Hi All,
We've been too busy to do a fine, detailed comparative study, but we
agree with Ian. I would prefer to recommend Kurzweil 3000 for a
dyslexic student who requires OCR and readback and often recommend
it for other disabled students who may need a readback
facility. It is my opinion that if a student needs to do a fair
amount of reading using an OCR package, then it should be easy and
convenient to use, or else they won't use it. Kurzweil is easy to
use, very user-friendly, easy to install and stable!
We have a lot of students using Kurzweil and the feedback we are
getting is that they are using it regularly, which speaks for itself.
Before Kurzweil, we would recommend a more traditional OCR such as
Omnipage or TextBridge, in conjunction with TextHelp or
TextAssist but most students found that it was too long-winded to
use.
Although Kurzweil is more expensive than these other packages, it has
lots more to offer which justifies the cost (eg dictionary feature,
study skills, voice notes (which I really like!) to mention just a
few. It even comes bundled with Voice Pad. And no, in case you
were wondering, (as independent users, not retailers) we don't get
any commission from this!!
Have a good weekend.
Elaine
Ian Wrote:-
> Our view as a commercial supplier for what it's worth, and from the point of view
> of dyslexia support is on our web page http://www.dyslexic.com/ocr.htm.
>
> We think that the best for convenience and features, by some way (assuming that the
> main objective is speech feedback), is Kurzweil 3000. Of the mass market OCR
> products we think that Omnipage Pro 9 is the most convenient, and seems to go best
> with textHELP! Read & Write.
>
> Elaine Shillcock in Manchester was trying to find time to do a comparative study of
> OCR packages in action at the coal face, but I haven't heard the results.
>
> I'd be interested in any conflicting/better informed opinions.
>
> Regards
>
> Ian Litterick
> iANSYST Ltd Dyslectech Email [log in to unmask]
> The White House, 72 Fen Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB4 1UN, UK
> Tel (+44) (0) 1223 42 01 01. Fax (+44) (0)1223 42 66 44
> FREEPhone from UK only 0500 14 15 15
> web url http://www.dyslexic.com
>
> "Hill, Peter" wrote:
>
> > Date sent: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 19:18:50 +0100
> > Subject: RE: Hand held scanners
> > From: "Mrs E. A. Draffan" <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Send reply to: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > EA Draffan Wrote
> >
> > snip...
> > > scanner with high quality OCR software. Best Wishes E.A.
> > >
> >
> > I'd like some feedback on list members experiences of OCR
> > packages. Which ones work best, etc.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Peter J Hill
> > Learning Support Tutor
> > Equal Opportunities Centre
> > Woodbury 3
> > University College Worcester
> > Henwick Grove
> > Worcester
> > WR2 6AJ
> >
> > Tel: 01905 855413
> > Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
Elaine Shillcock
Access Summit
St Peter's House
Precinct Centre,
Oxford Road,
Manchester 13 9GH
Tel 0161 272 7847
Fax 0161 272 7001
Minicom 0161 273 7307
e-mail [log in to unmask]
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