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Please enjoy this material and send any comments to me by email.
Ted Young

Computer Training & Sales/Disability Consulting

464 Sylvania Avenue      phone (215) 572-5882
Glenside, PA  19038-3629 fax (215) 572-6045

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
June, 1999

     Ok, I know that once again this publication is a month late.
The normal rush of business could have caused it.  It could have
been caused by your humble scribe pausing to appreciate nature
expressed in a beautiful bird song floating in the breeze of a
spring time day.  This avid reader not being able to put down a
good book could have caused it.  Well, who cares what the cause
was, here it is at last!  As usual, there is much to write about,
so let's get started!

ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

AI SQUARED

     In early June, probably by the time you read this, AI Squared
will release ZoomText Xtra 7.0. The main feature of this 32-bit
program is the ability to run under Windows 95, 98, and Windows NT.
The new version now includes support for true color display modes
including 24-bit and 32-bit color. You can use this display mode at
any resolution. Level-Two comes with two software speech
synthesizers, TruVoice and the Microsoft Speech Engine. You can
switch between them while the program is running. The following are
some other features which Scott Moore e-mailed to me for this
publication:

          Mouse Wheel Zooming: If your mouse has a wheel, you can
use the wheel to zoom-in or zoom-out at the pointer location.
Mouse wheel zooming works just like the Zoom-In and Zoom-Out tools,
but is available at any time.

          Tool Tips for ZoomText Buttons: All buttons in the
ZoomText user interface now have tool tips. When leaving the mouse
pointer stationary over any ZoomText button, a description of that
button will appear on the screen.  When running Level 2, the
description will also be spoken.

          Shortcuts to ZoomText Dialog Boxes: ZoomText dialog boxes
can now be opened by right-clicking on an associated button in the
Level 1 or Level 2 toolbars.   For example, right-clicking on the
color filter button will bring up the Colors dialog box.

          ZoomText Always-On-Top: The ZoomText user interface
window can remain on top of all other windows.  This option is
useful when you are running a maximized application and still want
to keep the ZoomText controls in sight.

          Talking Setup Program: The ZoomText Setup program talks
to you, guiding you through the installation.  The voice
instructions allow a visually impaired user to install ZoomText
without the assistance of a sighted person.

          ZoomText Tray Icon: When running ZoomText, an icon will
appear in the system tray (next to the clock in the Windows
taskbar).  The tray icon contains menus that allow you to change
many features, pop-up the user interface, or exit the program.

     When asked about plans for the future, Scott advised that the
company would resume work on ZoomText Level 3, and begin work on
ZoomText Xtra 8.0. We all know that ZoomText Level 3 will include
the much-requested scanning option. Scott would not divulge the
planned features for 8.0. Stay tuned, we'll keep asking.

ARTIC

How well I remember sitting down at my first 286 MHz computer with
a 10 megabyte hard disk drive and an Artic Vision screen reader. It
was truly a moving experience.  Now Artic has had its own moving
experience. Ok, I know that is a corny way to announce a change of
address, but your homonym-happy huckster couldn't resist that one.
Anyway, Artic has moved to this new address:

Artic Technologies
1000 John R. Road, #108
Troy, MI 48083

     The email address and all phone numbers remain the same. The
website has been overhauled as well, and should be online at the
beginning of June.

     There has been a change in sales policy regarding the low-cost
note-takers. In the past, a customer would buy the note-taker and
often return to purchase the value-pack software which includes the
terminal emulator, the book reader, the mirror program, etc. The
value-pack software sold for $100.00.  Both products are now sold
together so that the costs of Sqwert, Notepad, and ErgoBraille each
have increased by $100.00; the cost of the value-pack.

     Winvision 5.0 on CD will not ship until a problem is resolved
with MSAA reading dialog boxes on web pages. Although Microsoft is
working on a fix to the problem and assures Artic that it will be
available soon, the company is also seeking a workaround for it. It
is hoped that the new Winvision will ship in early June.

