AssistiveWare - Assistive Technology Software Press Releases

Assistive Technology Software Press Releases

Proloquo2Go AAC App for iPad Now Available

Amsterdam - 02 April 2010 - AssistiveWare^® today announced its Proloquo2Go™ App for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The app is a major update to the premier augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) solution for people who cannot speak. Costing a fraction of the dedicated devices it rivals in power, flexibility, portability and easy of use, this version of the Proloquo2Go App has been optimized for iPad and will be a free update for current users.

Proloquo2Go is changing the world for people who have difficulty speaking. People with autism, Cerebral Palsy, down syndrome, ALS, developmental disabilities and beyond benefit from the Proloquo2Go speech technology. Because iPad has a large screen users will be able to use grids of up to 64 items. Proloquo2Go also now supports all device orientations allowing users to hold iPad any way they like. Proloquo2Go is a universal App permitting the use of the exact same app on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

New Features and Enhancements in version 1.3

Universal App that will run optimally on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Added additional items sizes for the iPad.
Support for both landscape and portrait view plus device rotation.
Redesigned toolbar for easier access to core functions.
Additional Appearance Settings for a fine-tuned user experience.
Rewritten core grid engine for higher performance.

Proloquo2Go is latin for speak out loud and thatÕs exactly what it helps people do! The app has taken the world by storm and is regularly featured in newspapers such as USA Today and The New York Times, as well as by major TV networks. This is an app that changes peopleÕs lives. Proloquo2Go costs a fraction of the dedicated devices it rivals, which typically cost anywhere between US$2500 and US$8000. Users and speech-language pathologists love Proloquo2Go and even though it has been on the market for less than a year, over 100 assistive technology centers already include it in client evaluations. While some people need dedicated devices, an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad with Proloquo2Go brings communication within reach of many people with autism, Down syndrome, apraxia, ALS, cerebral palsy and victims of stroke and others who could never before afford a communication device.

The Proloquo2Go App is available for US$189.99 from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

For more information: www.proloquo2go.com

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and the iPhone. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users, and Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution as well as the ground breaking Proloquo2Go communication solution for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice Proloquo, and Proloquo2Go are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare releases Proloquo2Go 1.2, an iPhone app that gives a voice

Amsterdam - 15 February 2010 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of Proloquo2Go™ 1.2 for iPhone and iPod touch. Version 1.2 is a major update to the first consumer device-based communication solution for people who cannot speak. Costing a fraction of the dedicated devices it rivals in power, flexibility, portability and easy of use, Proloquo2Go 1.2 adds dozens of enhancements and fixes. This update is available through iTunes free of charge for current users.

New Features and Enhancements

Added support for wide items to fit more text. This doubles the number of available layouts, ranging from 1 item per screen to 36 items per screen.
Optimized and increased font-size and legibility on many item sizes in grid view.
Added a pronunciation editor allowing users to easily customize the pronunciation of any word.
Added auto-recovery in case the vocabulary database becomes damaged.
Items without an image now show more lines of text nicely centered.
Over a dozen other interface and usability enhancements.
Fixed several problems with manually re-ordering items.
A dozen other bug fixes.

Proloquo2Go has taken the world by storm and is regularly featured in newspapers such as USA Today and The New York Times, as well as by major TV networks. This is an application that changes people's lives. At US$189.99 Proloquo2Go costs a fraction of the dedicated devices it rivals, which typically cost anywhere between US$2500 and US$8000. Users and speech-language pathologists love Proloquo2Go and even though it has been on the market for less than a year over 100 assistive technology centers already include it in client evaluations.

While some people need dedicated devices, an iPod or iPhone with Proloquo2Go brings communication within reach of many people with autism, Down syndrome, apraxia, ALS, cerebral palsy and victims of stroke and others who could never before afford a communication device.

For more information: http://www.proloquo2go.com

AssistiveWare showcases educational software for Mac and iPhone at BETT

Amsterdam - 11 January 2010 - AssistiveWare announced that it will showcase it's latest Mac software as well as preview improved and new iPhone software for special needs and education at the BETT trade show in London (stand SN60). The preview includes an upcoming version of Proloquo2Go, the life-changing iPhone software for people who cannot speak, as well as an entirely new storytelling application. BETT runs from 13 to 16 January at the Olympia in London.

Proloquo2Go is the first consumer device-based communication solution for people who cannot speak. Initially released in April 2009, Proloquo2Go is shaking up the assistive technology industry: An iPod touch with Proloquo2Go costs 5 to 20 times less than dedicated devices it rivals in power, flexibility, portability and easy of use. Proloquo2Go already serves thousands of people who could never before afford a communication device. The upcoming version adds many enhancements and fixes, including enhanced support for people who prefer a text-based interfaced over symbols.

The new iPhone application for storytelling that is previewed at BETT combines visuals, text to speech and audio recording for an engaging learning experience.

Also shown at BETT are the latest Snow Leopard compatible versions of KeyStrokes, SwitchXS, Proloquo, LayoutKitchen, GhostReader, VisioVoice and Infovox iVox.

KeyStrokes provides a fully-functional virtual keyboard with multilingual word prediction and dwelling for people with physical disabilities.

SwitchXS is a single or multiple switch-based computer access and communication solution providing full emulation of mouse and keyboard for use with any standard Mac OS X application. Also supports switch accessible communication panels.

Proloquo is a multilingual speech and communciation solution for Mac OS X enabling people who cannot speak to user their computer as an AAC device. Not to be confused with our Proloquo2Go product, which turns an iPhone or iPod touch into full-featured communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking.

LayoutKitchen is a keyboard, speech panel and scan panel editor for KeyStrokes, Proloquo and SwitchXS.

GhostReader is an easy to use multilingual document and selection reader that can also convert text to iPod-ready iTunes files.

VisioVoice provides access to Mac OS X for vision impaired users through a talking interface and text and image zoom windows.

Infovox iVox, co-developed with Acapela Group, provides naturally sounding voices in a language of choice for use by any Mac OS X application.

For more information, fully-functional downloadable demos and to listen to samples of the voices please visit our web site. For a hands-on demonstration, please come and visit us at stand SN60 in the Special Needs section of BETT.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and the iPhone. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users, and Proloquo(R) multi-purpose speech solution as well as the ground breaking Proloquo2Go communication solution for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Infovox iVox 2.0 gives Mac OS X Snow Leopard voices in 22 languages

Amsterdam - 29 October 2009 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the release of Infovox iVox 2.0. Infovox iVox 2.0 offers Snow Leopard compatibility, significantly improves performance and responsiveness and adds a number of new voices for the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Flemish, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Turkish. These voices work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application, including VoiceOver, Preview, TextEdit, AssistiveWare VisioVoice, ConvenienceWare GhostReader, and Adobe Acrobat.

After an extensive public beta, Infovox iVox 2.0 is now ready to give Mac OS X a natural-sounding voice in 22 different languages. A complete rewrite of the core iVox speech engine was necessary to make Infovox iVox 64-bit compatible and ready for Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard". Despite the major engineering efforts, Infovox iVox 2.0 is offered as a free update in order to facilitate the migration to Snow Leopard for those people who rely on these natural sounding voices to use their computer. All Infovox iVox users are advised to upgrade to version 2.0 before upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Infovox iVox is Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

The product includes all voices available for a language of choice. The following languages are available on Mac OS X 10.4 and later: American English, British English, American Spanish, Canadian French, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish. The following languages require Mac OS X 10.5 and later: Arabic, Turkish, Czech, Greek, Russian and Polish. Due to the changes required for Snow Leopard, Icelandic is no longer supported.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or Kallysta for France.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and the iPhone. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users, and Proloquo(R) multi-purpose speech solution as well as the ground breaking Proloquo2Go communication solution for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

Entirely dedicated to developing and deploying natural language interfaces, Acapela Group is the European leader in speech solutions. Acapela Group speech solutions have already been deployed in many services and applications: voice portals, unified messaging services, CRM and contact centers, talking web, interactive games, edutainment software, e-learning tools, public address, assistive tools for the disabled, navigation aid, embedded systems, and much more.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Proloquo2Go iPhone App Shakes Up Assistive Technology Industry

Amsterdam - 21 September 2009 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of Proloquo2Go™ 1.1, a major update to the first consumer device-based communication solution for people who cannot speak. Initially released in April, Proloquo2Go is shaking up the assistive technology industry: An iPod touch with Proloquo2Go costs 5 to 20 times less than dedicated devices it rivals in power, flexibility, portability and easy of use. Proloquo2Go already serves thousands of people who could never before afford a communication device.

“As evidenced by articles about Proloquo2Go in USA Today and on the front page of The New York Times, Proloquo2Go is sending ripples through an industry that is not used to solutions that can be purchased in any electronics store and on Apple’s App Store,” said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare’s CEO. “While dedicated devices cost anywhere between US$2500 and US$8000, an iPod touch (US$199), a speaker case (US$40) and Proloquo2Go (US$189.99) are within reach of family and school budgets. Users and speech-language pathologists love Proloquo2Go and over 75 assistive technology centers already include it in client evaluations.”

Version 1.1 adds British voices, voice personalization and other innovative features.

“The price is so compelling,” said Dan Herlihy, owner of Connective Technology Solutions, “and the software and hardware platform on which Proloquo2Go runs is so radically improved over current devices in its category that, if not quite a paradigm shift, Proloquo2Go markedly raises the bar for accessibility, ease of use, and affordability.”

“I program Proloquo2Go at school side by side with high-end expensive dedicated devices”, said Margaret Griffin a speech-language pathologist. “It is so much easier and faster to set up and adapt Proloquo2Go than other technologies. AssistiveWare really captured human interface in a way far superior to any other AAC device maker.”

For more information: http://www.proloquo2go.com

AssistiveWare updates flagship products for Snow Leopard

Amsterdam - 31 August 2009 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of updates for its KeyStrokes^®, Proloquo^®, SwitchXS^®, LayoutKichten^® and GhostReader™ products for full Snow Leopard compatibility. With these free updates Mac users with physical, speech and language disabilities can now enjoy the pleasures of Apple's new Snow Leopard operating system.

The updates resolve various bigger and smaller compatibility issues with Snow Leopard and all current users are strongly recommended to upgrade to the new versions before installing Mac OS X 10.6.

KeyStrokes 4.1.1 provides a fully-functional virtual keyboard with multilingual word prediction and dwelling for people with physical disabilities.

SwitchXS 2.5.1 is a single or multiple switch-based computer access and communication solution providing full emulation of mouse and keyboard for use with any standard Mac OS X application. Also supports switch accessible communication panels.

Proloquo 2.0.2 is a multilingual speech and communciation solution for Mac OS X enabling people who cannot speak to user their computer as an AAC device. Not to be confused with our Proloquo2Go product, which turns an iPhone or iPod touch into full-featured communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking.

LayoutKitchen 2.1.2 is a keyboard, speech panel and scan panel editor for KeyStrokes, Proloquo and SwitchXS.

GhostReader 1.6.5 is an easy to use multilingual document and selection reader that can also convert text to iPod-ready iTunes files.

For more information and fully-functional downloadable demos consult the products page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or Kallysta for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Snow Leopard compatible Infovox iVox voices in public beta

Amsterdam - 28 August 2009 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced a public beta of Infovox iVox 2.0. Infovox iVox 2.0 brings Snow Leopard compatibility, significantly improves performance and responsiveness and adds a number of new voices for the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Flemish, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Turkish. These voices work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application, including VoiceOver, Preview, TextEdit, AssistiveWare VisioVoice, ConvenienceWare GhostReader, and Adobe Acrobat.

Infovox iVox 1.3, the currently shipping version, is not compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard". A complete rewrite of the core iVox speech engine was necessary to make Infovox iVox 64-bit compatible and ready for Snow Leopard. Despite the major engineering efforts, Infovox iVox 2.0 is offered as a free update in order to facilitate the migration to Snow Leopard for those people who rely on these natural sounding voices to use their computer.

Because of the large number of languages available in Infovox iVox, not all languages will be available immediately as part of the public beta. The first languages to be released will be American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Canadian French, Spanish, American Spanish, Swedish and Norwegian. More languages will follow in the coming weeks. Languages are made available in public beta step by step to allow for basic internal tests before a language is made available as part of the public beta.

Infovox iVox is Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The product includes all voices available for a language of choice. The following languages are available on Mac OS X 10.4 and later: American English, British English, American Spanish, Canadian French, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish. The following languages require Mac OS X 10.5 and later: Arabic, Turkish, Czech, Greek, Russian and Polish. Due to the changes required for Snow Leopard, Icelandic is no longer supported.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or Kallysta for France.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and the iPhone. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users, and Proloquo(R) multi-purpose speech solution as well as the ground breaking Proloquo2Go communication solution for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

VisioVoice 1.2 enhances access to Snow Leopard for vision impaired Mac users

Amsterdam - 27 August 2009 - AssistiveWare® today announced the release of VisioVoice® 1.2. VisioVoice enhances access to Mac OS X for people with vision impairments through a system-wide talking interface and typing echo, text and image zoom windows, large cursors as well as a document and selection reader. VisioVoice includes a license for the natural sounding Infovox iVox voices for one language of choice. VisioVoice can also convert text, Word, PDF, HTML and RTF documents to audio files and iPod and iPhone-ready audiobooks. VisioVoice offers features that are complimentary to Apple's excellent VoiceOver screen reader and is primarily intended for those users that prefer mouse-based access to their computer over full-keyboard access.

VisioVoice 1.2 new and improved features:

Full Snow Leopard compatibility
Full compatibility with Safari 4
Compatibility with Infovox iVox 2.0 (to be available as public beta soon), including non-Roman languages
Enhanced iTunes export with choice of encoder and background import in iTunes
Speak selection now also works in floating windows such as the one used by Help Viewer
Improved performance and lower CPU use
Fixes some bugs including one with the Help menu in Leopard

While VisioVoice provides as much support as is technically possible for applications that do not support Apple's accessibility API, best results can be expected when using VisioVoice with accessible applications such as TextEdit, Safari, iChat and others.

VisioVoice is a Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 or later. VisioVoice is localized in English, French, Dutch and Japanese. VisioVoice includes a license for Infovox iVox for natural sounding voices in one language of choice. Voices are available for the following languages on Mac OS X 10.4 and later: American English, British English, American Spanish, Canadian French, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish. The following languages require Mac OS X 10.5 and later: Arabic, Turkish, Czech, Greek, Russian and Polish.

Pricing for VisioVoice is 249 Euro/USD excluding VAT. Version 1.2 is a free and recommended upgrade for existing users.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or Kallysta for France.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and the iPhone. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users, and Proloquo(R) multi-purpose speech solution as well as the ground breaking Proloquo2Go communication solution for the iPhone and iPod touch. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, VisioVoice and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Proloquo2Go 1.0 for iPhone a break-through in augmentative communication

Amsterdam - 22 April 2009 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of Proloquo2Go™ for iPhone and iPod touch. Proloquo2Go is the first full-featured communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking not costing thousands of dollars. Finally, powerful augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) comes within reach of consumers and schools without access to funding. Never before was using a communication device so portable and so cool as with Proloquo2Go and the iPhone or iPod touch. Proloquo2Go is a true break-through in price and technology, bringing natural sounding text-to-speech voices, up-to-date symbols, powerful automatic conjugations, a default vocabulary of over 7000 items, full expandability and extreme ease of use to the iPhone and iPod touch.

Proloquo2Go is a perfect solution for anyone who cannot afford spending thousands of dollars on an Augmentative and Alternative Communication device and yet wants a solution that in terms of sheer communication power and ease of use rivals solutions typically priced over 10 times as high. It is also perfect for teenagers and young adults who want a device as cool as the iPhone or iPod touch. Not to mention, this a great solution for children and adults with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, developmental disabilities, or apraxia. Proloquo2Go can also serve adults with acquired disabilities such as ALS, stroke or traumatic brain injury. It can be a useful solution in hospital and rehabilitation settings.

"The price is so compelling," said Dan Herlihy, owner of Connective Technology Solutions, "and the software and hardware platform Proloquo2Go runs on so radically improved over current devices in its category that if not quite a paradigm shift, markedly raises the bar for accessibility, ease of use, and affordability."

Special educators, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists have found Proloquo2Go a proven communication solution for children and adults who can access the iPod and iPhone touch interface. Educators see it as a cost-effective solution for special education. Speech therapists and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) specialists love the ease of programming and customization. Users love Proloquo2Go because it is not only powerful, but it runs on the iPhone and iPod touch. Parents appreciate the system because it is easy to program and makes their children cool. Proloquo2Go can be used as a companion to a table top device or as a user’s sole AAC device.

"When we set out to design Proloquo2Go we knew we wanted to provide the kind of power typically only found in desktop applications," said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's CEO. "The iPhone has allowed us to do just that, develop a full-featured, fully customizable communication solution that fits right in your pocket."

Proloquo2Go is available on the App Store for an introductory price of US$ 149.99 or Euro 109.99. After a few weeks the price will be US$ 199.99 or Euro 149.99. Bundles with speakers and cases are available from several of our partners (for more info see the Proloquo2Go web site).

Proloquo2Go uses Acapela Group’s state-of-the-art Text-to-Speech voices. The current version includes North American English male, female, girl and boy voices. British English voices will soon be available as an option. Support for other languages and voices is in the pipeline. Proloquo2Go provides the innovative, new VocaSpace vocabulary that is build on an extremely flexible organizational system and includes close to 8000 symbols from SymbolStix LLC. Conjugation support is provided through Ultralingua’s Grammatica technology.

Key features:

Full communication solution with a default vocabulary of over 7000 items
Choice of list or grid view
Built-in natural sounding text-to-speech voices (one language, initially only American English)
Picture and/or text-based communication
Close to 8000 built-in symbols
Automatic conjugation of verbs and automatic plurals and possessives for nouns
Extensive customization options: item size, color, interactivity, restrictions, speech.
One button addition of new vocabulary items and categories
Easy cut, copy and paste of items
Quick access to recently spoken items for the last 15 minutes, last hour, all the way up to one week back
Typing view for typing full paragraphs

For more information, screen shots, tutorials and videos visit the Product site.

For further information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our partners such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or Spectronics for Australia and New Zealand.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X and iPhone that gives people back their lives. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, and VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, Proloquo2Go, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GhostReader 1.6 delivers new voices and Safari 4 compatibility

Amsterdam - 16 April 2009 - ConvenienceWare™ / AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of GhostReader™ 1.6, which delivers new voices for Arabic, Greek, Russian, Italian, Turkish, British English, and Norwegian. It also provides Safari 4 compatibility and adds new large educational discounts. GhostReader is a powerful, yet easy to use multilingual text-to-speech solution for Mac OS X that reads aloud PDF, Word and other documents as well as selected text in any application. It can also convert any text to audio files, MP3s, or bookmarkable audiobooks for playback on iPhone and iPod. Sit back and relax while GhostReader reads for you!

