Oops! Seems I forgot to attach the answer from Don Dalton??!! Apologies! Here it is: A screen magnifier with speech output is not necessarily of less value than the dedicated screen review package. A screen review package serves blind users where a magnifier with speech serves low vision users who are much more prevalent. The prospective user for screen review must be a touch typist first. Screen review is a very complex program and most users of screen review are comfortable with this and understand the program well. Training someone to use screen review is a long, arduous process. If you end up purchasing screen review, count on the fact that your users will already understand the program. Don't try to become a trainer or all of your waking hours will be spent training screen review and touch typing. If I were on a limited budget, I would purchase ZoomText Extra Level II, as it is an excellent magnification package with speech output (limited screen review) and is usable by blind individuals using keystrokes. Blind people do not use mice. This product costs $595 plus shipping. On the other hand, JAWS (the best and most popular screen review package) costs $895 and serves a more limited demographic, is difficult to use and train, and can really eat up your time. Best regards, Don Dalton, President Assistive technologies Inc. www.assistivetechnologies.com > I would suggest that you check out the website for the following. > www.closingthegap.com and www.freedomscientific.com. Freedom Scientific is > a vendor of adaptive software including speech. Closing The Gap is an > organization that provides information on all types of adaptive equipment. > Their website includes an online resouce catalog. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Nissen [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 2:55 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Screen Reader or Magnifier > > > Hello, > > If you have a limited budget, you could try WordAloud which combines > magnification with speech. It is not strictly a screen reader/ magnifier, > but instead reads directly from files on computer disc or pages on the web. > You can read any text stored in TXT or HTML form, and you can read from any > Windows applications, such as MS Word, by saving in TXT form or by using the > clipboard. > > The cost of a site licence, e.g. for a library, is US$179.80 (plus $10 cover > charge. You can download an evaluation copy, from the Cloudworld web site: > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > -- > In message <[log in to unmask] > >, Digital Librarian <[log in to unmask]> writes > > I am very new to this list, so I apologize in advance if this > > question has been previously discussed. I did briefly check out the > > archive but had some troubles navigating through it. > > > > I had a call from a librarian who is seeking advice about adaptive > > technology. She has budget for only item, either a screen reader or > > a screen magnifier. She was wondering if it was best to go with a > > magnifier since some of the newer versions include a speech reader. > > Would this be the best solution to stretch her budget or are the > > screen readers that come with magnifiers of less value than a > > dedicated screen reader? > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > Elizabeth > > Elizabeth O'Brien > > Coordinator of Digital Collections and Services > > Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) > > > > 1929 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4G 3E8 > > Tel: (416) 480-7433 Fax: (416) 480-7700 > > E-Mail: [log in to unmask] www.cnib.ca > > Try our WordAloud software! Visit http://www.wordaloud.co.uk > > John Nissen, Cloudworld Ltd > Tel: +44 20 8987 8326 (or 0845 458 3944 in the UK) > Fax: +44 20 8742 8715 > Email: [log in to unmask] > Site: http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > Audrey J. Gorman Access for All -- CoreComm Webmail. http://home.core.com