July 2005

mPower from HumanWare - introducing the most advanced notetaker in the World. Empower yourself with mPower - Notetakers will never be the same again.

Welcome to the inaugural HumanWare Newsletter, our way of keeping you up-to-date with everything that’s happening in the company.

If you didn’t know by now Pulse Data merged with the Canadian company VisuAide in January this year to form the company HumanWare. With the largest R&D department in the industry, it will come as no surprise that we have some more exciting new products to tell you about, the most exciting of which must be the launch of the new BrailleNote mPower. This summer will also see the launch of the Maestro PDA, Trekker GPS and Solo Distance Classroom Camera, along with the new sizes in the Brailliant Braille Display range.

We hope you will find our new style newsletter of interest and as always we welcome your feedback, remember our contact details remain the same.

Alan Davis
UK General Sales Manager

So what makes mPower so fantastic?

Well, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Building on the success of our previous BrailleNote family, mPower has many fantastic new features to empower blind people, these include :

  • Two USB host and one USB client for greater connectivity
  • Audio streaming for listening to MP3 and Windows Media on-line
  • Built in Bluetooth
  • Integrated microphone for voice recordings
  • Secure Digital Card (SD) slot for increased data storage and file transfer options
  • Internal memory increased to 128mb
  • Intel X scale processor - super fast data processing, email downloads etc.
  • Media files can be played in high quality stereo with independent volume control

Available today with the familiar 18 and 32 braille displays, braille or
qwerty input and speech only options, Empower yourself with the most powerful PDA available – that’s mPower.

myReader - the excitement continues Since we launched myReader at Sight Village last year, we have spoken with many users from around the World, who now feel they have a real alternative to the way they read. For people with severe low vision, reading can once again be an enjoyable experience. myReader is now allowing people the opportunity to read quickly, in total comfort and for hours at a time.

It is changing the way people look at low vision forever. Peter Sallis has been a customer of HumanWare for sometime now and uses the ScannaR to learn his scripts. Peter visited our offices recently and is seen here having a demonstration of myReader. If you would like to have a free no obligation demonstration too, please call our office on 01933 626000

Sight Village 19th, 20th and 21st July

What else is new from HumanWare ?

Maestro - the PDA which fits into the palm of your hand and the Trekker GPS system, come and join us for a GPS Walk at Sight Village including the BrailleNote GPS.Sight Village is an opportunity for you to have a demonstration of the very latest technology from HumanWare. This includes the Maestro hand held PDA, the Solo Distance Camera and the new sizes of the Brailliant Braille Displays which now include 24, 32, 40, 64 and 80 cells.

“Take Away” from Sight Village - There is a special price for the colour PocketViewer of £435. We are giving away - yes that right- giving away a free myReader to an education establishment. If you would like to enter the competition, please pick up a leaflet from our stand at Sight Village and your School, College or University could be the lucky winner !

Tribute to Clare Burrows

Clare Burrows had been a friend of all the Pulse Data (HumanWare) team for the last 8 years until her untimely death in Early 2004. A really sad loss for the people of the Isle of Man where her vibrancy, spirit and encouragement for anyone with vision loss was a true inspiration to everyone whose lives she touched. It is a fitting tribute that in the New Manx Blind Welfare Building, a room has been named “Clare’s Room”.
Clare’s Room is dedicated to Low Vision Technology, and to the spirit and magic of Clare and the way she used technology to improve her own life and ultimately to make a big difference to the independence and empowerment of others through the use of technology.

Manx Blind Welfare certainly have one of the finest centres in the UK for people with Visual Impairment and I was honoured to be able to participate in the official opening of Clare’s Room earlier this year. For me this trip to the Isle of Man was both a sad and happy occasion.

It was very moving to meet Clare’s lovely family and a
chance to remember her enthusiasm and happy laughter that was always part of Clare’s nature no matter how she was feeling. Clare’s Room is a fitting tribute to ensure her memory lives on in Manx Blind Welfare and we are delighted and honoured to be part of the special contribution she made to enhance people’s lives.

Pedro Polson
Managing Director

Good News for people in Staffordshire

All libraries have a legal obligation to make their services available to people with a visual impairment.

Staffordshire County Council has gone further than this by installing the very latest technology from HumanWare in all their libraries across the county. The list includes a selection of Pocket Viewers, SmartView CCTVs and myReaders, all of which not only make their libraries accessible to people with sight difficulties but also now makes their visit a positive and enjoyable experience.

Going Solo for only £2195

Compact and portable (1.3Kg), close up and distance viewing, one simple connection to a Laptop, 1 - 40x mag on a 15” screen and 6 hours battery life.

A Braille Photocopier?

As another first, we have teamed up the ScannaR - our stand alone reading machine - to the Brailliant Braille display. Now at the touch of a single button text can be scanned and then reproduced instantaneously in Braille. We don’t believe there is a simpler way for a person to translate text to Braille. No computer or software knowledge required – guaranteed!

National Blind Children’s Society inaugural Golf Day

We were delighted to have the opportunity to support the National Blind Children’s Society inaugural Golf Day, held at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club on June 17th.

As well as entering a team of four, (Pedro Polson, Chris Frost, Andrew Flatres and Chris Withers Green), HumanWare sponsored the halfway house offering well earned refreshments to all the players. Our team did very well on a very demanding course, finishing about mid-table. The day was about raising awareness and money for a very worthwhile charity whilst also having some fun. We will be featuring the work of NBCS in more detail in our next newsletter. 

HumanWare is awarded Investor in People

We were very proud to receive the Award “Investor in People”, which was presented by Janet Moody, Head of Advisory Services for Northamptonshire Business Link, to Pedro Polson, Managing Director of HumanWare at our offices in Northamptonshire in May, 2005.

The Award was in recognition of HumanWare’s commitment to its employees and assisting in their personal development and growth within the company. Pedro Polson said “we are immensely proud of our achievement and will continue to provide an environment for our staff to maximise their potential”. 

Introducing Lucy Naismith and Martin Roberts

Lucy Naismith joined HumanWare in March as our Sales Representative for Scotland and the North of England. Lucy is enjoying the freedom of the road as she drives around her area and has recently visited the Isle of Skye and other beautiful locations. If you would like Lucy to visit you please call our Sales Office on 01933 626000

In January this year, Martin Roberts joined HumanWare as Blind Sales Support for our UK customers. Martin, a University Graduate, has been a beta tester for several screen reading software manufacturers and now extensively uses his BrailleNote PK GPS whilst travelling around the country.