Thursday, June 12, 2008

Here Comes The NEW, IMPROVED Kurzweil 3000!


(Above: The Kurzweil 3000 in action.)

I'm very happy to announce that, thanks to the Tech Department, Greenwich Library now has available the new, updated (and much improved) Kurzweil 3000 software for the visually and hearing impaired community. Computers with the software can be located on the first and third floors.

The software allows patrons to read from the computer screen using audio options and screen magnification when wanting to read a hard copy or online document. Attached to the computer is a scanner that can scan (in color now!) books, documents and flyers, allowing them to be shown on the computer screen to be read (or, using the audio function, "reads" them out loud) by the patron. Instructions to operate the K3000 can be found here .

What's great about the new software is that, unlike the previous Kurzweil 1000 that we had, the K3000 offers better picture and sound clarity, as well as less disorientating magnification options. (The old ZoomText function on the K1000 had a tendency to make the viewer dizzy and sometimes even nauseous.)

Here's a nice instructional video highlighting the K3000's functions. It runs for about six minutes. For any further questions, feel free to contact me at (203) 622-7918 or at emorrissey@greenwichlibrary.org .

-Ed

1 comment:

Unknown said...

The current best text to speech software is Text Speaker. It has customizable pronunciation, reads anything on your screen, and it even has talking reminders. The bundled voices are well priced and sound very human. Easily converts blogs, email, audio books, and more to MP3 or for listening immediately.