ARKENSTONE

     She made her public debut at the CSUN conference and is every
bit as glamorous, feisty, vivacious and feature-rich as we promised
in the last issue of this newsletter. I could, of course, refer you
back to that issue, and I know that each of you would scurry to
that secure spot where you store your most prized possessions and
retrieve the February edition.  But just in case even one of you
accidentally lost it, here is a list of features:

The program comes on a CD-ROM disk and includes IBM Viavoice
Outloud, the software synthesizer that is also known as Eloquence.
Arkenstone takes advantage of the built-in speech engine to provide
an easy-to-use talking installation program. Of course, Viavoice
Outloud requires a sound card in your computer. You can also use
hardware synthesizers with Ruby and easily switch between them and
software synthesizers.

     The scanning is definitely faster and more accurate. To
accomplish this improvement, Arkenstone has combined two optical
character recognition engines, taking the best from each. In
addition to the increased speed, the program is now fully
multitasking so you can be scanning while working in other
applications on your computer.

     Now, since Arkenstone totally rebuilt this program from the
ground up you may be shuddering at the thought of trying to cram
one more programs into that already command-laden,
keystroke-stuffed portion of the mind. No fear, the old interface
is still available. However, those who are used to the Windows menu
bar and pull down menus will probably find themselves tending to
use the new interface. Your humble author, who spent years with the
old number keypad menus, now hardly ever leaves the home row. Since
the new and old interfaces are interchangeable, you can switch
between them to satisfy your own comfort needs.

     Ruby includes an editor, spell checker, dictionary and
thesaurus. The editor is full-featured and, although it is not as
powerful as some name-brand major word processors, one can either
edit a scanned-in novel, or use the Ruby editor to write that
bestseller you have been dreaming about all your life. You can have
multiple documents open in Ruby and cut, copy, and paste between
them.

     The program is replete with features for low-vision users. You
get the standard text view  (we all know what that is), or you can
also get an exact view.  The program retains a picture of the
actual page including graphics.  The user can enlarge the picture
and even have the word that is being spoken highlighted on the
screen. You can also adjust spacing between lines, words and
characters, apply colors to the text and/or background, change
and/or enlarge fonts, etc.

     Ruby cooperates well with the major screen readers and shares
the software speech engine. In other words, you no longer need to
close your screen reader to use it.  A nice extra is the "Buckscan"
program, which recognizes both US and Canadian currency. Just put
that bill on the scanner, hit the scan key and hear the
denomination spoken.

     There is much more in this version that I am not going to take
the time and space to mention. Feel free to visit the Arkenstone
homepage at http://www.arkenstone.org to learn more.

     Each year at the CSUN conference, the producers of scanning
software for blind persons are invited to show their stuff in a
format that has come to be known as "Dueling Scanners." You can see
the results of this year's session by pointing your web browser to:
http://www.csun.edu/cod

     Vera Wood is shipping! This is a stand-alone reading machine
in a hand-built wooden cabinet that incorporates the easy reading
features of the Vera software. The keypad is made for people who
want to read print but want nothing to do with computers. It can be
thought of as being like a "library for the blind" cassette machine
with play, stop, record, rewind and fast forward keys. Vera Wood is
extremely easy to set up and comes with an instruction cassette.


DUXBURY

     Just so you know that your inquisitive reporter is not
ignoring any company, let me assure you that I tried to contact
Duxbury for an update. Unfortunately, my calls were not returned.

     However, I do want to say a word of praise for the technical
support. Usually you need to wait for a call back, but once that
happens, the quality of support you get and the patience of the
staff is outstanding.


GW MICRO

     Window-Eyes version 3.1 began shipping today, June 4, 1999.
For those of us who have been beta-testers, we know the
improvements and features, but for those who preferred to wait for
the solid version, here is what you can expect:

     Improved performance: The program just keeps getting snappier
and faster. Web pages load faster than they did in version 3.0.
The ability to navigate web pages, which was already very good
under version 3.0, is even better. The program also will fully
support Windows 98 version 2, and the very soon to be released
office 2000. Support for applications using HTML.  Of course this
includes Internet Explorer but also Windows 98 help, Office 2000
help, Outlook Express and others.

