FileDir 2.7 Available

http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe


Version 2.7
Released June 26, 2007

Fixed a corrupt zip archive being created when its location was in a
subfolder of the current folder.
Fixed Home, End, PageUp, and PageDown not working with the JAWS cursor in
the optional scripts.

Enhanced the wild card capability of filters. Previously, a * character
could be at the beginning or end of a pattern, or both, but not in the
middle (a limitation of the SQL parser built into the .NET Framework). This
restriction has been programmed around, thus allowing a pattern such as the
following:
calendar*.doc
As before, multiple, alternate filters may be separated by a | character,
e.g., calendar*.doc|*bill*

As before, Shift+T says the type of the current item in the Windows
registry, as well as its attributes such as ReadOnly, Hidden, or System.
A new command, Control+Shift+T, shows all "extended properties" of a file or
folder item that are available to Windows Explorer. Depending on the type,
32 possible properties may be examined as follows:
Name
Size
Type
Date Modified
Date Created
Date Accessed
Attributes
Status
Owner
Author
Title
Subject
Category
Pages
Comments
Copyright
Artist
Album Title
Year
Track Number
Genre
Duration
Bit Rate
Protected
Camera Model
Date Picture Taken
Dimensions
Episode Name
Program Description
Audio sample size
Audio sample rate
Channels

Rail Racer Released

For those of you who have been reading my blog, a week or so ago, I posted information about Rail Racer and the demo. Now, you can get the full game for 33 dollars US by going to
http://www.blindadrenaline.com.

Handy Tip For JAWS 7.0 and 8.0

Today on the Blind Tech Mailing List someone posted a tip which I think will be quite handy for a lot of people who are using JAWS 7.0 or 8.0. The tip does not work if you have a version of JAWS that is under 7.0.

If you press the insert key plus the windows key plus the F4 key combination, JAWS will shut down and close other processes that are asociated with it. This keystroke would be handy because as most of you may have experienced before, JAWS sometimes will not respond. For people who are just starting to use their computers, they will think of shutting down the computer and for those of us who are more experienced with the computer, we just go in to the task manager and shut down the process. There is a problem to that though. What if there is a process that also starts with the letter J besides the JAWS process? Well in either case, those two ways would take pretty long.

Now you are probably wondering how on earth you are going to access the keystroke. Well, there are several different ways to do it. The way I would do it is by using your left hand and hold the insert key and put your thumb on the windows key, and finally hit the F4 key with your index finger. The other way is by holding the insert key with your left hand, pressing the windows key with your thumb and use your middle finger to hit the F4 key.

Just as a reminder to all, this keystroke only works with JAWS 7.0 and 8.0. I hope you find this tip handy.

FX Radio Is Back

Here is something interesting for all of you who are reading this blog. A couple of blind people named
PatrickPerdue
and
Derek Lane
started a stream called FX Radio back in 2005 and it stopped for a while but now, it's back!

If you don't know what it is about, you can read Patrick's post about it on his Live Journal. The link is
http://borrisinabox.livejournal.com/135865.html.

All I have to say is that it's weird and it's cool so listen to it now!!!

Skype Scripts for JAWS Updated

Doug Lee has posted Revision 455 of his JAWS scripts for Skype. You can retrieve it at
http://dlee.org/skype.

Two New Versions of Skype Available.

Two new versions of Skype are now available.

Skype version
3.2.0.163
is now available and one place where you can download it from is at
www.skype.com.
Here are the changes in this version:

feature: Added Latvian localization done by Intars Students
improvement: Audio calls improved
change: Do not accept multichats from not authorized contacts
change: IE plugin updated
change: Extras Manager updated to version 1.2.0.261
bugfix: CCleaner removed 2 Skype related registry entries
bugfix: Tray icon menu not translated during login
bugfix: Skype crashed on password change notification
bugfix: On rare occasions Skype crashed when opening options.
bugfix: Skype may have crashed in large multichats
bugfix: NTLM proxy authentication did not work

