Mystic Place Blog and Podcast

Sightsavers International has been shortlisted for the Champions of Quality Education in Africa Award - a global competition that celebrates innovative ideas that are improving education in Africa. This award (sponsored by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation) will be decided by public vote, so we are asking you to vote for Sightsavers International.

90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not go to school. This includes 4.4 million blind and visually impaired children who are sadly missing out on an education, often due to a lack of learning materials and appropriate support.

Sightsavers International, in partnership with Dolphin Computer Access ltd and the World Blind Union, has developed the Sightsavers Dolphin Pen, a lightweight pen drive with a screen magnifier and screen reader. This cost effective technology gives visually impaired students access to computers, and therefore educational materials, textbooks and information via the internet. It also gives them the same opportunity to develop their IT skills and employment prospects as sighted learners. This technology is being piloted in one of Sightsavers inclusive education programmes in Kenya and will provide a model that can be replicated across Africa.

By supporting this project, you will help raise awareness of the challenges that face blind and visually impaired children in developing countries and help Sightsavers to improve learning opportunities for blind and visually impaired children through assistive technology across the continent.

Click here or visit http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/educationafrica to vote for the Sightsavers project, Pioneering Assistive Technology: equal opportunities in education for visually impaired learners, by the 19th August to help us to improve the opportunities of blind and visually impaired children in Kenya and across Africa.

This should only take a couple of minutes of your time. Please note you will need to register on the Changemakers website and vote for three projects in order for your vote to count.

For more information, please visit www.sightsavers.org/changemakers or contact Victoria Martin at vmartin@sightsavers.org or +44 (0)1444 446781.

Learn more about the Sightsavers Dolphin Pen

How is the Sightsavers Dolphin Pen making a difference in Kenya?

 

Dolphin is running a series of short, yet informative AltFormat webinars (20 minutes in length) throughout August & September. They will deal with a whole host of AltFormat related subjects including:

• Creating Large Print & Braille
• Creating MP3 & DAISY
• An Introduction to EasyConverter
• An introduction to EasyTutor

When is the next webinar?

All of the webinars will be conducted by Dolphin's very own Rachel Bagust. Rachel has over 15 years experience in various sectors of education and training, both at practitioner and policy development level.

Since 2006 Rachel has been introducing altformat software to education institutions and commercial organisations. In doing so she has helped them to support their learners, staff and customers with visual or print impairments, whilst meeting their own statutory duties in ensuring that information is available in an accessible format.

Learn more about:

• EasyConverter - The complete toolkit for delivering alternative formats
• EasyTutor - Transforming the written word
• Watch EasyConverter in action (series of short videos)

 

 

What's New in Version 11.04?

To coincide with the release of version 11.04, Dolphin Computer Access are pleased to report a new and improved update process for version 11 users of SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus.

The new update patches continue to be available free of charge via the Dolphin internet updater and for manual download from the support pages of the Dolphin website. The new update patches are now based on the full installation, and although slightly larger (approx 50mb), bring with them several user focused advantages:

• All components of Dolphin software can be updated including SAM, ensuring speech synthesisers and Braille display improvements can be distributed more easily.
• The new style patches are identical for both single user licence and network versions users.
• The uninstall options will perform as expected.
• Users will be familiar with the update patches process as it is virtually identical to the full product installer.

FIX: A series of fixes have been included for users running 64-bit Remote Desktop in a Terminal Server environment.

FIX: For users working with the Windows 7 public beta, version 11.04 includes a fix for some Windows 7 freezing issues. To join the Dolphin public beta programme for Windows 7 visit http://www.yourdolphin.com/newsitem.asp?id=331

FIX: Some additional locking code has been include in version 11.04 to help prevent Blue Screen crashes or hangs.

Tip: In the unlikely event that your Dolphin product encounters an error, you can help improve your Dolphin software by providing any information as to what you were doing at the time. To opt-in to the Product Improvement Program, when your Dolphin access software is running, open the Control Panel with CONTROL + SPACE. Open the "Help" menu with ALT + H and choose "Customer Feedback..." and follow the prompts.

FIX: For magnification users, the bitmap handle translation is now more reliable, preventing some intermittent magnification freezes.

Improvement: A new way for turning off ClearType has been included for Windows XP, Windows 7 32/64 bit.

