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September - October 2009
Volume 8 Issue 5

In This Issue

(Select links to jump to articles)

Past Newsletters


Contact Us:

11800 31st Court North
St. Petersburg, FL 33716-1805
1-800-444-4443
or 727-803-8000
e-mail us about general issues
Contact Technical Support:
1-727-803-8600
Technical Support e-mail: Support at FreedomScientific.com


JAWS 11 is Released

On October 19, JAWS® 11 was released for both 32- and 64-bit English versions of Windows, including enhanced support for Windows® 7 - ahead of its release. This new JAWS release includes features that will expand educational and employment opportunities for users at all levels. These new features include Research It, Word Index, a free software DAISY player, and enhancements specifically for Windows 7, including UI Automation support and improved ARIA support.

The new Research It feature lets users quickly access information for any application and immediately return to what they were doing. Use just a few keystrokes to look up information such as word definitions, Wikipedia results, weather conditions, news stories, or even sports scores. When you have finished reviewing the information, simply press ESCAPE to return to your current task. An Internet connection is all that is required to use Research It with JAWS 11. There is also a very comprehensive Research It Developer's Guide that shows how individuals or organizations can modify Research It to create their own lookups on the Web or even within their own network for improved on-the-job efficiency.

JAWS shark

For more information, listen to the September FSCast, where this feature and others are demonstrated and discussed in detail.

Beginning with PAC Mate™ Omni earlier this year and now with JAWS 11, Freedom Scientific is pleased to include a free FSReader software DAISY player for all of our customers.

“There is no question that DAISY books are becoming more and more a part of our everyday lives," said Eric Damery, Vice President of Software Product Management, "and having a free reader installed along with our screen reader and MAGic® screen magnification products is a real benefit. We have also updated all the free Basic Training DAISY books, and they are all now shipping right on the DVD."

Hear All the New JAWS 11 Features Demonstrated in FSCast

Listen to Eric Damery and Jonathan Mosen, Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Management, discuss the latest JAWS 11 enhancements in both the August 2009 FSCast and the September FSCast. The August FSCast covers all the new features, and the September FSCast discusses more changes to Research It and includes an interview with Glen Gordon, the Chief Technology Officer. For more information about JAWS 11, see the What's New page.

Join Freedom Scientific at ATIA Chicago

Freedom Scientific will be presenting and exhibiting at ATIA Chicago, to be held between October 29-31. The venue is:

The Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center
1551 North Thoreau Drive
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173

Our booth in the exhibit hall is number 303. If you are not attending the conference but are in the area, you can still come visit us in the exhibit hall to see all that’s new.

Download a complimentary exhibit hall pass.

ATIA logo

There are prizes to be won at the exhibit hall, including a RUBY™ handheld video magnifier, a copy of MAGIC® screen magnification software with speech, and a copy of Openbook™ scanning and reading software. Each day, we will also be giving away the winner’s choice of either WYNN™ literacy software, or TestTalker®.

For conference attendees, Freedom Scientific has a range of informative presentations at ATIA Chicago.


Freedom Scientific’s ONYX™ Deskset XL Designed for the Classroom

One of the new products on display at the ATIA conference will be the latest addition to our popular ONYX line of portable video magnifiers, the ONYX Deskset XL, featuring versatility not found in any other video magnifier today.

The camera mounting system is unique:


The monitor mounting system is unique:


The RF remote control is unique:

“This design is based on input we’ve received from teachers and students alike to create an ideal classroom low vision solution,” said Brad Davis, Vice President of Freedom Scientific. “The rotating arm and auto focus camera let a student quickly view the teacher, a whiteboard, other students, wall maps, visual aids, even look out the window like other students do. The camera just as quickly flips down to magnify reading material or notes in front of the monitor. The unit has a compact footprint to accommodate lecture hall seating, but the camera arm can also cover a large work area to the side when working on projects or with multiple reference materials. The extended arm makes for plenty of workspace under the camera, and the monitor can be raised or lowered and tilted to the most comfortable position, yet the entire unit readily collapses to fit into its lightweight rolling case for transport.”

 image of the ONYX magnifying a page in a science book

The ONYX Deskset XL produces exactingly clear magnification of up to 71 times and offers three distinct viewing modes: distance view, document view, and self view. In the distance mode, even objects from across large rooms or auditoriums can be seen in sharp focus. The document mode gives users the ability to magnify items such as classroom assignments, reading materials, merchandise labels, or craft projects. With the self view, users get a magnified true mirror image close up.

To learn more about the many features of the ONYX Deskset XL and the full line of ONYX low vision solutions go to ONYX portable video magnifiers.

Pricing and Availability

The ONYX Deskset XL is shipping now. The 17-inch model sells for $2,595 and the 19-inch model is $2,795. For complete product specifications, visit the ONYX Deskset Web page or contact Freedom Scientific at 800-444-4443 or 727-803-8000.