Also Skype version
3.5.0.107
beta is now
available and one place where you can download it
from is at
www.skype.com/go/getskype-beta.
This is a direct link to the .EXE file for Skype 3.5
beta. Here are the changes in this version:

feature: Auto redial
feature: Call Transfer
feature: Device Indicators
feature: Edit chat messages
feature: Message history loading granulated
feature: Private Telephone Numbers
feature: Send contacts inside chat
feature: Visual indicators for Audio In / Audio Out in options
feature: Show examples of notifications / alerts in options
feature: Added Latvian localization - Intars Students
feature: In-Client Hardware store button
change: Extras Manager updated to version 1.2.0.261
change: Options categories smoothly slide open and close when changed
Updated language files: Arabic (Eriksen
Translations Inc.), Bulgarian (Nikolina Filipova
& Nikolay Filipov), Czech (Petr Silon), Danish
(Eriksen Translations Inc), German
(Claudius Henrichs & Dick Schiferli), Estonian
(Eve Loopere), Greek (Panagiotis Sidiropoulos
http://www.magenta.gr
French (Fabrice IMPERIAL & Bruno Lépaulard),
Italian (Daniele Conte), Japanese
(Mayu Shimizu), Hungarian (Mark Bender & Laszlo
Koncz & Gabor Stefanik),Latvian (Intars
Students), Lithuanian (Viktoras Kriukovas),
Norwegian (Stig Auestad), Dutch (Kees
Koenders), Polish (Karol Szastok),
Portuguese-Portugal (Francisco Ferreira, Portuguese-Brazil
(Leslie Predrotti), Finnish (Heino Keränen),
Swedish (Anders Olsson), Russian (Eriksen
Translations Inc), Romanian (Péter Henning and
Mónika Iancu), Turkish (Ömer Emin
Dede)

Serotek Releases the World's First Web-based Access Technology Tool for the Blind

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Janelle Schulenberg

Tacet Consulting

612-720-1068

janelle@tacetconsulting.com

Serotek Makes Web 2.0 Accessible to the Blind

Technology Company Introduces SA To Go

Minneapolis, Minn. - June 13, 2007 - Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services,
announces the public beta release of a web application called SA To Go (System Access To Go), the first product to make Web 2.0 accessible to the blind
and the visually impaired. SA To Go is a web-resident product stemming from Serotek's award-winning System Access software. More than a screen reader,
System Access requires no installation and provides complete control of your e-mail, makes web surfing easy, and offers intuitive access to Microsoft Office
productivity tools like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. SA To Go makes System Access available on the Web for instant operation and has no permanence on the
using computer. Users can now access System Access software anytime, anywhere that Internet access is available.

"We believe SA To Go will revolutionize the way blind people use the computer," said Mike Calvo, CEO, Serotek Corporation, "That's why we felt it critical
to leverage the power of Web 2.0 to continue to fulfill our promise of accessibility anywhere."

SA To Go
provides instant accessibility. Once online, users can visit
www.satogo.com
and it appears in seconds. When finished, the user simply closes the program
and any personal information vanishes leaving the host computer completely unchanged.

"Microsoft applauds Serotek's innovation with respect to access for all," said Daniel Hubbell, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation, "SA To Go is
a revolution for people who need access to computers away from home."

Because of technologies like Fonix's text-to-speech and its small size, SA To Go loads within seconds giving the blind user the same access on the go as
his sighted peers. And since SA To Go is a true web application, accessibility is no longer an expensive option; companies that want to provide public
accessibility to customers can do so for a fraction of the cost.

"Serotek's new SA To Go application gives blind and visually impaired users quick, convenient access to PC functions," says Tim K. Hong, VP of Sales, Fonix
Speech, Inc. "SA To Go incorporates Fonix text-to-speech, which is optimized to provide clear, intelligible TTS voices without using large amounts of processing
power or memory. Fonix speech technology is a good fit for Serotek's System Access Mobile applications."

Serotek is putting the system out for public Beta because they are encouraging user input. The company can imagine hundreds of applications but believes
users will direct its true potential.

"We think we've only scratched the surface of the potential of SA To Go," says Calvo, "That's why we're inviting users to take it for a spin and let us
know how they think it might be applied."
The company will be surveying users on a regular basis and encouraging users to e-mail their ideas and comments to SAToGo@serotek.com.
To participate in the public beta, users can go to http://www.satogo.com and follow the instructions. Immediate accessibility will lead the user through
the registration process. For more information about Serotek and its family of System Access accessibility tools, visit
www.serotek.com.

Serotek Corporation

Serotek Corporation is a leading technology company that develops software and manufactures accessibility solutions. Committed to the mission of providing
accessibility anywhere, Serotek launched an online community specifically designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Since then, Serotek has
introduced several powerful, affordable solutions that require minimal training, including System Access, for which it was awarded the prestigious da Vinci
award for innovation in universal accessibility by the National Multiple Sclerosis Association. For more information, visit www.serotek.com.

Fonix Corporation

Fonix Corporation (OTC BB: FNIX), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an innovative speech recognition and text-to-speech technology company that provides
value-added speech solutions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fonix Speech, Inc., currently offering voice solutions for mobile/wireless devices; interactive
video games, toys and appliances; computer telephony systems; the assistive market and automotive telematics. Fonix provides developers and manufacturers
with cost-effective speech solutions to enhance devices and systems. Visit www.fonix.com for more information, or call (801) 553-6600
and say "Sales."