Tip: In most cases Dolphin's recommended Windows settings should remain unchanged. If you need to change Clear type or or other Recommended settings this can be achieved in the access product Control Panel in General<Advanced<Windows Settings.

Improvement: A Dots Per Inch (DPI) Aware flag has now been included. For users running at greater than 125dpi, this should ensure their software's magnification coordinate system works correctly.

Change: Version 11.04 now shows the Dolphin software build number in the release build of all 30-day demo versions.

FIX: A bug has been fixed in the memory manager.

Dolphin Scripting engine:

Dolphin access software includes a powerful scripting API based on the established open source Lua scripting language. For more information about Dolphin scripting and access to a wide range of scripts and scripting resources visit the Dolphin Scripting zone at: http://www.yourdolphin.com/scripts

Fix: Version 11.04 fixes the possible situation where calling a Dialog. function with the incorrect parameters could stop subsequent dialogs from appearing.

Fix: The GetAreaState now only adds slider/range/position states for areas that have these details.

Fix: Scripting: A fix has been implemented for the reported crash when calling GetAreaProperties.

Script Editor:

Fix: A problem had been reported that when performing a "find previous", followed by a subsequent "find next" operation, this would fail. This problem has now been resolved with a version 11.04 fix.

Fix: The text size limit has been removed on the debug output window.

Fix: Improved support for the handling and saving of "read only" files.

SAM 2.53:

SAM is Dolphin's Braille and Synthesizer Access Manager. If you wish to add a new refreshable Braille Display or Speech Synthesizer to your system for use with Dolphin Access software pressing the "Detect All Devices" button from within the SAM dialog will install support for most devices.
Due to the improvements in the Dolphin patching systems, it is now possible to share SAM improvements via downloadable patches and the Dolphin internet updater.

NEW: A new Seika Braille display driver (2.2.0.68) has now been added.

FIX: A change in behaviour has been included so that a driver is detected when turned on with the checkbox in the SAM Control Panel. Previously, ticking the check box of a driver did not detect it and a "detect all" was required.

Fix: A series of fixes have been include to address the issue where SAM takes a long time to shut down.

Fix: SAM has been updated to handle non-null terminated description strings. This fix will be of interest to users working with some Papenmeier Braille displays.

NEW: SAM version 2.53 includes added support for the Closetime setting in .sdi file.

NEW: A new SAM control API command to allow clients to set/clear hwnd for messages from SAM has been included.

If you require assistance using any aspect of Dolphin products, our friendly Product Support team is just a phone call or email away. http://www.yourdolphin.com/support.asp?id=7

How Do I Receive My Free Update?

To receive these free improvements, ensure you have your Dolphin internet updater turned on to check for new maps, scripts and product updates.

Alternatively some users may prefer to download their update manually from the Support pages of the Dolphin website.

Files and folders on your hard disk have attributes (hidden, encrypted, system, compressed etc) that reflect and/or control how the filesystem handles them

StreetTalk VIP GPS Released!

Media files and installers always outgrow the available portable storage space so a good file splitter and merger comes in handy for huge file transfers

Sendero CEO Mike May was at the White House for the signing ceremony of the proclamation celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was also one of a small group who met privately with President Obama and some members of his cabinet to discuss issues of importance to the disabled community from healthcare to accessible technology. More

The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) has signed a contract agreement with a Dolphin Computer Access led consortium to deliver a small-scale pilot project over two years (2009-11). This is to develop and trial different curriculum formats for visually impaired and dyslexic pupils. This consortium is undertaking the necessary preparatory work to identify those local authorities and schools which will participate in the project. It is hoped that the materials will be piloted from November 2009.

This project is a key aspect of the Department's drive to narrow the overall attainment gap between young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their peers. It also forms the Department's response to the RNIB report Where's My Book? which demonstrated that the current system of providing accessible versions of textbooks to blind, partially sighted and dyslexic pupils is ineffective.

The report supported anecdotal evidence suggesting school teachers and support staff often have to spend time photocopying text from curriculum materials and then blowing them up for visually impaired or dyslexic pupils, meaning children with visually impairments or dyslexia often received their materials later than their peers. This in turn caused a stagnation of educational and social progress.