New Office 2007 Webinars from Freedom Scientific for the Fourth Quarter of 2009

The Freedom Scientific Training Department is pleased to offer several new paid Webinars on Office 2007. In addition to the paid Webinars, several free Webinars are also offered during the fourth quarter, including new Webinar training room orientation.

To register for any of these free or paid Webinars and to find out more information about them, please visit the e-Learning page of the Training Department.

Here's a little more information about the paid Webinars from Freedom Scientific:

Schedule of Webinars in the Fourth Quarter

Note that it is still possible to register for Webinars that have already occurred. You will receive the archived material.

To register or get more information visit the e-Learning page of the Training Department at Freedom Scientific.

Also in the fourth quarter, don’t forget to sign up for two workshops in Saint Petersburg, Florida. These workshops will be the first hands-on workshops taught with the newly released JAWS 11 version, so sign up now to get training on the latest version of JAWS.

For more information on these two hands-on workshops please visit the Training Workshop page.

Future Engineer Heads to Cornell with WYNN

Sean Mitchell developed a love of learning from an early age. He found joy in reading his favorite subjects, science and history.

Sean, who heads off to Cornell this fall to study engineering, says, “I do have dyslexia. I am a very slow reader and a bad speller. I am fortunate though to be able to write well in spite of my problems. I compensate for my disability through my strong auditory abilities.” His strong writing aptitude helped win him a perfect score in his SAT essay. This is an amazing feat for anyone, but especially for someone who has dyslexia.

So how did this young man achieve his academic success? Sean was in a very challenging academic kindergarten when he began showing signs of having learning problems. His mother, Jintamai, had Sean tested and while the school had the diagnosis, they did not have a remedy. A decision had to be made whether to have Sean stay in his current placement or place him in a special education school. While they knew it would be hard for Sean, it was decided to keep him in his school with additional support. He struggled through his early elementary years trying to learn the mechanics of reading. Tutoring was offered two or three times a week. Sean was recognized by his teachers as being bright, focused, and a very capable learner. It was hard for everyone to understand why all this support was not helping him to be able to read.

Jintamai recalls, “Sean was incredibly curious as a child and listened to the news, history channel, science channel, etc. He also wanted me to read difficult science books to him. He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and literature. We bought every possible book that existed on tape. Thankfully Harry Potter came out on tape after the first volume!”

While appreciating his mother’s support, Sean wanted a means of being able to read independently. It was in fourth grade while Sean was being tutored at the Children’s Health Center in Palo Alto, CA that he found a solution to his problem. It was then that WYNN was introduced to Sean. Jintamai immediately bought WYNN for Sean to use at home. “I never will forget seeing Sean surfing the Internet and listening to technical writing. He was completely enchanted by his new-found freedom.”

From that point on Sean began to find school a bit easier. Subject matter became more focused on knowledge and research. He now had an instantly available “reader.” Anything he had to read, he could, “scan and save as an audio file," states Sean.

“Nobody likes to ask for help all the time. I think that when Sean was finally introduced to WYNN, he felt freedom. I think just knowing that if he needed to have something read to him, having WYNN there was liberating!” explains Jintamai.

Sean not only brought WYNN into his school world in America, but also abroad. He spent grades 7 through 10 in Thailand. During these years the learning specialists were impressed with how proficient Sean had become with using WYNN to read and expand his academic success. They were inspired by Sean’s commitment to acquire knowledge and to enjoy learning. In order to bring this motivation to others, Sean was asked to participate at a conference for learning technology and also to present WYNN at the International School of Bangkok.

Sean will be attending Cornell University this fall. WYNN will be going with him. Cornell will be helping Sean by scanning many of his textbooks. Sean foresees using not only WYNN’s reading feature, but also many of WYNN’s study skill features such as Highlight, List, Voice and Text Notes to enhance his studying habits while undertaking the challenge of being an engineering major. Sean says he has recently discovered WYNN’s Save to Audio feature. “I can really see myself saving my scanned materials or my Web research info and listening to it while I am away from my computer.”

“We are so very grateful to the people at the Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group for WYNN. This software has allowed Sean to continue to enjoy his love of learning in his own independent way,” says Jintamai. “It has allowed people to see Sean as the person he is, not a person with a disability. Thank you!”

October FSCast Looks at Windows 7

Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7®, is now available, and JAWS 11 has further enhanced the support for Windows 7 introduced to JAWS 10. The October FSCast will feature a discussion about Windows 7 and its accessibility.

Don’t miss recent editions of FSCast, which feature plenty of information about JAWS 11. The September edition of FSCast also features an interview with Jim Elsworth of our Technical Support department.

You won’t want to miss any of these interviews, and you won’t if you subscribe to FSCast. The subscription is free, and delivers a 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.

Reminder: 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.