GhostReader 1.6 includes the following enhances:

New voice languages: Arabic, Greek, Russian.
New high quality voices for existing languages: Italian male voice, Turkish female voice, British female voice, Norwegian male voice.
Compatibility with Safari 4.
New localization: Italian (provided by our partner Active Software).

GhostReader can be used by anyone who prefers to listen to text rather than read it. Many professionals, writers, educators and students use it on a daily basis to save time, to proof read their own writing or to learn the pronunciation of foreign languages or to improve their reading and listening comprehension.

GhostReader 1.6 is a free update for existing users. It is a Universal Binary requiring Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Voices are currently available for the following Acapela Group languages: American English, British English, Czech, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Russian and Swedish. GhostReader itself is localized in English, French, Italian and German.

Pricing for GhostReader starts at 39.95 Euro/USD excluding VAT for a single-user monolingual version (includes all voices for a language of choice). Multilingual licenses, household licenses, classroom licenses and school licenses are also available. New with GhostReader 1.6 are the educational M license for up to 150 computers (999 Euro/USDÊÊexcluding VAT) and the educational L license for up to 1000 computers (1849 Euro/USDÊexcluding VATÊ) and the L+ licenses for 500 additional computers (500 Euro/USDÊexcluding VAT). GhostReader is also available as a bundle with Infovox iVox for system-wide high quality voices that can be used with practically all Speech Manager compatible Mac OS X applications. Pricing for this bundle starts at 109 Euro/USD excluding VAT for a single user license.

A boxed edition of GhostReader is distributed in Europe through Application Systems Heidelberg and available in selected European countries from Apple Stores, FNAC, Amazon and many Apple Resellers throughout the continent.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Infovox iVox 1.3 offers new Mac voices for Italian, British, Russian, Greek and Norwegian

Amsterdam - 24 February 2009 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the release of Infovox 1.3 with new voices and new languages. Infovox iVox provides natural-sounding voices for multiple languages that work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application. Also, as of today the School license (max 150 computers) has been expanded to no longer be limited to deployment in a single school but allow allocation to machines in multiple schools of a district.

Infovox iVox 1.3 is a free upgrade for existing users that adds a host of new voices and languages: Vittorio for Italian, Rachel for British, Alyona for Russian, Dimitris for Greek, and Olav for Norwegian. The Russian and Greek voices require Mac OS X 10.5. The other voices require 10.3.9 or later.

Infovox iVox can be used with Apple's VoiceOver screen reader as well as many Mac OS X applications, including Preview, TextEdit, AssistiveWare's VisioVoice and Proloquo, ConvenienceWare GhostReader, and Adobe Acrobat. The voices also work great with the leading educational software, such as Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh version 3.0.4 and 4.0 and TextHelp's Read and Write Gold for Mac version 2.1.0 and later. This means that teachers can now use this best-of-breed software with the industry leading Infovox iVox voices to enhance the learning experience of their students.

Infovox iVox voices are sold per language with each language consisting of one or more male and/or female voices. All languages contain the American English Heather voice as a bonus. All languages, except the Scandinavian ones, are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 99 in North America and 99 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. This is for the first language. Additional language packs are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 49.50 in North America and 49.50 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. Scandinavian languages are available for a suggested retail price of 219 euro excluding VAT and as an additional language for 109.50 euro excluding VAT. Bundles of Infovox iVox with GhostReader are also available starting at US$ / Euro 109 for a single user. For educational institutions teacher kits, classroom and school licenses are available as well.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare is the worldwide leader in innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X that gives people back their lives. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard, LayoutKitchen^® panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose speech solution, and VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users. The ConvenienceWare product line makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare and LaesieWorks partner to introduce Head Designed™

Amsterdam - 17 December 2008 - AssistiveWare® and LaesieWorks today announced Head Designed™. LaesieWorks artist Giesbert Nijhuis, who is paralyzed from the neck down due to a spinal cord injury, has partnered with AssistiveWare to bring his unique head designed artwork to a collection of exclusive apparel. Using his Mac, the KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard, a HeadMouse Extreme and Photoshop, Nijhuis draws with his head: Movie posters, birth announcements, cd covers, and now apparel. AssistiveWare was originally founded to develop the KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard specifically for Nijhuis. In response to popular request the first design available in the Head Designed apparel store is the original AssistiveWare tattooed salamander logo designed by Nijhuis. Several other animal-flavored designs are in production or in the process of being designed. More themes to come.

"We are extremely proud to partner with LaesieWorks on t-shirts and other apparel," said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's co-CEO. "Nijhuis is an extremely talented designer and not only designed our company logo, but also the icons of all our Mac software as well as our soon to be released first iPhone title."

After several months of experimentation with a number of print-on-demand companies AssistiveWare and LaesieWorks have concluded that only true screen prints offer the required quality and durability meeting their high standards. So all apparel offered in the new Head Designed store uses high quality screen prints. Check out the gallery.

"Designing for screen print is a lot more work than for print-on-demand, but quality makes me smile," said Giesbert Nijhuis, founder of LaesieWorks. "It is a joy to work with AssistiveWare on this t-shirt project. Their software enables me and others to not only use the computer, but also collaborate through internet on projects like this one."

Head-designed is also the title of a new video in AssistiveWare's video podcast series "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology". In episode 8 of this video podcast, Nijhuis can been seen in action working on his computer and controlling his environment with his head. This video can be viewed online and is also available in iTunes.

To see more of Nijhuis' artwork and photography visit his site.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. Head Designed is a trademark of Giesbert Nijhuis. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Apple reseller now includes British Infovox iVox voices with every Mac

Amsterdam - 18 September 2008 - AssistiveWare® today announced that Apple Solutions Experts for Education iansyst, realizing the importance it's educational customers award to having access to high quality British voices, is now including the British Infovox iVox voices with every single Mac sold.

Infovox iVox, normally sold for 99 euro/US$ plus VAT, can be used with Apple's VoiceOver screen reader as well as many Mac OS X applications, including Preview, TextEdit, AssistiveWare's VisioVoice and Proloquo, ConvenienceWare GhostReader, and Adobe Acrobat. The voices also work great with the leading educational software, such as Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh version 3.0.4 and 4.0 and TextHelp's Read and Write Gold for Mac version 2.1.0 and later. This means that teachers can now use this best-of-breed software with the industry leading Infovox iVox voices to enhance the learning experience of their students. Finally, the voices also work with the Spoken Menu feature of Apple's new iPod nano, offering speech-feedback with British voices as the user navigates the iPod without having to look at the screen, as shown in this video.

AssistiveWare is proud to work together with an innovative partner such as iansyst in bringing high quality educational solutions to the British market.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the following pages:
Infovox iVox
Listen to samples
Buy a Mac from iansyst

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare announces KeyStrokes 4.1 on-screen keyboard for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 25 June 2008 - AssistiveWare® today announced the release of KeyStrokes® 4.1, an important new version of the award-winning on-screen keyboard with multilingual word prediction for Mac users with physical impairments. Version 4.1 is now Universal Binary, offers enhanced compatibility with Spaces, and on Leopard provides automatic layout switching when the user changes the keyboard layout in the Mac OS X Input menu. Also included is a newly released LayoutKitchen® 2.1.1 layout editor, which allows users to design their own on-screen keyboards.

KeyStrokes is not only used by Mac users with disabilities, but also by graphic designers who prefer typing with their tablet instead of a physical keyboard and by developers of touch screen kiosks.

KeyStrokes 4.1 requires Mac OS X 10.4 and later. The suggested retail price for KeyStrokes is 249 Euro excluding VAT (299 USD in North America). Registered KeyStrokes 3 users can use the new version, but to use LayoutKitchen and design their own keyboards an upgrade to a KeyStrokes 4 activation code is required. An upgrade from KeyStrokes 3 to KeyStrokes 4 (including LayoutKitchen) costs 99 euro excluding VAT (129 USD in North America). This upgrade is free for anyone who purchased KeyStrokes 3 in 2007 or 2008. For more info they should contact support@assistiveware.com.

For more information, fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Speechissimo discontinued - cross-grade offers to GhostReader and Infovox iVox

Amsterdam - 5 June 2008 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the discontinuation of Acapela Group's Speechissimo text-to-speech solution with cross-grade offers to Infovox iVox and GhostReader. In 2003, Speechissimo was the first multilingual text-to-speech solution for Mac OS X capable of reading text copied onto the clipboard with natural sounding voices.

Fast-forward to 2008. Acapela Group and AssistiveWare's partnership has resulted in two products with even higher quality voices, a greater range of languages and more features: Infovox iVox voices that can be used by any speech-using Mac OS X application in the same way as Apple's built-in voices; GhostReader, which can read documents and selected text in many languages and even convert text to iPod and iPhone-ready audiobooks.

Registered Speechissimo users can cross-grade with a discount of 20% for a limited time to GhostReader (normal price 39.95 euro/USD excluding VAT) or, outside North America only, to an Infovox iVox plus GhostReader bundle (normal price starting at 109 euro/USD excluding VAT). These offers run until 4th August 2008 and are only available for direct purchase through AssistiveWare's online store.

To apply for a discount coupon registered users of Speechissimo should fill out this web form.

For more information, fully-functional downloadable demos and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product pages for Infovox iVox and GhostReader.

Acapela Group gives a voice to all your products and services. We invent voice solutions to give the say to content and enrich user interfaces in a natural and intuitive way based on our comprehensive technologies. Navigation, Interactive Voice Response, Accessibility solutions, E-learning, Talking Web, Audio-books, are amongst the first applications that learned how to benefit from the advantages of text to speech. Acapela, a key player in voice technologies with 25 years of experience, offers substantial and proven solutions adapted to your activity, and presents a complete range of products, services and expertise. In 25 languages and over 50 voices.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GhostReader 1.5.1 provides key fixes and enhancements

Amsterdam - 4 June 2008 - ConvenienceWare™ / AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of GhostReader™ 1.5.1, which provides key fixes and enhancements. GhostReader is a powerful, yet easy to use multilingual text-to-speech solution for Mac OS X that reads aloud PDF, Word and other documents as well as selected text in any application. It can also convert any text to audio files, MP3s, or bookmarkable audiobooks for playback on iPhone and iPod. Sit back and relax while GhostReader reads for you!

GhostReader 1.5.1 includes the following enhances:

Export to iTunes now: (1) Sets album, album artist, and year to default values; (2) Puts the date and time of audio creation in the iTunes comments field; (3) Uses the GhostReader logo as default album art.
Fixes spinning cursor issue with Pages 2008
Acapela Group provided fixes to the following voice issues: (1) Activation problem with American Spanish; (2) Occasional crash with the Italian Chiara voice; (3) Text encoding problems with Czech and Polish voices.

GhostReader 1.5.1 is a free update for existing users. It is a Universal Binary requiring Mac OS X 10.4 or later and provides full Leopard compatibility. Voices are currently available for the following languages: American English, British English, Czech, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Turkish and Swedish. GhostReader itself is localized in English, French and German.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Proloquo 2.0 gives Mac users who cannot speak a voice

Amsterdam - 23 May 2008 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of Proloquo^® 2.0, a major new version of the industry-leading communication solution for Mac users who cannot speak. Version 2.0 adds a lot of value: It now includes LayoutKitchen, a panel editor that allows users to create their own image-based communication panels, it adds the natural-sounding Infovox iVox voices for a language of choice, it has enhanced export to iTunes and many more improvements. Yet, this Universal Binary upgrade is free for existing users as many of the people who rely on this software only have access to funding every few years.

Proloquo provides a talking word processor, quick access scrolling vocabulary lists with drag and drop vocabulary construction for people who can read and write, and much more. Also released today, LayoutKitchen 2.1, which is already included as a keyboard editor for the KeyStrokes and SwitchXS on-screen keyboards, makes it easy to create colorful communication panels with photos and symbols for Proloquo. The natural-sounding Infovox iVox voices cannot only be used with Proloquo, but can be used with other software as well, including the Mac OS X built-in speech features.

Proloquo is used by adults and children who have difficulty speaking clearly or cannot speak at all due to, for example, Cerebral Palsy (CP) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). To get an idea of how Proloquo is used in practice and the difference it makes, see the new short video "Communication is the central thing" available as episode 7 of the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" video podcast series, which can also be found in the iTunes store's podcasts section.

Proloquo 2.0 and LayoutKitchen 2.1 are free updates for existing users. They are Universal Binary and require Mac OS X 10.4 or later. They provide full Leopard compatibility. Infovox iVox voices are currently available for the following languages: American English, British English, Czech, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Turkish and Swedish. Proloquo itself is localized in English, French and German. Existing Proloquo users can contact us for an Infovox iVox activation code for their current language.

Proloquo costs US$ 299 in North America and 249 euro excluding VAT elsewhere.

For more information, fully-functional downloadable demos and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the Proloquo and LayoutKitchen product pages.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GhostReader 1.5 takes Mac text-to-speech to the next level

Amsterdam - 14 May 2008 - ConvenienceWare™ / AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of GhostReader™ 1.5, which adds new voices, enhanced iPhone/iPod export, a pronunciation editor and much more. GhostReader is a powerful, yet easy to use multilingual text-to-speech solution for Mac OS X that reads aloud PDF, Word and other documents as well as selected text in any application. It can also convert any text to audio files, MP3s, or bookmarkable audiobooks for playback on iPhone and iPod. Sit back and relax while GhostReader reads for you!

GhostReader 1.5 is a major update with the following new features and enhancements:

Adds new natural sounding voices for Czech, Polish, Swedish and Finnish while existing voices have been enhanced
Adds a pronunciation editor, which can be used to modify the way a word is pronounced or to add new abbreviations
Adds direct export to iTunes of documents and selected text for playback on iPhone or iPod
Adds user-selectable encoding for export to iTunes (AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless)
In Leopard now also reads DOCX and ODT documents
Export to iTunes now runs in the background
Enhanced responsiveness when speaking selected text or text below the cursor
Speaking selected text now also works in floating windows such as those of the Leopard Help Viewer
Speak Text Below the Cursor now speaks the alt. tags for images and buttons in web pages, Mail and widgets
Speak Text Below the Cursor now also speaks just the paragraph below the cursor in Mail, TextEdit and Pages 2008
Many other enhancements and fixes

GhostReader 1.5 is a free update for existing users. It is a Universal Binary requiring Mac OS X 10.4 or later and provides full Leopard compatibility. Voices are currently available for the following languages: American English, British English, Czech, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Turkish and Swedish. GhostReader itself is localized in English, French and German.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Infovox iVox 1.2 adds new voices and a pronunciation editor

Amsterdam - 29 April 2008 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the release of Infovox iVox 1.2 with new voices and a pronunciation editor. Infovox iVox provides natural-sounding voices for multiple languages that work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application. As of today there are also a number of new educational licenses available: The Infovox iVox - GhostReader Teacher Kit and an Educational Audio Use and Publishing License.

Infovox iVox 1.2 is a free upgrade for existing users that adds a pronunciation editor that allows users to add abbreviations or change the pronunciation of words. It also introduces a number of new voices and languages: Eliska and Sabrine for Czech, Ania for Polish, Snorri for Icelandic, Sanna for Finnish, Elin for Swedish, and Baris and Ceren for Turkish. The Czech, Polish, Icelandic and Turkish voices require Mac OS X 10.5. The other voices require 10.3.9 or later.

In addition to the existing multi-user and educational classroom and school licenses there are now two new educational licenses:

1) An Educational Audio Use and Publishing License for US$ / Euro 199 excluding VAT, which permits use of generated audio files on up to 50 iPods as well as the publication of educational material on the internet (with some restrictions).

2) An Infovox iVox - GhostReader Teacher Kit for US$ / euro 299 excluding VAT, which includes licenses for Infovox iVox and GhostReader for a language of choice as well as an Educational Audio Use and Publishing License.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

New web site about gaming for Mac users with disabilities

Amsterdam / Orlando - 31 January 2008 - AssistiveWare® today, at the ATIA tradeshow in Orlando, announced a new web site about gaming on Mac OS X: AssistiveGaming.com. This new site is created by and for Mac users with disabilities and provides information on how people with physical disabilities can enjoy the latest and greatest games on Mac OS X.

The site has three main sections: (1) Feature articles about general gaming topics; (2) Reviews discussing individual games; (3) Short descriptions of games with a special focus on their accessibility.

"I have been designing universal access solutions for Mac OS X since 2002 and one of the most frequently asked question by users is not whether they can do their home work or write the next great novel, but about what games can be played," said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's CTO. "With AssistiveGaming.com we have created a platform where users can exchange their gaming experiences and can share tips and tricks."

"I have been gaming with a switch on the Mac since 1995, long before Mac OS X, long before sites like this even existed. I had no guidance, no advice," said Michael Phillips, AssistiveGaming editor and long-time Inside Mac Games contributor. "Part of me totally understands why this site is important, but another part finds it kind of sad. I notice that both assistive technology users and specialists are afraid to try new things, think outside the box, or worse, people never even consider the fact that gaming is possible at all."

The Assistive Gaming team welcomes additional contributors, irrespective of what special access hardware and/or software they use or what games they like to play.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. AssistiveGaming, GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare releases major new versions of flagship products

Amsterdam - 18 January 2008 - AssistiveWare® today announced the release of new versions of its flagship products: KeyStrokes® 4, SwitchXS® 2.5 and LayoutKitchen® 2.

KeyStrokes 4, the latest version of AssistiveWare's award-winning on-screen keyboard with multilingual word prediction, adds LayoutKitchen, which allows users to design their own virtual keyboards. Such virtual keyboards can be used not only for typing, but also to launch applications, speak, run AppleScripts and much more. This makes KeyStrokes more than ever the hub that gives users who cannot use a physical keyboard or who prefer a graphic tablet or touch screen full access to their computer. KeyStrokes 4 also adds Spanish and Russian word prediction dictionaries. KeyStrokes 4.0 runs on Mac OS X 10.3 and later (including Leopard). The suggested retail price for KeyStrokes is 249 Euro excluding VAT (299 USD in North America). Registered KeyStrokes 3 users can use the new version, but to use LayoutKitchen and design their own keyboards an upgrade to a KeyStrokes 4 activation code is required. An upgrade from KeyStrokes 3 to KeyStrokes 4 (including LayoutKitchen) costs 99 euro excluding VAT (129 USD in North America). This upgrade is free for anyone who purchased KeyStrokes 3 in 2007 or 2008. For more info they should contact support@assistiveware.com.

SwitchXS 2.5, which provides universal access to Mac OS X for users who cannot use a physical keyboard and mouse is now Universal Binary, ads full Leopard support, as well as many internal enhancements, and also includes the new LayoutKitchen 2. With SwitchXS 2.5, a user who cannot use a physical keyboard or mouse has full access to Mac OS X with just a single switch. SwitchXS 2.5 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later and is a free update for all registered SwitchXS users. The suggested retail price for SwitchXS is 249 Euro excluding VAT (299 USD in North America).

LayoutKitchen 2 makes designing on-screen keyboards for KeyStrokes and scan panels for SwitchXS much easier and faster with a new drag and drop button browser, SmartSnap and many other productivity enhancing features. The image browser is now searchable and includes over 600 images. LayoutKitchen 2.0 runs on Mac OS X 10.3 and later (including Leopard) and is a free update for all registered SwitchXS and LayoutKitchen users.

