ZoomNews, September 2006 ----- Original Message ----- From: Sales Support To: jupiter338@xxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 5:24 PM Subject: New ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard - Now Shipping! New ZoomNews Audio! Each ZoomNews article is now available in MP3 audio format for your listening pleasure. To hear the audio version of any article, simply click the speaker symbol next to the article's title. Enjoy! New ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard - Now Shipping! Ai Squared is pleased to announce that the new ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard is now shipping and available for purchase. Designed for the ZoomText user, the new ZoomText Keyboard makes typing and using ZoomText faster and easier than ever before. Each key and button label is easy to see, even in low light, thanks to its 36 point keycaps and high-contrast black on yellow color scheme. The ZoomText keyboard also provides quick access to ZoomText 9.0 features. Sixteen dedicated buttons allow you to instantly start ZoomText, change magnification levels, toggle screen enhancements, launch AppReader and DocReader, and more, all without having to memorize hotkeys. You can even reassign each feature key to your choice of ZoomText commands, Internet and multimedia commands, or to open an application, document or web page. Watch the video to learn more about the exciting new ZoomText Keyboard! Priced at just $99, the ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard is the perfect companion to ZoomText 9.0. When purchased with a new copy of ZoomText Magnifier or ZoomText Magnifier/Reader, the ZoomText Keyboard is yours for just $79 - a $20 savings! "The volume of orders for the ZoomText Keyboard has exceeded our wildest expectations" says Doug Hacker, Director of Sales and Marketing. "We now expect to sell out our first production run in less than a month. If you are interested in purchasing a ZoomText Keyboard you should place your order now." Customers who have pre-ordered a ZoomText Keyboard can expect delivery within the next two weeks. To order your ZoomText keyboard, call us toll-free at (800) 859-0270, or place your order in Ai Squared's online store. For more information on the new ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard, go to http://www.aisquared.com/Products/Keyboard.cfm. ZoomText Helps Retiree Living With Macular Degeneration In 1995, Aaron Beckwith was a retired businessman with a great life. Aaron and his wife Jane had moved from New Jersey to Boynton Beach, Florida where they could enjoy tennis and golf year round. Aaron also enjoyed marble sculpting and working with computers. One day while taking a golf lesson, Aaron noticed that the ball looked pebble-sized when viewed through one eye. He called his brother, an optometrist, who advised Aaron to see an eye specialist right away. After a fifteen minute examination, he was told he had Macular Degeneration. Both Aaron and Jane were distraught by the diagnosis, as neither of them were familiar with this disease and how it would affect his life. As a former business entrepreneur, Aaron chose to be solution oriented and turned to the Internet to learn more about Macular Degeneration. One day Aaron stumbled across an article in an AARP newsletter that mentioned a screen magnification product from Ai Squared called BigShot Magnifier. Immediately recognizing the benefits of screen magnification and the impact it could have on his ability to use a computer, Aaron came straight to Ai Squared and purchased BigShot. He could now use the computer without leaving nose prints on the screen. Aaron realized that there must be others like himself who needed to know all the things he had learned about living with Macular Degeneration. That thought led Aaron and a friend, Jerry Rosenberg, to form the Macular Diseases Support Group which has grown to over 400 members. Now years later, Aaron and Jerry are still very active in the group. Over the years, Aaron's vision began to deteriorate, forcing him to migrate from BigShot, which has a maximum magnification of 2x, to the more powerful ZoomText. ZoomText provided the higher levels of magnification that Aaron needed along with a host of additional enhancements and features to support and satisfy his computer addiction. As Aaron's vision continued to decline, he was encouraged by his vision counselors to abandon ZoomText and begin using a full-blown screen reader. Aaron was reluctant to do so because he absolutely loved seeing digital pictures of his grandchildren and photos on his favorite news websites. With just a screen reader, he would lose the ability to view all pictures and graphics. At this point, Aaron was running ZoomText version 8 at 10x magnification. The release of ZoomText 9.0 was a timely solution. With the new xFont text magnification Aaron found that he could now see characters clearly at only 6x. Full of enthusiasm, Aaron explains, "When I started using 9.0, I couldn't believe it. The text characters are so clear and legible, much easier for me to read." Aaron has found that his vision counselors were partially correct; he could read email and web pages much faster with a screen reader. However, he also found that ZoomText Magnifier/Reader provides all the screen and document reading tools that he needs. With ZoomText he could see and hear everything on his computer screen. Aaron says he's now hooked on ZoomText's AppReader and new human-sounding NeoSpeech voices. The onset of Macular Degeneration changed Aaron's life and led him on a journey of discovery. These days, rather than worry about what he cannot do, Aaron thinks about "What can I do and how can I do it more easily." Thankfully, he is willing to share his knowledge of Macular Degeneration, computers and assistive technology with others, who are all better off for their contact with Aaron Beckwith. Llanes Family Home Makeover to Air in September In our May issue of ZoomNews we covered a story on the Llanes family of Bergenfield, New Jersey, who became beneficiaries of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". The Llanes family includes a blind father, a mother with cancer, a blind grandmother, two daughters who are going blind, and a deaf son. Recognizing that building a home where the Llanes family could be both independent and comfortable, the Extreme Makeover team solicited expert advice and product donations from the world's leading assistive