Sarai, Once this new talking book reader is developed, maybe it could be incorporated into the Braillenote and PK.
Sincerely, Jerry Weinger -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sarai D. Bucciarelli Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 12:45 AM To: nabs; TSE-chat; blind tech; braillenote Subject: [Braillenote] Fw: New Talking Book Being developed This sounds neat.Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 9:26 PM Subject: [alabama] New Talking Book Being developed PR Newswire Monday, March 21, 2005 Battelle Leading Effort to Design Next-Generation Talking Book Player COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, has chosen a consortium led by Battelle to design and develop its next-generation digital talking book players. Battelle is working with HumanWare, the National Federation of the Blind, and the Trace Center to develop a new player to meet the needs of the blind and physically handicapped and others with print disabilities. The new flash- based player will be lightweight, portable, and durable, and is expected to be freely distributed to over 700,000 individuals in the U.S. "We are excited to have brought this exceptional group of companies on board. We have great confidence in their capabilities and we know that the product they design will be a success for our patrons," says Frank Kurt Cylke, NLS director. Digital talking books revolutionize the reading experience by providing advanced features such as ease of navigation, better audio quality, and the ability to enter bookmarks. Additionally, a complete book will fit on a single flash memory card. "Battelle has a 75-year history of leveraging technology for the benefit of our customers and investing in the human community through service to others. This opportunity sits squarely in this space and we are very excited about it," says Battelle's Dave Easter, Vice President of Product Development Solutions. "Battelle's Product Development Solutions staff has extensive experience designing products for the medical and consumer products industry. We bring strong skills in project management, product integration, engineering, industrial design, and the translation of user needs into critical design specifications." The consortium brings together a powerful, diverse group of experts. HumanWare, the new business created from the recent merger of VisuAide and Pulse Data International, has designed and commercialized digital talking book players since 1999 under the Victor Reader product line. The Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin has been a pioneer in technology for the disabled for more than 30 years. And the involvement of the National Federation of the Blind ensures that those individuals most affected by the new players have a voice in their design and development. "This project will enable the blind to actively participate in the development of the next generation audio book player," says Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "Our community has an opportunity to contribute directly to this important project." "We are excited to participate in the first redesign of the NLS audiobook player in the last 30 years and to contribute HumanWare's and our partner's experience toward the launch of a revolutionary player to serve the visually impaired and print-disabled community," says Dr. Gilles Pepin, President of HumanWare Canada. About Battelle Battelle is a global leader in science and technology. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, it develops and commercializes technology and manages laboratories for customers. Battelle, with the national labs it manages or co-manages, oversees 19,000 staff members and conducts $3 billion in annual research and development. Battelle innovations include the development of the office copier machine (Xerox), pioneering work on compact disc technology, medical technology advancements, and fiber optic technologies. About HumanWare HumanWare combines two of the industry's most innovative companies - VisuAide and Pulse Data International are recognized as world leaders in their respective fields. Products like the SmartView video magnifier and more recently myReader - the world's first low vision auto-reader - are redefining the way people look at low vision while the Victor Reader family of digital talking book players has been at the forefront of the industry since its inception. The BrailleNote is the best-known solution in the notetaker market today, and this market will be expanded with the introduction of Maestro. Finally, the companies produce the world's only commercialized GPS based orientation solutions for the blind - Trekker and BrailleNote GPS. About NLS NLS is in the midst of a full-scale transition from analog audio cassettes to DTBs, a project that will involve creating 20,000 DTBs (10,000 converted from cassette and 10,000 recorded digitally) and developing a digital playback device to replace the four-track tape player that has been in service for nearly three decades. NLS has approximately 730,000 audio cassette players in use worldwide today and maintains an inventory of more than 23 million cassettes containing audio books and magazines that it circulates free of charge to blind and physically handicapped readers. ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