One solution is to ensure that curriculum materials are made available in electronic form so as to enable the efficient production of formats, accessible to all learners with print disabilities. Working with other government departments, key stakeholders and the Publishing Licensing Authority, the DCSF drew up a specification and asked bidders to set out proposals for a project to:

• produce and trial alternative formats in a small number of schools and local authorities
• evaluate the effectiveness of the approaches used
• produce best practice recommendations and outline plans for long-term sustainability.

The then Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform were instrumental in the development of this project: having already undertaken a Book Expansion Project and in bringing together the RNIB and representatives from the book trade to explore options for developing accessible materials. The Book Expansion Project used digital resources to develop a new model for the production and distribution of accessible books, with the RNIB and publishing organisations working in partnership to take this opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of blind, visually impaired and dyslexic pupils. The project has now reached the stage where additional large print books and other formats are becoming available through the book trade and the RNIB.

A spokesperson from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said that 'BIS will continue to support the DCSF in their new project for textbooks, which will extend the lessons learned in the Book Expansion Scheme to investigate how publisher files can be used to improve learning resources in schools.'

The Publishers Licensing Society and the Publishers Association also played a key role in garnering support for this pilot project from individual publishers of educational material. Kate Harris, Chair of the Publishers Council, Chair of the Educational Publishers Council and Managing Director of the Education and Children's Division of Oxford University Press said: 'It is vitally important that children with print disabilities have the books they need in accessible formats. The outcomes from this project will help us all -- Government, parents, publishers, specialist support staff, teachers and more importantly the students themselves, to work together to understand the best ways to meet this objective for more children.'

This pilot project has been welcomed by key organisations representing visually impaired and dyslexic people. Lesley-Anne Alexander, Chief Executive of the RNIB said: 'Access to basic curriculum materials remains a major issue for many blind and partially sighted pupils. The RNIB knows this because parents, pupils and teachers tell us their experiences all the time. Blind and partially sighted children must have the same chances to learn as their sighted classmates. This means getting curriculum materials in the appropriate format at the same time as the rest of the class, so we welcome this pilot project as a crucial step forward in achieving a solution to the current inequalities.

The British Dyslexia Association also welcome the pilot project a representative said: 'The British Dyslexia Association has been working with the DCSF in the development of this project and is delighted at this step forward. Accessible formats are vital in helping young dyslexic people raise their educational attainment. This pilot project will make a difference to the lives of many dyslexic children and we hope it will be rolled out nationally.'

Badly written context menu handlers and other shell extensions can destabilize your system. We use a fast search method to locate and remove them

Mike May, Sendero Group awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from ABVI Goodwill. Featured on 13WHAM TV, http://www.13wham.com/content/news/thismorning/story/ABVI-Honors-Mike-May/XKw6w1DlkUW1wiqoE9elZA.cspx

Announcing the release of Sendero GPS 6.0! This release offers new maps and Points of Interest, a simplified address searching module including zip/postal searches, and more relevant POI details while searching.

Software Express Limited, a part of the Dolphin Computer Access Group of companies today officially announced their new company name, Dolphin Computer Access (North) Limited. Trading as Dolphin Computer Access, their Guide software will also be renamed as Dolphin Guide, with the handsfree version becoming Dolphin Guide HandsFree.

As a part of a corporate wide re-branding initiative, these changes are designed to establish Dolphin Guide and Dolphin Guide HandsFree as a fundamental part of the wider Dolphin Computer Access range of computer access solutions for people with low vision and blindness. Already established as the preferred screen access solution for computer novices, Dolphin Guide perfectly compliments Dolphin's SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus screen reading, screen magnifying and Braille display solutions for employment and education.

The new company name and re-branding follow the acquisition of Software Express by the Dolphin Computer Access group in November 2008, and is expected to further strengthen the position of the Dolphin group internationally. Noel Duffy, Managing Director of Dolphin Computer Access commented;

"In order to expand the Guide brand internationally, we have decided to bring it under the Dolphin umbrella. This will enable us to reach a larger global market, and ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy and experience this award-winning software."

In 2005, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) awarded Software Express a Simply the Best Award for the contribution Guide software made to product innovation for blind and visually-impaired users. This multi-award winning software has since enabled thousands of people across the UK to use computers and gain their independence.

