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Dear Victor Reader Stream Customer:

HumanWare has released the latest Stream software version 1.2.18. This is a
free software upgrade that can be downloaded and installed on your Stream.
To download the software visit:

http://www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/victor_reader_stream

Select the link to download the new software version 1.2.18. On the same
page, you will also find a What's New document describing installation
procedures and listing all the features of the new version. Among the new
features you will find the following:

– Support of NIMAS text books in United States
– Support of System Access Mobile from Serotek Corporation (www.serotek.com)
– Go To Time feature for non-structured audio books and recorded audio notes
– Faster data transfer rate when the Stream is connected to the computer
with the USB cable
– Increased volume on the built-in speaker
– Bass and treble control for music
– Control over announcement of music folder and file names
– An optional built-in SD formatting utility should your SD card ever
require reformatting

Please refer to the What's New document on the Stream page for a complete
description of all new features and improvements. An updated FAQ document
(frequently asked questions) can also be found on the web page. It provides
answers to frequently asked questions about Audible, battery, Bookshare.org,
CNIB, NLS, Recording, RFB&D, SD cards, and Serotek.

With this announcement, version 1.2 is available in English and Norwegian.
As other version 1.2 languages become available they will be posted on the
same download page. Currently, the previous version 1.1.15 software is
available in Dutch, German, French, and Swedish.

We are also working on a second English U.S. male voice (Tom) and a U.K.
male voice (Daniel). These will be posted as alternate version 1.2 software
downloads as soon as possible. We will announce their availability on this
News Wire.

The next Stream software release project will start soon and is intended to
provide support for WMA and BRF. We are also planning an update to the
Stream Companion software.

HumanWare values your continued support of the Victor Reader Stream. We
remain committed to existing and future customers to make the Stream the
most powerful, flexible, and enjoyable product used for listening to books,
computer files, and music.

Thank you,
The HumanWare Team

We profusely thank Allison from Benetech for her wonderfully written
summarization of Jim Fruchterman's Main Menu interview held on February 26,
2008 on ACB Radio Mainstream. Her message is below:

Hello Everyone,

I just finished listening to an interview of Jim fruchterman on ACB Radio.
I found it very informative. I realize that the audio format may not be
accessible to everyone, particularly deaf and blind individuals. I took
notes during the meeting, and would like to share them with others. I
believe I got down most of the important information. If you have questions
or comments, E-mail me at allisonh (at) benetech.org.

Jim fruchterman Interview.
ACB Radio
Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

* Bookshare.org is a legal website where people can download accessible
digital books.
* Jim got the idea from his son using Napster in the 90s.
* Bookshare has several formats including Daisy, BRF (Braille), HTML, and
XML.
* 90% of books on Bookshare are donated by members.
* Bookshare books are text and not human narrated.
* VR Reader Soft does not yet work with Mac computers.
* Mac users can use Win or K1000 to use Daisy books. There are also hardware
options.
* Bookshare memberships cost $75 for the first year and $50 for each year
after that.
* There are free memberships for students paid for by the department of
education.
* Benetech is hoping to reach 100,000 students over time.
*Most textbooks will be available to all members except for NIMAC K-12
books.
* NIMAC stands for National Instructional Material Accessibility Center. New
laws are requiring publishers to provide NIMAC quality books for all K-12
textbooks.
* Bookshare is beginning to add NIMAC books to the collection. These books
are only available to K-12 students.
* Jim said that he and several people advocated for other individuals, such
as blind parents, to have access to NIMAC books, but the publishers
resisted.
* If one sends a book to Bookshare, we will scan it with a turn around of
approximately 3-4 weeks.
* Benetech is working on a partnership with a major book publisher that will
allow a user who is looking for a certain book to click a link on the site,
request the book, buy it, the publisher will scan it, and send to Bookshare
where it will be ran through OCR. Approximately 6-9 months in the works.
*Most of the books on Bookshare are "trade books."
* Bookshare has literature, best sellers, and nonfiction books.
* we have a growing collection of textbooks for both college and K-12
students.
* Several thousand new textbooks will be made available over the next couple
of years.
* One can download newspapers and magazines from Bookshare. There are
currently 150 papers available.
* Bookshare is working on developing a collection of reference books.
* The Harper Collins books are available world-wide.
* WE are currently adding books from Harper Collins to the collection. We
have so many that we aren't able to get synopses uploaded with each one.
* Bookshare does not want to hold back on publishing books before a synopsis
can be written.
* Bookshare is working on a system in which a book's synopsis can be
automatically included with a book through one providing the book's ISBN.
This is not an option yet, but in the works.
* We are working on adding book synopses. If you would like to suggest a
synopsis for a book, E-mail it to allisonh@benetech.org. Note that synopses
from Amazon and other websites are not permitted.
* Individuals can sign up to volunteer for Bookshare by submitting or
validating books. To learn more, visit our website or E-mail
volunteer@bookshare.org.
* One does not need to be disabled in order to be a volunteer.
* Jim says that this year is a year of transition as we are adding new
books, new members, and new assistive technology.
* There are two Bookshare E-mail lists that interested individuals can join.
Visit the Bookshare website or www.freelists.org to learn more.
* Jim encouraged everyone to sign up for Bookshare by visiting

www.bookshare.org.