KeyStrokes 4.0 and LayoutKitchen 2.0 are the last versions supporting Mac OS X 10.3. Universal binary versions requiring at least Mac OS X 10.4 are currently in beta and will be released as free updates shortly.

For more information and fully-functional downloadable demos consult the product pages for KeyStrokes, SwitchXS and LayoutKitchen

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare previews new versions at BETT in London

Amsterdam - 7 January 2008 - AssistiveWare® today announced today announced it will preview new versions of its flagship products in London this week in the special needs section of BETT on stand SN47. BETT is the world's largest educational technology event.

Previewed at BETT are final candidates of KeyStrokes 4, on-screen keyboard, SwitchXS 2.5 switch access solution and LayoutKitchen 2, keyboard and scan panel editor. These packages provide complete universal access to Mac OS X for users with physical impairments, allowing users who cannot use a keyboard and/or mouse full access to virtually all Mac OS X applications.

Also previewed at BETT is version 1.2 of the Infovox iVox voices. These provide natural-sounding voices in a language of choice that can be used as the system voice for Mac OS X, used with the Mac OS X accessibility features, as well as with many educational and consumer software packages.

AssistiveWare will further be demoing GhostReader, the easy to use and affordable document and selection reader with high quality voices and iPod export functionality. Together with our partner Kallysta we will show how GhostReader can be used for language learning with a mobile teaching laboratory consisting of a MacBook and 15 iPods.

For more information consult our events page and product pages.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GhostReader special Christmas offer: Free extra voices

Amsterdam - 4 December 2007 - ConvenienceWare™ / AssistiveWare® today announced a special Christmas offer for GhostReader. GhostReader is a multilingual document and selection reader with naturally sounding voices. GhostReader allows users to listen to Word documents, PDFs and web pages on your Mac and convert these to iPod and iPhone-ready audiobooks. Anyone who purchases the monolingual boxed edition (sold in Europe only) or a trilingual license (sold worldwide) between 4 and 26 December 2007 is entitled to voices for one extra language of choice (a 24,95 euro/US$ value). To get an activation code for the free extra language it suffices to register the product activation code online before 1 January 2008 and indicate in the comments field of the online registration form what extra language you want.

GhostReader trilingual license (74.95 Euro/US$ excluding VAT) is available at:

Worldwide: ConvenienceWare
Europe: Application Systems Heidelberg, Application Systems Paris

GhostReader boxed edition (54.95 Euro including VAT) is available at:

Retail Stores: UK Apple Stores, Wyvern Business Systems

Germany, Austria and German speaking Switzerland

Retail Stores Germany: Compustore PC GmbH, M&M Trading, Mac House GmbH, Macconnect, MacFoyer, MACSYSTEMS GmbH, M-Shop Göttingen and many other Apple Resellers

Retail stores Austria: McShark Multimedia AG, Mac office, m-store Grafoprint GmbH and many other Apple Resellers

Online: Arktis, Amazon.de, Application Systems Heidelberg.

France and French-speaking Switzerland

Retail Stores: FNAC, iConcept, BeMac, ordiTICE and other Apple Resellers

Online: FNAC online, Amazon.fr, Application Systems Paris.

Belgium

Retail Stores: Mac Line

GhostReader is a Universal Binary, multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that allows users to listen to their Word, PDF, RTF and text documents with naturally sounding voices in a language of choice. It also allows users to create their own personal podcasts or audiobooks by exporting to iPhone and iPod-ready iTunes tracks. Or, users can just use GhostReader to speak selected text in a handy reader window with play, fast forward, rewind, skip sentence/paragraph and re-listen to sentence/paragraph functionality. In some applications, such as Safari, GhostReader enables users to listen to text by just pointing the cursor at the text. Sit back and relax while GhostReader reads for you!

Voices are currently available for the following languages: US English, UK English, Czech, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Turkish and Swedish. GhostReader itself is localized in English, French and German. These voices only work with GhostReader. For system-wide voices a bundle is available with Infovox iVox.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

British voices for Mac OS X improve pronunciation

Amsterdam - 30 October 2007 - AssistiveWare and Acapela Group today announced an update to the British Infovox iVox voices for Mac OS X. This update improves the pronunciation of a number of Mac related terms as well as several other words. The voices work great with Leopard.

The Infovox iVox voices, once installed on the computer, appear in the Speech panel of the System Preferences and can be used by any application that has speech functionality, including Preview, TextEdit, Mail, VoiceOver, Microsoft Word (through its Speech toolbar), VisioVoice, Proloquo, GhostReader, Acrobat, AppleScript, Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh (version 3.0.4. and higher), TextHelp Read and Write Gold for Mac (version 2.1 and higher) and many others.

Our UK reseller Microlink PC now offers the British voices at a discount when sold with a new Mac and TextHelp Read and Write Gold for Mac.

Voices are currently available for the following languages: American English, British English, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian and Swedish. All of these voices are Universal Binary and compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher, including Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Infovox iVox voices are sold per language with each language consisting of one or more male and/or female voices. All languages contain the American English Heather voice as a bonus. All languages, except the Scandinavian ones, are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 99 in North America and 99 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. This is for the first language. Additional language packs are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 49.50 in North America and 49.50 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. Scandinavian languages are available for a suggested retail price of 219 euro excluding VAT and as an additional language for 109.50 euro excluding VAT. Multi-user and educational classroom and school licenses are also available for Infovox iVox.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

Infovox iVox is distributed worldwide by AssistiveWare. For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

Mac users with disabilities speak out

Amsterdam - 24 October 2007 - AssistiveWare today announced "Users in Control: A Fresh Perspective on Accessibility". This new audio and PDF podcast series offers an insightful look at how people with disabilities are empowered through Mac OS X, while shattering preconceptions on disability and assistive technology (AT). Here the users of AT are in the driver's seat! Created by Mac users with physical, speech, or vision impairments, it seeks to inform, inspire, and provide a platform for new ideas.

More information on this podcast can be found at: http://atpodcasts.com.

You can listen to the podcast in iTunes.

The audio version of the podcast was created using GhostReader with the Infovox iVox voices.

This new audio and PDF podcast compliments the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" video podcast found at http://www.frontiersofassistivetechnology.com.

Infovox iVox new pricing speaks to more Mac users

Amsterdam - 15 October 2007 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced that based on the overwhelming response on the Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion, Acapela Group has decided to permanently lower the price of the Infovox iVox voices, which can be used with virtually any speech using application on Mac OS X. Originally introduced as a solution for the low volume accessibility market, it was found that also many educators and consumers wanted to use these naturally sounding voices to listen to documents, create personal podcasts and to help struggling readers. With the new prices the best voices ever on the Mac are now within reach of educators, students, people with disabilities as well as any other Mac user who likes to hear his Macintosh speak.

With the imminent introduction of Mac OS X Leopard, with its enhanced support for third-party add-on speech synthesizers, more people then ever will be able to enjoy the benefits of the natural-sounding Infovox iVox voices as Acapela Group will be able to introduce voices for even more languages. Voices are already available for the following languages: American English, British English, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian and Swedish. All of these voices are Universal Binary and compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher (including Mac OS X 10.5 aka Leopard).

Infovox iVox voices are sold per language with each language consisting of one or more male and/or female voices. All languages contain the American English Heather voice as a bonus. Starting today, all languages except the Scandinavian ones are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 99 in North America and 99 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. This is for the first language. Additional language packs are available for a suggested retail price of US$ 49.50 in North America and 49.50 Euro excluding VAT everywhere else. Scandinavian languages are available for a suggested retail price of 219 euro excluding VAT and as an additional language for 109.50 euro excluding VAT. Multi-user and educational classroom and school licenses are also available for Infovox iVox.

Infovox iVox is also available bundled with AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare products. For educators, students and anyone else who wants to get the most out of the excellent voices, Infovox iVox is available as a bundle with GhostReader, the selection and document reader with iPod export, for 109 Euro/US$. For Mac users with vision impairments, Infovox iVox is included with VisioVoice for 249 Euro/US$ excluding VAT. For people who cannot speak, Infovox iVox is now included with Proloquo for 249 Euro / 299 US$.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

VisioVoice 1.1 boosts access to Mac OS X for vision impaired Mac users

Amsterdam - 10 October 2007 - AssistiveWare® today announced the release of VisioVoice® 1.1. VisioVoice enhances access to Mac OS X for people with vision impairments through a system-wide talking interface and typing echo, text and image zoom windows, large cursors as well as a document and selection reader. VisioVoice provides naturally sounding voices through the included license of Infovox iVox for one language of choice. VisioVoice can also convert text, Word, PDF, HTML and RTF documents to audio files and iPod and iPhone-ready audiobooks. The new version of VisioVoice will be demoed at the Closing The Gap conference next week.

VisioVoice 1.1 new and improved features:

Now provides a typing echo as the user types into any application.

The text zoom window now updates as the user types.

Talking interface enhanced to work not only with the mouse but also with full keyboard access.

Talking interface and typing echo support was added for Pages and Keynote (iWork '08 and later).

Improved support for reading text in Safari with VisioVoice's talking interface.

Improved PDF import with smart-stripping of end-of-line hyphens.

Japanese localization was added as well as a Japanese translation for the Mac OS X 10.4 version of Apple's VoiceOver screen reader for blind users. Use with DTalker 3.0 Japanese voices.

Enhanced compatibility with VoiceOver: if the included Infovox iVox voices are used with VisioVoice, VoiceOver will no longer cut-off speech generation.

Now Leopard-ready.

Many other improvements and fixes.

VisioVoice is a Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 or later. VisioVoice is localized in English, French, Dutch and Japanese. VisioVoice includes a license for Infovox iVox for naturally sounding voices in one language of choice. Voices are currently available for the following languages: American English, British English, Finnish, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian and Swedish.

Pricing for VisioVoice is 249 Euro/USD excluding VAT for non-Scandinavian languages. With Scandinavian voices the price is 389 Euro/USD excluding VAT. Version 1.1 is a free and recommended upgrade for existing users.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

To see how VisioVoice is used in practice by a blind translator watch the short video.

VisioVoice is also used by the writer of ATMac, the most active blog on Assistive Technology for the Mac.

Events at Apple Expo for Mac users with disabilities

24 September 2007 - AssistiveWare, ordiTICE and ceRHTic have partnered with the organization of the Apple Expo to give special attention to Mac users with disabilities during the Apple Expo this week (25 - 29 September, 2007, Paris, France).

On Wednesday, a 3 hours special session on Assistive Technologies for Mac OS X is scheduled in Apple Expo's main conference room from 14:00 to 17:00. For details see: http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

During the other days, daily presentations on solutions for people with disabilities will take place in the School Performance Area of the Education Solutions Center. For a schedule and to sign up see the ordiTICE site.

Finally, AssistiveWare will demo its assistive technology products for people with disabilities in the ordiTICE booth ED007-008 of the Education Solutions Centre. New versions of its flagship products, VisioVoice, KeyStrokes, SwitchXS, and LayoutKitchen will be shown in advance of their public release later this year.

For further information see: http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GhostReader 1.1.1 offers Leopard-ready text-to-speech for Mac OS X with iPhone and iPod export

Amsterdam - 18 September 2007 - ConvenienceWare™ / AssistiveWare® today announced the release of GhostReader™ 1.1.1 text-to-speech software for Mac OS X. GhostReader 1.1.1 is Leopard-ready, now creates true bookmarkable audiobook files from text, offers better PDF import and enhanced performance on large documents. Through a partnership with Application Systems Heidelberg a boxed version of GhostReader will be introduced next week at the Apple Expo in Paris and will be available shortly throughout Europe in Apple Stores and other retail channels.

GhostReader 1.1.1 new and improved features:

Now creates a true, bookmarkable audiobook file when exporting to iTunes 7 AAC format, ready to load onto an iPhone or iPod

Now Leopard-ready

Improved PDF import with smart-stripping of end-of-line hyphens

Improved performance when speaking long texts

Various other improvements and fixes

Pricing for GhostReader starts at 39.95 Euro/US$ excluding VAT for a single-user monolingual version (includes all voices for a language of choice). Multilingual licenses, household licenses, classroom licenses and school licenses are also available. GhostReader is also available as a bundle with Infovox iVox for system-wide high quality voices that can be used with practically all Speech Manager compatible Mac OS X applications. Pricing for this bundle starts at 109 Euro/US$ excluding VAT for a single user license.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Acapela Group and AssistiveWare introduce new French voice for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 11 September 2007 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the excellent new Alice text-to-speech voice that will be available as part of Infovox iVox's French voice pack. With the new Alice and existing Bruno, Julie and Claire voices the Mac has never sounded so great and so French! Until the end of October the updated French voice pack is available at a 55% introductory discount. Infovox iVox as well as the full range of AssistiveWare products will be demonstrated at the Apple Expo in Paris in the ordiTICE booth at the Apple Education Solutions Center and during a number of presentations. See http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

The new Alice voice is also used by graphic designer Leigh-Anne Tompkins in the just released amazing new video "We can because we think we can" (the French edition uses Alice, the English edition uses Heather). The new video is available as episode 6 of the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" video podcast series, which can be found in the iTunes store's podcasts section and at http://www.frontiersofassistivetechnology.com

Infovox iVox provides naturally sounding voices that work with virtually any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application, including Preview, TextEdit, AssistiveWare VisioVoice, ConvenienceWare GhostReader, and Adobe Acrobat. The voices also work great with the leading educational software, such as Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh Version 3.0.4 and 4.0 and TextHelp's Read and Write Gold for Mac version 2.1.0 and later. This means that teachers can now use this best-of-breed software with the industry leading Infovox iVox voices to enhance the learning experience of their students.

Until the end of October, Infovox iVox with the French voices is available for 99 euro/USD excluding tax and includes the high quality French voices Alice, Claire, Julie and Bruno as well as the high quality Heather US English voice as a bonus (this constitutes a 55% discount on the regular price and a 34% discount on the "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion" prices). The French Infovox iVox is also available as a discounted bundle with GhostReader for 109 euro/USD. The recently updated British English voices are also still available for these prices. For prices for other languages as well as for school and classroom licenses, see the AssistiveWare web site. The updated French voice pack is a free update for existing users.

Infovox iVox is Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs and requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher. The product include all voices available for a language of choice. Available languages include: American English, British English, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page of Infovox iVox

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Acapela Group and AssistiveWare introduce new British voice for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 23 August 2007 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the brilliant new Peter text-to-speech voice that will be available as part of Infovox iVox's British voice pack. The already available naturally sounding Graham and Lucy voices have been significantly improved as well. With these voices the Mac has never sounded so great and so British! Until the end of October the updated British voice pack is available at a 55% introductory discount.

Until the end of October, Infovox iVox with British voices is available for 99 euro/USD excluding tax and includes the high quality British voices Peter, Lucy and Graham as well as the high quality Heather US English voice as a bonus (this constitutes a 55% discount on the regular price and a 34% discount on the "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion" prices). The British Infovox iVox is also available as a discounted bundle with GhostReader for 109 euro/USD. For prices for other languages as well as for school and classroom licenses, see the AssistiveWare web site. The updated British voice pack is a free update for existing users.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page of Infovox iVox

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Introducing GhostReader™ Text-to-Speech for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 5 July 2007 - AssistiveWare^® and ConvenienceWare™ today announced the release of GhostReader™ text-to-speech software for Mac OS X. GhostReader 1.1 replaces TextParrot 1.0 and introduces a number of new features with an enhanced user interface. Just as ghostwriters write for other people, GhostReader can read for you!

GhostReader is a Universal Binary, multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that allows users to listen to their documents with naturally sounding voices in a language of choice. It also allows users to create their own personal podcasts or audio books by exporting to iPod-ready iTunes tracks. Or, users can just use it to speak selected text in a handy reader window with play, fast forward and rewind functionality. In some applications, such as Safari, GhostReader enables users to listen to text by just pointing the cursor at the text. Now users can sit back and relax while GhostReader reads the text under the cursor.

Version 1.1 offers the following new features:

New languages with high quality female voices: American Spanish (Rosa) and Canadian French (Louise)

New languages with medium quality voices: Turkish, Icelandic and Czech

New high quality voices for Dutch (Max) and British English (Peter)

Adds a German localization (English and French were already available)

Enhanced listening experience with buttons to re-listen the current paragraph or sentence or to skip to the next one

For school use preferences can now be locked and the content of the reader window can be exported to an RTF document

Many other interface and usability enhancements

Expanded Help facility

GhostReader is a free and recommended update for registered TextParrot users (users can simply enter their TextParrot activation codes).

Suggested retail pricing for GhostReader, available for download and excluding VAT , is as follows:

Monolingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 39.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 79.90

Bilingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 59.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 119.90

Trilingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 74.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 149.90

GhostReader educational licenses start at US$/euro 599 for a classroom (up to 50 computers) and US$/euro 999 for a school (up to 150 computers).

GhostReader is also available as a bundle with Infvox iVox. Infovox iVox provides naturally sounding voices in multiple languages for use with almost any Mac OS X application that uses speech. The GhostReader and Infovox iVox bundle pricing starts at US$/euro 109.

GhostReader can be purchased online.

A packaged, CD version of GhostReader will be available later this summer in European Apple Stores and at other European Mac stores at a slightly higher price.

GhostReader requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. GhostReader, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

She is 10 years old and her computer means life to her: a short video.

Amsterdam - 29 May 2007 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of "Me and My Computer", a new HD video and video podcast, featuring Elina, who was born with athetoid cerebral palsy. About a year ago, when Elina was 9 years old, she got a computer and in this 4 minute video she demonstrates how it has revolutionized her life. The computer has given her independence as she can now draw and write by herself. She accesses her Apple iBook with an adapted joystick and uses AssistiveWare's KeyStrokes^® on-screen keyboard with word prediction for writing. She is also experimenting with Proloquo^® and the Infovox iVox voices for speech feedback while she types. At home and at school her computer means life to her! Elina lives in California, United States of America.

This new video is available as episode 5 of the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" podcast series, which can be found in the iTunes store's podcasts section and at http://www.frontiersofassistivetechnology.com

The direct link to the new video is: http://www.frontiersofassistivetechnology.com/?video=Elina

Origin Instruments is the North American distributor of AssistiveWare's assistive technology products and maker of the well-known HeadMouse^® and Swifty™ computer access equipment.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. TextParrot, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Extreme gaming on the Mac: new short video shows the impossible

Amsterdam - 22 May 2007 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of "One Thumb to Rule Them All", a new HD video and video podcast, featuring Michael Phillips, gamer and freelance technology writer. Mike was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and can only move his thumb. That has not stopped him from playing World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 2004, from becoming one of the key writers for Inside Mac Games, from contributing chapters to books such as Peachpit's Macintosh Bible and from being a presenter at major conferences. All of this would not have been possible if it was not for his Mac, a proximity switch, Origin Instrument's Swifty™ switch interface and AssistiveWare's SwitchXS^® software.