Mary McMahon, Managing Director of Software Express added "Our team is very excited to be integrating more closely with Dolphin Computer Access, and we believe that our continued partnership will enable the newly-named Dolphin Guide to build on our customer base in the UK and become a worldwide success. The team at Software Express will stay the same, offering our customers the same great support."

Following the move, Software Express will continue to operate from their Durham office and will support and distribute Dolphin Guide software products in the UK. All international sales will be managed at the Dolphin Computer Access Headquarters in Worcester, at the Swedish office in Falköping and from the US office in New Jersey.

For more information about Dolphin Guide products, please visit the newly launched www.DolphinGuide.com website.

The Dolphin development team have been hard at work and we are pleased to announce the latest set of free updates for version 11 users of SuperNova, Hal, Lunar and LunarPlus.

What's New in Version 11.03?

• Updated: An updated map file for Adobe Acrobat 7 (v2.02) is now included.
• New: A new WinBraille 5 map file is now included.
• New: Czech Braille literary tables
• Updated: Further script and map improvements have been included for users of Microsoft Word 2007 (V2.04), Microsoft Excel 2007 (V2.05), Microsoft Office 2007 (V2.09) and Microsoft Office XP (v1.29).
• Updated: The Dolphin keyboard language script now includes support for German, Hindi and Dutch languages.
• Fix: For Arabic SuperNova and Hal users that pressed the Dolphin Key + H could previously result in the position of the Dolphin Cursor highlight being incorrect. This problem has now been resolved.
• Fix: Some users were experiencing double mouse pointers when running in a Terminal Server session. This is now resolved.
• Fix: A problem has been resolved that may have resulted in random crashes in Windows XP.
• Fix: A code correction has been made to fix a bug that occasionally caused a hang at close down.
• Fix: A problem has been resolved where some users where receiving the error message "cannot create file to download to" from the Dolphin Internet Updater.
• Fix: For German product users, the "read battery status" global action is now supported.
• Fix: Some users were experiencing problems where their Dolphin software did not start in Windows 7, despite being listed in task manager and process list. This has now been resolved.
• Fix: A fix has been included for some customers who have been experiencing magnification and Off Screen Model failure when their monitor is not connected to the primary device. Typically this has affected a small percentage of laptop users who also use an external monitor, where the monitor is connected to secondary output and primary monitor is disabled. i.e. The monitor in use is not labelled as number 1 in the display properties.
• Fix: Users running under Citrix and 64-bit Citrix Remote Desktops will benefit from a number of small fixes.
• Fix: For Dolphin Scripters, a fix has been included in the ScriptEditor where in some circumstances the text in the auto complete dropdown was being clipped.
• Updated: The Dolphin Sam (v1.01) map has been improved to announce disabled drivers.

How Do I Receive My Free Update?

To receive these free improvements, ensure you have your Dolphin internet updater turned on to check for new maps, scripts and product updates.

Alternatively some users may prefer to download their update manually from the Support pages of the Dolphin website.

International alternative format advocate AltFormat.org and industry experts Dolphin Computer Access partner at AHEAD 2009 to offer free 'AltFormat' workshops to higher education disability service providers

Princeton, NJ (July 06, 2009) - International alternative format advocacy group AltFormat.org are hosting their first US based alternative format creation workshops. These follow a similar and successful program of workshops across Britain and South Africa where they trained in excess of five hundred university and college professionals. Partnered by the alternative media experts at Dolphin Computer Access, the first four of these free US workshops, entitled "Easy as 1, 2, 3: Creating alternative formats the EasyConverter Way" are set to commence at the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) 2009 Global Access conference in Kentucky from July 20th to 25th, 2009.

Dolphin's chief product designer, Mattias Karlsson, will lead each workshop, offering attendees a step by step insight into the 'whole' alternative format creation process, from the beginning as a raw source file, through to conclusion as quality large print, MP3, DAISY talking books & Braille.

AltFormat.org Chairman Noel Duffy explains why AltFormat.org has decided to bring their free alternative format workshops to the US.

These are exciting times. Over the past few years the demand for high quality, timely, alternative format material has been growing exponentially. Requests for MP3 and DAISY now being received from learning disabled students to go alongside the more traditional large print and Braille requests of their visually impaired peers. Despite the best efforts of the disability officers universities and colleges have struggled to meet their obligations. The Obama stimulus package may alleviate some of the resource pressure on DSS officers. However we need a long term sustainable solution. Hopefully these sessions organized jointly by Dolphin and AltFormat.org can point to a future where more can be achieved for less.