technology manufactures. With Ai Squared's donation of ZoomText 9.0, the Llanes family is able to access and enjoy the new computers installed in their home. The Llanes family episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was originally scheduled as a special edition that would broadcast over the summer. However, after great anticipation, the producers have announced that the Llanes family episode has been selected to kick off the fall 2006 season. Tune in on Sunday, September 17th, at 7:00pm and watch this heart warming and educational story about a much deserving family. Google Accessible Search a Step in the Right Direction Launched July 20th, the new Google Accessible Search from Google Labs is an exciting and long overdue step toward making the world's most popular Internet search engine more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Using a new set of algorithms, Accessible Search, currently in beta, presents results that are prioritized according to each web site's degree of accessibility for people that use screen readers. In the past, screen reader users had to wade through a lot of inaccessible web sites and pages to find information they were interested in. Google's goal is to provide these individuals a useful and accessible web search experience that's fast and friendly. In addition to prioritizing search results according to accessibility, Google Accessible Search also displays results in a streamlined layout that screen readers can navigate with greater speed and accuracy. Extraneous components and information that clutter the standard Google search pages, such as sponsored links, are stripped away to optimize usability. The new Google Accessible Search website can be found online at http://labs.google.com/accessible/. For more information and commentary on the new Google Accessible Search, check out the following articles online: a.. Google Accessible Search FAQ Published on Google Labs b.. Blind charities praise Google for finding accessible sites Published on The Register c.. Google Accessible Search rewards accessibility Published on 456 Berea Street d.. Google Accessible Search brings better results to the visually impaired Published on ars technical e.. Google Accessible Search Published on e-Bility Wrap Up of Ai Squared Summer Tradeshows Ai Squared would like to thank all of you who took time out of your schedules to visit us at our Summer 2006 tradeshow stops: NFB (Dallas), ACB (Jacksonville), AER (Snowbird, Utah) and AHEAD (San Diego). We appreciate all of the feedback on our products and your excellent suggestions for new features and functionality that you would like to see in future versions. While at the show, we hope that you were able to get a look at the new ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard and ZoomText 9.0. Those who did unanimously agreed that the ZoomText Keyboard will make typing and learning ZoomText 9.0 much easier. We also hope that those of you running ZoomText 8 or earlier were able to see a demonstration of ZoomText 9.0. If you did, we're certain that the benefits of upgrading to 9.0 are now perfectly clear. If not, give us a call and we'll send you a free 30-day trial pack that you can try out on your own system. If you would like to place an order or have any outstanding questions about our company and products, please feel free to contact us at the following phone number and email addresses. Ai Squared Sales (and general product inquiries) (800) 859-0270 / sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Ai Squared Product Support (802) 362-3612 option 3 / support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx This fall, Ai Squared will be back on the road again exhibiting and presenting at the major assistive technology trade shows. Our current schedule includes the following shows with more to be added in the near future: Closing The Gap 24th Annual Conference October 19th through 21st Minneapolis, MN Northeast AER 2006 Conference November 14th through 16th Montreal, Quebec For the latest schedule of upcoming Ai Squared tradeshows, visit the Events page on the Ai Squared website - http://www.aisquared.com/AboutUs/Events. If you plan to attend any of these shows, we hope you will stop by our booth for the latest news and developments from Ai Squared. Quick Tips: Using ZoomText's Pointer and Cursor Enhancements For many of us, locating and following the mouse pointer and text cursor is challenging, as they often become obscured among the text and graphics on our busy computer screens. This problem is easily solved using the pointer and cursor enhancement features included in ZoomText 9.0, which make the pointer and cursor much easier to see. Pointer Enhancements Cursor Enhancements Using pointer and cursor enhancements is easy. ZoomText provides a variety of preset enhancement schemes that can be selected right off the main ZoomText user interface, or if you prefer, you can create your own custom enhancements to better suit your needs. To choose a preset pointer scheme 1.. On ZoomText's Magnifier toolbar, select Pointer > Scheme, and then choose the desired scheme from the list of preset choices. Note: You can turn pointer enhancements on and off using the Pointer Enhancements On/Off hotkey: Control + Shift + P. To configure a custom pointer scheme 1.. On the Magnifier menu, choose Pointer Enhancements. The Enhancements dialog appears with the Pointer tab displayed. 2.. Select Custom. 3.. Adjust the custom settings as desired. 4.. Click the OK button. To choose a preset cursor scheme 1.. On ZoomText's Magnifier toolbar, select Cursor > Scheme, and then choose the desired cursor scheme from the list of preset choices. Note: You can turn cursor enhancements on and off using the Cursor Enhancements On/Off hotkey: Control + Shift + R. To configure a custom cursor scheme 1.. On the Magnifier menu, choose Cursor Enhancements. The Enhancements dialog appears with the Cursor tab displayed. 2.. Select Custom. 3.. Adjust the custom settings as desired. 4.. Click the OK button. Stop struggling to find your mouse pointer and text cursor. Try out ZoomText's Pointer Enhancements and Cursor Enhancements today. Ai Squared P.O. Box 669 Manchester Center, VT 05255 Tel: (802) 362-3612 Fax: (802) 362-1670 http://www.aisquared.com © Copyright 2006, Ai Squared, All Rights Reserved. Ai Squared and ZoomText are registered trademarks or trademarks of Algorithmic Implementations, Inc. Click Here To Unsubscribe.