Hello Peter,

You say people ask why magnification and reading software is so expensive.
And you say it is a long time since you could welcome a new company in this
market.  Well, perhaps you forgot WordAloud.  WordAloud has magnification
and speech at the same time, so it is suitable for users who need large
text and those who need speech.  And it is priced only $44.95
(29.95 pounds + VAT in the UK), with magnification and speech in the
one product.   Moreover WordAloud is exceptionally simple to operate
from the keyboard, or equally from the mouse (or other pointing device)
if you prefer.  So it is suitable for young and elderly alike, and for
people with any kind of difficulty reading off the printed page,
including dyslexia.

However WordAloud is not a screen magnifier as such.  It displays
the text of a document a word at a time on the screen.  You can step
through the words using a key, or you can let WordAloud play through
the text at up to 1000 words per minute.  Some people can read as
fast as that.  It is more natural than reading off the printed page,
as you don't have to scan along the lines.  This is why you may find
you can read three times faster.

If you use WordAloud in speech mode, it reads through the text
of a document at up to 300 words per minute.  But it is reading text
directly from the document file or web page.   So WordAloud is not
a screen reader as such - it is not interpreting what is on the
screen.  You don't have to understand how to operate Windows.
You can control your reading of a document by using just the four cursor
keys, or by clicking on the corresponding four buttons on the screen.
WordAloud can be used by somebody with no computer experience.

BTW, WordAloud will run on your old Windows95 machine, as well as
W98, ME, NT, W2000 or the latest XP.

You can download a free evaluation version from www.wordaloud.co.uk.

Cheers,

John
--
In message <[log in to unmask]>
Peter Verhoeven writes:

>Dear list members,
>
>First, sorry for cross-posting, but this message maybe of interest for many
>people since magnifiers.org received exactly 162 messages last 2 years
>asking why screen magnifier and screen reader software is so expensive.
>...
>Premier Programming Solution starts releasing their new screen magnifier
>and screen reader software on May 20, 2002.
>It is long ago, that we could welcome a new company in this market!
>...
>[The Screen Magnifier runs] on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and is priced $149.
>
>The Screen Reader includes all major features of known screen readers and
>works out of the box with most program...
>This program works on Windows 98/ME/2000 and NT with service pack 6.
>Also this product is priced $149.

--
John Nissen, Cloudworld Ltd., Chiswick, London
Tel:   +44 (0) 845 458 3944 (local rate in the UK)
Fax:   +44 (0) 20 8742 8715
Web:   http://www.cloudworld.co.uk