Each of the free workshop sessions will take place during the Annual Conference of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference held this year in the Kentucky between 20th to 25thJuly 2009. Ron Stewart, Managing Consultant Altformat Solutions LLC explains:

The theme of the AHEAD 2009 conference is 'Global Access: Opening a World of Opportunity' and the conference schedule is already packed. However we have been delighted that AHEAD has allowed AltFormat.org & Dolphin Computer Access to deliver a series of free workshops to our colleagues in higher education. I have personally seen the difference these trainings have already made in the UK and we are especially pleased to see DAISY expert Mattias Karlsson travelling in from Sweden to deliver the sessions."

For more than 15 years, Mattias has been at the forefront of the development of alternative format materials for the vision and print impaired people and is highly regarded for his contributions to the development of the digital talking book format DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System). As the driving force behind EasyConverter and EasyReader and the alternative format product manager for Dolphin Computer Access, Mattias will be perfectly positioned to lead each of the four workshops sessions. Mattias will educate the workshop attendees with tips to deliver quality alternative format materials with speed, suggestions on best practice and proven processes, as well advice on how to avoid the most common pitfalls.

The workshop sessions will be based around version 5 of Dolphin's EasyConverter software that enables disability officers with all levels of alternative format creation experience to make large print, Braille, MP3 and DAISY talking book formats of their students print materials. Each of the four workshop sessions entitled "Easy as 1, 2, 3: Creating alternative formats the EasyConverter Way" are free, but seats will be limited and will be reserved on a 'first-come, first-served basis'. The workshop times are:

• Wednesday 22 July 2009 at 13:00
• Wednesday 22 July 2009 at 19:00
• Thursday 23 July 2009 at 12:30
• Friday 24 July 2009 at 16:00

To book your free workshop seat, visit www.yourdolphin.com/book_event.asp.

“GW Micro is proud to announce the release of the Braille Sense Plus QWERTY – a full featured notetaker boasting many of the great features of the Braille Sense Plus, with the addition of a 77-key, PC-like keyboard.

The Braille Sense Plus QWERTY includes a 32 cell Braille display, speech output and ergonomic design, weighing in at a mere 2 lbs. With 8GB of built-in storage memory you will have plenty of storage space for all the files you download using the built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. 128MB of RAM provides for quick processing response time. The VGA Port allows you to have a conversation with a large group using an external monitor or projector. It also has one SD slot, one CF slot, two USB ports, a user-removable battery, and supports Bluetooth and GW Sense Navigation.

The Braille Sense Plus retails for $5995, plus shipping.

If you already own a Braille Sense Plus, you may choose to upgrade from your existing unit to a Braille Sense Plus QWERTY for the reduced price of $2000. This offer is only available until September 30, and will involve using some components of your existing Braille Sense Plus unit.

If you are attending the ACB or NFB national conventions we hope you will stop by our booth to try out the Braille Sense Plus QWERTY, and see the latest, most advanced QWERTY Braille notetaker in action.

For questions or to place an order, please call GW Micro at (260) 489-3671 or visit www.gwmicro.com to find a local GW Micro dealer.

Dolphin Computer Access has today announced the release of EasyTutor version 8; Dolphin's advanced reading and writing aid, empowering people of all ages with learning disabilities including dyslexia to improve their literacy skills. EasyTutor version 8 not only provides users with assistance when typing and full access to a variety of documents (including Microsoft Word documents and users favourite web pages), but also now includes full access to talking books through the addition of the world's favourite talking book software player, Dolphin EasyReader, to the EasyTutor offering.

What is EasyTutor?

EasyTutor is Dolphin's advanced reading and writing aid, supporting computer users with Dyslexia, low literacy levels, and people who otherwise experience difficulties with reading, writing and spelling.

EasyTutor provides access to a variety of different document types (including users favourite web pages and scanned paper-based documents)*, reading the content in a clear, human sounding voice and highlighting each word as it is spoken. EasyTutor can also help to build computer users' vocabulary through the use of an intuitive word prediction engine, and an advanced word and homophone dictionary and thesaurus, each containing handy image-based as well as text-based definitions of words.

