[Wikipedia-l] [PR] Kurzweil Educational Systems Announces Kurzweil 1000 Version 9 With Expanded Online Search, Portability and Information Sharing

Mon Jun 28 15:00:05 UTC 2004

I've nerver heard a company name such as "kurzweil" and I have no clue 
waht this Kurzweil 1000 - Version 9 is about. But at least they mention 
wikipedia-  so it must be good.

Yours,
Mathias Schindler [[de:Benutzer:Mathias Schindler]]

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040628005436&newsLang=en

Here's FYI:

    June 28, 2004 09:30 AM US Eastern Timezone

Kurzweil Educational Systems Announces Kurzweil 1000 Version 9 With 
Expanded Online Search, Portability and Information Sharing

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2004--

  	Company Kicks-off Annual Pricing Promotion and Introduces New "Refer 
a Friend" Program 	

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc., innovator of reading technology for 
individuals with visual or learning disabilities, today announced 
Kurzweil 1000(TM) Version 9, the premier scanning and reading software 
for people who are blind or visually impaired. The latest version of the 
software makes printed pages and electronic archives more accessible and 
usable than ever before with a new online encyclopedia search and 
retrieval capability, broadened support for Web repositories, more 
accurate scanning, enhanced DAISY and portable device support, and 
better navigation through document linking.

"Computer users everywhere are demanding more and better online access 
for communication, and for business, personal or academic research, and 
Kurzweil 1000 users are no different," said Stephen Baum, Chief 
Technology Officer at Kurzweil Educational Systems. "As online resources 
expand, so will Kurzweil 1000's access to those resources. We will 
continue to develop best-of-breed tools to access information--in 
whatever form it may take."

"Kurzweil 1000 was a tremendous help to me as a college student and 
continues to be very helpful to me now as a working adult," said Vince 
Tomassetti, Assistive Technology Coordinator for Assistive Technology - 
British Columbia (Canada). "Kurzweil 1000 not only reads books and 
documents aloud, but with the extensive online search and retrieval 
capabilities, I can also research information for whatever my purpose. 
And the best part of all is, I can transfer text and MP3 files to 
portable devices, like Book Port, and take my reading with me wherever I 
go."

Kurzweil 1000 Version 9 new features give users:

-- Expanded Online Search and Retrieval - Support for online 
encyclopedias, such as Columbia Encyclopedia and Wikipedia from 
Wikimedia Foundation as well as access to additional Web repositories, 
including American Foundation for the Blind's (AFB) AccessWorld and 
Talking Newspaper Association of the United Kingdom, complement the 
online book and magazine search capabilities and the already notable 
list of accessible Web repositories.

-- More Accurate Scanning - A new Optical Character Recognition (OCR) 
engine, ScanSoft(R) OCR(C), and an update of the ABBYY FineReader(TM) 
OCR engine provide the most accurate recognition available.

-- Additional Study Tools - Notes and Document Link options expand an 
already powerful set of study tools. The Notes feature provides an 
additional way to annotate documents. The new Document Link feature 
allows users to explore existing links to dynamically navigate within 
the same document, another document or Web site to access needed 
information.

-- Increased Portability - Support for Book Port(TM) extends the list of 
portable devices to which Kurzweil 1000 can transfer text and MP3 files.

-- Talking Business Calculator - A new full-function talking business 
calculator performs, for example, financial functions for loans, 
mortgages, leases, savings, annuities and more.

Version 9's new features expand upon the extensive list of existing 
features in Kurzweil 1000, including state-of-the-art synthetic speech 
options, color scanning, flexible writing and editing tools, the ability 
to send files to e-mail, Braille embosser compatibility, and 
photocopier, fax and calculator applications.

Availability, Pricing and Summer Promotions

Kurzweil 1000 Version 9 is scheduled to ship to customers later this 
summer and can be previewed at the 2004 National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB) Convention, June 29-July 5 in Atlanta, Georgia; the 2004 American 
Council of the Blind (ACB) National Convention, July 3-10 in Birmingham, 
Alabama; and the 2004 Association for Education and Rehabilitation of 
the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) International Conference, July 
13-18 in Orlando, Florida.

A single license of Kurzweil 1000 retails for $995. Volume pricing is 
also available. Through October 29, 2004, Kurzweil Educational Systems 
is also offering customers:

-- A discount of $100 off the retail price of any new, full-product 
purchase of a Kurzweil 1000 license.

-- The opportunity to participate in the new Refer a Friend Program in 
which registered Kurzweil 1000 users who refer a new customer who buys a 
Kurzweil 1000 license receive a $50 American Express gift certificate.

Kurzweil 1000 can be purchased directly from Kurzweil Educational 
Systems at 800-894-5374 (within the U.S. or Canada) or 781-276-0600 
(outside the U.S. or Canada), or from Kurzweil Educational Systems' 
worldwide network of resellers listed at 
(http://www.kurzweiledu.com/resellers.asp).

About Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc.

Kurzweil Educational Systems, founded in 1996, is the industry leader 
and innovator of reading, writing and learning solutions for people with 
learning disabilities, and people who are blind or visually impaired. 
Ray Kurzweil, a co-founder of the original company, invented 
computer-based reading machine technology 25 years ago to provide access 
to printed text for the blind. With a pioneering history in developing 
assistive technology, the company has received worldwide recognition for 
enabling people with disabilities to lead more independent lives through 
improved reading and writing abilities. Kurzweil Educational Systems 
products have recently won a "Media and Methods Awards Portfolio" 2004 
Award from Media and Methods magazine, a 2004 Bessie Award from ComputED 
Gazette magazine, and a 2004 Codie Award from the Software & Information 
Industry Association (SIIA). For more company or product information, or 
to order online, visit www.kurzweiledu.com.

Kurzweil 1000 and Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc., are trademarks of 
the Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. Other company names and products 
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Contacts

Collaborative Insight, Inc.
Ellenann Haughey, 617-357-7715
haughey at collaborative.com

At A Glance

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc.
Headquarters: 	Bedford, MA
Website: 	http://www.kurzweiledu.com
CEO: 	Michael Sokol
Employees: 	NA
Organization: 	Private

Source: via Business Wire
Updated  05/10/2004 by company