Wednesday May 24, 3:38 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Henter-Joyce and IBM Japan Announce Development of Japanese-Language Screen
Reader Software for Blind and Visually Impaired Computer Users
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2000--Henter-Joyce, a
Division of Freedom Scientific Inc., a leading developer of software for
blind and visually impaired individuals, and IBM Japan Ltd. announced on
May 22, 2000, a joint development effort to produce a Japanese-language
version of Henter-Joyce's screen reading software JAWS® (Job Access With
Speech) for Windows® (JFW), expanding on its current support of nine
languages.
Used by over 45,000 worldwide, JFW provides blind and visually impaired
computer users access to many popular applications and the Internet,
through the Windows 98/95, Windows NT, and Windows 2000 operating systems.
This development is to take place at IBM Japan's Accessibility Center and
will result in product planned to be available by the end of this year.
The outcome of this project will contribute to the accessibility of work
environments in Japan, therefore expanding the job opportunities for
visually impaired persons there. For more information on Henter-Joyce, go
to www.hj.com, and on IBM Japan, go to www.jp.ibm.com.
Since its introduction in the U.S. by Henter-Joyce in 1995, the JFW screen
reader has continued to expand its support for popular office applications,
data processing, email communication, and Internet navigation for the home,
business, and student computer user. One of the most powerful features of
the JFW software is its scripting language.
Specialized scripts shipped with the product deliver enhanced functionality
for specific application features. In addition, the JFW scripting language
is customizable, allowing advanced users to write original scripts to
support any application including proprietary business systems. This joint
development effort of Henter-Joyce and IBM Japan will utilize these
scripting capabilities within the Japanese Windows environment.
In addition to the Henter-Joyce technologies, this project will utilize the
technology of IBM Japan's Tokyo Research Laboratory with their Japanese
language processing, Braille type conversion, and ProTALKER® Japanese voice
synthesizer.
About Henter-Joyce, a division of Freedom Scientific Inc.:
Henter-Joyce (www.hj.com) and Blazie Engineering (www.blazie.com) merged in
April 2000, to form Freedom Scientific Inc. Henter-Joyce has led the way
toward computer access for blind and visually impaired individuals with its
technology products since 1987. Leading by example, over 40% of the
Henter-Joyce staff of 75 is blind or visually impaired, working in all
departments including software development, sales, testing, and technical
support. For more information about Henter-Joyce, JFW, MAGic screen
magnification software, tutorials, and training, please go to their Web
site or call 800/336-5658.
Blazie Engineering has been manufacturing hardware for blind and visually
impaired persons, including Braille note takers, Braille printers, and
refreshable Braille display devices for computers using screen readers such
as JFW since 1986.
ProTALKER is a trademark of IBM Corp. Windows and Windows NT are trademarks
of Microsoft Corp. All other company and product names are trademarks of
their respective copyright holders.
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Contact:
Henter-Joyce
Laura Stephan, 800/336-5658, ext. 1044
[log in to unmask]
www.hj.com
or
IBM Japan
Keisuke Numa, 046/215-5430
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