@Freedom Scientific Newsletter
For a Limited Time, High Definition TOPAZ XL HD Price Same as Standard Definition
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In our previous newsletter, we introduced our TOPAZ® XL HD high definition video magnifiers. Now, there’s an opportunity for you to obtain this innovative technology at a substantial discount. Through April 30, 2012, U.S. and Canadian customers can purchase a TOPAZ XL HD model for the same price as a TOPAZ XL standard definition model – that’s a huge savings of $800 on any High Definition model. |
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Our new HD models offer improved efficiency because the clear high contrast image, even at magnification levels below 2x, can fit more text on the screen than any other video magnifier now available. For many users, this means they can display an entire standard page of text across a widescreen monitor and read comfortably without moving their document back and forth under the camera.
Other video magnifiers can share their monitor with a PC to save desk space, but the TOPAZ XL HD goes beyond that. With Freedom Scientific’s optional GEM™ software, low vision users can bring the magnified image to their PC, control the TOPAZ XL HD from the keyboard, and work in multiple split screen views so that they see their magnified document and their application at the same time. Users can quickly capture multiple images, review them with a single keystroke, and select which ones to save.
The new TOPAZ XL HD line offers 20-inch, 22-inch, and 24-inch widescreen models, as well as 17-inch standard monitor and camera only models.
For complete specifications, visit http://www.FreedomScientific.com.
JAWS 13 February Update Available
In today’s dynamic environment, you need a screen reader that is updated regularly with enhancements in prompt response to user feedback.
This month, we’ve posted our third update since we released JAWS® 13 Screen Reading software in October. No other screen reader on the market releases such frequent updates.
Just some of the most recent changes include:
- Changes to the MLB, NBA, and NHL Research It lookup sources
- Improved responsiveness in large Excel spreadsheets
- An improved process for setting monitor cells in Excel using quick settings
- Enhancements to other Microsoft Office applications, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Visual Studio.
Check out the full listing of the hundreds of enhancements we’ve made to JAWS 13 since its initial release in October.
Join Freedom Scientific at the 2012 CSUN Conference for Presentations, Demonstrations, and Prizes
Freedom Scientific invites you to attend our product presentations, where we will showcase the very latest innovations for those with visual impairments and learning disabilities. Highlights include our new High Definition TOPAZ video magnifiers and the SARA™ CE next-generation self-contained scanning and reading appliance. We’ll also demonstrate the PEARL® Portable Reading Camera with Freedom Scientific’s popular OpenBook® software, the MAGic® Large Print Keyboard, and the latest release of our popular screen reading software, JAWS 13. New sessions include Social Media with JAWS and a JAWS Certification Workshop. You’ll also learn how to build vision awareness in your local community by partnering with Freedom Scientific.
Plan to visit us in the exhibit hall for a hands-on demonstration. While you’re there, register for your chance to win one of these very valuable prizes:
Daily Prize: MAGic Professional with Speech with Large Print Keyboard – Valued at $574 – Learn more about MAGic and the MAGic Keyboard
Grand Prize: 24” TOPAZ XL HD High Definition Desktop Video Magnifier – Valued at $4,995 – Learn more about the TOPAZ XL HD.
Location
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
One Market Place
San Diego, CA 92101
Exhibit Information
Freedom Scientific – Booth #405 in the Douglas Pavilion (ground level)
Wednesday, February 29, 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday, March 1, 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday, March 2, 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Register for your free Exhibit Hall Pass
Freedom Scientific Presentations
Freedom Scientific will hold several product presentations throughout the conference. Here you will learn about all of the latest innovations that Freedom has to offer. Each session is one hour in length, unless otherwise noted. Pre-registration on the CSUN Web site is recommended.