In the 3.5 minute video, Michael Phillips shows computer access and gaming at the extreme. With one thumb he rules them all! Mike Phillips lives in Tampa, Florida, United States of America.

This new video is available as episode 4 of the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" podcast series, which can be found in the iTunes store's podcasts section and at http://www.assistiveware.com/podcasts.php

Origin Instruments is the North American distributor of AssistiveWare's assistive technology products and maker of the well-known HeadMouse^® and Swifty™ computer access equipment.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. TextParrot, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare and Acapela Group introduce new educational offers for Mac OS X speech software

Amsterdam - 8 May 2007 - AssistiveWare^® and Acapela Group today announced a number of new educational offers for their Mac OS X speech solutions.

Infovox iVox, the naturally sounding voices that work with any Speech Manager compliant Mac OS X application, and TextParrot the powerful and affordable document and selection reader have made a profound impact in the classroom since their release last year. To give even more teachers and students at all levels of education access to the software attractively priced classroom, lab and school licenses are available starting today.

Additionally, AssistiveWare and Acapela Group have worked closely with the leaders in educational software, Kurzweil Educational Systems in the US and TextHelp Systems in the UK to ensure that their upcoming versions are fully compatible with Infovox iVox. Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh Version 3.0.4 and 4.0 are fully Infovox iVox compatible and TextHelp's Read and Write Gold for Mac version 2.1.0, due for release in late June, is also fully compatible with Infovox iVox. This means that teachers can now use this best-of-breed software with the industry leading Infovox iVox voices to enhance the learning experience of their students.

Suggested retail pricing for classroom and school licenses (in US$/Euro excluding VAT):

	monolingual	bilingual	trilingual
TextParrot Classroom/lab license (max 50 seats)	599	899	1125
TextParrot School license (max 150 seats)	999	1499	1875

	First language	Additional language
Infovox iVox Classroom/lab license (max 50 seats)	1649	824.50
Infovox iVox School license (max 150 seats)	2199	1099.50

Educational licenses for TextParrot and Infovox iVox are for internal educational use. For school licenses they permit use by all students and teachers in the school with installation on up to 150 computers. For classroom licenses they permit use in one specific classroom or computer lab with installation on up to 50 computers. Educational licenses do not allow publication of audio files outside the classroom or school (not even for free or for online courses). Schools interested in producing audio files for publishing should contact Acapela Group directly to purchase appropriate licenses. For installation on more than the maximum number of allowed computers, multiple classroom or school licenses need to be purchased. In the case of colleges or universities a department, chair, or building is considered equivalent to a school.

Both products are Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Available languages include: US English, UK English, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish.

Individual teachers and students can make use of our "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion", with discounts of 25 to 34% on individual Infovox iVox licenses and bundles with TextParrot until 31 October 2007. Suggested retail pricing for individual licenses during the "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion" period excluding VAT:

Product/Languages	US English	Non-Scandinavian	Scandinavian
Infovox iVox	99 US$/Euro (-34%)	149 US$/Euro (-32%)	269 US$/Euro (-25%)
Infovox iVox + TextParrot	109 US$/Euro (-31%)	159 US$/Euro (-31%)	279 US$/Euro (-25%)

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language.

For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product pages of Infvox iVox and TextParrot.

For more information contact AssistiveWare directly or one of our distributors such as Origin Instruments Corporation for North America or ordiTICE for France.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. TextParrot, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion: Up to 34% off Infovox iVox

Amsterdam - 2 May 2007 - AssistiveWare^® today announced that together with the Acapela Group it introduces the "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion" that will run until 31 October 2007 and will involve special pricing with discounts of 25 to 34%.

With the "Give Your Mac a Voice Promotion" AssistiveWare and Acapela Group would like to give more people a chance to enjoy the naturally sounding Infovox iVox voices on their Mac in their language(s) of choice.

Infovox iVox, a product from Acapela Group created in collaboration with AssistiveWare allows the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group to be used by any Speech Manager compliant application on Mac OS X, including applications such as TextEdit, Preview, Acrobat Reader, Proloquo, TextParrot and AppleWorks, as well as many educational titles. Infovox iVox, which is distributed worldwide by AssistiveWare, can also be used with Tiger's built-in VoiceOver screen reader, and Dutch and French users now have the possibility to hear all the VoiceOver menus and messages in their own language by using Infovox iVox together with AssistiveWare's VisioVoice.

Infovox iVox is a Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Available languages include: US English, UK English, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, American Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish. All non-American English languages include one American English female voice as a bonus.

Suggested retail pricing during the promotion period excluding VAT:

Product/Languages	US English	Non-Scandinavian	Scandinavian
Infovox iVox	99 US$/Euro (-34%)	149 US$/Euro (-32%)	269 US$/Euro (-25%)
Infovox iVox + TextParrot	109 US$/Euro (-31%)	159 US$/Euro (-31%)	279 US$/Euro (-25%)

TextParrot is a document and selection reader and audio file generator.

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language. Volume licenses are also available.

Infovox iVox requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare previews new software at CSUN

Amsterdam - 12 March 2007 - AssistiveWare^® today announced that new versions of KeyStrokes^®, SwitchXS^®, LayoutKitchen^® and VisioVoice^® will be previewed at the CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference, March 19-24 in Los Angeles, USA.

The California State University Northridge (CSUN) International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference is the largest conference on assistive technology in North America with visitors from all over the world. AssistiveWare and it's North American distributor, Origin Instruments Corporation, will use this occasion to preview major new versions of AssistiveWare's software for Mac OS X:

A new version of KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard, now with fully editable keyboards.

A new version of SwitchXS switch access solution, now Universal Binary.

A new version of LayoutKitchen panel editor, now with many new effort-saving features and a full set of colorful symbols to design communication panels, keyboards and scan panels.

A new version of VisioVoice for blind and vision impaired users, now with enhanced VoiceOver compatibility and speech feedback while typing in any application.

The software will be previewed at CSUN in the Origin Instruments booth. Additionally, David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's CTO will, together with well-known Assistive Technology trainer Scott Marfilius, hold a full day pre-conference session on creating multimedia on the Mac without mouse and keyboard. For more info on this and other sessions see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

At CSUN, a new issue of the AssistiveWare Newsletter, a newsletter written by Mac users who cannot use a mouse and/or keyboard and that explores the frontiers of assistive technology, will be available at the Origin Instruments booth in the Hilton. Starting today, the new issue is available online.

Infovox iVox 1.1 improves speech and adds new languages

Amsterdam - 21 February 2007 - Acapela Group and AssistiveWare today announced the release of Infovox iVox 1.1.

Infovox iVox is a Universal Binary and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Version 1.1 adds American Spanish and Canadian French. The following languages were already available: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. All non-American English languages include one American English female voice as a bonus.

Version 1.1 contains the following enhancements:

New languages: American Spanish and Canadian French

New high quality Dutch male voice: Max

Added support for less commonly used Speech Manager functions

Improved handling of complex sentences for French

Improved handling of compound words for Swedish

A number of other fixes and enhancements

Infovox iVox is also available as part of three value bundles with AssistiveWare software:

Bundled with TextParrot, a document and selection reader and audio file generator
Bundled with VisioVoice, a solution providing people with vision impairments enhanced access
Bundled with Proloquo, a speech feedback and communication solution

Suggested retail pricing excluding VAT:

Product/Languages	US English	Non-Scandinavian	Scandinavian
Infovox iVox	149 US$/Euro	219 US$/Euro	359 US$/Euro
Infovox iVox + TextParrot	159 US$/Euro	229 US$/Euro	369 US$/Euro
Infovox iVox + VisioVoice	249 US$/Euro	249 US$/Euro	389 US$/Euro
Infovox iVox + Proloquo	299 US$/Euro	299 US$/Euro	399 US$/Euro

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language. Volume licenses are also available.

Infovox iVox, VisioVoice, and Proloquo will be demonstrated at the CSUN conference in Los Angeles (19 - 24 March) in the Origin Instruments Booth (Hilton, booths 122/125) and during a number of sessions. For more information see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php.

Infovox iVox requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

New Mac technologies make a difference for blind translator (video)

Amsterdam - 12 February 2007 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of "It has made the world of difference", a new video and video podcast, featuring Anne Robertson, a blind translator.

Anne Robertson became blind as a small child. She is now a professional French to English translator. In this short video, she shows how she uses VoiceOver, the latest Mac OS X screen reader from Apple, in combination with naturally sounding French and British English text-to-speech voices of Acapela Group's Infovox iVox to do her work. She explains how, thanks to AssistiveWare's VisioVoice, which includes a French translation of VoiceOver, she has been able to speed up her translation work as she can now listen to text in one language while she is typing in another language. Anne Robertson lives in Orry la Ville, France.

This new video is part of the "Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology" podcast series, which can be found in the iTunes store's podcasts section and at http://www.assistiveware.com/podcasts.php

New version of TextParrot, new value bundles and educational licenses

Amsterdam - 30 January 2007 - AssistiveWare/ConvenienceWare today announced the release of TextParrot^® 1.0.1 for Mac OS X as well as a number of new value bundles and new educational licenses.

TextParrot is a Universal Binary, multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that allows users to listen to their documents with naturally sounding voices in a language of choice. It also allows users to create their own personal podcasts or audio books by exporting to iPod-ready iTunes tracks. Or, users can just use it to speak selected text in a handy reader window with play, fast forward and rewind functionality. It even allows users to listen to text by just pointing the cursor at the text and sit back and relax while TextParrot reads the text under the cursor.

Starting today, TextParrot is now available with naturally sounding voices of up to three different languages. Voices are currently available for the following languages: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. TextParrot itself is localized in English and French, other localizations are in preparation.

Version 1.0.1 contains the following enhancements:

Now also available in a trilingual version

Now also available as a bundle with Infovox iVox for even better voices (less compression) that can be used in any application. The standard TextParrot voices can only be used with TextParrot.

Now also available with special educational licenses

Some fixes in the voices that affected a small number of users

Removed an annoying trial reminder

Suggested retail pricing excluding VAT (for download only):

Monolingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 39.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 79.90

Bilingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 59.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 119.90

Trilingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 74.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 149.90

A CD version is expected later at a slightly higher price.

Suggested retail pricing for classroom and school licenses (in US$/Euro excluding VAT):

	monolingual	bilingual	trilingual
Classroom license for primary and secondary schools	599	899	1125

* The School and Classroom licenses permit educational use in the school (all children and teachers in the school) or classroom (use in one specific classroom or computer lab), but do not allow publication of audio files outside the classroom or school (not even for free).

Suggested retail pricing for the Infovox iVox and TextParrot bundle excluding VAT:

US English	Scandinavian	Other European
159 US$/Euro	369 US$/Euro	229 US$/Euro

Infovox iVox requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, TextParrot requires 10.4 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product pages: TextParrot and Infovox iVox.

AssistiveWare introduces new product family for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 12 December 2006 - AssistiveWare, the world leader in accessibility solutions for Mac OS X, today announced "ConvenienceWare", a new family of innovative and affordable products. The new product family makes the advanced technologies developed by AssistiveWare available in cool and convenient applications that can make the life of Mac users easier.

The first product, released today, is TextParrot^® 1.0. TextParrot is a Universal Binary, multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that allows users to listen to their documents with naturally sounding voices in a language of choice. It also allows users to create their own personal podcasts or audio books by exporting to iPod-ready iTunes tracks. Or, users can just use it to speak selected text in a handy reader window with play, fast forward and rewind functionality. It even allows users to listen to text by just pointing the cursor at the text and sit back and relax while TextParrot reads the text under the cursor.

TextParrot was developed in collaboration with the Acapela Group and includes their naturally sounding, high quality voices in one or two languages of choice. Voices are currently available for the following languages: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. Other languages will be made available in the coming months. Note that these special ConvenienceWare voices will not work in other applications.

Suggested retail pricing excluding VAT (for download only):

Monolingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 39.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 79.90

Bilingual licenses:

Single User	US$/Euro 59.95
Household (up to 3 Macs)	US$/Euro 119.90

Initially the software will be available for download only. A CD version is expected later at a slightly higher price.

TextParrot is a universal binary and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. TextParrot is localized in English and French and other localizations are expected in January. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

Teachers visiting the AssistiveWare booth (SN17) at BETT 2007 in January can get a 10% discount.

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names and registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. TextParrot, VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Mac users with disabilities share experiences through podcasts, videos, and articles

Amsterdam - 28 November 2006 - AssistiveWare^® today announced the release of a new video podcast series, new videos, and a new edition of the AssistiveWare Newsletter. In these podcasts, videos and articles, Mac users with disabilities share their experiences on the Mac and explain how the Mac makes a real difference for them.

New video podcast series (also available in the iTunes Store):
Title: Exploring the Frontiers of Assistive Technology

Description: A video podcast series showing how people use assistive technology to communicate, express their creativity, play games and make so much more out of life. These podcasts show that there is no reason why people with physical, vision, speech or language impairments cannot use the same creative and educational software as every other Mac OS X user.

The first two episodes are now online: "A pivotal role in the household" and "Everything I can't do in the real world I can do with my Mac".

New videos show:

How Joe Barnick is able to do everything with his Mac that he cannot do in the real world

How Ian Wolstenholme uses a MacBook Pro, Parallels Desktop, and SwitchXS to access Windows XP, while using nothing more than a sip and puff switch to access his computer.

How Mike Phillips with just a single switch and SwitchXS plays Age Of Empires 3 to review it for Inside Mac Games.

A new issue of the AssistiveWare Newsletter, which is written, edited and designed by Mac OS X users who cannot use a keyboard and/or mouse:

In this issue, Graphic designer Leigh-Anne Tompkins discusses her fascinating work and extraordinary way of accessing her Mac. Dutch photographer and graphic designer, Giesbert Nijhuis, ponders technical and philosophical questions. Awesome Aussie Ricky Buchanan delivers an inspiring message that people of all abilities can learn from. The man with the golden thumb, Mike Phillips, serves up a switch user's guide to the Mac's #1 online role playing game: World of Warcraft. David Reuss reflects on his son's progress and shows that parents of disabled children are often their greatest advocates. Finally, Walter Pfrommer offers invaluable information on using a head tracking device outdoors.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare to introduce Mac OS X accessibility solutions to the UK

Amsterdam - 15 November 2006 - AssistiveWare^® today announced that it will for the first time participate in the special needs section of the BETT educational technology show in the UK (10-13 January 2007, London). AssistiveWare is the world leader in access software for Mac OS X and will now introduce its innovative solutions to the educational market in the United Kingdom.

AssistiveWare specializes in software that provides full access to Mac OS X for students with physical, speech, languages and vision impairments. With the AssistiveWare software a student with a disability can fully participate in school activities, whether it involves creating a video in iMovie or using the standard educational software all the other kids use. Everything is possible.

The AssistiveWare products include the award-winning KeyStrokes^® virtual keyboard with word prediction and dwelling, SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard for switch users, LayoutKitchen^® communication and keyboard panel editor, Proloquo^® multi-purpose communication and speech solution, and VisioVoice^®, the award-winning solution for vision impaired Mac users. AssistiveWare is also the worldwide distributor of Infovox iVox, which it co-developed with Acapela Group. Infovox iVox provides naturally sounding voices in many different languages that can be used by any educational program that uses speech output.

Students in all age groups benefit from the AssistiveWare software. Unlike more traditional educational assistive technology software, which offers students a closed environment to carry out a specific tasks (such as reading, writing, communication, etc.) the AssistiveWare software opens up the whole computer. This allows students with disabilities not only to use exactly the same educational software other students use, but also allows them to expand their horizon by using the creative iLife suite included with every Mac. This enhances motivation and has been shown to lead to more productive and inspired students.

BETT will be a unique opportunity for British educators to meet David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's lead developer and discuss their needs. Visitors of the joint AssistiveWare and Acapela Group booth (SN17) can also get a special 10% promotional discount coupon for some of the AssistiveWare products. Our products will also be shown in booth K5 of our UK reseller Microlink PC (UK), where the same discounts will apply.

VisioVoice 1.0.1 improves access to Mac OS X for vision impaired users

Amsterdam - 3 October 2006 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of VisioVoice^® 1.0.1. VisioVoice is an award-winning product for blind and vision impaired Mac users providing a number of speech and vision related features to enhance access to Mac OS X. These include: (1) the conversion of Text, Word, HTML, PDF and RTF files to audio files or iPod-ready iTunes tracks; (2) a document and selection reader with fast forward and rewind functions; (3) Large cross-hair and target cursors; (4) Text and Image zoom windows; (5) Spoken interface elements as the user navigates across the screen; (6) Multilingual support to Apple's excellent VoiceOver technology (initially French and Dutch).

Version 1.0.1 contains the following enhancements:

The Document Reader now also works with encrypted PDFs

The Text Zoom and Talking Interface are now more responsive and more accurate

The Selection Reader now works more reliably with text selected in Safari

Voice volume and speech rate settings now work correctly [fix]

Highlighting of spoken words now also works correctly for accented characters [fix]

Several other fixes and improvements

VisioVoice is bundled with Infovox iVox, which allows the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group to be used by any Speech Manager compliant application on Mac OS X, including Tiger's built-in VoiceOver screen reader. Infovox iVox includes all voices available for a language of choice. The following languages are available: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Introductory suggested retail pricing (25% discount) until 31 December 2006 excluding VAT:

Languages	Bundle of VisioVoice + Infovox iVox
All languages (except Scandinavian)	185 US$/Euro
Scandinavian languages	289 US$/Euro

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language. Volume licenses are also available.

VisioVoice is a universal binary and requires 10.4 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page for VisioVoice.

VisioVoice gives Mac OS X new voices and low vision support

Amsterdam - 6 September 2006 - AssistiveWare today announced that together with Acapela Group it introduced two new products for Mac OS X: VisioVoice and Infovox iVox. There are also some very attractive introductory offers.

VisioVoice^® is a product for blind and vision impaired Mac users providing a number of speech and vision related features to enhance access to Mac OS X. These include: (1) the conversion of Text, Word, HTML, PDF and RTF files to audio files or iPod-ready iTunes tracks; (2) a document and selection reader with fast forward and rewind functions; (3) Large cross-hair and target cursors; (4) Text and Image zoom windows; (5) Spoken interface elements as the user navigates across the screen; (6) Multilingual support to Apple's excellent VoiceOver technology (initially French and Dutch).

VisioVoice is bundled with Infovox iVox, a new product from Acapela Group created in collaboration with AssistiveWare. InfoVox iVox allows the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group to be used by any Speech Manager compliant application on Mac OS X, including applications such as TextEdit, Preview, Acrobat Reader, Proloquo and AppleWorks, as well as many educational titles. Infovox iVox, which is distributed worldwide by AssistiveWare, can also be used with Tiger's built-in VoiceOver screen reader, and Dutch and French users now have the possibility to hear all the VoiceOver menus and messages in their own language by using Infovox iVox together with VisioVoice.

