Hi, Hmm, interesting, but as I think about this, I'm finding I can already do most of these things using Windows.
The Braille conversion thing, I don't have any need for that since I can transfer notes and documents to a handheld device such as cell phone, iPod, etc. This means I don't need to carry anything brailed on paper since dots are likely to get crushed, and Braille paper is heavy after so many pages. Let's not forget that if you want something embossed into Braille, well, you have an expense into the thousands in your future. Turning a scanned document into audio, well, this is slow if there is any information to have to quickly reference 20 pages into the audio recording. Don't forget you also have to sit and wait for this conversion to audio. Searching for books online.... Well, this is not at all difficult and can be done in a matter of hitting a hotkey to launch a website then pressing letter E to jump to edit field to search for the book. You will get much, much more information about the book while on the website rather than through Open book. Using "more pleasant voices," well, one can already do this if he or she chooses to use the newer Vocalizer voices standard in screen readers such as Jaws and WinEyes. The faxing is actually a pro I support since it is quite easy using one of these OCR tools for the blind. Then again, Faxing is not something many people have to do nowadays, so I'm sure that if I looked I would find a simple to use Windows application to accomplish this task. In regards to cost, well, all the stuff I'm currently using is free. At one point OpenBook allowed for 40 minutes before closing out and informing the user they must purchase the full version. The great thing about this is that there was no 30-day trial. Last I tried, Openbook would not work if one had it for over a month. In other words, FS seems to have changed something where they initially and very generously allowed for 40 minutes of free scanning, someone seems to have concluded that they shouldn't do this, and now one can't use OpenBook to scan a few pages of mail like one could when OpenBook 9 was initially released. Joseph ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Pasco" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] Scanning and OCR Software Though it is true you don't (need) a self-voicing program like Open Book and Kurzweil, there are still advantages to these more expensive packages. Open Book, for instance, has a number of helpful tools build in to the interface which make some tasks easier. Examples include, the ability to do a down and dirty conversion to Braille for export or embossing, I use this feature frequently, the ability to turn any scanned document into an audio file for later use on a MP3 player or other such device, the ability to easily find and down load on-line books to read, the ability to use reading voices which are more pleasant than Eloquence, while switching back to eloquence when responsiveness is wanted, the ability to fax or photo copy any document scanned, and my favorite feature, the ability to convert graphic Adobe PDF or PowerPoint PPTX graphic to readable text by just printing the document from Adobe or PowerPoint to the Freedom Import Printer which automatically launches Open Book and converts then reads the document to you. It is expensive, but then so is JAWS. You can do many of these things using other software, but the combination of them would add up to quite a bit, where in Open Book it's all in one easy to use interface. In short, I respect the right of anyone here to choose the solutions they prefer, but I prefer and really like Open Book. Bill -----Original Message----- From: JAWS-Users-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rich Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 6:25 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] Scanning and OCR Software I use it occasionally. Rich ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Bennett" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 5:39 PM Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] Scanning and OCR Software >I wonder if anyone on the list is using Text Cloner Pro? It sells for >$100. > > If you already have JAWS, you don't really need a self voicing program > like Kurzweil or OpenBook. > > I would really be interested to know if anyone is using this. > > Tim Bennett > Indianapolis, IN > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
