| 1. GENERAL FAQS 1.1. Does AspireREADER™ help people with reading and writing difficulties?
1.2. Does AspireREADER™ help people with visual impairments?
1.3. Does AspireREADER™ help people learning English as a Second Language (ESL)?
1.4. Does AspireREADER™ help all students?
1.5. Does AspireREADER™ help people with hearing impairments?
1.6. Does AspireREADER™ read foreign languages?
1.7. What is the difference between Kurzweil and AspireREADER™?
1.8. Does AspireREADER™ read scanned documents?
1.9. Where can I find DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
1.10. Does Aequus produce DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
1.11. Will AspireREADER™ read Bookshare.org Books?
1.12. Are there other places to buy the AspireREADER™?
2. TECHNICAL FAQS
2.1. How do I get technical support?
2.2. What are the system requirements?
2.3. Does AspireREADER™ run on Macintosh platforms?
2.4. Does AspireREADER™ read DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
2.5. Can AspireREADER™ read Adobe PDF files?
2.6. Can I install my own voices?
2.7. Does AspireREADER™ work on a network?
2.8. Does AspireREADER™ read math and science?
2.9. Is AspireREADER™ a screenreader?
2.10. Does AspireREADER™ scan books?
2.11. Does AspireREADER™ read any webpage?
2.12. Does AspireREADER have a manual?
2.13. How do I find the DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books on my computer?
3. LICENSING FAQS
3.1. How many copies of AspireREADER™ can I install on my classroom computers?
3.2. Can I put AspireREADER™ on a network server?
3.3. Can I put AspireREADER™ on my laptop or home computer?
3.4. Can I make backup copies?
3.5. Can our multi-user license be used in multiple geographic locations?
3.6. Does a CD-ROM come with my purchase?
3.7. What is a software key?
4. TROUBLESHOOTING FAQS
4.1. I’m having problems downloading AspireREADER™ from the online store.
4.2. I can’t install AspireREADER™ onto my computer.
4.3. 4.3 AspireREADER™ does not read my digital talking book.
4.4. AspireREADER™ Browser does not read all web pages
4.5. How do I find the DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books on my computer
1. GENERAL FAQS
1.1. Does AspireREADER™ help people with reading and writing difficulties?
Yes. AspireREADER is designed to help students and professionals
who struggle with reading and writing, including people with a range
sensory, cognitive and physical disabilities, as well as those learning
English as their second language (English Language Learners).
1.2. Does AspireREADER™ help people with visual impairments?
Yes. AspireREADER is designed so that its commands can be given either by keystroke or mouse clicks. With few exceptions, all of the features of AspireREADER are accessible. In a few cases, such as the search and replace dialog in our Editor module, a blind user may need a screen reader. Scripts for JAWS are provided with the AspireREADER installation package.
1.3. Does AspireREADER™ help people learning English as a Second Language (ESL)?
Yes. AspireREADER highlights the text as it reads content, whether in a DAISY/NIMAS book, on the web, or within the editor. This allows the reader to see as well as hear the words pronounced. Upcoming releases of AspireREADER will have dictionary modules built to allow the user to look up the meaning of specific words.
1.4. Does AspireREADER™ help all students?
The AspireREADER helps all students and professionals by providing new learning methods. Individuals learn differently. Some learn visually, while others learn better through auditory means. AspireREADER allows individuals to select the method that best matches their learning styles. In addition, several publishers are rendering their textbooks using specialized technology from Aequus to create DAISY/NIMAS digital talking book textbooks that look exactly like their printed counterparts. These specialized digital textbooks read along and highlight the lesson helping to quickly clarify the topic. Similarly, materials in standard DAISY/NIMAS formats can be read and highlighted simultaneously making the lesson clearer to any student.
1.5. Does AspireREADER™ help people with hearing impairments?
Product extensions are available which can provide American Sign Language or Signed English displays of the book as it is being highlighted and read aloud by AspireREADER.
