[stylist] Jim, FW: Big news from AI Squared and GW Micro

[DEW Hill]

Jim,
Did you hear about this?

  _____  

From: AccessWorld [mailto:accessworld at afb.net ] 
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 4:08 PM
To: AFB Subscriber
Subject: Big news from AI Squared and GW Micro


				
AFB	 American <http://www.afb.org>  Foundation
for the Blind 	
TM  	
    	
	
Expanding possibilities for people with vision loss	 	



Assistive Technology Leaders Merge to Expand Opportunities for Computer
Users Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 


Manchester, Vermont and Fort Wayne, Indiana (May 1, 2014) - Ai Squared, the
maker of ZoomText and sitecues; and GW Micro, the creator of Window-Eyes,
have merged into one company. With this merger, the companies will combine
their talents to better assist computer users who are blind or visually
impaired. 

ZoomText is the world's number one screen magnifier and text-to-speech
software package that allows people who are visually impaired to use a
computer with ease. Window-Eyes is a popular screen reader that enables
people who are blind to be fully independent on the computer by translating
visual information into speech and/or braille. 

"Our mission is to provide a full family of computer accessibility solutions
for users who are low vision or blind, whether they access digital
information via their desktop, the web or their mobile device," said David
Wu, CEO of Ai Squared. "Earlier this year, we commercially launched
sitecues, a product which enables website owners to build accessibility
tools right into their websites. Today's merger with GW Micro rounds out our
mantra of 'We've got accessibility covered' - with our combined forces, we
can now deliver an even wider range of computer access solutions." 

The need for assistive technology continues to grow. According to the World
Health Organization, over 285 million people in the world are considered
visually impaired; 39 million of those are blind, and 246 million have
moderate to severe visual impairments. "The merger of Ai Squared and GW
Micro brings together two companies that offer great solutions for the
millions of Microsoft customers around the world who are blind or visually
impaired," said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft. 

"We are also delighted that Ai Squared will continue to develop and support
the Window-Eyes for Office Offer as many of our customers rely on this
screen reading solution to enable access to Windows, Office and other
Microsoft products," Sinclair said. 

Dan Weirich, Co-founder of GW Micro and now Vice President at Ai Squared,
said he is thrilled to incorporate Window-Eyes into the Ai Squared product
family. 

"It's a natural fit," Weirich said. "Combining our companies will strengthen
Ai Squared's global presence in the assistive technology industry, allowing
us to serve even more customers." 

Weirich noted that many customers using web and computer accessibility tools
inevitably progress further along the visual impairment spectrum during
their lifetime. As a result, they will require more advanced assistive
technology as their needs change. With the merger, Ai Squared will be in a
better position to assist those customers, developing products that provide
a seamless transition and user experience as customers adapt to their
changing vision. 

Ai Squared will continue to offer Window-Eyes and its related products as
they were previously offered by GW Micro. In addition, a free and fully
featured version of Window-Eyes will continue to be available via the
Window-Eyes Offer for Users of Microsoft Office as part of the recently
announced partnership with Microsoft and GW Micro. The GW Micro team will
remain in Indiana as part of the Ai Squared team, which is headquartered in
Vermont. 

About Ai Squared: Ai Squared (www.aisquared.com) has been the worldwide
leader in assistive technology solutions for people who are visually
impaired for over 20 years. The product line is available in over 20
languages and sold in 45 countries through a network of over 350 global
distributors. Ai Squared's screen magnification and screen-reading products
dramatically improve a computer's usability and friendliness for users who
are blind or low vision, raising their level of productivity, satisfaction,
and independence. The family of Ai Squared products includes ZoomText,
ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard, ZoomText ImageReader, ZoomText Mac,
Window-Eyes, sitecues, the ZoomReader iOS app, and the ZoomContacts iPad
app. 

About GW Micro: GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) has been a trusted pioneer
in the assistive technology industry since 1990; it has led with innovative,
customer-driven solutions, and the GW Micro team has always been proud of
its description as the Voice of Vision. 

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