EasyTutor version 8 now includes Dolphin EasyReader

The addition of the recently released EasyReader version 5.01 to EasyTutor's UK release means that EasyTutor users now have unrivalled access to Talking Books without the need to purchase additional software. Talking Books offer fantastic access to reading materials through highlighted text and audio; a combination which has been shown to increase the exam scores of students with low literacy levels by up to 40%.**

Sir Steve Redgrave, ambassador for the AltFormat.org campaign for alternative format provision, who is dyslexic himself, explains why the inclusion of EasyReader to EasyTutor's offering is so important:

"We're in a digital age; it's now possible to create digital books that could be presented for example as combined audio and text. This type of talking book is proving highly popular with everyone that uses it... Talking books are probably the single most exciting thing to happen to people with dyslexia and now Dolphin EasyTutor supports them with the addition of Dolphin EasyReader to its bank of easy-to-use features."

What's new in EasyTutor version 8?

Dolphin EasyTutor version 8 offers an incredible range of additional features and functionality, justifying Dolphin's decision to move from version 2.02 to version 8.01. Dolphin's Dyslexia Product manager Stefan Pearson explains:

"EasyTutor version 8 is incredibly feature rich, including new functionality such as the Screen Ruler to help users read the text on the screen a line at a time, and also the Study Tools to assist users to present information in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Also, the EasyReader add-in allows users unrivalled access to talking books with the World's favourite software talking book player. With these improvements coupled with EasyTutor's existing reading and writing support, EasyTutor version 8 is an exciting and innovative solution that can make a huge difference to people with learning disabilities."

EasyTutor v8.01 now includes a vast array of additional features including:

• Save as Video: allowing users to save documents as video files to view on a portable media player, or on their PC at their leisure
• Screen Ruler: magnifying a horizontal area across the screen, making it that little bit easier to read through documents a line at a time
• Study Notes: collecting information from documents and webpages, saving it as a project, ready to be imported straight into Microsoft Word or PowerPoint
• EasyReader add-in: EasyTutor now comes with the latest version of the world's favourite software DAISY player, EasyReader*
• Brand new EasyTutor toolbar: The EasyTutor toolbar has been revamped with new, crisp and clear icons. What's more, users can now choose their preferred look and feel of EasyTutor, with three brand new skins to choose from
• And much much more: read the full list of What's New in EasyTutor version 8 on the Dolphin website.

The release has commenced with a UK English and Dutch version, with translations into a multitude of different languages expected over the coming weeks and months. These translations include US English, Swedish, Icelandic, Finnish, Hebrew, to name but a few.

Even with these huge advancements in features and functionality, EasyTutor v8.01 is available for only £159; a credit crunch busting 20% discount from the price of v2.02.

Related Links:

Read the full list of EasyTutor Version 8 Features

Find out What's new in EasyTutor version 8

Download a free 15 day trial version of EasyTutor version 8

 

* Scanning functionality and the EasyReader add-in are not available on the Dolphin Pen version of EasyTutor. EasyTutor version 8.01 in UK English includes EasyReader version 5.01. EasyTutor version 8.01 in Dutch includes EasyReader version 3.01.

** Source: Effects of Audio Texts on the Acquisition of Secondary-Level Content by Students with Mild Disabilities; Elizabeth A. Boyle, Michael S. Rosenberg, Vincent J. Connelly, Shari Gallin Washburn, Loring C. Brinckerhoff and Manju Banerjee; Learning Disability Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Summer, 2003), pp. 203-214; http://www.rfbd.org/mediapr23.htm.

Dolphin Computer Access has today announced the immediate availability of the latest release of the world’s favourite software talking book player; EasyReader version 5.01.

EasyReader version 5 has been completely redesigned by Mattias Karlsson; AltFormat Product Manager at Dolphin Computer Access and international DAISY expert. Mattias comments:

“The objectives of EasyReader version 5 were to make EasyReader easier to use, fully accessible to both visually impaired and dyslexic readers, and to cement EasyReader’s rightful status as THE talking book playback tool. To achieve these objectives, we went straight to the core and completely re-engineered EasyReader based on extensive international customer research.”

The new EasyReader version 5 is now incredibly easy and intuitive to use. The brand new user interface stores all of the reader’s settings in a practical tabular panel on the left hand side of the interface. This tabular design, not dissimilar from other recognised document readers, utilises a resizable panel, from which users can select their preferred settings as well as accessing EasyReader’s advanced heading navigation, bookmarking and search functions.