1.6. Does AspireREADER™ read foreign languages?
AspireREADER allows the user to incorporate any computer-generated voice. If a foreign language voice is available on the user’s computer and foreign language content is inserted in the player, either by inserting a foreign language based DAISY/NIMAS book, visiting a foreign language based website or inserting content into the editor, AspireREADER will read it just as it does English text. Future versions of the AspireREADER will provide machine based translations into several languages.
1.7. What is the difference between Kurzweil and AspireREADER™?
The Kurzweil product is a solution aimed primarily at scanning in documents, rendering them via optical character recognition and then reading them to the user. AspireREADER is designed to read prepared DAISY/NIMAS, RTF, Text and web format documents. Because, documents are already in electronic format, the difficulties arising from improper interpretation are avoided. AspireREADER reads any document in RTF or HTML format. If your scanning software can produce a document in this format it will work. Additionally, AspireREADER licenses are significantly less than those for the Kurzweil products.
1.8. Does AspireREADER™ read scanned documents?
AspireREADER reads any document in RTF or HTML format. If your scanning software can produce a document in this format it will work.
1.9. Where can I find DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
You can find DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books from sources such
as RFB&D (www.rfbd.org) and Bookshare.org (www.bookshare.org).
You may also locate them directly from textbook publishers or approved
authorized entities as defined by the Chaffee Amendment of the Copyright
Law of 1996.
1.10. Does Aequus produce DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
For content owners, such as publishers, Aequus converts textbooks
and instructional material into DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books
using our Semantic Web Accessibility Platform (SWAP) tool. These
books are most often distributed by the publishers as a stand-alone
product or included with the student edition.
1.11. Will AspireREADER™ read Bookshare.org Books?
Generally yes. Bookshare.org books are, in many cases, prepared by volunteers. Bookshare.org books which closely follow the DAISY/NIMAS specification work very well. Those that do not follow the standards well may exhibit some problems when reading.
1.12. Are there other places to buy the AspireREADER™?
Yes. The AspireREADER can also be purchased from a number of authorized
resellers. Please visit www.aequustechnologies.com for a complete
listing.
2. TECHNICAL FAQS
2.1. How do I get technical support?
There are a few options. You may call 1-877-6-ASPIRE Monday - Friday between 9am and 5pm EST, email support@aequustechnologies.com, or complete and submit the Request Technical Support online form.
2.2. What are the system requirements?
Please visit www.aequustechnologies.com to view the system requirements.
2.3. Does AspireREADER™ run on Macintosh platforms?
AspireREADER for Macintosh is currently available (as the Cast eReader) for Daisy 2.02 books. A version supporting DAISY 3.0 is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2005.
2.4. Does AspireREADER™ read DAISY / NIMAS digital talking books?
Yes, AspireREADER™ supports DAISY 2.02/3.0 and NIMAS digital talking books.
2.5. Can AspireREADER™ read Adobe PDF files?
No, AspireREADER does not support .pdf file format. If you convert .pdf files to .rtf files then they are readable in AspireREADER. If you have the full version of Adobe Acrobat, you can save a file directly to .rtf format. In the free Adobe Reader program, you can save the document to text, which can be read by AspireREADER browser.
2.6. Can I install my own voices?
Yes, you may install your own voices. Currently, AspireREADER comes standard with the Microsoft SAPI 5.1 voices, including Microsoft Sam. You can purchase SAPI compatible voices including RealSpeak by ScanSoft and AT&T Natural Voices. AspireREADER supports foreign language voices as well as English voices.
2.7. Does AspireREADER™ work on a network?
AspireREADER is installed on a local machine. In network situations where multiple licenses have been purchased, the program can be installed over the network. AspireREADER can read DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books from any location on your network.
2.8. Does AspireREADER™ read math and science?
Yes, Math and science topics inside of DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books are read by AspireREADER. However, at the present time neither standard has specific features to work with complex math or science. As a result, Aequus offers proprietary extensions to the DAISY/NIMAS standard to accommodate complex equations. Additionally, a product extension called the Virtual Pencil provides an interactive math solution that performs the job of the pencil.