Increased support for Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA).  As
Doug Geoffray explains "GW Micro has made the commitment to MSAA.
We feel MSAA is currently the best option available for the long
term computing needs."

     In a list of improvements to Window-eyes 3.1 Doug goes on to
state:

Many SET files have been enhanced and several have been added.
Like
Access 97, Office 2000, WordPerfect 9.0 and others. Improved the
Off-Screen-Model (OSM) to be even more accurate"

     For a complete list of the 3.1 enhancements (and there are a
lot of them), please refer to the README.TXT file which accompanies
the upgrade.  It is a free upgrade if you choose to download it
from the web site, or the company will also put it on a CD-ROM disk
for you at a charge of $20.00.

     There is a new addition to the staff of GW Micro, namely,
Clarence Whaley, training and sales coordinator located in
Nashville, Tennessee. In the plans for the future are regional
training classes on Window-Eyes, which will be open to all users of
the product. We will keep you informed.


HENTER-JOYCE

     Jaws for Windows 3.3 is now shipping. Some of the features you
will find are:

* Easy access to the system tray with programs listed in a popup
list box
* The option to speak changes to text styles such as font, point
size, bold, italics, underline, color, capitalization and repeated
characters in a different voice when reading.
* More natural sounding sayall, saysentence and sayparagraph
functions
* An automatic graphics labeler
* The ability to speak the attributes of rows, cells and tables in
Microsoft Excel
* Support for a host of popular programs, the Microsoft Application
Object Models and MSAA, MS-SAPI 4.0 software
* Updated multilingual Eloquence software that will remove the
conflicts between JFW and programs that were using Eloquence 4.0;
etc.

     The company announced that it will increase its technical
support staff of 7 on-site and 2 off-site engineers by two more
technical support people in the month of June.


SIGHTED ELECTRONICS

     David Pillisher from Sighted Electronics advises that there
are now Windows drivers for the index Braille printers. For those
who, like your confused scribe, wonder what that means, David
explains that it enables you to select your Index or Everest
printer under Windows the same way you would select any other
printer when printing.


**TECHIE TIDBIT**


     Some can remember those old DOS days when if you accidentally
deleted a file it was gone for good. Then came Norton Utilities,
the saint of second chance with the ability to restore those lost
files as long as the disk space that held them wasn't used for
something else. Then, Microsoft built a second chance into the DOS
program and we could undelete and unerase.  Once again we were
limited by the fact that we could not overwrite the disk space that
had been used by the deleted file.

     Microsoft Windows took a different approach to the problem. It
created a folder and automatically put deleted files there until
you were really sure you didn't want them at which time you could
clean out the recycle bin. Yes, Microsoft is politically correct.
Although that idea eliminates the worry of accidentally writing
over the disk space of the deleted file, it creates a new problem.
If you forget to empty that bin it can eventually fill up your
disk. If you're like this disorganized scribe (Don't look at my
desk, please), emptying the recycle bin is something you seem never
to get around to doing.

     One solution, if you know what you want to delete, and you
know that you won't ever want it back, hold down the shift key when
you hit that delete key and you bypass the recycle bin. Once again,
be warned.  The file is really gone and unrecoverable.


CSUN, CTG, AND ATIA

     Ok, so techies love acronyms.  You already know that CSUN
refers to the large technological conference held in California in
March, that CTG refers to the closing the Gap conference held in
Minnesota in October, and whoops, there are a few readers who never
heard of ATIA. Well, until this past March when I visited the CSUN
conference I was numbered in that uninformed group. Now, thanks to
a telephone interview with Shana Johnson, ATIA administrator, I am
able to serve as your docent.

