Kurzweil Releases Update for Kurzweill 1000

Kurzweil Educational Systems, a division of Cambium Learning Technologies, last week released Kurzweil 1000 Version 13 for Windows, software that makes printed or electronic text accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Version 13 combines traditional reading machine technologies, such as scanning, image processing and text-to-speech, with communication and productivity tools that ease and enhance users' reading, writing, and learning experiences.

New features inKurzweil 1000 Version 13include the following:

• Camera support for HoverCam, in addition to ABiSee's Zoom-Ex and Eye-Pal, to provide fast access to print documents using these portable, affordable, and readily available cameras;
• EPUB support that allows reading of EPUB documents and the ability to write EPUB documents that can be read on portable devices, such as an iPhone;
• Support for Microsoft Speech Platform, giving users access to more than a dozen additional text-to-speech voices in a variety of languages;
• The ability to choose the audio output device for the selected voice; and
• An OCR upgrade to ABBYY FineReader 10 and ScanSoft 18 to increase accuracy when recognizing documents and reduce time spent fixing errors in recognition.

"We are excited to present Kurzweil 1000 Version 13 to the public," said Alex Saltonstall, general manager of Kurzweil Educational Systems and IntelliTools, in a statement. "Every day, people with low vision or blindness depend upon Kurzweil 1000 to make printed text accessible to pursue their interests, whether at work or in school. We are proud to serve these individuals and offer them the latest advancements in our technology."