Microsoft and New Zealand Company Pulse Data To Make Thousands of EBook Titles Available to the Blind
Microsoft Reader Software to Be Integrated Into BrailleNote, Pulse Data's Family of Personal Data Assistants
Redmond, Washington, and Christchurch, New Zealand - Tuesday, November 21, 2000 - Microsoft Corp. signed an agreement
with Pulse Data International Ltd. that will provide the visually impaired with easy access to thousands of new and
existing electronic books. Pulse Data, a specialist in enabling access to information for the visually impaired, will
collaborate with Microsoft in delivering a blind-friendly interface for eBooks created for Microsoft® Reader.
Microsoft Reader software will be integrated with Pulse Data's BrailleNote, a family of screenless personal data
assistants based on the Microsoft Windows® CE operating system that offer feedback through speech and electronic
Braille.
"We at Microsoft have a dream that people with visual impairments will have access to books and literature at the same
time and with the same availability as sighted readers," said Janine Harrison, group program manager of Microsoft
Reader. "This collaboration is a wonderful step in making that dream a reality."
Russell Smith, managing director of Pulse Data, shares this enthusiasm and sees Microsoft as the driving force behind
the alliance. "Clearly we are very excited about the opportunity and consider this the next step forward in our
relationship with Microsoft USA and Microsoft New Zealand. Integrating Microsoft Reader into the BrailleNote family is a
further justification for our decision to use the Windows CE operating system in the BrailleNote family of products."
To read an electronic book with BrailleNote, users will need to download an eBook title from an online distributor to
their BrailleNote device, then open the file. They will have the option to listen to the speech version of the eBook or
read the electronic Braille display.
Jim Halliday, president of HumanWare Inc., the North American distributor of BrailleNote, is thrilled about the
possibilities for the technology. "The implications are enormous. With the integration of BrailleNote and Microsoft
Reader, blind schoolchildren will be able to read the same eBooks as their sighted classmates, and blind people will
have virtually instant access to literally thousands of titles that would take months or years to create through
traditional paper Braille publishing."
Geoff Lawrie, managing director of Microsoft New Zealand, said, "Pulse Data's work has been instrumental in promoting
New Zealand's software development reputation on the world stage, and we are delighted to be working with Pulse Data to
further enhance its innovative products for the visually impaired."
About Microsoft's Accessibility Efforts With more than a decade of experience and dedication, Microsoft has been a
leader in making accessible products and raising the standard for the industry. In addition to developing products,
technologies and services that are accessible and usable by all people, Microsoft works closely with companies that
produce accessibility aids to achieve a common goal of improving the lives of people with disabilities by making
computers a positive force in employment, education and recreation.
About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet
technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to
empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device.
About Pulse Data International Ltd.
Founded in 1988, Pulse Data international has become a world leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of
innovative products and software that enhance the lives of visually impaired people. These include electronic magnifying
systems for people with low vision and hardware and software products, which use synthesized speech and electronic
Braille for the totally blind.
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