Product Evaluation: Choosing a Screen Magnifier
By Dusling, Kevin; Uslan, Mark; Access World, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 12-16Publication Date: January 2002
Article compares Lunar Plus 4.5 with MAGic 8.0 from Freedom Scientific and ZoomText Xtra 7.06 from Ai Squared. Nine features are evaluated: (1) “firing it up and tying it out,” (2) panning, which moves a magnified view around the screen, (3) tracking, which moves the magnified view automatically when another object outside the magnified view becomes active, (4) mouse features, (5) color and contrast, (6) screen reading, (7) hot keys, which provide more elaborate functions with the touch of only one button, (8) screen layout, and (9) special “perks.” The authors conclude that LunarPlus’s strengths are in its special features, such as an Auto Lens, a Hook feature, the Line View, and advanced color and contrast settings. The Auto Lens feature automatically resizes the magnification feature to the size of the window with focus. The Line View feature takes the text in the current window and redisplays it on a single line located in the center of the screen. The text can then be automatically panned or moved using the arrow keys. The Hook feature allows different areas of the screen to keep a portion of the screen in magnified view. LunarPlus’s weaknesses were found in its documentation and help feature. The authors also concluded that LunarPlus could have a better control panel, and that it was too dependent on the use of hot keys.
Assistive Products Discussed: LUNARPLUS ENHANCED SCREEN MAGNIFIER
MAGIC STANDARD EDITION & MAGIC PROFESSIONAL EDITION
ZOOMTEXT XTRA LEVEL 1 & ZOOMTEXT XTRA LEVEL 2
Published by: AFB Press (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
