[Txabs] Fwd: [Nfbnet-master-list] MOST AFFORDABLE E-BOOK READER FOR THE BLIND HIT’S THE MARKET

[Kayleigh Joiner]

See below message about a new e-book reader for the blind.
Kayleigh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:08 PM
Subject: [Nfbnet-master-list] MOST AFFORDABLE E-BOOK READER FOR THE BLIND
HIT’S THE MARKET
To: nfbnet-master-list at nfbnet.org




> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> Contact: Jamie Principato
> Director of Public Relations
> Phone: (239)810-4951
> E-Mail: pr at q-continuum.net
>
> MOST AFFORDABLE E-BOOK READER FOR THE BLIND HIT'S THE MARKET
> Blind Readers Can Access eText for Less than the Cost of an Evening Out
>
> Mar 2, 2012: In the age of technology, when most people turn to the
> Internet for information, and a laptop is practically a necessity in the
> workplace or at school, the e-book is rapidly becoming as common and
> important to daily life as its paper-bound counterpart. Access to printed
> information for the Blind is more important now than ever, and though there
> is a variety of software available to make electronic books and documents
> accessible, it either comes complete with a price only few could afford
> without assistance from a school or rehab agency, or does not allow the
> reader to open even a minority of the various eText formats. Christopher
> Toth, a blind software developer, aims to change that with QRead, the first
> e-reader for the blind that is affordable even to the average college
> student.
>
> QRead is a program that provides blind users with fast and efficient
> screen-reader access to most common e-book formats, including both PDF, the
> industry standard for textbooks, ePub, a format popular for technical
> titles and fiction as well as many others. Users can open and tab between
> an unlimited number of books, place an unlimited number of bookmarks, and
> return to their current place in each book even after a session has ended.
> QRead offers the ability to read continuously, "skim" through a text by
> percentage, and even search for specific passages with its "Find" feature.
>
> QRead interfaces directly with all major screen reading software,
> including JAWS for Windows, Window-Eyes, Super Nova, System Access, and the
> free and open source NVDA.
>
> The program goes on sale today for an introductory price of $20, and is
> expected to retail for $30. Its nearest competitors are available for
> upwards of $80.
>
> Mr. Toth says his software offers a unique benefit in addition to
> affordability.
>
> "Historically, access to PDF, ePub and other eText formats has been
> cumbersome, difficult or even impossible. I invented QRead to fix this, and
> in the process have created a tool which will vastly improve your reading
> experience, regardless if you're a casual reader, student, or
> professional", he states.
>
> For more information about QRead and other accessibility software
> developed by Toth, visit http://q-continuum.net/ .
>
> ###
>
> ABOUT THE DEVELOPER:
> Christopher Toth is a freelance software developer in Tallahassee,
> Florida. His projects focus primarily on breaking down the access barriers
> faced by blind consumers of technology on a daily basis. He is the creator
> of Hope, the accessible Pandora Radio client, and contributes regularly to
> various open-source projects. Toth has been blind since early infancy as a
> result of Retinoblastoma, and started writing software while he was in high
> school. He founded Q Software Solutions as a means of distributing his
> ideas and his code to those who will find it most useful.
>
>
>
>

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