Icon Mobile     Manager
By Joyzelle Davis
Louisville firm's device also a book reader, note taker
Marc Mulcahy was 9 when he realized how technology could revolutionize

his

life.
Blind since birth, Mulcahy's first computer liberated him from writing

in

Braille
and waiting days
for his teacher to transcribe his work.
Now he hopes to create the same kind of breakthrough for other

visually

impaired
people through
LevelStar, a Louisville-based company he founded two years ago with

his

brother,
Matt. LevelStar's
first product, a wireless pocket-sized personal digital assistant

that's

also a book
reader and note
taker, goes on sale this month.
"There's a need for some new blood in the industry and products that
understand how
we really use
the Internet," Mulcahy said.
Mulcahy, who graduated from Fort Lewis College in Durango with a

degree in

computer
science and
business administration, co-founded LevelStar after working at Sun
Microsystems for
nearly four
years on a desktop for Linux computers. Mulcahy is LevelStar's chief
product
engineer,
and Matt is
in charge of product marketing and operations. They have one other
employee
but expect
to expand as
their product hits the market.
LevelStar's personal digital assistant, called the Icon mobile manager

plus
Docking
Station, isn't
the first PDA designed for visually impaired users.
Companies like Florida-based Freedom Scientific have worldwide
distribution
and long
track records
offering PDAs and other products designed to help people with limited
sight.
Mainstream PDAs also can be adapted for visually impaired users.
Mulcahy says LevelStar's Icon is different because it comes with a
detachable Braille
or regular
full-size keyboard, which is easier to use for taking extensive notes

and

was designed
"with the
Internet at its core."
For example, Icon offers a function called "news stand" that lets

users

subscribe
to online
newspapers every day, rather than go through the process of entering
passwords and
linking to Web
sites as required by most book-reading technology, Mulcahy said.
The Icon's Linux operating system gives users flexibility to add

functions

that aren't
on most
Microsoft Windows-based PDAs, said Steven Booth, an access technology
specialist
with the National
Federation of the Blind in Baltimore.
The 50,000-member nonprofit consumer group, which buys and evaluates

every

kind of
technology
intended for the visually impaired, has seen a preliminary version of
LevelStar's
Icon but waits
until a product hits the market before reviewing it, Booth said.
The government buys a majority of the technology either for its

employees

or
through
special funds
to help the visually impaired, Booth said.
Mulcahy hopes LevelStar's products, which will be sold through its Web

site,
will
find a niche as
affordable devices targeted at individual buyers. The Icon Mobile

Manager

sells for
$1,395, and the
keyboard docking station for $395.
Booth said Mulcahy's strategy is promising, but he cautions that

selling

technology
for the visually
impaired is a difficult business.
"Most of these companies don't make a lot of money because it's a very
limited market,"
he said.
"But I hope they're successful because we need more competition."
LevelStar at a glance
Product: The Icon Mobile Manager, a wireless, pocket-sized personal
digital
assistant
that is also
a book reader and note taker. It comes with a detachable Braille or
regular
full-sized
keyboard.
Cost: $1,395; the keyboard docking station costs $395.
davisj@RockyMountainNews
or 303-954-2514

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_496
8780,00.html


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[techdivision] Fw: [AT] FW: LevelStar PDA Designed for the Blind

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