This emphasis on ease of use and intuitive design has not deterred Dolphin from adding new functionality to EasyReader. EasyReader version 5 now includes an all new Bookshelf feature, which stores readers recently opened and favourite books, making the process of opening a new book even easier than ever before. Version 5 has also incorporated a brand new Help system which is launched in a cut down version of EasyReader, and a handy setup wizard which ensures that the reader is up and running with their bespoke EasyReader settings in no time at all.

Broadening the appeal of DAISY to a wider audience

The lack of a contemporary or ‘mainstream’ playback device that has been designed intuitively for dyslexic readers represents one of the major barriers to the adoption of DAISY as THE preferred alternative format for learning disabled and dyslexic readers.

Sir Steve Redgrave, five time Olympic gold medal winning rower and ambassador of the AltFormat.org campaign for alternative format provision, explains how EasyReader version 5.01 will break these barriers. Sir Steve comments:

“I’m a big supporter of accessing text in combined audio and highlighted text. With research showing that the combination of text and audio can help readers with dyslexia retain information better and improve their exam scores by up to 40%, accessing learning materials as talking books seems like an obvious choice. But EasyReader version 5 really takes talking books to the next level. Not only is EasyReader version 5 incredibly easy to use, but it is packed full of useful features, and looks extremely modern and contemporary too. I can’t think of a more effective and pleasant way to access reading materials than with the new EasyReader.”

The addition of EasyReader’s new clear and distinct graphical icons, new menu bar structure and complete terminology overhaul also mean that the concept of DAISY talking books is now inviting and fully accessible to readers with dyslexia and sight loss.

Accessibility and Usability at the core

Accessibility has been a fundamental priority in the design of EasyReader version 5. For added accessibility, EasyReader’s “speak to me” functionality acts as a mini screen reader, reading out menu items and controls as a reader navigates through the EasyReader user interface. Readers can also use their own screen reading software with EasyReader. EasyReader is fully compatible with Dolphin SuperNova and Hal as well as other popular screen reading software.

EasyReader version 5 represents giant leaps forward in access to DAISY and other talking book materials, and has already received rave reviews from both the dyslexic and visually impaired community. Brian Hartgen, assistive technology industry commentator and accessibility expert comments:

“The accessibility enhancements within EasyReader version 5 make this application a pleasure to use.  Not only is it easy to find all controls within the player by pressing the Tab key, but the staff at Dolphin have put a lot of thought into creating logical and easy to remember shortcut keys.  Accessibility must equal usability and this product ticks both boxes!”

Mattias Karlsson, AltFormat Product Manager at Dolphin Computer Access continues:

“The new EasyReader version 5 is now extremely easy to use and intuitive to both keyboard and mouse users. The contemporary new user interface and icon designs are both visually engaging and fully accessible, and the addition of the all new Bookshelf feature has built on EasyReader’s status as the most feature-rich software talking book player available. Dolphin has received a great deal of rave reviews for EasyReader already, and I for one am really excited about the EasyReader release!”

Related links:

Visit the EasyReader product page

Find out “What’s New in EasyReader version 5.01”

Download a free 30-day Trial of EasyReader 5.01

Read the full list of EasyReader Features

View the EasyReader version 5 screenshots

The free lite xplorer2 version is released in sync with the professional version, bringing among other things: windows 7 compatibility, trialpay upgrade option and a few bugfixes. For more information see Help | What's new menu command.

Meet your ever growing Dolphin Computer Access team at the American Council of the Blind Annual convention July 3rd thru July 11th in Orlando, the National Federation of the Blind 2009 National Convention July 3rd thru July 8th, 2009 in Detroit and the AHEAD 2009 Global Access Conference July 20th thru July 25th, 2009 in Louisville.