"We are extremely pleased with these new products," said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's CTO. "Thanks to our collaboration with the Acapela Group, Mac OS X users around the world get access to the best voices ever on the Mac."

Both products are Universal Binaries and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Initially, the following languages will be available: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. For most languages male and female voices are available (certain languages include multiple male and/or female voices). US English even includes two child voices. All non-American English languages include one American English female voice as a bonus.

"Acapela Group is very proud to be the partner of an innovative and renown player such as AssistiveWare. Both companies have teamed up on projects for several years and the ensuing solutions - such as Proloquo - have been successfully validated by the market." said Antoine Kauffeisen, VP Marketing Director of Acapela.

Introductory suggested retail pricing (25% discount) excluding VAT:

Languages	Infovox iVox	Bundle of Infovox iVox + VisioVoice
US English	149 US$/Euro	185 US$/Euro
Scandinavian languages	269 US$/Euro	289 US$/Euro
Other European languages	165 US$/Euro	185 US$/Euro

After 31 December 2006:

Languages	Infovox iVox	Bundle of Infovox iVox + VisioVoice
US English	199 US$/Euro	249 US$/Euro
Scandinavian languages	359 US$/Euro	389 US$/Euro
Other European languages	219 US$/Euro	249 US$/Euro

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language. Volume licenses are also available.

Additional introductory offer:

Until 31 October 2006: any customer purchasing AssistiveWare's Proloquo speech and communication software will receive a free copy of Infovox iVox (offer only valid if the selected language is available for Infovox iVox). Proloquo and Infovox iVox form a powerful speech team for any PowerPC and Intel Mac. Proloquo has a suggested retail price of 249 US$/Euro excluding VAT.

Infovox iVox and VisioVoice will be demonstrated in our booth at the Education Solutions Center at the Apple Expo in Paris (September 12 though 16). For more information see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

Infovox iVox requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, VisioVoice requires 10.4 or later. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product pages for Infovox iVox and VisioVoice.

AssistiveWare announces new multilingual speech solutions for Mac OS X

Listen to this press release in English or French, courtesy of the Acapela Infovox iVox voices.

Amsterdam - 5 June 2006 - AssistiveWare today announced that it has partnered with Acapela Group to bring two new high quality speech solutions to Mac OS X: Infovox iVox and VisioVoice. Both products are expected at the end of June.

In collaboration with AssistiveWare, Acapela Group has created Infovox iVox, an application that allows the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group to be used in any Speech Manager compliant application on Mac OS X including applications such as TextEdit and AppleWorks, as well as many educational titles. Infovox iVox, which will be distributed worldwide by AssistiveWare, can also be used with Tiger's built-in VoiceOver screen reader, but non-English users also need VisioVoice to hear all the VoiceOver menus and messages in their own language.

Infovox iVox will also be included as part of a bundle with AssistiveWare's upcoming VisioVoice product. VisioVoice is a product for blind and vision impaired Mac users that adds multilingual support to Apple's excellent VoiceOver technology (initially French, English and Dutch; other languages will follow) as well as providing a number of other speech and vision related features to enhance access to Mac OS X. These include: (1) the conversion of Word, HTML, PDF and RTF files to audio files or iPod-ready iTunes tracks; (2) Large cross-hair and target cursors; (3) Text and Image zoom windows; (4) Spoken interface elements as the user navigates across the screen.

Both products are Universal Binaries and can be used on PowerPC and Intel Macs. The products include all voices available for a language of choice. Initially, the following languages will be available: US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Swedish. For most languages male and female voices are available (certain languages include multiple male and/or female voices). US English even includes two child voices. All none US English languages include one US English female voice as a bonus.

Suggested retail pricing excluding VAT:

Languages	Infovox iVox	Bundle of Infovox iVox + VisioVoice
US English	199 US$/Euro	249 US$/Euro
Scandinavian languages	359 US$/Euro	389 US$/Euro
Other European languages	219 US$/Euro	249 US$/Euro

Additional languages are half the price of Infovox iVox for that language. Volume licenses are also available.

Infovox iVox and VisioVoice will be demonstrated at Autonomic in Paris (June 7 though 9). For more information see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

For product release notification go to: http://www.assistiveware.com/inform.php

Listen to this press release in English or French, courtesy of the Acapela Infovox iVox voices.

AssistiveWare announces VisioVoice^® for Mac OS X, a multilingual companion for VoiceOver

Amsterdam - 17 March 2006 - AssistiveWare today announced the future release of VisioVoice for Mac OS X. VisioVoice is a product for blind and vision impaired Mac users that adds multilingual support to Apple's excellent VoiceOver technology as well as providing a number of other speech and vision related features to enhance access to Mac OS X.

AssistiveWare's mission is to take away all barriers to Mac OS X. With our KeyStrokes and SwitchXS software we have removed the physical barriers. With Proloquo we have taken away language and speech barriers. With VisioVoice we want to remove visual barriers by making it possible for non-English vision impaired users to make use of Apple's VoiceOver while boosting access for all vision impaired users. VisioVoice will also enhance VoiceOver with the naturally sounding, high quality voices of the Acapela Group.

VisioVoice will be demonstrated at next week's CSUN conference in Los Angeles. For more information on booth and sessions see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

VisioVoice is expected to ship in June. Initially, a limited number of languages will be supported and we are accepting user input regarding which languages to support through a small survey.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. VisioVoice, SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

AssistiveWare announces Proloquo^® 1.1 with speech to iPod-ready iTunes tracks and quick voice access

Amsterdam - 13 March 2006 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of Proloquo^® 1.1. Proloquo is a groundbreaking multi-purpose and multilingual speech and communication solution for Mac OS X that provides a full-fledged Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for people who cannot speak, a talking interface for people with visual impairments, speech feedback in any application while typing, and can read text aloud.

Version 1.1 is a major update with the following main new features:

Converts text to audio files and to iPod-ready iTunes tracks

Quick voice access menu for changing voices and languages

Updated voices from the Acapela Group

Proloquo's suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT), including High Quality and/or High Density Acapela voices for a language of choice. The languages currently include US English, UK English, German, Dutch, Flemish, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Acapela voices for additional languages can be purchased as a language pack for US$ 119 or Euro 99 (excl. VAT). Proloquo also works with all the built-in Mac OS X voices. Version 1.1 is a free update for current users.

Proloquo can be used to create a complete personalized Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) system using simple drag and drop of phrases into lists organized by topic. Proloquo can also be combined with LayoutKitchen (suggested retail price of US$ 119 or Euro 99 excl. VAT). With LayoutKitchen users can design their own speech panels for Proloquo with colorable and resizable buttons containing text and/or images in a variety of formats. Optionally, LayoutKitchen can be combined with PCS for LayoutKitchen, which contains a collection of over 8000 Picture Communication Symbols™ licensed from Mayer-Johnson that can be used with LayoutKitchen to design speech panels for Proloquo as well as scanning panels for SwitchXS. It is available for a suggested retail price of US$/Euro 199 (excl. VAT).

Proloquo is available in English, French, and German, but works fine with most other languages. Proloquo requires Mac OS X 10.3 or higher, while Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is recommended. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page.

To see Proloquo in action watch the 4 minute video in pristine H.264 (requires QuickTime 7 or Mac OS X Tiger) or several other formats (mp4, QuickTime 6, Real) in English or French. The video shows how Marie-France, who has lost her voice and can only move a jaw muscle because of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) or Lou Gherigs Disease, uses AssistiveWare's Proloquo, KeyStrokes and SwitchXS to access her computer and communicate with others.

Proloquo, as well as the other AssistiveWare software, will be shown at the CSUN conference, March 20-25, in Los Angeles in the Origin Instruments booths (527 & 528 in the Pacific Ballroom at the Hilton). David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare's Lead Developer and CTO will also provide an introductory and an in-depth lab session at CSUN. For details see http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 2.2 now speaks Japanese, saves efforts, and helps beginning switch users

Amsterdam - 20 December 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 2.2. SwitchXS is a switch access solution that provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who cannot use a mouse or keyboard. SwitchXS provide the best access solution ever on the Mac (and beyond) for people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) or Cerebral Palsy (CP) with very limited limb movement. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu.

SwitchXS 2.2 is a major update with the following main new features:

SwitchXS now speaks Japanese when the user has the Japanese DTalker application installed on their machine. This way, SwitchXS can provide voice cueing during scanning in Japanese. What is more, when combined with the PCS for LayoutKitchen communication symbol collection SwitchXS can now be turned into a complete switch accessible communication solution for Japanese Mac users who cannot speak. For English, French, German, Spanish and other languages SwitchXS can be combined with our Proloquo software for the same purposes.

To save efforts, SwitchXS now remembers which panel was last used in each application and can (optionally) automatically load that panel each time a particular application is used.

For beginning switch users, a "simplified scanning" feature was added that instantly scans any panel linearly instead of applying traditional row-column scanning. This is great for beginning switch users and at the same time saves parents and educators time, because they do not have to make dedicated linear scan panels, but can turn on linear scanning for all scan panels.

The color of the rotating cursor beam can now be set by the user.

Includes LayoutKitchen 1.0.4.

An expanded user manual.

SwitchXS works with any HID compliant USB gamepad, joystick and keyboard, and starting with Mac OS X 10.3 also with any HID compliant USB mouse or trackball. SwitchXS also works with USB switch interfaces emulating any of the above devices.

SwitchXS is currently available in English, French and Japanese but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Version 2.2 is a free update for current users. SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or higher is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

PCS for LayoutKitchen contains a collection of over 8000 Picture Communication Symbols™ licensed from Mayer-Johnson that can be used with LayoutKitchen to design scanning panels for SwitchXS as well as speech panels for Proloquo. It is available for a suggested retail price of US$/Euro 199 (excl. VAT).

AssistiveWare lowers price of TouchStrokes^® on-screen keyboard for Mac OS X
by 40% - 50%

Amsterdam - 8 December 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced that it has lowered the price of its powerful TouchStrokes^® on-screen keyboard for graphic designers and touch screen kiosks. Customers can now purchase TouchStrokes for US$ 59 or EURO 49 excl. VAT. This constitutes a price reduction of 40% to 50%.

TouchStrokes provides a fully-functional virtual keyboard for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X (including Tiger) that works by drawing a keyboard image on the display and allows the user to type characters into any normal application using a mouse, touch screen, electronic white board, graphic tablet, trackball, head pointer or other mouse emulator. This includes the Wacom Graphire and Intuos tablets and Cintiq displays. It also includes Mac OS X compatible touch screens such as those from TrollTouch or just about any touch screen using the drivers from Touch-Base. Such touch screens are a great combination with a Mac mini and TouchStrokes to create a touch screen kiosk, station, or home media center.

TouchStrokes works seamlessly with all standard Mac applications (including those running in the Classic) allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used. TouchStrokes automatically adjusts to US and international keyboard layouts and has multiple resizable keyboard models. It handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations. It offers a quick access toolbar and has many customizable settings, including a special password protected kiosk mode.

For more information see the product page.

AssistiveWare announces a newsletter written by Mac OS X users with disabilities

Amsterdam - 15 November 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of the AssistiveWare^® Newsletter: A newsletter written, edited and designed by Mac OS X users who cannot use a keyboard and/or mouse. Learning InDesign in 2 weeks, Joe Barnick, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), edited and designed the newsletter, collaborating with talented individuals from around the world.

“With this newsletter we want to explore the frontiers of assistive technology, provide a platform to share experiences, and also to inspire people of all abilities to use the opportunities offered by Mac OS X to the fullest,” said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare’s CTO. “Assistive technology can be so much more than a closed-box solution for a specific task. There is a whole world of possibilities out there and no reason why, say a switch user, should not use Apple’s iChat or edit videos with iMovie just like ‘the rest of us’.”

In the first issue, Bill Lee shares his experience as a Technology Director working with a student in need of a fresh approach to AT. Video editing takes center stage as Jean-Marc Pepin talks about his exciting hobby. Excellent games for new switch users are covered in “Let the Games Begin”, the first installment of a permanent column by game guru, Mike Phillips. Walter Pfrommer gives an informative comparison of various head mice on the market. Finally, Joe Barnick chronicles the pivotal role the Macintosh has in his life, something that many disabled Mac users can relate to.

“Working with talented contributors to compose an exciting and informative newsletter that shares what individuals with a disability can achieve using Mac OS X and AssistiveWare products has been a great experience,” said Joe Barnick, Editor-in-Chief for the AssistiveWare Newsletter. “I hope readers will be inspired by the true potential of assistive technology and realize the powerful accessibility that the Mac offers.”

The newsletter is available as a download.

To further enhance communication between users, AssistiveWare is also opening a forum on it's web site allowing users to exchange their expereinces with the AssistiveWare software and the Mac OS X built-in accessibility features.

AssistiveWare announces version 1.0.1 of Proloquo^®, a groundbreaking speech and communication solution for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 16 September 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of Proloquo^® 1.0.1. Proloquo is a groundbreaking multi-purpose and multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that provides: (1) a full-fledged communication system (AAC) for people who cannot speak; (2) improves accessibility of Mac OS X for people with visual impairments; (3) provides speech feedback in any application while typing for children and people with learning disabilities; (4) can serve as a talking word processor; (5) provides text to speech for people who prefer listening to reading; (6) can be used as a tool to learn the pronunciation of foreign languages; (7) provides an advanced, multilingual speech engine for our KeyStrokes^® on-screen keyboard and our SwitchXS^® switch access solution.

Version 1.0.1 fixes a few bugs and now, on request, permits users to test drive Proloquo with a high quality voice in their own language (the standard test drive only uses the Mac OS X built-in English voices).

Proloquo’s suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT), including High Quality and/or High Density Acapela voices for a language of choice. The languages currently include US English, UK English, German, Dutch, Flemish, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Acapela voices for additional languages can be purchased as a language pack for US$ 119 or Euro 99 (excl. VAT). In addition, to offer users even more choice, registered Proloquo users can contact us for a discount coupon to purchase Cepstral voices that work not only in Proloquo but system-wide. Finally, Proloquo of course works with all the built-in voices of Mac OS X.

Proloquo as well as the other AssistiveWare software will be shown at the Education Solutions center at the Apple Expo in Paris next week, where you can also meet the lead developer of AssistiveWare.

AssistiveWare announces an amazing video: Paralyzed Mac user still active thanks to Mac OS X and SwitchXS^®

Amsterdam - 7 September 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of an amazing video. Marie-France lives in Paris. Ten years ago she was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) or Lou Gherigs Disease. She gradually became paralyzed and lost her voice. Now she can only move her eyes and a jaw muscle. Thanks to that jaw muscle, Mac OS X and AssistiveWare's SwitchXS^® she still plays a pivotal role in the household by managing the bank accounts, doing the shopping, and keeping in touch with friends. She also uses AssistiveWare's KeyStrokes^® for word prediction and AssistiveWare's Proloquo^® for communication. Watch the 4 minute video in pristine H.264 (requires QuickTime 7 or Mac OS X Tiger) or several other formats (mp4, QuickTime 6, Real) in English or French.

AssistiveWare announces Proloquo^®, a groundbreaking speech solution for Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 25 July 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of Proloquo^® 1.0, LayoutKitchen^® 1.0.3, and PCS for LayoutKitchen.

Proloquo is a groundbreaking multi-purpose and multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that provides: (1) a full-fledged communication system (AAC) for people who cannot speak; (2) improves accessibility of Mac OS X for people with visual impairments; (3) provides speech feedback in any application while typing for children and people with learning disabilities; (4) can serve as a talking word processor; (5) provides text to speech for people who prefer listening to reading; (6) can be used as a tool to learn the pronunciation of foreign languages; (7) provides an advanced, multilingual speech engine for our KeyStrokes^® on-screen keyboard and our SwitchXS^® switch access solution.

“Proloquo provides the first full-fledged speech solution for Mac OS X,” said David Niemeijer, AssistiveWare’s CTO. “It combines the highest quality voices available on the market with powerful, yet easy to use features that serve a wide variety of needs.”

“Acapela Group is very proud to voice enable the new high end Proloquo speech solution and to contribute with AssistiveWare to improve Accessibility for everyone, delivering inclusive technologies and making daily life easier for thousands of people in the world, in the most natural way” said Antoine Kauffeisen, Marketing Director of Acapela Group.

Proloquo is different from Apple’s excellent VoiceOver technology for Mac OS X Tiger in several ways. VoiceOver is a screen reader primarily intended for people who are blind. Proloquo, instead, is a multi-purpose speech solution that also includes certain features geared towards people with limited vision (such as the ability to speak what is below the cursor and to echo what the user types). Additionally, Proloquo works with high quality voices in multiple languages and works on both Panther and Tiger.

“Proloquo provides the kind of augmentative communication I always hoped for,” said Walter Pfrommer, medical adviser in a healthcare IT project. “Now, for the first time after I lost my own voice due to ALS/MND, even new acquaintances and older persons understand me with ease. Without Proloquo for speech and KeyStrokes for typing I would no longer be able to work!”

PCS for LayoutKitchen contains a collection of over 8000 Picture Communication Symbols™ licensed from Mayer-Johnson that can be used with LayoutKitchen to design speech panels for Proloquo as well as scanning panels for SwitchXS. It is available for a suggested retail price of US$/Euro 199 (excl. VAT).

Proloquo is available in English, French, and German, but works fine with most other languages. Proloquo requires Mac OS X 10.3 or higher, while Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is recommended. For more information, a fully-functional downloadable demo (that works with the built-in Mac OS X voices) and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the product page

Proloquo is available for immediate download. CDs with Proloquo plus Acapela voices and CDs with PCS for LayoutKitchen will be available for shipping by mid August.

KeyStrokes^® 3.6 and SwitchXS^® 2.1 extend accessibility of Mac OS X Tiger

Amsterdam - 13 July 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of KeyStrokes^® 3.6, SwitchXS^® 2.1 and the AssistiveWare Access bundle. KeyStrokes is an award-winning on-screen keyboard that provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who cannot use a keyboard. It also provides advanced PolyPredix™ multilingual word prediction that can be used with the on-screen keyboard, with the hardware keyboard and with SwitchXS 2.1. SwitchXS is a switch access solution that provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who cannot use a mouse or keyboard. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. The AssistiveWare Access bundle offers the combined power of KeyStrokes and SwitchXS.

KeyStrokes and SwitchXS provide the best access solutions ever on the Mac (and beyond) for people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) or Cerebral Palsy (CP) with very limited limb movement.