2.9. Is AspireREADER™ a screenreader?
No, AspireREADER is not a screenreader because it does not read aloud information at the operating system level. However, elements of the application, including the file menu, toolbar icons, titlebar, etc are read aloud. However, unlike screenreaders, AspireREADER synchronously highlights the text as it is being read in any of its three modules – web browser, editor or book reader.
2.10. Does AspireREADER™ scan books?
No, you may not scan books into AspireREADER. The book must first be converted into a DAISY 3.0/2.02 or NIMAS digital talking book. However, if you scan a document of any type into your computer and convert it to an RTF or HTML document using OCR (optical character recognition) software, it can be read by AspireREADER.
2.11. Does AspireREADER™ read any webpage?
AspireREADER includes a browser module that reads aloud webpages. It performs best on web pages that comply with W3C or Section 508 recognized standards. Pages that are coded in HTML, the standard for most web pages, are readable in AspireREADER.
2.12. Does AspireREADER have a manual?
The AspireREADER manual is available on line at www.aequustechnologies.com in both PDF and HTML formats. If you wish a full color printed copy of the manual, it is available for $39.99 on our website.
2.13. How do I find the DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books on my computer?
In addition to locating DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books using Windows
Explorer, AspireREADER has a library module which will automatically
locate and store all of your digital talking books.
3. LICENSING FAQS
3.1. How many copies of AspireREADER™ can I install on my classroom computers?
The amount of copies you may install is equivalent to the number
of multi-user licenses purchased. For example, if you purchased
six user licenses then you may install AspireREADER on six different
computers.
3.2. Can I put AspireREADER™ on a network server?
Yes, but the number of users allowed to install AspireREADER is limited to the number of user licenses purchased. Users can access content anywhere on your network.
3.3. Can I put AspireREADER™ on my laptop or home computer?
Yes, you may install AspireREADER on your laptop or home computer and still qualify as a single license user provided that AspireREADER is used by the same person and is not in use on both machines at the same time.
3.4. Can I make backup copies?
Yes, you are permitted to may one backup copy.
3.5. Can our multi-user license be used in multiple geographic locations?
Yes, provided that AspireREADER is being used by the same organization and the number of users is equivalent the amount of licenses purchased.
3.6. Does a CD-ROM come with my purchase?
If you purchase a single-user license then you have the option of receiving a CD-ROM in addition to downloading AspireREADER from our website store. However, for multi-user licenses you will only receive one copy of AspireREADER that may then be installed on the appropriate number of computers. If you purchase your software from an approved distributor, then it will be delivered on CD-ROM.
3.7. What is a software key?
The software key is the code used to install AspireREADER. You will
be issued one software key per licensed user that can be found in
your email receipt.
4. TROUBLESHOOTING FAQS
4.1. I’m having problems downloading AspireREADER™ from the online store.
Call our sales hotline at 1-877-6-ASPIRE.
4.2. I can’t install AspireREADER™ onto my computer.
1. If you are installing from a CD, remove the installation CD from the drive. (If you are installing from a download this step is unnecessary.)
2. Restart your computer.
3. Attempt the installation again.
4. If problems persist, call the helpline at 1-877-6-ASPIRE.
4.3. 4.3 AspireREADER™ does not read my digital talking book.
A DAISY 3.0/NIMAS digital talking book will have a .opf file associated with it. Daisy 2.02 books have an ncc.html file in the books route directory. If you believe that a DAISY/NIMAS file is not being read by AspireREADER, call our help line at 1-877-6-ASPIRE.
4.4. AspireREADER™ Browser does not read all web pages
A web page must be accessible to be read by AspireREADER. Accessible sites follow the recognized standards such as W3C and Section 508 of the Rehabilitations Act.
4.5. How do I find the DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books on my computer
In addition to locating DAISY/NIMAS digital talking books using Windows Explorer, AspireREADER has a library module which will automatically locate and store all of your digital talking books.
For more information, please call 1-877-6-ASPIRE
or visit us online at www.aequustechnologies.com.
Aequus Technologies Corp.
P.O. Box 779
Pine Brook, NJ 07058-0779
Copyright 2004-2005. Aequus Technologies Corp. All rights reserved
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