ZoomWare
Welp, the makers of Zoomtext have done it again. They came out with a new, inexpensive product for the normal sighted community called ZoomWare. You should check out the below video, its awesome!
This is basically a stripped down version of Zoomtext, without all the bells and whistles the full blown product has for the extreme visually impaired. This is a neat product, because I get comments about the Zoomtext I use on my laptop all the time from my family and friends, talking about how they like the Zooming and invert brightness controls that my Zoomtext has. Well this ZoomWare is awesome because for those who want just those magnification and color enhancing controls, and don’t have, or don’t want to pay the $600 Zoomtext costs, this is a much less expensive alternative for the normal sighted person who just suffers from eye strain every now and then. This product is only $150, much less expensive when all you want is to combat eye strain. Eye strain from the Computer is a big problem for alot of people since Windows was introduced to the general public, and since screen resolutions can range anywhere from 800×600 on up to 1600×1200 in most cases, unless your a teenager with eagle eyes, we all suffer from eye strain every now and then. Just think of the strain and fatique you put your eyes thru starring at the Computer screen most of the day, much of less someone who is extremely visually impaired or legally blind. I could probably get by with this poduct myself right now, but I am glad I have Zoomtext instead because my copy of Zoomtext has speech support as well, so when I get tired of reading, or eyes hurt too much to read, I can just have the Computer read the screen to me. ZoomWare doesn’t come with that, which I think alot of normal sighted people would like, but I am glad they left out audio support otherwise it would have driven the price of the product way up, when most people just want a little help seeing stuff.
What makes Aisquared products so much nicer, then the built in magnification and narration features of Microsoft Windows, is there xFont technology. What xFont does, it makes the text on the screen readable even at very highest magnification levels, so you can actually read the text on the screen when you magnify the screen. It also has controls for magnifying the entire screen, or just part of the screeen, and you can adjust the lens to any position you want, which are things Windows should have came with to begin with..
The only thing that bothers me, is that CompTIA, PearsonVUE, or the other certification testing companies don’t allow such software to be used during certification testing. I don’t know about you, but I think that is discrimination. The only type of accomodation like that these places allow, is for someone they pick for you to go into the test with you and read what is on the screen to you. Well, if you can’t see what your doing, what good is that? For instance, if I was being asked to design a Microsoft Access database, or a PowerPoint presentation, how am I supposed to know how to answer the question if I cannot see what is on the screen? especially with these Microsoft Certification tests there all interactive. I don’t have every menu option, or every toolbar button memorized off the top of my head, and they shouldn’t expect me to know that. The problem is these companies don’t understand there is a HUGE difference between 20/20 and completely blind, and even then a completely blind person doesn’t have every toolbar button and every menu option memorized. They know the steps, but won’t know if its right or not until they see it, or hear it in a blind persons case, so to have someone sit there and read the screen to you, is NOT an appropriate accomodation at all, which ticked me off because how am I supposed to find a job in IT if they won’t accomodate for my needs? An employer would, an employer has to, and plus my USB license allows me to take my copy of Zoomtext with me to whichever Windows Computer I am using, even if its a work computer, and I’m allowed to fully install my license on up to 3 computers; a home PC, a laptop, and a work PC, so my licensing is covered whoever I end up getting employment with. Its just stupid they won’t allow such appropriate accommodations when even normal sighted people have problems reading text on the screen such as this, much of less someone in my case who is extremely visually impaired. I’ve been using Computers since Kindergarten, heck half the questions on the A+ and Network+ exams I taught myself when I was a teenager, so to not allow such accomodations when I’m obviously a gifted IT student, is not only unfair, but downrigh discrimination.
liked this post? buy me a cup and lets drink on it
Current mood:
nerdy and 
tired. 
Tom, remeber me? I’m the frustrated “certification seeker” blind guy you emailed via AiSquared, Maurie Hill. I just happen to run acros your blog….good stuff! Anyway, just wanted to let you know I am in the proces of filing a formal complaint against Prometric & CompTIA because of their outdated approach of providing a human reader to sit for certifications. The way I see it, they (CompTIA & Prometric) are in violation of the American with Disabilities Act, Title III. Title III addresses the problem we are experiencing with certifications. I have also contacted a Civil Rights attorney and hope to have a case against them soon!
I’ll let you know how things go……who knows, maybe you’ll be able to take those exams using zt after all! Wouldn’t that be cool?
yeah I know its against the ADA Title 111. PearsonVUE already provides a human reader from what they told me, so you could go with them instead of prometric if all you need is a human reader, but they should allow Zoomtext or ZoomWare, one of the two. A human reader only makes you nervous, especially when its someone you don’t know, and can’t understand very well. That’s the problem I had with that idea, they would allow a human reader, but only someone “they” provided to you, which was generally someone who didn’t speak your same language fluent enough. I mean, if it was just all multiple choice questions, then yeah a human reader I can understand would be fine, but these CompTIA tests aren’t just multiple choice type tests, there like the Microsoft Certifications, where there are pictures you have to see, or steps you have to follow in the menus and pull down, in order to answer the questions, like in Word, Excel, Access for example, and there’s no way I can memorize every single menu item. When I bold text in Microsoft Word for example, I know “about” where its at but I couldn’t talk someone thru that without looking at the screen somehow. I mean, I couldn’t even do that to post a blog entry. Its one of those instances where you know it when you see it, but you can’t possibly have every senerio memorized in your head, there’s just no way. I know the steps to doing certain things, but could you do it talking to someone over the phone without your computer in front of you? no, The point is, us visually impaired have to be able to “see” the menus somehow, which we can do with Zoomtext or ZoomWare, but they won’t allow any of that software, which is what I would complain about. Its bad enough you have to memorize all those acronyms for the tests and everything, but in some of these tests you have to be able to “see” the questions somehow, a human reader just doesn’t do it. ya know? Just another example that the industry doesn’t understand the difference between totally blind and 20/20 vision, that the Visually impaired are primarily visual learners just like 20/20 people are. A person usually doesn’t get over that until they’ve learned braille. People who are blind, and have been blind since birth, have learned to use their sense of hearing well, but us visually imaired are still visual learners, so what their doing is still against the ADA Act, probably even more so.