FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Scott Meyers
Director of Marketing
Blind/Low Vision Group
800-444-4443 or 727-803-8000
[log in to unmask]
www.FreedomScientific.com

Feature Packed JAWS® for Windows® 4.0 Public Beta Download
Now Available for Pre-Authorized Users
(English Version)
_____________________________

World Class Braille and Application Support, INSERT+F1 On Screen Help
Messages, Powerful Customization Tools and a Personal Tutor
Highlight Long List of Features

(St. Petersburg, FL - August 13, 2001) -- Freedom Scientific Inc., a leader
in assistive technology products for people with vision impairments and
learning
disabilities, has posted a public beta for the new, feature-full JAWS ® for
Windows ® 4.0 for all users scheduled to receive this version.

Slated for product release in September, this new version of the world's
most powerful and popular screen reading software, includes
state-of-the-art technology
and options that provide superior Braille support for applications such as
Word, Excel and Power Point. This new Braille support is unmatched by any
screen
reader on the market.

A much-anticipated feature, INSERT+F1 Messages, will now appear on the
screen. It allows JAWS to present help on the screen for easy and detailed
review
in both speech and Braille--a feature that received tremendous response by
both users and trainers during private betas.

For years, JAWS has been praised for its powerful and flexible scripting
language, but now, Version 4.0 also includes new tools for easier
customization.
One tool gives users control to assign or modify prompts for both speech
and Braille. It even assigns custom tutor messages without having to write
scripts.
And, a new Frame Viewer gives all users control to customize complicated
applications without writing scripts.

JAWS for Windows 4.0 provides complete support to new applications such as
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 5.0, Microsoft® Office XP, Internet Explorer 6, among
others.

These exciting new features to JAWS are complemented by an adjustable
personal Tutor mode that provides keystrokes and quick navigation tips
while using
Windows applications. Both current and new users of JAWS, will appreciate
this new feature.

Other new features include: An exclusive Rewind feature during SayAll
without interrupting the reading, all-new HTML help and easier to adjust
verbosity
settings.

Those who purchased a new license for the current JAWS for Windows 3.7 on
or after July 1, 2001 will receive a free updgrade to JAWS for Windows 4.0.

Long recognized as the world's most popular screen reading software, JAWS®
for Windows® uses an integrated voice synthesizer and your computer's sound
card
to output the content of your computer screen to speakers. JAWS also
outputs to refreshable Braille displays. This technology provides access to
a wide
variety of information, education, and job related applications to over
60,000 users worldwide.

Find more info as well as the public beta at:
http://www.hj.com


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html