We have been hearing rumors for quite some time about the impending acquisition of Freedom Scientific. In the past week, we have been hearing that Freedom Scientific would be acquired by Wafra Investment Advisory Group, Inc. It turns out these rumors are true according to this press release directly from Wafra. There is one question that comes to mind right now. How can a company that appears to have no clue about web site accessibility purchase a company that works to make accessibility a reality for the blind and visually impaired? What changes in direction will Freedom Scientific take after this acquisition?

Reagan reports that there is an effort underway to devise and implement techniques for making AJAX based technologies work with screen readers. See this interesting article for details.

FileDir 2.5
May 11, 2007
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe

Fixed the Zip List command, Control+Shift+Z. In the Web Download command,
Alt+Shift+W, a different, more reliable technique is implemented for getting
the web address of a page open in Internet Explorer.

With the optional JAWS scripts, made Control+Equals a synonym of Control+E
for the Evaluate command (to be consistent with the Homer interface). Added
the Manual Options command, Alt+Shift+M, for adjusting FileDir settings
directly in a text editor.

Doubled the number of special folders available via the Open Special Folder
command, Control+Shift+O. You can now have greater control over
your computer by conveniently examining and managing the following 35
folders as needed:

Administrative Tools
Application Data
Common Administrative Tools
Common Application Data
Common Desktop
Common Documents
Common Favorites
Common Files
Common Programs
Common Start Menu
Common Startup
Common Templates
Cookies
Desktop
Favorites
Fonts
Internet Cache
Internet History
Local Application Data
My Documents
My Pictures
MyMusic
Network Neighborhood
Printer Neighborhood
Program Files
Programs
Recent
SendTo
Start Menu
Startup
system32
Temp
Templates
UserName
WINNT

———-

TextPal 3.7
May 11, 2007
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/palsetup.exe

Fixed some of the optional JAWS scripts, as well as command descriptions in
the Alternate Menu (Alt+F10), to reflect recent changes in key
assignments. Fixed TextPal copying selected text to the clipboard in a
small font rather than as unformatted plain text.

In the Grab URLs command, Alt+Shift+G, a different, more reliable
technique is implemented for getting the web address of a page open in
Internet Explorer. Reassigned the Insert Time command to
Alt+Shift+Semicolon. Alt+Semicolon still says the time and date.

Modified the Order Lines and Keep Unique Lines commands, Alt+Shift+O and
Alt+Shift+K, to ignore case. Enhanced the Yield command, Alt+Y, to
operate on either all or selected text.

Added two commands that are part of the developing "Homer editor interface."
Press Alt+Backslash to open the folder of the current file in
Windows Explorer, or Control+Backslash to open a command prompt there. Also
for Homer consistency, the evaluate command, Control+E, has a
synonym, Control+Equals. In addition, this command is enhanced to operate
on either the current line or selected text. Thus, one could write several
lines of code in the Ruby language, select the text, and then evaluate the
result. For example, the following algebra calculates the cumulative total
of an initial $100 deposit compounded for 12 months at 5% interest:

interest = 1.05
deposit = 100
months = 12
total = (interest ** months) * deposit
179.585632602213

The result, about $180, was placed on the line below the previously selected
text, and the cursor was placed at the start of that line.

A list of accessible software I have developed for Windows, with download
links, is available at
http://GrabBag.AlacornComputer.com

For upgrading to the latest FileDir and TextPal, remember that you may
elevate on May 11 with F11!

Jamal

GW Micro is showing that they are serious about doing all they can to run a profitable business while making their screen reading software available to as many blind and visually impaired people as possible.  We applaud GW Micro for making this option available, and are thus happy to redistribute the following announcement:

One of the largest barriers to technology for blind and visually impaired people has always been the high cost, but that is about to change.  GW Micro, maker of Window-Eyes, is breaking down those barriers, and now offering a low-cost payment plan for the most advanced screen reader available.

Do you need a screen reader that already has official support for Office 2007, Windows Vista, and makes the Outlook Calendar fully accessible?  This is your chance to take advantage of the latest screen reading technology at an affordable price.
 
The new Window-Eyes Payment Plan replaces the Window-Eyes Lease-to-own program.  Here is how it works:  Instead of the blind consumer immediately paying the full price to buy Window-Eyes, they can opt between two plans.  Both plans include Window-Eyes and a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) which provides three major upgrades of Window-Eyes.
 
The first choice is the Short Term Payment Plan, which costs $50 the first month (plus shipping), and $100 per month for the next 12 months.  The second choice is the Long Term Payment Plan which costs $41 the first month (plus shipping) and $39 per month for the next 31 months.  There are no penalties for paying off the balance early, and there is no interest on top of your monthly payment.

If you have been waiting to upgrade your copy of Window-Eyes, now is the time!  If your upgrade costs $400 or more, you can use the Window-Eyes Payment Plan to upgrade.  Contact our orders department for more information.
 
The new Window-Eyes Payment Plan is shipping now, and you can place your order now by calling our orders department at (260) 489-3671, or by sending an email to orders@gwmicro.com.  For more information, check out www.gwmicro.com/paymentplan.