KeyStrokes 3.6 is a major update with the following main new features:

Includes a KeyStrokes Widget that facilitates using KeyStrokes for typing in Dashboard

Added a special Game Mode for enhanced compatibility with games such as Ford Racing 2 that "freeze" the cursor

Significantly improved performance under many conditions

Now compatible with secure screen savers and with Snapz Pro X 2.0.2 and later

Fix: On Tiger clicking on suggested items in the separate Prediction window works again

KeyStrokes 3.6 is available in English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Dutch, but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Users of any other on-screen keyboard can upgrade to KeyStrokes 3.6 for US$ 249 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT). KeyStrokes 3.6 is provided as a free upgrade for registered users of any previous version of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X. KeyStrokes 3.6 requires Mac OS X 10.2 or higher. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is recommended. Version 3.1 is still available for Mac OS 9 and earlier versions of Mac OS X. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

SwitchXS 2.1 is a major update with the following main new features:

Significant performance improvements (70% to 90%) during scanning

More stable scanning rhythm at high scanning speeds on slower machines

Now compatible with secure screen savers and with Snapz Pro X 2.0.2 and later

Includes LayoutKitchen 1.0.2 for making custom panels

SwitchXS is currently available in English, French and Japanese but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Version 2.1 is a free update for current users. SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or higher is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

The AssistiveWare Access bundle: For people with a progressive disability and for switch users who want to make use of the word prediction in KeyStrokes we are now offering an attractively priced AssistiveWare Access bundle that consists of a combined license for KeyStrokes, SwitchXS, and LayoutKitchen. The suggested retail price for the bundle will be US$ 479 or Euro 399 (excl. VAT). Current users of KeyStrokes or SwitchXS can upgrade to this bundle for a suggested price of US$ 239 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT).

AssistiveWare has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is the maker of award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards and SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, LayoutKitchen, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, SmartTransparency, PolyPredix, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 2.0 and LayoutKitchen^® 1.0 boost accessibility of Mac OS X Tiger

Amsterdam - 29 April 2004 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 2.0, LayoutKitchen^® 1.0 and KeyStrokes^® 3.5.1. SwitchXS is a switch access solution that provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who cannot use a mouse or keyboard. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. LayoutKitchen provides an advanced layout editor to make custom scan panels for SwitchXS. KeyStrokes is an award-winning on-screen keyboard that provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who cannot use a keyboard. It also provides advanced PolyPredix™ multilingual word prediction that can be used with the on-screen keyboard, with the hardware keyboard and with SwitchXS 2.0.

SwitchXS, LayoutKitchen and KeyStrokes together provide the best access solution ever on the Mac (and beyond) for people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) or Cerebral Palsy (CP) with very limited limb movement.

SwitchXS 2.0 represents a major update with the following main new features:

Improved inverse and step scanning options

Now allows colored buttons, colored button labels, images on buttons and colored panel backgrounds

Buttons can now trigger AppleScripts to perform multiple actions with a single button

Provides access to word prediction when combined with KeyStrokes

Includes additional pre-built scan panels including one giving direct access to iTunes

Compatibility with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4)

Includes LayoutKitchen 1.0

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) or higher is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

LayoutKitchen 1.0 is a major new, Tiger-compatible product with the following features:

Layout editor for SwitchXS scan panels and Proloquo speech panels (Proloquo will be available in the near future)

Supports coloring of panel background, button labels and buttons

Supports full-color images of any size on buttons in many graphic formats (including PNG, TIFF, JPEG, PSD, PDF)

Adjustable text font, size and style per button

Provides drag and drop editing of buttons, colors and images

Includes advanced functions to organize and arrange buttons

Allows a wide range of functions to be assigned to buttons, from speech to text to AppleScripts and keyboard macros

Includes a quick-access image browser

LayoutKitchen is currently available in English, French and Japanese but works fine with most other languages. It is included with SwitchXS and requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) or higher is recommended.

KeyStrokes 3.5.1 is a minor update offering improved features for hardware keyboard-based word prediction and enables word prediction for SwitchXS. KeyStrokes is fully compatible with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4). It can be used with a keyboard, mouse, trackball, head pointer, touch screen, or other mouse emulator.

KeyStrokes 3.5.1 is available in English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Dutch, but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Users of any other on-screen keyboard can upgrade to KeyStrokes 3.5 for US$ 249 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT). KeyStrokes 3.5.1 is provided as a free upgrade for registered users of any previous version of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X.

KeyStrokes 3.5.1 requires Mac OS X 10.2 or higher (Mac OS X 10.3 or higher is recommended). Version 3.1 is still available for Mac OS 9 and earlier versions of Mac OS X. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page a product page

AssistiveWare has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens and SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard.

KeyStrokes^® 3.5 for Mac OS X boosts word prediction, adds new localizations, and more

Amsterdam - 16 February 2005 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of version 3.5 of KeyStrokes^®, its award-winning on-screen keyboard with advanced PolyPredix™ multilingual word prediction for Mac OS X. KeyStrokes 3.5 offers many unique, time and effort saving features allowing significantly easier and faster typing. The new version provides word prediction for the hardware keyboard, it's on-screen keyboard and for soon to be released SwitchXS 1.7. It can be used with a keyboard, mouse, trackball, head pointer, touch screen, or other mouse emulator to type into just about any Mac OS X or Classic application.

Version 3.5 represents a major update with the following key new features:

Word prediction efficiency has improved by 10 to 40%, now allowing a total effort reduction of up to 70%.

Word prediction now works for the hardware keyboard to accommodate one finger typists.

Word prediction will also work for soon to be released SwitchXS 1.7, giving switch users access to the same great word prediction.

Adds German, Italian, Dutch and Norwegian translations.

Adds Norwegian pre-built word prediction dictionary (US and UK English, French, German, Dutch and Italian were already available).

And, many smaller improvements...

KeyStrokes 3.5 rapidly adapts its prediction to the user's vocabulary and also learns "as you type" or from text files. The learning and prediction process is entirely transparent to the user and learned text can even be spell-checked automatically to prevent learning typos. Advanced users can control many of the processes and use the extremely powerful dictionary editor to streamline user dictionaries or even design dictionaries for additional languages or dialects.

KeyStrokes 3.5 is the only fully-functional on-screen keyboard available for Mac OS X. With its system-wide, dwell-based typing and clicking, multiple keyboard models, adjustable key spacing and fonts, speech feedback, SmartTransparency™, and much more, KeyStrokes 3.5 is a real powerhouse. And yet, it is very easy to use and does not require any special configuration to profit fully from its advanced features.

KeyStrokes 3.5 is available in English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Dutch. The suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Users of any other on-screen keyboard can upgrade to KeyStrokes 3.5 for US$ 249 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT). KeyStrokes 3.5 is provided as a free upgrade for registered users of any previous version of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X.

KeyStrokes 3.5 requires Mac OS X 10.2 or higher (Mac OS X 10.3 recommended). Version 3.1 is still available for Mac OS 9 and earlier versions of Mac OS X. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, SmartTransparency, PolyPredix, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Seeking non-speaking beta testers for speech tool on Mac OS X

Amsterdam - 9 November 2004 - AssistiveWare today announced that is is seeking additional beta testers for Proloquo^®, its forthcoming speech solution for Mac OS X. Proloquo is in the final beta stages and additional English speaking beta testers are sought to test with both the Mac OS X built-in voices and the high quality Acapela Multimedia US and UK English voices. To qualify you must be running Mac OS X 10.3.x and not be able to speak (or at least need a communication aid to speak). For more details please write to support@assistiveware.com

Proloquo is a multilingual speech solution that works with Apple's built-in voices, but also with the high quality Acapela Multimedia voices (these currently include UK & US English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Russian and other voices). Proloquo is a multipurpose speech application providing a whole range of text to speech features that can be tailored to the user’s individual needs:

1) In it is most simple usage, text can be selected in an application and can be read out-loud by Proloquo.

2) Proloquo can also be used to echo text typed into any application, speaking each letter, word, sentence, and/or paragraph as it is typed. This works for physical keyboards as well as with the SwitchXS and KeyStrokes on-screen keyboards.

3) Proloquo can also be used as an advanced speech engine for SwitchXS and KeyStrokes, adding the capability to speak with high quality voices in various languages and also providing control over speech rate, pitch and exceptions.

4) Finally, Proloquo can be used as a full-fledged communication solution for people who cannot speak. Users can type text into Proloquo and let it speak (parts of) that text, or simply define sets of custom words and phrases that are spoken with a simple mouse click.

AssistiveWare has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of award-winning KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards and SwitchXS^® scanning on-screen keyboard.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and Proloquo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.6 for Mac OS X improves gaming and adds layout editor

Amsterdam - 18 October 2004 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.6. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS is typically used by people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) or Cerebral Palsy (CP) with very limited limb movement.

Version 1.6 represents a major update with the following main new features:

Improved scanning rhythm accuracy and higher maximum scan speed

Enhanced game compatibility and a new special Games scan panel

Includes the first public beta of LayoutKitchen™, a scan panel editor. With LayoutKitchen the user can edit built-in scan panels and create his/her own scan panels for use with SwitchXS 1.6 and later. It currently allows users to make scan panels with buttons that speak, that type text, that open documents or applications, that generate keyboard shortcuts and much more. LayoutKitchen opens many new doors for switch users.

SwitchXS provides a number of predefined scanning panels that the user can choose to move the cursor, click, and type into all standard Mac applications. It also allows the user to configure scanning speed and cycling, mouse speed, and SmartTransparency™, which makes the scanning panel partially or fully transparent when no scan is taking place to enjoy optimum use of screen real-estate. SwitchXS works with any HID compliant USB gamepad, joystick and keyboard, and starting with Mac OS X 10.3 also with any HID compliant USB mouse or trackball. SwitchXS also works with USB switch interfaces emulating any of the above devices.

SwitchXS is currently available in English, French and Japanese but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 249 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT). Version 1.6 is a free update for current users.

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, LayoutKitchen, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.5.5 for Mac OS X adds Japanese and more

Amsterdam - 15 September 2004 - AssistiveWare today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.5.5. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS is typically used by people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) or Cerebral Palsy (CP) with very limited limb movement.

Version 1.5.5 represents a significant update with the following main new features:

In collaboration with AT-Market Corporation support was added for Japanese, with full Japanese localization and dedicated Japanese scan panels. This makes SwitchXS the first Mac OS X on-screen keyboard to come to the Japanese market.
Enhanced support for mixing switch and mouse input.
New faster and smaller (6x) file format for scan panels.
Button labels can now be displayed in bold for enhanced visibility.

An editor to design custom scanning panels is currently in beta and will be made available as a free update in October.

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

MacGeneration 2004 Award for KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard for Mac OS X

Paris - 4 September 2004 - AssistiveWare^® is proud to announce that today it received a MacGeneration 2004 Award for KeyStrokes, its advanced, yet user friendly on-screen keyboard for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. The MacGeneration 2004 award for software product of the best development team was given by a jury of professionals and specialists in the field from the over 200 French localized products submitted to the contest.

KeyStrokes is at once the output of a very small development team, with David Niemeijer as its creator, and at the same time of a very large development team. This team included Giesbert Nijhuis, who designed many of the icons, the splash screen and the "snow" keys, with just head movements (he is paralyzed from the neck down), Rudo Niemeijer, who worked on the word prediction dictionaries, and Benoît Widemann, who localized the software in French. Equally important has been the team of beta testers, composed of users with disabilities and assisitive technology specialists located through out the world. They have been involved in product development from product conception to finishing touches. Their daily feedback really pushed the enveloppe and helped create features not found in other on-screen keyboards, such as SmartTransparency™, and a degree of user control over program behavior that is equally rare.

Anyone interested in learning more about KeyStrokes can find the documentation and a fully-functional demo at: http://www.assistiveware.com/keystrokes.php

Apple Expo and upcoming Mac OS X assistive technology software releases

Amsterdam - 24 August 2004 - AssistiveWare today announced that it will show a number of upcoming assistive technology product releases in the Education Solutions Centre of the Apple Expo (Paris, 31 August - 4 September). New versions will be shown of KeyStrokes^® on-screen keyboard, SwitchXS ^® switch access solution and a completely new, multilingual speech product called Proloquo^®. KeyStrokes 3.2, SwitchXS 1.6 and Proloquo 1.0 are expected to be released in October.

KeyStrokes 3.2 will include a new version of the PolyPredix™ word prediction engine that reduces typing efforts a further 10 to 45% compared to version 3.1, which already has one of the best word prediction systems in the industry. In addition to the existing English and French localizations, version 3.2 will add German, Italian and Norwegian localizations of the software. This will be a free update for existing users.

SwitchXS 1.6 will include a scan panel editor to create custom scan panels. In addition to the existing English and French localizations, version 1.6 will add Japanese. This will be a free update for existing users.

Proloquo 1.0 is a multilingual speech solution that works with Apple's build-in voices, but also with the high quality Acapela Multimedia voices (these currently include UK & US English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Russian and other voices). Proloquo is a multipurpose speech application providing a whole range of text to speech features that can be tailored to the user’s individual needs:

1) In it is most simple usage, text can be selected in an application and can be read out-loud by Proloquo.

AssistiveWare has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, Proloquo, and PolyPredix are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.5 adds speech-cueing, key repeat and other advanced features

Amsterdam - 3 June 2004 - AssistiveWare / Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.5. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS is typically used by people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) with very limited limb movement.

Version 1.5 represents a major update with the following main new features:

Adds the much requested speech-cueing during scanning.
Provides new functions for moving the cursor in an arbitrary direction and moving the scan panel.
Adds fully customizable key repeat.
Provides additional effort saving customizable settings for controlling scanning and mouse movement.
Adds support for multiple monitor setups.
Includes new and improved scanning panels, including a dedicated web browsing panel.
Plus many other enhancements.

An editor to design custom scanning panels is currently in beta and will be made available as a free update sometime this summer.

SwitchXS is currently available in English and French but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$ 249 or Euro 199 (excl. VAT). Version 1.5 is a free update for current users.

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

AssistiveWare has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards.

AssistiveWare is a trade name and registered trademark of Niemeijer Consult. KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, SwitchXS, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

KeyStrokes^® 3.1 provides support for more languages, adds AppleScriptability, and more

Amsterdam - 13 January 2004 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of version 3.1 of KeyStrokes^®, its popular on-screen keyboard with advanced PolyPredix™ multilingual word prediction for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. KeyStrokes 3.1 offers many unique, time and effort saving features allowing significantly easier and faster typing for people unable to use a hardware keyboard. It can be used with a mouse, trackball, head pointer, touch screen, or other mouse emulator to type characters into any standard Macintosh application.

The main new features in version 3.1 are:

Support for word prediction in languages with a non-Roman alphabet including Cyrillic and Eastern European languages.
Adds Dutch and Italian pre-built word prediction dictionaries (US and UK English, French and German were already available).
Powerful AppleScript support to allow other developers and AT specialists to build integrated solutions.
Automatic backup and restore of user dictionaries.
Adds a numeric pad keyboard model.
Improved Panther support.

KeyStrokes 3.1 rapidly adapts its prediction to the user's vocabulary and also learns "as you type" or from text files. The learning and prediction process is entirely transparent to the user and, in Mac OS X 10.2 and higher, learned text can even be spell-checked automatically to prevent learning typos. Advanced users can control many of the processes and use the extremely powerful dictionary editor to streamline user dictionaries or even design dictionaries for additional languages or dialects.

KeyStrokes 3.1 is the only fully-functional on-screen keyboard available for Mac OS X. With its system-wide, dwell-based typing and clicking, multiple keyboard models, adjustable key spacing and fonts, speech feedback, SmartTransparency™, and much more, KeyStrokes 3.1 is a real powerhouse. And yet, it is very easy to use and does not require any special configuration to profit fully from its advanced features.

KeyStrokes 3.1 can be used with just about any Mac OS X or Classic application, including other assistive technology software and hardware. It also works very well with keyboard shortcut utilities such as AliasKeys.

KeyStrokes 3.1 will be demoed at the ATIA, January 14-17, Florida by Origin Instruments Corporation (booth 21) our North American distributor. There they will also be introducing the perfect companion for KeyStrokes 3.1, a gorgeous new and much smaller USB HeadMouse^® that will look great on Apple's laptop computers and flat-panel displays.

KeyStrokes 3.1 is available in English and French. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 249 (excl. VAT). Users of any other on-screen keyboard can upgrade to KeyStrokes 3.1 for US$/Euro 199 (excl. VAT). KeyStrokes 3.1 is provided as a free upgrade for registered users of any previous version of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X.

KeyStrokes 3.1 requires Mac OS 9 or higher or Mac OS X 10.1.3 or higher and at least 10 MB of free memory. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page at product page.

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens and SwitchXS^® virtual keyboard and mouse emulator for single or multiple switch users. Origin Instruments is the North American distributor of Niemeijer Consult's assistive technology products and maker of the well-known HeadMouse^®.

KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, SwitchXS, Dwellix, SmartTransparency, and PolyPredix are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.2.1: important bug fix release

Amsterdam - 28 November 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.2.1. This is a bug fix release that fixes a bug that could cause a crash for some users when selecting the preferences. We apologize for any inconveniences.

SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS is typically used by people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) with very limited limb movement.

SwitchXS provides a number of predefined scanning panels that the user can choose to move the cursor, click, and type into all standard Mac applications. It also allows the user to set scanning speed and cycling, mouse speed, and SmartTransparency™, which makes the scanning panel partially or fully transparent when no scan is taking place to enjoy optimum use of screen real-estate. SwitchXS works with any HID compliant USB gamepad, joystick and keyboard, and starting with Mac OS X 10.3 also with any HID compliant USB mouse or trackball. SwitchXS also works with USB switch interfaces emulating any of the above devices.

An editor to design custom scanning panels, word prediction facilities, and speech feedback will be made available in the form of additional modules at a later date. These modules will be sold separately but will be available at a reduced price for registered users.

SwitchXS is currently available in English and French but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 150 (excl. VAT).

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.2 now works with any input device you can think of

Amsterdam - 25 November 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.2. This is the second in a series of free updates for existing users. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS is typically used by people who are, for example, quadriplegic due to an accident, or suffering from neuromotor diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) with very limited limb movement.

Version 1.2 represents a major update with the following main new features:

Now allows the user to select just about any USB input device as a switch on Mac OS X Panther: switch interfaces, keyboards, mice, trackballs, gamepads, and joysticks.
Now provides audio-cueing during scanning.
Now provides much greater control over scanning and mouse speed for both slow and fast scanners.
Now also localized in French.

SwitchXS provides a number of predefined scanning panels that the user can choose to move the cursor, click, and type into all standard Mac applications. It also allows the user to set scanning speed and cycling, mouse speed, and SmartTransparency™, which makes the scanning panel partially or fully transparent when no scan is taking place to enjoy optimum use of screen real-estate. SwitchXS works with any HID compliant USB gamepad, joystick and keyboard, and starting with Mac OS X 10.3 also with any HID compliant USB mouse or trackball. SwitchXS also works with USB switch interfaces emulating any of the above devices.

SwitchXS is currently available in English and French but works fine with most other languages. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 150 (excl. VAT).

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or higher. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is recommended. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® 1.1 improves access to Mac OS X for people with disabilities

Amsterdam - 13 October 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of SwitchXS^® 1.1. This is the first in a series of free updates for existing users. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use one or more switches. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu.