All presentations will be located in Elizabeth H (second level, above the exhibit hall). Please join us during the following times:
Wednesday, February 29
10:40 AM – 11:40 AM
Windows 8 and JAWS
Eric Damery, Glen Gordon
1:50 PM – 2:50 PM
Accessing Electronic and Paper Documents: OpenBook, PEARL, and SARA
Dusty Voorhees, Colleen Wunderlich
3:10 PM – 4:10 PM
JAWS for Windows 13 New Features
Eric Damery, Glen Gordon
Thursday, March 1
10:40 AM - 11:40 AM
Low Vision Software and Video Magnification
Brad Davis, Charles Madsen
1:50 PM – 2:50 PM
Take Braille with You Everywhere
Jonathan Mosen, Brad Davis
3:10 PM – 4:10 PM
Accessible Online Training Available for JAWS
Dan Clark, Ryan Jones
4:20 PM – 5:20 PM
Social Media with JAWS
Dan Clark, Ryan Jones
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Building Vision Awareness with Freedom Scientific
Charles Madsen
Friday, March 2
9:20 AM – 10:20 AM
Low Vision Software and Video Magnification
Brad Davis, Charles Madsen
10:40 AM – 11:40 AM
MAGic Keyboard and Screen Magnification
Dusty Voorhees, Charles Madsen
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
JAWS Certification Workshop
Eric Damery, Dan Clark
1:50 PM – 2:50 PM
Accessing Electronic and Paper Documents: OpenBook, PEARL, and SARA
Dusty Voorhees, Colleen Wunderlich
3:10 PM – 4:10 PM
Successful AT Integration and Your District
Steve Boyle
We look forward to seeing you in San Diego.
From the Technical Support Department: Input in Contracted Braille with JAWS BrailleIn
The BrailleIn™ feature allows you to use only your Perkins-style Braille keyboard to control your computer using both Windows and application specific commands. You can also enter both contracted and uncontracted Braille from your Braille display’s keyboard. The advantage is that you no longer have to switch between your computer’s keyboard and your display’s keyboard, or enter a special typing mode in order to use contracted Braille to run your computer or programs.
Typing with Contracted Braille
With BrailleIn, as you type in contracted Braille using the Perkins-style keyboard, your input is immediately translated back as normal text in the current e-mail, document, or form. If an application or specific edit box does not support contracted Braille, JAWS announces “Computer Braille” when tutor messages are enabled.
Contracted Braille input is off by default. To turn it on, do the following:
- Press INSERT+F2, and select Settings Center.
- In the Search edit box, type "Contracted Braille Translation" without the quotes.
- Press DOWN ARROW to move to Contracted Braille Translation in the filtered search results in the tree view.
- Next, press SPACEBAR to cycle through the different settings in the Contracted Braille Translation combo box. Available settings are Off, Output Only, and Input and Output. When set to Off, you cannot read or type in contracted Braille using your Braille display. When set to Output Only, you can read contracted Braille on your Braille display, but you can only type in computer Braille using the Perkins-style keyboard on your Braille display. When set to Input and Output, you can both read and type in contracted Braille using your Braille display. The default setting is Off.
Note: Contracted Braille Translation can also be turned on or off using the Translation Options (INSERT+V) in those applications where it is available.
New Webinars and Hands-on Workshops for the Second Quarter
New Webinars from the Freedom Scientific Training Department will be posted online soon for the second quarter of 2012. New items include:
- Webinar Training Room Orientation, May 9
- JAWS Certification: What Is It and How Do I Prepare for It? May 16
- JAWS and iTunes, Part 2, May 23
- Using JAWS with Popular Antivirus Software, June 6
- Using JAWS Tandem for Troubleshooting and Training, June 13
- JAWS Techniques for Examining Text Formatting, June 20
- Windows Explorer: Managing Files and Folders, June 27
- PDF Document Reading and Strategies with JAWS and MAGic, Part 1, July 18
- PDF Document Reading and Strategies with JAWS and MAGic, Part 2, July 25
Descriptions and registration details for the Webinars listed above will be posted online in the next few weeks. In the meantime, visit the free Webinars page for more information or to register for these other free Webinars:
- Surf's Up! Surfing the Internet with JAWS and MAGic, Lessons One through Six, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4, & 11
- Internet Explorer 9 with JAWS, April 25
Paid Webinars
- PowerPoint 2010, March 6, 8, & 15 - $29
- Web Page Testing with JAWS, March 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, & 29 - $29
- JAWS for Teachers and AT Trainers, April 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26, May 1, 3, 8, & 10 - $49
- Word 2010, June 5, 7, & 14 - $29
Visit the paid Webinars page for more information or to register for the Webinars listed above.
