The web speak World Wide Web browser for the blind is hitting the dust.
by the end of the month, it will no longer be sold and support will be
gradually ended for existing users. Below is the announcement from
Issound. The company called Productivity Works changed its name this past
summer to Issound to in part remake itself as a mainstream, as compared to
a specialized, computer company.
kelly
URL: http://www.issound.com/pwwebspeak/index.htm
To Those Interested in pwWebSpeak:
isSound has made the decision to discontinue selling and enhancing the
pwWebSpeak non-visual browser, effective January 1, 2001, as its
business model is no longer viable.
For those users current on their maintenance agreement, we will
continue to support you until your agreement runs out. You will
receive an email confirming the month in which your agreement ends.
Since pwWebSpeak's development in 1996, changes in Web design and
standard practices, coupled with improvements in Screen Reading
technology, have changed the landscape for our desktop browser.
pwWebSpeak is limited in its capacity to handle the newer technologies
and functional aspects of the Web. The expense of enhancing the
product exceeds the revenue model.
Because we know that pwWebSpeak still offers a very satisfactory and
easy way for many people with visual impairments to have web pages
read to them, we are actively seeking an organization to take on the
distribution and support of the browser, and possible enhancement of
it. To date, such an organization has not been found. If we are
unsuccessful in finding such an organization, we are considering
offering pwWebSpeak to the visually impaired community as shareware
with no technical support.
We have turned our attention to the next generation of products that
will bring Web content to people in audio format. We remain committed
to developing products that serve all people based on open,
international standards.
Elaine Verna, President
pwWebSpeak(TM) is the award-winning non-visual Web browser that
provides you efficient and direct auditory access to Web pages and the
resources of the Internet. pwWebSpeak understands HTML, the language
of the Web, and lets you navigate and browse through the pages by
reading them back to you under your control.
Key Points
* Support for e-Commerce
* Synchronized audio and text display when reading
* Voiced menus as well as Keyboard Commands
* Complete non-visual and visual control of the environment -
including Real Audio, Media Player and FTP
* Navigation by text, headings, links, Tables, Forms or user defined
elements
* Support for Frames Automatic or user controlled reading
* Reading by page, element, or word, including spelling of words
* Support for a wide range of speech synthesizers - SoftVoice, SAPI,
SSIL, SAM
* Simple interface for rapid learning
* User definable interface for alternate access styles and devices,
like keypads
* User definable audio style sheets for specific application or
usage styles
Hardware and Software Requirements
* Windows 95, 98, NT and 2000
* Sound Card (Soundblaster compatible) if audio output required
* A supported speech synthesizer
* Pentium 133 with 16 megabytes of main memory and 5 megabytes of
disk space recommended for Windows 95 support; Pentium 200 with 64
megabytes of main memory and 5 megabytes of disk space recommended
for Windows NT and 2000 support
©2000 isSound Corporation All rights reserved.
SoftVoice is a Trademark of SoftVoice, Inc.
pwWebSpeak is a Trademark of isSound Corporation.
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