Microsoft Corporation

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full
potential. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com.

Demo of Rail Racer Available

Today
Blind Adrenaline
has released a demo for Rail Racer which is a very complex game. You can
click here
to find out more about rail racer on the Rail Racer Page.

TextPal 3.8 Available

You can get this new version of TextPal by going to
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/palsetup.exe

Version 3.8
Released June 9, 2007

Fixed the Yield command, Alt+Y, saying "Yield selected" when it meant "Yield
all," and vice versa (depending on whether text is selected).
Fixed the Paste command, Control+V, removing a trailing line break from text
that is inserted. Made the Copy Append and Cut Append commands, Alt+C and
Alt+X, insert a line break before appended text if none is present, thus
making it easier to identify separate chunks of text that you append to the
clipboard.

Upgraded to the latest, 1.86 version of the Ruby interpreter. Improved
documentation about regular expressions in TextPal/Ruby.

Enhanced the status command, Alt+Z, so that it indicates the state of word
wrap, as well as indent mode and selection size. As before, F8 starts a
selection and Shift+F8 completes it. Now Alt+Shift+F8 is a quick way of
returning to the point that marked the start of a selection.

Added support for programming in Java, e.g., with the Standard Widget
Toolkit (SWT). The Pick Compiler command, Control+Shift+F5, includes Java
in the list of languages, and if chosen, configures settings for
ToolCommand, ErrorPosition, AbbreviateOutput, NavigatePart, and
CommentCharacter. These and other settings may be examined and refined in
the Settings dialog, Alt+S. They may also be edited more directly and
flexibly with the Manual Settings command, Alt+Shift+M.

Jamal

ESpeak Version 1.26 Released

Today, I recieved an e-mail on the NVDA list which talks about the new release of ESpeak which is up to version 1.26. The e-mail is below:

I have released a new version of eSpeak, 1.26, at
http://espeak.sourceforge.net

This includes the Windows SAPI5 version, but not the NVDA integrated
version, which may be built and released by the NVDA developers.

eSpeak 1.26 includes some bug fixes, and improvements to languages
including: Afrikaans, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, and Romanian.
There is also an initial draft of Icelandic.

I have made some changes to the English "en-r", which is my attempt to
make a voice which is less British. I won't go so far as to call it
"American" yet :-)

Freedom Scientific and Serotek Reach Agreement to End Lawsuit

I am glad that Freedom Scientific and Serotek have come upon an agreement to end the lawsuit. It has been worrying for some people but now it's finally over and so is the petition that 430 of you guys signed. You can read about it below:

(St. Petersburg, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota – June 4, 2007) Freedom Scientific and Serotek jointly announced today that they have reached an agreement
whereby Serotek has agreed that it was inadvertently infringing Freedom Scientific’s federally-registered trademark.

“It is unfortunate that we had to take this action,” said Lee Hamilton, President and CEO of Freedom Scientific, “but trademarks are valuable corporate
assets, and they must be protected, or they are lost. This agreement accomplishes that, and we have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. As part of this agreement,
Serotek has agreed not to use our trademark or any other trademark that is similar.”

“We are pleased with the settlement agreement,” said Mike Calvo, CEO, Serotek. “We will be renaming the FreedomBox and other affected products and services
in a separate announcement in the near future.”

Skype version 3.2.0.158 Now Available

You can get this version by going to
www.majorgeeks.com/Skype_d4245.html.

Here are the changes in this version:

feature: Getting Started Wizard improvement
bugfix: Installer error 1603
bugfix: Sound setting not saved on Vista
bugfix: Accessibility problems with screen readers resolved
bugfix: Delay when playing notification sounds
bugfix: Incoming call is not sent to Voicemail if user rejects it
bugfix: On some rare cases conference call participants were muted
bugfix: Skype crashes sometimes when ending a call
bugfix: NTLM proxy authentication did not work
bugfix API:App2App transfers did not work as expected
Language files updated

Miriani Sound Pack Version 6 Released

The latest version of the Miriani Sound Pack is out so that means there will be more sounds. This sound pack only works in Monkey Term. You can
click here
to get the pack and some additional files for your screen reader as well as the actual Monkey Term Client.

Here are the changes:

Added snazzy new message board sound. Thanks Albori.
I've gone fishin, literally. Now there's fishing sounds.
added slot machine sounds, but they are scarce to find.
window eyes automatically loads.
f2 and f3 ajust volume now
volume stays in the correct bounds now.
files are in their own miriani folder. there is no separate scripts folder anymore.