A year ago this past March (1998 for those poor in subtraction), a
group of manufacturers of assistive technology got together and
formed ATIA, Assistive technology Industry Association. The
objective of this organization as stated on the homepage at
www.atia.org is "To facilitate education and awareness of assistive
technology for people with disabilities of all types, worldwide."

     As one means of accomplishing this objective ATIA will hold
its first technology conference on October 6-7-8-9, 1999 at the
Radison Twin Towers Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Although the
conference will have many of the same producers and vendors of
assistive technology showing their products, the conference itself
is not meant to compete with CSUN and/or CTG. As one member
explains it: "Where CSUN and CTG are heavily education-oriented and
somewhat academic in their sessions and workshops, we often hear
the market asking for a more practical exposure to technology as it
relates to jobs, employment, individual productivity, performance,
and independence." Speaking of the CSUN AND CTG conferences, this
member goes on to say, "It would not make sense to compete with
such success, nor would we want to compete because education is
such an important part of our businesses. However, in the
employment world, a successful job placement often involves the
vendor working hand-in-hand with counselors, technology
specialists, network administrators, private agencies, trainers,
end users, etc.  This is a complex challenge that requires
knowledgeable people in every one of these positions, and we know
that there are some stellar performers out there...  I don't speak
for ATIA, but I certainly see their conference as an opportunity to
break new ground, create new partnerships, and help produce more
stars."

     Shana advises me that although the conference is scheduled for
October this year as the result of space and other scheduling
problems, it will be held in January in 2001. Although it will be
held at the same hotel for the first two years, it is not the
intention to have it at the same place each year. There has been
some talk about having it in New York and other places on the East
Coast.

     As for the conference format there will be times scheduled in
the exhibit hall for vendors to give demonstrations of their
products. Editors Note: As one who never gets to see everything he
wants to see in the exhibit hall this is a great idea.

     ATIA has invited 13 different professional leaders in the
field to make presentations this year. The vendors will do the
company presentations themselves, so that the most current
information about the products is given correctly. Professionals
will lead sessions on how the products are being used. In the
brochure announcing the ATIA conference, which was distributed
right after the CSUN conference, there is a call for interactive
sessions targeted toward the professionals to allow the
professionals and the attendees to have interactive time with each
other. For example, professionals could provide information on the
research that they have done and consumers, parents and or
professionals who are working in a school setting can "really get
to the nuts and bolts of what their research is."  Shana explains
that sessions should allow one to "really be able to talk with the
people who have come up with what works and not have to reinvent
the wheel." In the words of the unnamed member quoted above: "The
ATIA conference will evolve over time into its own entity and take
on its own personality.  My hope is that it will become a living,
breathing place for dialog between market needs and technological
solutions."


     At the time of this interview the conference has 60 vendors
and expects approximately 1000 attendees.

     Sound Exciting? If you want to attend or want more information
contact Shana Johnson, phone number (847) 869-1282, or email to her
at [log in to unmask]  You can also get information at the web
site: http://www.atia.org. If you register before 6-30-99 the cost
will be $235.00; from July through September 20th the cost goes to
$285.00; or you can register on site for $325.00.
**TECHIE TIDBIT**

     As old DOS users know, and, for that matter as younger DOS
users know, the program provided a way of sorting a list of files
in a directory alphabetically, by date, and by size. There are
times when that would be a handy feature in Windows Explorer, and
yes it is there if you look in the right place.

     To sort by name, size, or date, go into the 'view' menu and
down, to arrange icons. Press the 'enter' key and arrow through the
choices.  No, I am not going to try to answer the question why this
is not called arrange files which would help every one to know it
is an option.


SOUNDS (PART TWO)

     At the end of part one of this series we left your neophyte
audiophile author panting and drooling. No, now come on!  There
really are a few other things than that to get excited about. In
this case your humble author was excited about the prospect of
getting a computer with a CD-ROM burner in it. Well, it has
happened, your servant has survived the tortures of transferring
files and programs between computers using Windows, and is ready to
share some of the knowledge he has acquired in this area. I am
going to assume that those reading this article are as uninformed
about CD-ROM burners as I was several months ago, so, if you are a
whiz in this subject you'll be bored.