Version 1.1 represents a major update with the following main new features:

Now supports multiple switches with user configurable scanning methods
Now provides auto-stepping and auto-selecting single switch scanning methods
Now provides automatic menu scanning
Improved responsiveness and scanning accuracy
Much reduced processor load
Fixes some problems when using a keyboard as a switch or a keyboard-emulating switch interface

SwitchXS provides a number of predefined scanning panels that the user can choose to move the cursor, click, and type into all standard Mac applications. It also allows the user to set scanning speed and cycling, mouse speed, and SmartTransparency™, which makes the scanning panel partially or fully transparent when no scan is taking place to enjoy optimum use of screen real-estate. SwitchXS works with most USB joysticks, gamepads, as well as switch interfaces that emulate these. In addition, it can be used with a regular keyboard as well as switch interfaces that emulate a keyboard.

An editor to design custom scanning panels, word prediction facilities, and audio-speech feedback will be made available in the form of additional modules at a later date. These modules will be sold separately but will be available at a reduced price for registered users.

SwitchXS 1.1 will make it's European public debut on 16 and 17 October at Le salon éducation (Namur, Belgium) where Niemeijer Consult will be present in the Apple booth. In the USA SwitchXS 1.1 will make is public debut at Closing The Gap (15-18 October) where Origin Instruments Corporation, Niemeijer Consult's North American distributor will be present (booths 48 and 49).

SwitchXS is currently available in English, while a French version will be available in a few weeks. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 150 (excl. VAT).

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 or higher. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Apple Expo Europe and European Year of People with Disabilities events and activities

Amsterdam - 2 September 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced that it will participate in the special events for the European Year of People with Disabilities that Apple has organized for this year's Apple Expo Europe (16-20 September). The Apple Expo in Paris is Europe's largest Apple event with an expected 80,000 visitors from all over Europe. As a key developer of assistive technology software for Mac OS X, Niemeijer Consult, will partake in three special events and activities:

1) On Wednesday, September 17 (15:00-16:00, European Room, Hall 4) there will be a special session "Accessibility and information society" in which Expo visitors will be able to see how technology can provide people with mental or physical impairments access to information and resources any other citizen has access to. This session will include demos of our KeyStrokes^® on-screen keyboard and our SwitchXS^® switch-access solutions for Mac OS X. Simultaneous translation into French and English will be available for the session. You are also invited to Niemeijer Consult's two sessions in the Education Solutions theater: On Tuesday, September 16 (17:30-18:00) and Saturday, September 20 (16:45-17:15).

2) Niemeijer Consult will be located at the special Accessibility section of the Education Solutions Center. Here you can be one of the first to try-out forthcoming SwitchXS 1.1, which will add support for multiple-switches (and will be the first of a number of free updates). Together with Elan Speech we will also be showing a technology demo of our KeyStrokes 3 on-screen keyboard using Elan's Text-to-Speech for a number of European languages. What is more, you will be able to discuss your needs and share your thoughts with David Niemeijer, the main developer of KeyStrokes and SwitchXS.

3) Assistive Technology is all about allowing people with disabilities to communicate and be part of society. Niemeijer Consult will be making use of Apple's most recent technological innovations, namely iChat AV and iSight, to allow Expo visitors to have live chats with KeyStrokes and SwitchXS users from around the globe and learn from their experiences. At the same time, those people unable to come to the Apple Expo can join us for live chats with the main developer of KeyStrokes and SwitchXS. This is the occasion to share thoughts, experiences and make your needs known! Tune into assistiveware@mac.com with your copy of iChat or iChat AV (for text, audio or video chats) during the Apple Expo days (Sept 16-20; Europe: 10:00-19:00 CEST; US: 4:00-13:00 EDT; Australia: 19:00-4:00 EDT). For more information look at http://www.assistiveware.com/events.php

On the Apple Expo showfloor the EYPD logo (EYPD = European Year of People with Disabilities) will indicate where you can find assistive technology solutions as well as software and hardware that is of particular interest to people with disabilities.

To register for the Apple Expo go to http://www.apple-expo.com/. The Apple Expo conferences focus on various markets or professions and are free of charge to all Expo visitors. The conferences will be held in the Europe meeting room (Hall 4) and will have simultaneous translation into French and English.

KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SwitchXS are registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SwitchXS^® allows people with neural-motor issues to finally move to Mac OS X using only a single switch

Amsterdam - 14 July 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of version 1.0 of SwitchXS^®, the first switch access software for Mac OS X. SwitchXS provides virtually complete access to Mac OS X and all standard Mac applications for people who can only use a single switch. It offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mode. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu.

"Motor-impaired users have been clamoring for the ability to move to Mac OS X," said David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult's CTO. "With full keyboard and mouse control, SwitchXS provides everything a switch user needs to move to Mac OS X today. It works out of the box with a wide range of input devices starting with $9.95 gamepads to dedicated switch interfaces. Oh yes, and you can use your keyboard too"

SwitchXS provides a number of predefined scanning panels that the user can choose to move the cursor, click, and type into all standard Mac applications. It also allows the user to set scanning speed and cycling, mouse speed, and SmartTransparency™, which makes the scanning panel partially or fully transparent when no scan is taking place to enjoy optimum use of screen real-estate. SwitchXS works with most USB joysticks, gamepads, as well as switch interfaces that emulate these. In addition, it can be used with a regular keyboard as well as switch interfaces that emulate a keyboard.

"I feared that I would be stuck in Mac OS 9 forever, but then SwitchXS saved me!" said Michael Phillips, Mac Journalist, Digital Artist and AppleMaster. "SwitchXS is a robust solution for anyone that wants to access Mac OS X with a switch. I use it to type in Word, create digital images in Photoshop and play games, such as Shadowbane and Warcraft III. With SwitchXS, I was able to seamlessly make the jump from OS 9 to OS X without missing a beat. It's fast, flexible, easy to use and thanks to SmartTransparency™, never gets in my way. SwitchXS totally rocks!"

SwitchXS will gain support for use with multiple switches in the near future. This will be part of a free update for anyone who purchases SwitchXS now. An editor to design custom scanning panels, word prediction facilities, and audio-speech feedback will be made available in the form of additional modules at a later date. These modules will be sold separately but will be available at a reduced price for registered users.

"SwitchXS opens the doors to Mac OS X for users with neural-motor issues," said George McKinlay of the Research & Educational Planning Center, University of Nevada. "Not only does SwithXS grant users access to the most powerful operating system, and all of the software that goes with it, but it does so with an attention to detail and a subtle elegance that makes users feel like first class citizens - now that is what accessibility is about!"

SwitchXS is currently available in English, while a French version is expected in September. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 150 (excl. VAT).

SwitchXS requires Mac OS X 10.2 or higher. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

KeyStrokes^® 3 brings revolutionary word prediction to popular on-screen keyboard

Amsterdam - 8 July 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of version 3.0 of KeyStrokes^®, its popular on-screen keyboard software for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. KeyStrokes 3 offers the most advanced multilingual word prediction system ever on the Mac. Thanks to its new revolutionary PolyPredix™ word prediction engine it can do word completion, next word prediction and even multi-word prediction in any Roman language as well as many other languages. The PolyPredix™ prediction engine offers unique, time and effort saving features allowing significantly easier and faster typing for people unable to use a hardware keyboard. It can be used with a mouse, trackball, head pointer, touch screen, or other mouse emulator to type characters into any standard Macintosh application.

"KeyStrokes 3 brings word prediction to Mac OS X in a big way," said David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult’s CTO. "Our tests show that thanks to the revolutionary PolyPredix™ word prediction engine users are actually able to type up to several times as fast with just a fraction of the effort. For Mac users with disabilities it can revolutionize their communication with the outside world."

KeyStrokes 3 can predict from multiple language or topical dictionaries at once and comes with free prediction dictionaries for US and UK English, French and German, while dictionaries for Dutch, Spanish and Italian will be available shortly.

"KeyStrokes 3 is the most robust on-screen keyboard on the market today," said Madalaine Pugliese, Assistive Technology Specialist and Apple Distinguished Educator and also author of the well known Stages Alternative Assessment Software. "KeyStrokes 3 has so many empowering features that can maximize efficiency of every user movement. Yet, the impressive range of options is organized in a simple to use interface. And, best of all, it's Jaguar compatible! This is absolutely one of the most effective and efficient solutions available in the assistive technology market today."

KeyStrokes 3 rapidly adapts its prediction to the user's vocabulary and also learns "as you type" or from text files. The learning and prediction process is entirely transparent to the user and, in Mac OS X 10.2, learned text can even be spell-checked automatically to prevent learning typos. Advanced users can control many of the processes and use the extremely powerful dictionary editor to streamline user dictionaries or even design dictionaries for additional languages or dialects.

"Products like KeyStrokes give all people the ability to leverage the power of Microsoft Office," said Gary Moulton, of Microsoft's Accessible Technology Group. "This new release adds a powerful word prediction feature to the existing Mac OS X keyboard, enhancing the productivity of our customers with disabilities."

KeyStrokes 3 also adds shortcut expansion, as well as many other new and improved features such as speaking keys (English-only). KeyStrokes 3 is the only fully-functional on-screen keyboard available for Mac OS X. With its system-wide, dwell-based typing and clicking, multiple keyboard models, adjustable key spacing and fonts, SmartTransparency™, and much more KeyStrokes 3 is a real powerhouse. And yet, it is very easy to use and does not require any special configuration to profit fully from its advanced features.

"KeyStrokes 3 is the perfect companion to our HeadMouse^® product line," said Mel Dashner, Origin Instruments' Vice-President. "Its state-of-the-art word prediction features will make this on-screen keyboard an immediate hit with our Macintosh customers and we are proud to distribute KeyStrokes in North America."

KeyStrokes 3 is available in English and French. The suggested retail price is US$/Euro 250 (excl. VAT). Special introductory pricing is available until 30 September 2003. During this period registered users of any other Mac on-screen keyboard can upgrade to KeyStrokes 3 for US$/Euro 175 (excl. VAT), while first-time users pay US$/Euro 225 (excl. VAT). Finally, KeyStrokes 3 is provided as a free upgrade for registered users of KeyStrokes 1.5.

KeyStrokes 3 requires Mac OS 9 or higher or Mac OS X 10.1.3 or higher and at least 10 MB of free memory. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the development of assistive technology software for the Apple Macintosh since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens. Origin Instruments is the North American distributor of Niemeijer Consult's assistive technology products and maker of the well-known HeadMouse.

KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, Dwellix, SmartTransparency, and PolyPredix are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

New Assistive Technology Products for Mac OS X Forthcoming

Amsterdam - 04 April 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release schedules for KeyStrokes^® and SwitchXS^®.

KeyStrokes 3.0, a major update to the only fully-functional on-screen keyboard solution for Mac OS X, is scheduled for release in May and will include a revolutionary new word prediction engine. This is not the earlier planned port of the word prediction engine used in KeyStrokes 2 on Mac OS 9 and earlier, but an advanced new prediction engine with many unique time and effort saving features. Anyone who currently purchases KeyStrokes 1.5 for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X will be offered a free upgrade. KeyStrokes 1.5 is available in English and French. The current suggested retail price is US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). A US$ 45 or Euro 45 discount is currently available for users of the pre-OS X shareware version. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page

SwitchXS 1.0, a breakthrough application allowing single and multiple switch access to Mac OS X, offering full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mechanism is now scheduled for this summer. This provides the time necessary to include many of the features requested by participants in our online switch access survey. For more information consult the product page.

A release notification of both products can be requested at http://www.assistiveware.com/inform.php.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, and TouchStrokes are registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Niemeijer Consult Announces First Single-Switch Access Solution for Mac OS X to Go in Beta (beta testers invited)

Amsterdam - 07 January 2003 - Niemeijer Consult today announced that SwitchXS^®, a breakthrough application allowing single-switch access to Mac OS X, has reached beta stage. Last year, Niemeijer Consult released KeyStrokes^® for Mac OS X, the only fully-functional on-screen keyboard solution for Mac OS X, which allows users who cannot use a physical keyboard complete access to Apple's powerful new operating system. Taking once again the lead, SwitchXS is the first Mac OS X compatible solution announced for motor-impaired users who cannot use a mouse or keyboard but can only press a single switch.

SwitchXS works with any standard Mac application and offers full mouse and keyboard emulation by means of a so-called scanning mechanism. With each click on the switch the user selects an action, such as "move the cursor up" or "type B", from a "scanning" menu. SwitchXS has many customizable settings to allow users or therapists to adapt the application to their needs. Release of the final application is expected before the end of the first quarter.

Origin Instruments Corporation, Niemeijer Consult's North American distributor, will demo a SwitchXS beta at the ATIA 2003 Conference and Exhibition, January 15-18, 2003 in Orlando, Florida (look for booth 19).

People interested in SwitchXS are invited to request a release notification or participate in beta testing and/or an on-line survey soliciting user input on features for the final application at the product page.

SwitchXS, KeyStrokes, and TouchStrokes are registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Niemeijer Consult Announces Upcoming Release of KeyStrokes^® 3.0 On-screen Keyboard with Zero-upgrade Fee for Early Adopters

Amsterdam - 05 December 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the upcoming release of KeyStrokes^® 3.0 on-screen keyboard. Many physically impaired mac users have been hesitant to make the switch from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. To support early adopters of Mac OS X we are offering a zero-upgrade fee to KeyStrokes 3.0 for anyone who has already purchased KeyStrokes 1.5 for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X or does so now. KeyStrokes 3.0, expected in March 2003 will add self-learning, language-independent word prediction to this powerful, yet easy to use on-screen keyboard. KeyStrokes already offers system-wide, dwell-based typing and clicking, multiple keyboard models, adjustable key spacing and fonts, SmartTransparency™, and much more...

KeyStrokes for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X is available in English and French. The introductory suggested retail price is US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). A US$ 45 or Euro 45 discount is currently available for users of the pre-OS X shareware version. For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the development of on-screen keyboard software for the Mac since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens.

TouchStrokes, KeyStrokes and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Niemeijer Consult Announces KeyStrokes^® 1.5 for Mac OS X on-screen keyboard

Amsterdam - 07 October 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced KeyStrokes^® 1.5 for Mac OS X, the first major update to the popular virtual keyboard for Apple's super-modern operating system.

KeyStrokes 1.5 for Mac OS X is a superior on-screen keyboard that delivers an enhanced set of features that allows a person to type with a mouse in place of a hardware keyboard. This latest version of KeyStrokes, also compatible with Mac OS 9, offers Dwellix™, a more advanced dwelling feature that simplifies typing without clicking. It also offers entirely new SmartTransparency™ technology that makes the keyboard invisible when you do not need it and automatically makes it appear when you do need it. KeyStrokes 1.5 is now also localized in French.

“KeyStrokes 1.5 offers that bridge from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X that Mac users with disabilities have been asking for,” said David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult’s CTO. “It runs like a dream on both platforms and does not require any extensions.”

“Mac OS X provides the flexibility and power for users to tailor the system to suit their specific needs,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “With the continued innovation of tools like KeyStrokes, users of all capabilities will be able to harness the power of the Mac.”

KeyStrokes can be used with a mouse, trackball, head pointer, touch screen, or other mouse emulator to type characters into any standard Macintosh application. It automatically adjusts to US and international keyboard layouts and has multiple resizable keyboard models. It handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations.

“KeyStrokes is the best piece of disability software I’ve ever used! It has gotten me through two college courses and works seamlessly with Photoshop and Illustrator,” said student Joe Barnick. “I’ve used other onscreen keyboards but none of them treat the disabled user as intelligently as KeyStrokes. It doesn’t feel like a piece of ‘disability’ software, rather it feels like a comfortable standard keyboard. It is so streamlined, unobtrusive, and fast. It’s slick... I absolutely love it and this has been a deciding factor in upgrading to Mac OS X!”

The integrated system-wide dwelling function allows people with disabilities to click, double click, drag, right-click and type by simply holding the cursor motionless for a short period of time.

The suggested retail price for KeyStrokes 1.5 is US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). The update is free to current owners of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the development of on-screen keyboard software for the Mac since 1996 and is also the maker of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens.

TouchStrokes, KeyStrokes and SmartTransparency are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

TouchStrokes^® 1.5.6 offers an improved touch screen experience

Amsterdam - 25 September 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced TouchStrokes^® 1.5.6. The latest version of this advanced virtual on-screen keyboard offers an improved touch screen experience. Modifier keys (such as shift and option) are now immediately activated even before the mouse or finger is released. It also fixes a file permission issue that prevented operation from another account than the one the software was installed from.

TouchStrokes^® is a fully-functional virtual keyboard for touch screens, kiosks, server management and graphic tablet users. It runs natively on Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X 10.1.3 and higher. It works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X applications allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used.

The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes is US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Version 1.5.6 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page

Niemeijer Consult has been involved with the developed of on-screen keyboard software for Mac OS and Mac OS X since 1996 and is the maker of the popular KeyStrokes^® and TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboards.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

TouchStrokes^® 1.5.5 offers improved kiosk features

Amsterdam - 10 September 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced TouchStrokes^® 1.5.5. The latest version of this advanced virtual on-screen keyboard adds compatibility with iCab's full-screen mode. It also adds several improvements to the kiosk mode that permits the disabling of certain keys, key combinations and other functionality specifically for use in touch screen kiosks.

TouchStrokes^® is a fully-functional virtual keyboard for touch screens, server management and graphic tablet users. It runs natively on Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X 10.1.3 and higher. It works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X applications allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used.

The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes is US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Version 1.5.5 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes^® 2.2.2 on-screen keyboard for Mac OS 7.1 - 9.2.2 released

Amsterdam - 2 September 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the release of KeyStrokes^® 2.2.2, its popular on-screen keyboard with word prediction for use on Mac OS 7.1 - 9.2.2. Version 2.2.2 has updated documentation and an improved registration system.

KeyStrokes 2.2.2 offers intelligent, language independent word prediction, flexible shortcuts to frequently used text, multiple keyboard layouts (including alphabetic) and a full implementation of functions keys. Word prediction dictionaries containing the most frequently used 15,000 words are available for US English, UK English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

KeyStrokes 2.2.2 is ideal for disabled users, special education, use with children, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing. More information and a 15-day full-functional demo is available at the KeyStrokes 2 product page.

Pricing for KeyStrokes 2 starts at US$ 45 for a single copy with discounts of up to 40% for users of multiple copies. KeyStrokes 2.2.2 is a free upgrade for registered users of KeyStrokes 2.

Niemeijer Consult also offers a version of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

TouchStrokes^® 1.5.1 and KeyStrokes^® for Mac OS X 1.1.1 on-screen keyboards now Jaguar compatible

Amsterdam - 27 August 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced TouchStrokes^® 1.5.1 and KeyStrokes^® for Mac OS X 1.1.1. Fixing a minor glitch both virtual on-screen keyboards are now compatible with Mac OS X 10.2, also known as Jaguar.

The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes is US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases. Version 1.5.1 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the TouchStrokes product page

KeyStrokes^® for Mac OS X is a fully functional virtual keyboard for users with disabilities and provides an integrated, system-wide dwell-based utility which allows mouse button clicks to be entered by simply holding the cursor motionless for a programmable period of time. It runs natively on Mac OS X 10.1.3 and higher and works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS X applications (including those running in the Classic environment) allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used.