This concludes my summary of the ACB Radio Jim fruchterman Interview. I
tried to record all the information, but it is possible that I have left
something out. If you have questions or comments, please contact me using
the info provided at the bottom of this message.

Best,

Allison Hilliker
Benetech (Bookshare.org).
E-mail allisonh (at) benetech.org
www.bookshare.org

The Benetech Initiative – Technology Serving Humanity – A Nonprofit
Organization

This week on Main Menu, during the first hour we hear from Doug Geoffray and
Aaron Smith from GW Micro all about the exciting new upcoming Window-Eyes
version 7.0. This release offers many new features, most notably its new
scripting capabilities. Doug and Aaron come on to Main Menu and discuss
with all of you all of this new exciting technology. In addition, we will
have a very special announcement about some future presentations on Main
Menu for those that are interested in learning scripting. Come find out
more about this exciting new release and get your questions answered.

In the second hour we will not be live and will be presenting a review of
the Ultracane.

Here is how to participate in the show:

The number to call into the show is 866-400-5333.

You may email your questions to: mainmenu@acbradio.org
You may also interact with the show via MSN (Windows Live) Messenger. The
MSN Messenger ID to add is: mainmenu@acbradio.org

Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the
topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the
Main Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is:

main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com

Come join an already lively group of users.

Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu
Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:

Main Menu – http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenu
Main Menu Live – http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenulive

Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific,
and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream
channel.

Follow this link to listen to the show:

http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=8

Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team

Marlaina from ACB Radio reminds us all about an upcoming FCC workshop
covering the impact of the impending digital television (DTV) conversion on
people with disabilities.

This subject arose on my show this evening, and i promised to post this far
and wide. Here is a copy of the e-mail I received from Jill Pender of the
FCC regarding their upcoming workshop on conversion from analog to digital
tv. Let's keep asking why our video description has not been restored. Or,
when might we expect it to be restored.

Marlaina:

I am so glad that you are interested in the February 28 workshop. Eric
Bridges, Director of Advocacy and Government for the American Council of the
Blind will be participating as a panelist and we are looking forward to his
remarks.

A live, open-captioned webcast of the hearing will be available at the FCC's
website at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/#feb28 on a first-come, first-served
basis. The webcast will remain available after the Workshop in the FCC's
website archives.

We also encourage questions from listeners. During the Workshop, the public
can e-mail questions for the panelists to dtvworkshop@fcc.gov .

If you have any more questions about the program, feel free to email me
directly or call me at 202-418-2947.
Jill Pender
Attorney-Advisor
Consumer Bureau – FCC

Hello Everyone,

This week we present a special 2 hour Main Menu Live all about things
learned at the ATIA conference in Florida. J.J. Meddaugh and Matt attended
the conference and we will be reviewing the conference with them. Here is
what you will hear among other things:

* Doug Geoffray from GW Micro announced Window-Eyes 7.0 with the major new
feature being scripting. In addition to playing an interview about this
exciting new enhancement for Window-Eyes, we provide a demonstration of
Window-Eyes 7.0 working inside of Winamp with scripts that enhance its
capabilities that will be available when Window-Eyes 7.0 releases.

* AIR (standing for Accessibility is a Right). We talk with everyone about
this new foundation and now free screen reader.

* Serotek talked all about The Accessible Digital Lifestyle and made some
major announcements.

* The new KNFB Mobile Reader that runs on a cell phone is out and we talk
all about its capabilities. We will have much more to say about this on a
future episode of Main Menu soon as well.

* We will talk about Optelec, HumanWare, Code Factory, Freedom Scientific
and more.

Here is how to participate in the show:

The number to call into the show is 866-400-5333.

You may email your questions to:

mainmenu@acbradio.org

You may also interact with the show via MSN (Windows Live) Messenger. The
MSN Messenger ID to add is:

mainmenu@acbradio.org

Would you like to interact with a group of Main Menu listeners about the
topics heard on Main Menu and Main Menu Live? You can do this by joining the
Main
Menu Friends email list. The address to subscribe is:

main-menu-subscribe@googlegroups.com

Come join an already lively group of users.

Would you like to subscribe to podcast feeds for Main Menu and Main Menu
Live? The RSS feeds to add to your podcatching application are:

Main Menu –http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenu
Main Menu Live –http://www.acbradio.org/podcasts/mainmenulive

Main Menu can be heard on Tuesday evenings at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific,
and at 1 universal (GMT) on Wednesday mornings on the ACB Radio Main Stream
channel.

Follow this link to listen to the show:

http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=8

Jeff Bishop and Darrell Shandrow
The Main Menu Production Team