     First, let's discuss the costs of using a CD burner. Blank
CD-ROM disks come in two flavors, those that you can write on only
once, (CDR), and those that you can write and rewrite a number of
times, (CDRW). Those that can be written only once are at least
three times cheaper then those that you can use over and over. At
the present time your author is heading for poverty at the cost of
about $2.70 for a write-once only disk, although I am sure that I
will find a less expensive place to get them. Obviously, you don't
need a lot of rewritable disks and it is a good thing, as they run
about $8.00 each.

The Adaptec software that accompanied my Yamaha 4416E CD-ROM burner
is very speech-friendly. There are two programs that pop up on the
'programs' menu, CD Direct and Easy CD Creator. CD Direct is as
easy to use and as speech-friendly as any program I have ever seen.
It sets up your disk so that you can use your CD-ROM burner as
another disk drive. Once it is set up you can use it with that
drive letter under Windows Explorer. Now remember, if you are using
a write once-only disk, you can't erase the file and reclaim the
disk space. You can remove the name of the file from the directory
or disk catalog but you cannot reuse that space which has already
been burnt into the disk. I use this program to back up data files
that I know I want to keep. Yes, .mp3 files are data files. The
disks hold an incredible amount of data, 660mb. If you know you
want to keep the files and you want to save money use a write once
only CD with this program. When you finish using the disk you must
reenter the CD Direct program to eject it from the burner, but if
you leave it in the burner you don't need to rerun CD Direct the
next time you use the computer.

     Now let's talk about the Easy CD Creator. Although it is an
extremely easy and speech-friendly program to use either with or
without the wizard to help you, your humble adventurer suffered
enormous anxiety trying to make a music CD. It turns out that the
problem was not with the software but with the CD burner which had
a check box incorrectly checked in the properties of the device. I
can tell you from this experience that the tech support at Adaptec
is very good, although you'll need to wait for the technical
support person to call you back.

     Having dispensed with the setting problem, the program is
extremely easy. You tell the program the location of the .wav files
you want to record. You then select them as you would select any
group of files in Windows Explorer, you know, that old "keep the
control key held down, hit the down arrow and press the space bar"
to select the files you want. You then tab to next, type in the
name of the CD and the artist if you wish, and then go to 'finish'
and let it do the work. You can read the screen with your
Window-Eyes or Jaws cursor to check on the progress as it is
recording.

Aha, my alert reader, you want to know why I mentioned .wav files
above when I rave so much about .mp3 files. Glad you caught me on
that one. You cannot record a .mp3 file on a CD-ROM and play it in
the standard CD players. You need to convert the file from .mp3 to
.wav before you use the easy CD creator. I use my Winamp program
plug-in called disk writer that will take the .mp3 files you select
and convert them.

I owe Jonathan and many other members of the PC-Audio listserv much
thanks for their patient help in guiding me through the information
I have just written.


MY ONLY COMMERCIAL

     Don't complain.  You knew it was going to happen sooner or
later, and I did wait until you got through all of the great
information above before I did it.

So let me remind you that Young Opportunities Inc. provides
computers, peripherals, and adaptive technology at reduced prices.
Our discounts on all product prices and our occasional sales can
add to your savings. In addition to other products, we carry all
the products listed in technology updates, and we invite you to
call for further information.

     I'm working on an update to that antediluvian relic known as
my catalog.  If you go to my web page, please don't read the
catalog, as it is far out of date. Until the new one is ready,
please feel free to call for prices.

CLOSING TIME

     Time, cost and postage tell me that it is time to end this
newsletter.  Please address any comments to me at the address on
the front page, or contact me by email at [log in to unmask]
Also, please feel free to visit my website at:
http://www.voicenet.com/~youngop   p\ok\ok699.txt