Texthelp Systems, Inc. (Formerly Lorien Systems Ltd.)

100 Unicorn Park Drive
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
United States
Telephone: 888-248-0652 or 617-896-9704.
Fax: 866-248-0652.
Web: http://www.texthelp.com.
Email: u.s.info@texthelp.com.

Products manufactured by Texthelp Systems, Inc. (Formerly Lorien Systems Ltd.) (listed alphabetically)

1. BROWSEALOUD

   BrowseAloud is a voice output utility program desinged to improve the accessibility of websites for people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities or vision disabilities. This speech-enabling solution helps bring sites in line with Section 508 and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). This application reads web content aloud in a high quality voice. Making a site BrowseAloud-enabled is done remotely, so no changes to the site are required. The client plug-in technology ensures a webmaster has no software to install on a webserver. The application is able to automatically speak new content when a website is updated. The webmaster can select the voice that will be used to read the site, how the voice pronounces words, and the language used when a BrowseAloud user visits the website. The website visitors using BrowseAloud can change the voice they are using, change the reading speed of the chosen reading voice, define shortcuts/hotkeys to start and stop reading, Re-define how words are pronounced, and choose to have the program start when the computer starts. The software also offers a dual color highlighting system that highlights the section of the page being read and the particular word being read. Reading continues until the program is instructed to stop. For the end user, Browsealoud requires a small (13 to 14 megabytes) firewall-friendly download. COMPATIBILITY: For use on IBM and compatible personal (PC) computers or Macintosh computers. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: PCs require 14 megabytes (MB) free hard drive space and sound card and speakers. Mac requires Operating System X 10.3.9 or later, minimum of 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended), compatibility with Power PC or Intel processor, sound card and speakers, 20 MB free disk space, and the Safari Browser.

2. LEXIFLOW

   Lexiflow is a voice output electronic book player program designed for use by publishers of books and student assessments. This program enables publishers to create talking Flash eBooks and assessments that are accessible to students who require read-aloud support. Pages are converted from PDF to talking Adobe Flash for playback using the free Adobe Flash Player. Books are displayed in an exact representation of the printed content on PC or Mac in any industry standard Internet browser. In addition to text-to-speech with a choice of reading voices, the eBook also includes support tools such as a dictionary, translator, notes, dual-color highlighting, search capabilities, page navigation, interactive table of contents, zoom and pan controls for visually impaired readers, and keyboard accessibility. The eBook can be read by students who have no accessibility software. The publisher can add alternate text to non-readable items, such as equations or pictures, so they can be read aloud correctly. Pronunciation of specific words can be adjusted to ensure correct speech output. On assessments, read aloud output can be adjusted to conform to state assessment policies. Books can be delivered through the Web or on CD or DVD. Copyrighted content is secure.

3. PDFALOUD

   PDFAloud is a voice output program for Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files, designed for use by individuals who are blind or have low vision or learning disabilities. This plug-in to Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader adds a PDFAloud toolbar to the Acrobat toolbar options, with various buttons to activate speech within the PDF file. Users can choose to have one word at a time or an area of selected text read aloud. A click and speak tool allows text to be read back with dual color highlighting when the user points and clicks on it. Controls can also be accessed through a menu and keyboard shortcuts. The pitch, speed, and volume of the voice can be varied and a variety of male and female voices are available. If the voice mispronounces a word, this can be fixed by opening a pronunciation options menu, typing the word phonetically, and saving the changes. COMPATIBILITY: For use on Apple Macintosh and IBM and compatible computers.

4. READ & WRITE GOLD, READ & WRITE GOLD FOR MAC, & READ & WRITE GOLD MOBILE

   Read & Write Gold, Read & Write Gold for Mac, and Read & Write Gold Mobile are voice output word processor programs designed for use by individuals with learning disabilities. All three versions include text to speech, dual color highlighting, TextHelp voices, audible phonetic spell checker, audible homophone support, context-based speech-enabled word prediction, audible dictionary, Word Wizard, and scanning from paper or a saved image. Other features include pronounciation control, speech maker for portable text (for example, MP3), Fact Finder for quick specific web searches, online fact mapper to organize facts visually, DAISY book reader, one-word display with speech feedback, speech enabled calculator, Internet compatibility, PDFaloud, screenreading, study skills, and online translator. The Windows and Mobile versions also include several features not in the Mac version: speech input, screenmasking, pronounciation tutor, the ability to read Dragon-recognized text, screenshot reader, a summarize tool, and Fact Folder to store collected data. The standard, non-mobile Windows version also offers logging of student progress and a teacher's toolkit. COMPATIBILITY: For use on IBM and compatible computers (Read & Write Gold), USB devices (Read & Write Mobile), or Macintosh computers (Read & Write Mac). SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Read & Write Gold and Read & Write Gold Mobile require Windows 2000, XP, or Vista. Read & Write Mac requires MAC OS 10.4 or above (Intel-based Macs only).

5. SPEECHSTREAM

   SpeechStream is a voice option program designed for use by publishers to provide access to textbooks and other written material for students with learning disabilities. This program embeds auditory and visual resources within a publisher's content to improve retention, comprehension, and recall. Text can be read aloud continuously or by word, sentence, or paragraph, with dual color synchronous highlighting of text that is being read aloud; for example, highlighting a sentence in one color while highlighting each word individually as it spoken in a second color. Publisher's material is presented online with timecoding to protect copyright. Students can control playback speed and voice selection. The program is scalable to meet high demand situations with audio and timecode caching for repeat playback. The program can be integrated into most web- based Flash, JAVA or HTML applications, with customizable options for the publisher. Students can access material using a personal computer (PC) or Macintosh (Mac) on all common browsers, including Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Chrome. Selected text can be converted to a time coded MP3 file for download to an MP3 player. Other features students can use include a dictionary, word translation, a Fact Finder research tool, Study Skills with extractable annotations, and Sticky Notes.

6. TEXTHELP! READ & WRITE

   TextHELP! Read & Write is a voice output word processor designed for use by individuals with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. This toolbar-style application package offers speech feedback as the typing progresses in a choice of letter by letter, word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, or by highlighted text block. Word by word speaking of highlighted text helps the user associate the written word with its sound. This software will read any onscreen text, including menu icons, Internet web pages, e-mail, and spreadsheets. Standard features include a voice-output spell checker with spelled-alike and sound-alike suggestions, a voice-output thesaurus linked to the spell checker, word prediction, abbreviation expansion, automatic correction, and homophone discrimination. Second language capabilities are available when working in Spanish. The software also offers screen magnification of text, tool bars, and help files and text and background colors can be changed to meet the user's needs. Specialized dictionaries for primary school, medicine, and geology are available. Speech fonts include U.S. male and female, United Kingdom male and female, Spanish male, French male, and others. An optional choice of four animated characters to provide speech feedback is also included. COMPATIBILITY: For use on IBM and compatible computers. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Pentium 350 Processor; Windows 98, 2000, XP, ME, or NT4; Internet Explorer 6 or later (available on the Installation CD); sound card and speakers; CD ROM drive; 128 megabytes (MB) random access memory (RAM) (250 MB recommended); 400 MB Free Disk Space.

See Texthelp Systems, Inc. (Formerly Lorien Systems Ltd.) products that are no longer available.