Join Gareth Collins and SuperNova Version 11 at ACB 2009, Orlando

Already a familiar voice to many Dolphin Computer Access customers, Gareth Collins has been working in Dolphin's product support offices for more than 19 years. Originally from Wales, Gareth has called US home for the last 11 years and is based in the east coast New Jersey office.
Primarily focusing on delivering excellent product support, Gareth spends his working day supporting the rapidly growing community of US Dolphin users and Dolphin product dealers as he explains;

Dolphin are not the biggest access technology vendor in the US, but we do work extremely hard on ensuring our users get the best possible product experience. As a magnification user myself, I know from firsthand experience that being able to pick up the phone and get a helpful, detailed and accurate response to your enquiry is paramount. That's my role, ensuring if ever a Dolphin user gets stuck, I get them up and working as quickly as possible."

However Gareth's expertise doesn't stop there. His product design, documentation creation and Dolphin Scripting skills are second to none and are evident in the recently released version 11 of SuperNova Reader Magnifier, Hal Screen Reader, Lunar Screen Magnifier and LunarPlus Enhanced Screen Magnifier. The American Council of the Blind Annual convention July 3rd thru July 11th in Orlando offers the perfect opportunity to meet Gareth and get a personal demonstration of all of the new features and functionality now available to screen reader and screen magnifier users in version 11. Why not ask Gareth about support for 64-bit Windows, the extensive Braille support improvements, the Dolphin Pen II, as well as Internet Explorer 8, iTunes v8 and Skype v4 support?

Meet Andy Leach, Bentley and Dolphin Guide at NFB 2009, Detroit

Compared to Gareth's 19 years, Andy Leach is a relative newcomer to Dolphin, celebrating his 1st anniversary early this fall. But Andy's roots are set deep in the access technology industry, his previous role being the regional sales manager for Freedom Scientific. Now as Dolphin's lead Sales Executive for the US and Canada, Andy's expertise comes from having a user's knowledge of the full range of screen readers, which led him to formulate his thoughts on access technology for vision impaired seniors.

Like a large percentage of people of employment age I was brought up using a computer, but for many seniors and baby boomers that simply isn't true. Add in failing sight, low vision or blindness and for many computer novices the learning curve with a 'professional' screen reader becomes too steep, but these people still want to email friends and family, surf the web and scan and read post. But learning how to achieve these tasks has to be easy."

"Dolphin Guide is perfect for these users. It removes all the complexity from the modern PC by offering a simple menu system that walks the user through every step, confirming their actions and progress with the human sounding Realspeak voices. For these users it is all about gaining confidence at their own pace, knowing that you can't go wrong. Dolphin Guide is the definitely the best talking software for that journey."

Based in the Dayton Ohio area, Andy and his guide dog Bentley will be making the short hop north to Detroit later this week to attend the National Federation of the Blind 2009 National Convention and to showcase Dolphin Guide. Conference visitors looking to meet Andy and to talk about any Dolphin software, including Dolphin Guide should stop by booth C79.

Catch up with Jeff Bazer, Devon and exclusively preview EasyConverter v5 at AHEAD 2009

Jeff Bazer and his guide dog Devon are the new kids on the block at Dolphin, having joined only one month ago. Previously employed by a large US access technology vendor, Jeff was excited to work for a company "that has their heart in the right place, working with products I believe in". Jeff is referring to his new Sales Executive role for Dolphin's alternative format creation and play back tools, more commonly known as 'AltFormat'.

Although based in Columbia, South Carolina, Jeff trains and advises college and university disability service offices and instructional material centers from all across America on how to best to create DAISY talking books, large print, Braille and MP3s for vision and print impaired students.

Later this month Jeff will be joining his Swedish colleague Mattias Karlsson at the AHEAD 2009 Global Access conference July 20th thru July 25th, 2009 in Louisville. As Jeff describes;

We are really excited to be offering a series of free alternative format creation workshops in partnership with AltFormat.org at this year's AHEAD conference. Lead by Dolphin's Chief Product designer Mattias Karlsson, the workshops will offer attendees a step-by-step insight into the 'whole' alternative format creation process, from the beginning as a raw source file, through to conclusion as quality large print, MP3, DAISY talking books & Braille."

"I can also announce that AHEAD conference attendees and those signed up for the free workshops will get a chance to preview and experience the new EasyConverter version 5, complete with new even easier to use interface, a client profile manager, quick conversion options and a brand new scanning engine. To sign up for the free workshops visit www.YourDolphin.com/book_event.asp."

Book your place at the AltFormat.org & Dolphin AltFormat workshops at AHEAD

Email Gareth Collins, Andy Leach or Jeff Bazer