Wow... I kept reading, waiting to see if there was 
a punchline or hint that it was a prank. Ah well, 
life goes on... for most.

Thanks,
Everett


----- Original Message ----- 
> I got this on another list and thought many of 
> you would find it of interest.
>
> Regards,
> Sherry Wells
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> Press Release: Ai Squared and GW Micro Join 
> Forces
> Assistive Technology Leaders Merge to Expand 
> Opportunities for
> Computer Users Who Are Blind or Visually 
> Impaired
> Manchester, Vermont and Fort Wayne, Indiana (May 
> 1, 2014) - Ai
> Squared, the maker of ZoomText and sitecues; and 
> GW Micro, the creator
> of Window-Eyes, have merged into one company. 
> With this merger, the
> companies will combine their talents to better 
> assist computer users
> who are blind or visually impaired.
> ZoomText is the world's number one screen 
> magnifier and text-to-speech
> software package that allows people who are 
> visually impaired to use a
> computer with ease. Window-Eyes is a popular 
> screen reader that
> enables people who are blind to be fully 
> independent on the computer
> by translating visual information into speech 
> and/or Braille.
> "Our mission is to provide a full family of 
> computer accessibility
> solutions for users who are low vision or blind, 
> whether they access
> digital information via their desktop, the web 
> or their mobile
> device," said David Wu, CEO of Ai Squared. 
> "Earlier this year, we
> commercially launched sitecues, a product which 
> enables website owners
> to build accessibility tools right into their 
> websites. Today's merger
> with GW Micro rounds out our mantra of 'We've 
> got accessibility
> covered' - with our combined forces, we can now 
> deliver an even wider
> range of computer access solutions."
> The need for assistive technology continues to 
> grow. According to the
> World Health Organization, over 285 million 
> people in the world are
> considered visually impaired; 39 million of 
> those are blind, and 246
> million have moderate to severe visual 
> impairments. "The merger of Ai
> Squared and GW Micro brings together two 
> companies that offer great
> solutions for the millions of Microsoft 
> customers around the world who
> are blind or visually impaired," said Rob 
> Sinclair, Chief
> Accessibility Officer at Microsoft.
> "We are also delighted that Ai Squared will 
> continue to develop and
> support the Window-Eyes for Office Offer as many 
> of our customers rely
> on this screen reading solution to enable access 
> to Windows, Office
> and other Microsoft products," Sinclair said.
> Dan Weirich, Co-founder of GW Micro and now Vice 
> President at Ai
> Squared, said he is thrilled to incorporate 
> Window-Eyes into the Ai
> Squared product family.
> "It's a natural fit," Weirich said. "Combining 
> our companies will
> strengthen Ai Squared's global presence in the 
> assistive technology
> industry, allowing us to serve even more 
> customers."
> Weirich noted that many customers using web and 
> computer accessibility
> tools inevitably progress further along the 
> visual impairment spectrum
> during their lifetime. As a result, they will 
> require more advanced
> assistive technology as their needs change. With 
> the merger, Ai
> Squared will be in a better position to assist 
> those customers,
> developing products that provide a seamless 
> transition and user
> experience as customers adapt to their changing 
> vision.
> Ai Squared will continue to offer Window-Eyes 
> and its related products
> as they were previously offered by GW Micro. In 
> addition, a free and
> fully featured version of Window-Eyes will 
> continue to be available
> via the Window-Eyes Offer for Users of Microsoft 
> Office as part of the
> recently announced partnership with Microsoft 
> and GW Micro. The GW
> Micro team will remain in Indiana as part of the 
> Ai Squared team,
> which is headquartered in Vermont.
> About Ai Squared: Ai Squared (www.aisquared.com) 
> has been the
> worldwide leader in assistive technology 
> solutions for people who are
> visually impaired for over 20 years. The product 
> line is available in
> over 20 languages and sold in 45 countries 
> through a network of over
> 350 global distributors. Ai Squared's screen 
> magnification and
> screen-reading products dramatically improve a 
> computer's usability
> and friendliness for users who are blind or low 
> vision, raising their
> level of productivity, satisfaction, and 
> independence. The family of
> Ai Squared products includes ZoomText, ZoomText 
> Large-Print Keyboard,
> ZoomText ImageReader, ZoomText Mac, Window-Eyes, 
> sitecues, the
> ZoomReader iOS app, and the ZoomContacts iPad 
> app.
> About GW Micro: GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) 
> has been a trusted
> pioneer in the assistive technology industry 
> since 1990; it has led
> with innovative, customer-driven solutions, and 
> the GW Micro team has
> always been proud of its description as the 
> Voice of Vision.
>
>
>
> Ai Squared     Manchester Center, VT     (800) 
> 859-0270 www.aisquared.com
>
> Find us on:
>
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> User Group List.
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> 
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