If you don't know what Miriani is, you can find out by going to
http://www.toastsoft.net.

NVDA 0.5 Released

Finally after two and a half months of hard work, we are glad to release the long-awaited NVDA version 0.5. This version contains over forty changes, including
many bug fixes and some pretty cool new features.

NVDA now comes with the
eSpeak
synthesizer built right in, meaning that NVDA no longer depends on SAPI4 or SAPI 5 to speak. This lite-weight, free, and open source synth supports over
twenty different languages, and is very responsive.

NVDA now comes packaged with an easy to use talking installer, which allows you to install NVDA on your computer with out sighted assistance or the use
of another screen reader. Once NVDA is installed, you can now run it both from the start menu, and by pressing control+alt+n. For users wishing to run
NVDA off a USB thumb drive or CD, you still of course have the option of downloading a portable zip file version.

To read about all the other changes, or to download a copy, visit the
Download section

I think this is a very impressive screen reader because the development is pretty quick and there are interesting features. Also, it works with a lot of programs. Go to the
NVDA website
and get your copy today!

Updated JAWS Scripts Available for Skype 3.2

The Skype scripts for JAWS have been updated to 416. You can get it by
clicking here.

Skype version 3.2.0.152 now available

You can get this release of Skype at
www.skype.com>

Here are the changes in this version:

change: Call forwarding setup banner
change: Extras Manager updated to version 1.2.0.257
bugfix: Error 2739 while installing Skype

HomerKit 2.1 Released

Executable installer
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/kitsetup.exe

Zip archive
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/kitsetup.zip

HomerKit 2.1
Released May 23, 2007

Fixed The Select Chunk command, Control+Space, not extending the selection
with subsequent key presses. Fixed the Jump command, Control+J, going to
the line before the one specified.

Fixed common dialogs, such as Open File, Save File, or Browse for Folder,
sometimes not becoming the active window when used for the first time.
Restored the native functionality of Alt+RightArrow, Alt+LeftArrow, and
Control+Q in Internet Explorer (IE), as well as F4 in Microsoft
Outlook/Outlook Express (OL). Worked around a couple of key conflicts
between Homer bookmark commands and JAWS/IE placemarker commands: now use
Alt+Shift+K to set a temporary placemarker, and JAWSKey+Control+K to
select a placemarker. In JAWS Script Manager, assigned Alt+D to delete
the current script or function definition, and made it read the current
line afterward.

Fixed the message list window not being recognized in Outlook Express. In
OL, improved reliability of the Save or Append commands, Control+S or
Control+Shift+S. Like in IE, Control+S proposes a unique file name, using
a numeric suffix if needed. Control+Shift+S lets you append text on the
same topic.

Made the executable installer initialize the Perl component, thus avoiding
an initial delay during subsequent user tasks. More precisely, this
component is initialized the first time in a JAWS session that a
Homer-supported application window is activated, including a page in
Internet Explorer.

Homer scripts may be deleted in order to restore the functionality of
scripts by Freedom Scientific in the All Users script folder. a new batch
file, called DelAppScripts.bat, may assist with this procedure. It does
not remove the core Homer script library files (those matching Homer* and
Editor*), but effectively uninstalls the application script sets by
deleting their files. It may be run from the Homer subfolder of the user
script folder, either in Windows Explorer or at a command prompt.

Corrected hot key summaries for IE and OL -- presented with JAWSKey+H in
the virtual viewer or Alt+Shift+H in a text editor. Added a description
of JAWS Script Exchange (JSX) to the Miscellaneous Tools section of the
documentation for the Homer script library (HomerLib.htm).

Jamal

Explanation of Why Freedom Scientific is Filing a Lawsuit Against Serotek Corperation

Today I recieved an e-mail on the Blindtech Mailing List from Jonathan Mosen about why Freedom Scientific is filing a lawsuit against Serotek corperation. The e-mail is below:

Last week, Freedom Scientific, Inc. filed suit against Serotek Corporation
for trademark infringement with respect to the FreedomBox range of products.
Since then, the matter has been discussed at length on some
blindness-related blogs and e-mail lists. I'd like by way of this message to
clarify what I view as some of the objectives of the suit. I am a Vice
President at Freedom Scientific, and am extremely proud to work there.
However writing this message is my own initiative as a former technology
journalist. My aim in doing this is that people at least get a chance to
consider facts over rhetoric.

