[gui-talk] Fwd: Thunder Screen Reader - Welcome to our Newsletter Winter 2011

[Steve Pattison]

From:    Screenreader.net reply at screenreader.net

WELCOME TO THE SCREENREADER NEWSLETTER WINTER 2011

The Mother of a young friend losing his sight spent a morning at the
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

She came home and weeping, told him of the wonderful technology
available to blind people. "We can’t afford any of that" she sobbed.
Obviously, no slight to RNIB is intended. RNIB does lots for blind
people but our no cost talking Thunder software has been there for
those that cannot afford expensive technology for four years and there
are now other choices!

NVDA is a free talking software from Australia, particularly enjoyed by
techies! And there’s Voiceover, the Apple talking software that comes
free with Mac computers, iPhones and iPads. We have been learning how
to get the best out of them if you can’t see.

You can enjoy reading, podcasts, music etc with the iPad on your lap
sitting in your favourite chair or in the garden when it’s warm enough!
There are thousands of apps, many of which give good speech feedback
and the number grows daily.

Meanwhile, Microsoft won’t let Thunder stand still, it now works
better with Windows7, Office 2010 and Internet Explorer. The next
update will be launched early this year and WebbIE continues to be
updated. As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions which we try to
implement.

Recently introduced products:

BraillePen12 is a fabulous mini braille display and keyboard which
works with mobile phones as well as computers, great for writing text
messages and writing documents on the iPhone or iPad, £995.00.

BraillePen is a really dinky keyboard for use with computers and phones
instead of using the qwerty keyboard, £450.00.

See both of these products at http://www.screenreader.co.uk/shop.php?shopcatid=4

Training:

The need to spread computer learning amongst blind and visually
impaired people is at the heart of what we do.

If you want to learn how to get the best from your computer or need it
sorting out, we now have something great to offer. Thanks to a grant
from the East of England Development Agency, our experienced trainers
can now use special software which allows them to work with you on your
own computer remotely, so there’s no costly travel and you can choose
the length of time and time of day that suits you best. Ring our
helpline on 0844 5004441 so that we can support you.

Ring us on 01733 234441 if you’re interested in an internet learning
day following on from the success of the 50 we held in 2010.  We also
plan to develop our website tutoring facilities which are already
considerable.

Your help wanted:

We’d like to share with you how our organisation is funded. Travel,
software and website updating etc. costs money and we don’t have a
wealthy benefactor in the background. Most funding comes from project
work, such as an EU grant to put Thunder into various European
languages. In these days of government cuts, projects are getting
scarce, so the donations we receive from people like you are even more
important and are incredibly helpful. Did you know it costs just under
one pound to provide a download of Thunder talking software for someone
in need? So if you want to help in this way, you can either visit our
donations page at www.screenreader.net, ring us on 01733 234441 or send
a cheque to Screenreader.net at 7 The Rookery, Orton Wistow, Peterborough
PE2 6YT. Any ideas, even if you can’t donate, on how we could raise
funds would be so helpful.

Website reminder:

www.screenreader.net for the various Thunder screenreader download
options, tutorials and donations.

www.screenreader.co.uk is our online shop. Where you can purchase
quality, well priced electronic magnifiers, enlarging software, braille
and audio manuals, BraillePen12 and BraillePen and some excellent
software for people with dyslexia and other reading difficulties.

www.talkingcomputers.info is for people with learning difficulties and
seeing problems. There is a fascinating book by Robert Orr, stuffed
with useful insights and information and some great games. There is
even a talking typewriter to get you learning the keyboard.

www.mywebguides.org.uk presents online training to those who are new to
the web written by people who can’t see but enjoy the web every day.
We very much want to build this up, so, if you have a favourite website
and want to share it, please tell us about it and maybe we can work
together and write up some useful instructions.

Happy New Year to you and maybe think about giving some time this year
to help a mate with little or no sight with their computer.

Good wishes from
Roger and Margaret, Directors
Graham and Stephanie, Helpline Support
And Tim: Screenreader.net Business Manager.

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963
Twitter:  steve9782