Hands-On Workshops
- Basics of Scripting with JAWS and MAGic, April 16 through 20
- Script Development with JAWS and MAGic, April 23 through 27
- Web Page Testing with JAWS, May 14 & 15
- Supporting and Teaching Windows 7 with JAWS and MAGic, June 11 through 15
- Office 2010 and Windows 7 with JAWS and MAGic, June 18 through 22
Visit the Training Workshops page for more information or to register for the hands-on workshops listed above.
Tips from the Training Department
Did you know that with the press of a single keystroke JAWS can speak the contents of the Windows clipboard? Press INSERT+WINDOWS Key+X, or, if using laptop layout, press CAPS LOCK+WINDOWS Key+X to hear exactly what is currently on the clipboard. This is a great reminder when you frequently copy, cut, and paste text with JAWS. You can also have JAWS announce what is currently selected by pressing SHIFT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW. This helps to insure that what you selected is correct before copying or cutting it to the clipboard.
In addition, you can press WINDOWS Key+C to copy selected text to the FSClipboard. Text that you copy with this keystroke is added to any text that you have previously copied to the clipboard, instead of replacing it. This allows you to continue adding text to the clipboard until you are ready to paste it into a document. Happy clipboarding everyone!
How Do You Inservice a Large District?
Karie Lawrence, Special Education Coordinator of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CSFID), Houston, Texas, has faced that dilemma. She has developed an effective plan to efficiently reach 7,000 staff members spread out over 186 square miles at 74 campuses.
“My job is to research and find good learning alternatives for our special education population. If these alternatives require staff training, I need to make sure the training is user-friendly for the staff and that it is presented cost-effectively,” stated Ms. Lawrence.
What is user-friendly? Ms. Lawrence considers it to mean that her staff can access the training at their convenience, in their own time and place. “We realized that when considering the facts of distance and numbers, and we are the 25th largest district in the country, we needed to develop a unique delivery system for training. Staff needed to have choices.”
Developing a Plan of Action
Over the past 12 years, the use of WYNN at CFISD has evolved from one WYNN™ Wizard at each campus to 230 networked Wizards with concurrent licenses that allow students to access WYNN from any classroom. In addition to their flatbed scanners, they added two PEARL cameras at each campus.
"The addition of the PEARL cameras has sparked a lot of renewed interest in WYNN. Even though I offered district and campus training after school, I could not keep up with the number of teachers wanting to be trained for adequate implementation of WYNN. I decided to use our Adobe® Connect™ option."
To accomplish this task, Ms. Lawrence developed nine modules that are presented in a PowerPoint® presentation, a PDF document, or a video. CFISD incorporated Adobe Connect videos into an Adobe portfolio in order for staff members to access training electronically.
Ms. Lawrence went on to explain that WYNN is used in a variety of settings. WYNN is available on their COWs (Computers On Wheels) laptop stations that are in all resource rooms. Most of the scanning is done in a resource room and saved on a campus shared drive that could be opened in any classroom. “Now with the addition of the PEARL cameras, scanning can be done anywhere with immediate results. With this wonderful new tool, we have seen a drastic increase in the use of WYNN!” Ms. Lawrence said.
FSCast Features Cake Talking with Sonar
The January edition of FSCast, Freedom Scientific’s monthly podcast, features a demonstration of Cake Talking, a set of JAWS scripts produced by Dancing Dots for the Sonar audio production software.
You won’t want to miss an episode, 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.
Remember, 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.