Firstly, let me talk a little about trademark law. A trademark's purpose is
to exclusively identify a source and origin of products. Importantly, a
trademark only applies to a certain range of goods or services. One of the
questions I have seen on e-mail lists is, "how can Freedom Scientific claim
to own the word Freedom." By taking this action, Freedom Scientific is not
seeking to do this. Rather, Freedom Scientific is simply enforcing the
Freedom Scientific trademark, which it owns for certain goods. Freedom
Scientific has invested to establish its trademarks and is only seeking to
enforce these valuable rights. Freedom Scientific has the legal right, and
the obligation to its customers and shareholders, to protect the use of its
trademark in the context of assistive technology. The concept of using
common words in trademarks is common - for example the use of the word Apple
to describe a computer company. As is well known through recent news
stories, Apple is quite entitled to own this name in the context of computer
hardware and software products. It does not, of course, mean that Apple has
any rights to the name when you eat a piece of fruit. Trademarks can
co-exist where there is no similarity between the businesses. For example,
Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets are trademarks, but there is no issue there
because the businesses' purposes are totally different and there is no room
for confusion. Freedom Scientific is confident that its trademark rights
will be upheld. The broadening of scope of the FreedomBox products to
include products like FreedomBox System Access (FBSA) offering access to
mainstream applications only exacerbates the infringement.

Trademarks are not some abstract thing. They are a company's reputation.
They are legal property, and you can't simply take someone's property
without their consent.

Secondly, I'd like to turn to the question, "why now." All sorts of bizarre
speculation have been put forward as to the timing of this suit. Freedom
Scientific made Serotek well aware of its position on this matter, but
unfortunately Serotek was unwilling to negotiate a settlement to this
matter. No one likes having to go to court, but if you genuinely believe
your property rights are being trampled upon, in the end there is no choice
but to do so if you are unable to get a resolution any other way.

Thirdly, it has been said that Freedom Scientific is giving the blind
community no credit by taking this action, and that everyone knows the
difference between the two product lines. Rest assured, this is most
certainly not the case. I can tell you that Freedom Scientific has been
contacted by Serotek customers seeking technical support, or even wanting to
buy a Serotek product. Thus, there is a likelihood of confusion.

Fourthly, a petition has been established by the hosts of ACB Radio's Main
Menu, calling itself the Save Serotek petition. The grossly misleading name
of this petition implies that somehow Freedom Scientific's objective is to
put Serotek out of business. As a result of the sensationalist name, many
commenters to the Petition have made comments to this effect. All Freedom
Scientific is seeking to do is protect its property and to seek appropriate
compensation for the unlawful use of it.

The objective here is not to put Serotek out of business. 2007 has already
seen great innovation from Freedom Scientific and there's plenty more to
come. Honest competition inspires excellence and is good news for the
customer. But I stress the word "honest." Yes, many people in assistive
technology are motivated by a strong sense of purpose and commitment to
making a difference. But these companies are still commercial entities, who
have every right to use the legal system to protect their property if they
think they need to, just as you have a right to use the legal system if
someone breaks into your house and takes something belonging to you

In closing, I hope that those genuinely interested in the facts of this
matter will take the time to read up on trademark case law, but most
importantly, will let the judicial process take its course. It occurs to me
that if Freedom Scientific has got it as wrong as a few people claim, then
what do they have to fear? A jury will dismiss the case. I doubt that will
happen though. If the law has been broken as I believe it has, then Freedom
Scientific is quite entitled to redress.

My hope is that sanity prevails and that Serotek has both the courage and
the decency to brand its products in a fashion that wasn't already being
used in this industry. I think they would gain a lot of respect from the
blind community for acting honourably. Fair competition is not too much to
ask for, and it most certainly is worth fighting for.

Those interested in the subject of trademarks may like to take a look at the
Wikipedia entry on the subject, found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark.

Jonathan Mosen

A Neat and Useful Command for Windows

Today I just found out a really cool command that works in Windows. Do you sometimes come across a dialogue with the buttons Yes, No, and Yes to All? And do you sometimes wish that there was a no to all button?

Well there is a command in Windows that is the same as clicking or hitting enter on a "no to all button." Hold down the shift key and then hit the letter N on your keyboard. I hope you find this command useful.

Freedom Scientific Suing Serotek

From reading
Blind Access Journal
and
The Desert Skies,
I have learned that Freedom Scientific has filed a law suit against
Serotek Corperation
because Serotek used the word "Freedom" in their product, Freedom Box. If you would like to read Freedom Scientific's Complaint, you can
click here.

In my opinion, I feel that scientific should not be doing this because the Assistive Technology market is small and their are things that Serotek does a good job of that no other company has ever done. My best wishes goes out to Serotek. I am annoyed at Freedom Scientific for doing this.

If you want Freedom Scientific do drop the lawsuit, you can sign the
Save Serotek Petition