The suggested introductory retail price for KeyStrokes for Mac OS X is US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). This price includes a copy of KeyStrokes 2.2 for applications running natively on Mac OS 7.1 through 9.2. Discounts are available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases. Version 1.1.1 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the KeyStrokes product page.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

TouchStrokes^® 1.5 virtual keyboard just doubled in value

24 July 2002

Amsterdam - 24 July 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced a doubling of the value of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens, server management and graphic tablet users. TouchStrokes 1.5 now not only runs natively on Mac OS X but also on Mac OS 9. All of this in a single executable without the need for any special extensions. TouchStrokes beats the competition in terms of functionality and typing responsiveness.

TouchStrokes provides a fully-functional virtual keyboard that works by drawing a keyboard image on the display and allows you to type characters into any normal application using a mouse, touch screen, graphic tablet, trackball, head pointer or other mouse emulator. It works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS 9 and X applications (including those running in the Classic) allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used.

TouchStrokes automatically adjusts to US and international keyboard layouts and has multiple resizable keyboard models. It handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations. It offers a quick access toolbar and has many customizable settings.

TouchStrokes is ideal if you work with a touch screen or electronic white board. Also for artists working with large graphic tablets or server managers that want to eliminate the clutter of having multiple physical keyboards on a desk it provides a great solution. People with disabilities should also check out KeyStrokes virtual keyboard, which offers special accessibility features.

The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes is US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases. Version 1.5 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult today also announced the release of version 1.1 of KeyStrokes^® virtual keyboard for Mac OS X. KeyStrokes for Mac OS X is intended for users with disabilities and provides an integrated, system-wide dwell-based utility which allows mouse button clicks to be entered by simply holding the cursor motionless for a programmable period of time. Version 1.1 improves handling of international keyboard layouts and has several under the hood improvements.

The suggested introductory retail price for KeyStrokes for Mac OS X is US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). This price includes a copy of KeyStrokes 2.2 for applications running natively on Mac OS 7.1 through 9.2. Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases. Version 1.1 is a free update for existing users.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for Mac OS X released

29 April 2002

Amsterdam - 29 April 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the debut of TouchStrokes^® virtual keyboard for touch screens, server management and graphic tablet users. TouchStrokes runs natively on Mac OS X.

TouchStrokes provides a fully-functional virtual keyboard that works by drawing a keyboard image on the display and allows you to type characters into any normal application using a mouse, touch screen, graphic tablet, trackball, head pointer or other mouse emulator. It works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS X applications (including those running in the Classic) allowing you to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used.

The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes will be US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

On-Screen Keyboard Accessibility Solution for Mac OS X Ready for Prime Time

29 March 2002

Amsterdam - 29 March 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced that, KeyStrokes^®, its popular on-screen keyboard software for the Macintosh, is now available for Mac OS X. The much anticipated KeyStrokes for Mac OS X, is the first fully functional on-screen keyboard to run natively on Apple's next generation operating system and one of the first accessibility solutions bringing the power of Mac OS X to people with disabilities.

An on-screen keyboard is typically used by a person who because of illness or injury cannot use a standard keyboard. KeyStrokes for Mac OS X works by drawing a keyboard image on the display and using a mouse, trackball, head pointer or other mouse emulator to type characters into any standard Macintosh application. For those who can position the pointer, but not click the mouse buttons, an integrated and system-wide dwell-based utility allows mouse button clicks to be entered by simply holding the cursor motionless for a programmable period of time. With KeyStrokes for Mac OS X a person who can only use a mouse or mouse emulator can have complete access to the Macintosh, the Internet and by extension the World.

KeyStrokes works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS X applications (including those running in Classic) allowing a person with a disability to type virtually anywhere a hardware keyboard can be used. It automatically adjusts to US and international keyboard layouts and has multiple resizable keyboard models. It handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations.

The integrated system-wide dwelling function allows people with disabilities to click, double click, drag, and right-click by simply holding the cursor motionless for a short period of time. For many people with disabilities this is much more convenient than sip-and-puff style clicking. In sum, KeyStrokes is the kind of application that makes a real difference for people with disabilities and a necessary key to enter the Mac OS X experience.

The suggested introductory retail price for KeyStrokes for Mac OS X will be US$ 195 or Euro 220 (excl. VAT). This price includes a copy of KeyStrokes 2.2 for applications running natively on Mac OS 7.1 through 9.2. Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases.

For more information and a fully-functional downloadable demo please consult the product page.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Niemeijer Consult Proudly Announces On-Screen Keyboard Accessibility Solutions for Mac OS X

15 March 2002

Amsterdam - 15 March 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced that on March 20, KeyStrokes, its popular on-screen keyboard software for the Macintosh, will make its public debut on Mac OS X at CSUN's 17th Annual International Conference "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" in Los Angeles. KeyStrokes for Mac OS X, will be the first fully functional on-screen keyboard to run natively on Apple's next generation operating system and one of the first accessibility solutions bringing the power of Mac OS X to people with disabilities. Origin Instruments Corporation, our North American distributor, will demonstrate the software in their booth (number 303, Marriott) during the CSUN conference.

Today, Niemeijer Consult also announced the debut of TouchStrokes for Mac OS X, a basic, but fully-functional, onscreen keyboard for Mac OS X targeted at server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing. The suggested retail price for TouchStrokes for Mac OS X will be US$ 95 or Euro 110 (excl. VAT). Discounts will be available for users of KeyStrokes 2 and for volume purchases.

The software will be available worldwide as a download and on CD from specialized distributors and resellers starting March 29. To receive a one-time notification of shipping with details on which distributor to contact, please complete the release notification form.

For a list of key-features and some screen shots, see the annex below.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes and TouchStrokes are trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Macintosh and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Annex: Key-features and screen shots

KeyStrokes for Mac OS X offers the following key-features:

Fully functional on-screen keyboard
Integrated, system-wide, customizable dwelling functionality
Works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS X applications (including those running in Classic)
Handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations
Works with US and international keyboard layouts and offers five interactively resizable keyboard models
Offers auto key-repeat, various key designs, selectable font, and customizable key spacing
Has an iconizable and collapsible keyboard window floating above other applications
Provides a simple mode to limit a student's access to more advanced features
Includes a copy of KeyStrokes 2.2 for use on Mac OS 7.1 through 9.2

Figure 1. KeyStrokes keyboard with toolbar

Figure 2. KeyStrokes Mouse palette

TouchStrokes for Mac OS X offers the following key-features:

Fully functional on-screen keyboard
Works seamlessly with all standard Mac OS X applications (including those running in Classic)
Handles command-key combinations, dead-keys, and modifier key - click combinations
Works with US and international keyboard layouts and offers five interactively resizable keyboard models
Provides a customizable kiosk mode to control users access to on-screen keyboard features
Offers auto key-repeat, various key designs, selectable font, and customizable key spacing
Has an iconizable and collapsible keyboard window floating above other applications

Figure 3. TouchStrokes keyboard with toolbar collapsed

Figure 4. TouchStrokes Kiosk Mode dialog

Niemeijer Consult Proudly Announces Future Release of First On-Screen Keyboard Solution for Mac OS X

8 January 2002

Amsterdam - 8 January 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced the forthcoming release of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X, the first on-screen keyboard to run natively on Apple’s next generation operating system and one of the first assistive technologies bringing the power of Mac OS X to physically impaired Mac users.

KeyStrokes for Mac OS X works seamlessly with all applications, allowing users to type with a mouse, trackball, head pointer or other cursor input device anywhere a user desires. KeyStrokes for Mac OS X is ideal for special education, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing.

Main features of KeyStrokes for Mac OS X:

Works seamlessly with all applications running on Mac OS X (e.g., Classic, Carbon, Cocoa applications).

Offers five interactively resizable keyboard models (standard, standard with numeric pad, extended, extended with numeric keypad, block) with key labels in any font the user desires.

Works with US and international keyboard layouts.

Handles command - key combinations, dead keys, and modifier key - click combinations.

Toolbar to access the most important features right from the keyboard window.

KeyStrokes for Mac OS X will be available in the near future. To receive a one-time notification when KeyStrokes for Mac OS X is released, please complete this form

Screen shots of two of the five keyboard models:

The screen shots were removed because they have been superseded by the ones in the 15 March 2002 press release.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes 2.2 on-screen keyboard released

8 January 2002

Amsterdam - 8 January 2002 - Niemeijer Consult today announced version 2.2 of their popular KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard software, which runs on System 7.1 through Mac OS 9.2.2. KeyStrokes 2.2 now offers enhanced international support through improved handling of dead-keys and non-US keyboard layouts and now works in the Classic layer of Mac OS X for use with Classic applications (requires Mac OS X 10.1.2 and Mac OS 9.2.2). A single user copy of KeyStrokes 2.x costs US$45.

A full working 15-day trial of KeyStrokes 2.2 can be downloaded at http://www.assistiveware.com/download.html. KeyStrokes 2.2 is a free upgrade for registered users of KeyStrokes 2.

Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes 2.1.1 on-screen keyboard released

21 May 2001

Version 2.1.1 of KeyStrokes, our on-screen keyboard for the Apple Macintosh, is now available. KeyStrokes 2.1.1 fixes a bug that prevented editing of entries in word prediction dictionaries in the recently released break-through new version 2.1. See below for a list of other minor bug fixes.

KeyStrokes 2 is ideal for disabled users, special education, use with children, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing. KeyStrokes 2.1.1 can be downloaded at http://www.assistiveware.com/download.html. A pdf fact sheet is also available for download

KeyStrokes 2.1.1 is a free upgrade for registered users of KeyStrokes 2.

Pricing for KeyStrokes 2 starts at US$ 45 for a single copy with discounts of up to 40% for users of multiple copies.

Main changes in KeyStrokes 2.1.1:

When double clicking on a word for editing, the list of predicted words went back to its default state and one of those words was brought up for editing rather than the intended word. This is now fixed.
In the prediction preferences the item "suggest only words with at least" x characters did not remember its setting correctly. This is now fixed.
Now reports that shortcuts should always start with a letter.
Now does not auto-append a space after the '-' sign.
Plus some other minor bug fixes.

Download KeyStrokes 2.1.1 for a 15-day full trial.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes 2.1 on-screen keyboard released

25 April 2001

We are proud to announce the release of KeyStrokes 2.1, our on-screen keyboard for the Apple Macintosh. KeyStrokes 2.1 is a break-through new version with a load of novel and improved features including compatibility with Mac OS 9.1, improved language independent word prediction, more flexible shortcuts to frequently used text, improved responsiveness (through a new type-engine), compatibility with Word and TypeIt4Me, multiple keyboard layouts (including alphabetic) and a full implementation of functions keys.

KeyStrokes 2.1 now adds Italian and Spanish dictionaries (already available were US English, UK English, French and German dictionaries). All dictionaries are available for free download.

KeyStrokes 2.1 is ideal for disabled users, special education, use with children, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing. It can be downloaded at http://www.assistiveware.com/download.html.

KeyStrokes 2.1 is a free upgrade for registered users of KeyStrokes 2.

Pricing for KeyStrokes 2 starts at US$ 45 for a single copy with discounts of up to 40% for users of multiple copies.

Main new and improved features in KeyStrokes 2.1:

Now fully compatible with Mac OS 9.1. Previous versions do not work on Mac OS 9.1
Four keyboards in multiple sizes: standard, extended, extended with numeric keypad and alphabetic.
Improved type engine (100% more responsive).
Compatibility with MS Word
Compatibility with TypeIt4Me 4.8.2
Much improved word prediction (especially for short words and words with diacritical marks). Now predicts even before typing
Assign shortcuts to any text (including tabs and returns) of up to 32000 characters
Separate suggestion lists for words and shortcuts for more efficiency
Edit words and shortcuts with a double click
Suggests the most common words and shortcuts even before you type
Audio-feedback as you type
Customize the organization of the keyboard (location of prediction field and icon button bar)
Now has the option to label special keys such as return and shift with symbols rather than abbreviations
KeyStrokes is now ready for translation to other languages.
Merge dictionaries
Has an updated manual.
Plus many more improvements and fixes

Download KeyStrokes 2.1 for a 15 day full trial.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

New public beta available of KeyStrokes 2.1 on-screen keyboard

6 April 2001

KeyStrokes 2.1b9 is now available in public beta. For information on all the new features in version 2.1 please see the press release of 23 January.

With respect to the earlier betas KeyStrokes 2.1b9 adds a number of new features and fixes some bugs:

Now has the option of using an alphabetic keyboard.
Now has the option to label special keys such as return and shift with symbols rather than abbreviations.
KeyStrokes is now ready for translation to other languages.
When word prediction is turned on and real numbers (e.g., 3.14) are typed no space is appended after typing a period or comma.
Fixes some bugs.
Has an updated manual.

Download the KeyStrokes 2.1b9 public beta.

Pricing for KeyStrokes 2 starts at US$ 45 for a single copy with discounts of up to 40% for users of multiple copies.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

KeyStrokes 2.1 on-screen keyboard available in public beta

23 January 2001

KeyStrokes 2.1 is now available as a public beta. KeyStrokes 2.1 will be a free update for registered users of our KeyStrokes 2 on-screen keyboard. KeyStrokes 2.1 is a break-through new version with a load of novel and improved features including compatibility with Mac OS 9.1, improved self-learning, language independent word prediction, more flexible shortcuts to frequently used text, 100% improved responsiveness, full compatibility with Word and TypeIt4Me, and a full implementation of functions keys. For a detailed list of new features see below.

Main new and improved features in KeyStrokes 2.1:

Now fully compatible with Mac OS 9.1. Previous versions do not work on Mac OS 9.1
Three keyboards in multiple sizes: standard, extended and extended with numeric keypad
Improved type engine (100% more responsive).
Full compatibility with MS Word
Full compatibility with TypeIt4Me 4.8.2
Much improved word prediction (especially for short words and words with diacritical marks). Now predicts even before typing
Assign shortcuts to any text (including tabs and returns) of up to 32000 characters
Separate suggestion lists for words and shortcuts for more efficiency
Edit words and shortcuts with a double click
Suggests the most common words and shortcuts even before you type
Audio-feedback as you type
Customize the organization of the keyboard (location of prediction field, showing/hiding of icon button bar)
Merge dictionaries
Plus many more improvements and fixes

Download the KeyStrokes 2.1 public beta.

Pricing for KeyStrokes 2 starts at US$ 45 for a single copy with discounts of up to 40% for users of multiple copies.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Mac OS 9.1 and KeyStrokes on-screen keyboard compatibility

15 January 2001

In a week's time KeyStrokes 2.1 will be released as a public beta. It will be fully compatible with Mac OS 9.1 (unlike the current version). KeyStrokes 2.1 will be a free update for registered users of KeyStrokes 2 and has a load of new and improved features including function keys and a new type generator that makes the program 100% more responsive and now fully compatible with MS Word.

Main new and improved features in KeyStrokes 2.1:

Fully compatible with Mac OS 9.1
Three keyboards: standard, extended and extended with numeric keypad
Audio-feedback as you type
Improved type engine (100% more responsive)
Full compatibility with MS Word
Full compatibility with TypeIt4Me 4.8.2
Assign shortcuts to any text (including tabs and returns) of up to 32000 characters
Separate suggestion lists for words and shortcuts for more efficiency
Edit words and shortcuts with a double click
Suggests the most common words and shortcuts even before you type
Choose between a prediction area on the right or left hand side of the keyboard
Plus many more improvements and fixes

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Special upgrade offer extended until 31 January 2001

3 January 2001

We have decided to extend the special upgrade offer for current users of KeyStrokes 1.0 through 1.2, who registered KeyStrokes 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2 before 1 December 2000. They are entitled to a special time-limited introductory price of US$ 35, as long as the order is placed on the online order page before 31 January 2001. If you want to upgrade multiple copies contact KeyStrokes@assistiveware.com.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Now free multi-lingual dictionaries with new KeyStrokes 2.0.2

11 December 2000

In response to user requests we have prepared a number of FREE dictionaries for use with our KeyStrokes 2, on-screen keyboard software for the Apple Macintosh. At present these are US and UK English, French and German. More free dictionaries will be made available as they are completed (including Italian, Spanish, and Dutch). Detailed explanations on how to make your own dictionaries are also included.

At the same time we have released KeyStrokes 2.0.2, which has these dictionaries pre-installed and also fixes a few minor issues (for details see "Changes since version 2.0.1" below).

KeyStrokes provides a fully functional on-screen keyboard that you can use to type with the mouse anywhere you would use a normal (hardware) keyboard (applications, dialog boxes, etc.). It also allows you to shift/option/command/control click. Through its mouse-clicks-saving intelligent word prediction KeyStrokes 2 allows you to type up to twice as fast.

The software is ideal for disabled users, special education, use with children, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing.

Main features

Accelerated for PowerPC (both 68K and PPC versions are available)
Intelligent, self learning, language independent word prediction
Free dictionaries available in several modern languages
Create multiple dictionaries for different languages and/or topics
Learn Keystrokes your vocabulary as you type or by feeding it your text files
Record commonly used phrases and invoke them with a simple shortcut
Button bar for commonly used actions
And many more new features...

Availability

KeyStrokes 2.0.2 can be downloaded from our web site at http://www.assistiveware.com/download.html. KeyStrokes 2.0.2 is shareware and should be registered after a 15 day trial period.

The new dictionaries can also be downloaded separately at http://www.assistiveware.com/download.html.

Pricing

We are offering special introductory prices until 31 December 2000. Introductory prices start at US$39 for a single copy. We are offering introductory upgrades ($35) for users who registered the freeware versions of Keystrokes (1.0 through 1.2) before December 1, 2000. We also offer bulk discounts, site licenses and also educational prices for schools and universities. All licenses can be ordered online through Kagi's online store at http://order.kagi.com/?15T.

System requirements

KeyStrokes is only available for the Apple Macintosh and Power Macintosh. It requires system 7.1 or later (and has been tested up to MacOS 9). It runs on any Mac with a PowerPC or 68020 processor or higher. Separate versions are available for PPC and 68K.

Changes since version 2.0.1

Version 2.0.2 adds a number of free 5000 (68K) and 15000 (PPC) word dictionaries in US and UK English, French and German. More free dictionaries will be made available as they are completed, first of all Italian, Spanish and Dutch. Detailed explanations on how to make your own dictionaries are also included. Version 2.0.2 also fixes a few minor issues related to dictionary creation.

David Niemeijer, Niemeijer Consult, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

AssistiveWare and ConvenienceWare are trade names of AssistiveWare B.V. and trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Proloquo, Proloquo2Go, KeyStrokes, TouchStrokes, SwitchXS, LayoutKitchen, Dwellix, PolyPredix, VisioVoice, GhostReader, SmartTransparency and the salamander logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Niemeijer Consult. Infovox iVox is a trademark of Acapela Group. HeadMouse is a registered trademark of Origin Instruments. Macintosh, Power Macintosh and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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