Voice of Vision
Volume 2 Number 2 -- April 1994

Do you need a way to fill out forms?  Have you tried using WordPerfect
to do this?  This issue of Voice of Vision includes an article by Randy
Borst on how to make WordPerfect work for you.  Are you looking for
a speech-friendly communications program?  Peter Duran tells us about
COMMO.  Dr. Jacqueline Robertson describes the adaptive technology
Ball State University is using with students with learning disabilities. 
Mike Lawler has an update on how our BBS is developing and Doug
Geoffray describes the Franklin Language Master.  This issue also has
short helpful hints and general announcements at the end of the
newsletter.

---------------
I know I can do the job, but how will I fill out the forms?
by Randy Borst

How to fill out forms can be a major challenge for workers who are
blind or have a significant visual impairment.  To fill out forms, you
could acquire specialty software and take the time and trouble to learn
how to run and access it through synthesized speech, but why do all
that if you are already a WordPerfect user?  WordPerfect has a form
filler-outer, and it's easy to use.  Did I say "easy"?  I did--so easy in
fact you only need to learn one new key, the F9 (shifted, controlled,
and by itself).  Funny the things you find lying around the house.

The merge feature is one of WordPerfect's best-kept secrets.  "Merge,"
as the name suggests, refers to combining information from one source
with data from another source.  For example, the two sources can be
two computer files, a "form file" containing a letter and a "data file"
containing a list of names and addresses.  Once started, the merge
program looks at the letter in the form file, sees where you want a
name and address to go, gets names and addresses from the data file,
and creates a new file containing as many completed copies of the
letter as you have records in the data file.  Prowl around just a little in
the Merge program, though, and you will find that it can also merge a
form file with keyboard input instead of a data file.  Now you can make
your own forms or work with preprinted forms, either one.

Let's quickly design one field of a form, a field that just calls for a
customer's Name, first using WordPerfect Version 6.0 for DOS (WP6). 
Start by Pressing the BOLD key (F6) and then type the word "Name,"
followed by a colon for your field label.  Press BOLD again and then the
SPACEBAR.  Press the UNDERLINE key (F8) followed by a couple more
spaces.  If you have a printer that can handle it, do the word "Name"
in a small font and switch to something like Courier 10cpi before you
press UNDERLINE.  This will give the final product the appearance that
you started out with a preprinted form and filled it out with a
typewriter right on the line indicated, thus making it easier for a person
reading the printed form to distinguish quickly between the field labels
and the information you have keyed in.  Next, press SHIFT-F9.  WP6
will pop up the "Merge Codes" dialog box.  There isn't enough space in
the Voice of Vision to explain the whole box, so suffice it to say that
the light bar by default will be on the choice you want, "Form."  Just
trust me and press ENTER;  The "Merge Codes (form file)" dialog box
will then pop up.  This time, choose K for "Keyboard," and another
little box labeled "Prompt" will overlay. Here, enter a word or phrase
that would prompt you for what to type in the Name field.  "Customer
name" would do nicely.  Conclude with the ENTER key.  WP6 will take
you back to the editor.  The cursor will still be within the UNDERLINE
codes so take a couple more spaces for the sake of appearance and
press UNDERLINE again to return to normal text.

Before turning you loose to go on and design the rest of your form,
there is something else we must do together.  As you may have
already noticed, WP6 has rudely insinuated its keyboard merge code
and prompt right into the middle of your underlined spaces.  Though
this will not show up in the final product, many merge codes in the
form file can clutter up your screen and add much needless chatter. 
Happily, this is an easy problem to cure, simply by going to the "View,
Screen-setup" menu or by Pressing CONTROL-F3 and then SHIFT-F1. 
Either will produce the very detailed "Screen" dialog box, where we
only need to key in two letters to get the job done.  So type M for
"Display of Merge Codes" and H for Hide.  Then press ENTER.  You
will again be returned to the editor to find your code and prompt have
been hidden.  You may want to display them later, if you want to edit
your form file, by typing F for "Show Full Merge Codes" in "Screen-
setup" instead of H for "hide."  I prefer, however, to look for hidden
codes in the "Reveal Codes" (ALT-F3) window in order to be exactly
sure of where they all begin and end.

Close and save your form file as you would any other WP6 file.  For
our purposes here, name it "MY-NAME."  Now the fun starts.  Press
the CONTROL-F9 key.  The "Merge/Sort" dialog box will appear. 
Choose M for "Merge."  Now, you will be in the "Run Merge" dialog
box, where WP6 will prompt you for the name of your form file.  Type
MY-NAME and press the ENTER key.  Your cursor will move down and
you will be prompted for the name of the data file.  Just press the
ENTER key and WP6 will infer that you want to merge the file called
"MY-NAME" with data from the keyboard and will begin the merge. 
The field you created earlier, labeled "Name," will now appear on your
display with the cursor right where it was when you inserted the
corresponding merge code.  WP6 will display the prompt "Customer
name" on the status line, and Vocal-Eyes will read it--that is, if you are
using the factory-supplied Vocal-Eyes WordPerfect .SET files and you
have hyperactive windows switched on.  Type your name and press
F9.  The merge is done; WP6 has created a new, unnamed file with
your form filled out and ready to print.  This is a completely new file,
clean of all the hidden merge codes contained in the form file.  The
"Run Merge" dialog box will remain filled in for the remainder of your
WordPerfect session or until you change it.  So if you want to run the
same merge a second time just press CONTROL-F9, then M, then
ENTER.  If you want to merge with a different form file, you will have
to press the TAB key twice and then type in the name of the new form
file and press ENTER twice.

The format of the printed product is flexible, which can be either good
or bad.  Let's say you have a field on your form for a customer's full
name followed on the same line by one for an account number.  The
location of the account-number field on the printed form will vary
according to the length of the customer's name.  While this can give
you enough room to fill in whatever information you need without
concern for flowing over into the next field you have created, it can
slow visual access to information on the printed form since the same
kind of information won't appear in exactly the same place on all the
individual forms you fill out.  There are two ways to handle this
problem if you are printing your own forms as you complete them. 
One is to create a fixed-format form.  As you create the form's fields,
put in an appropriate number of spaces following the merge code to
accommodate as much data as you would ever fill in.  Then, when
running the keyboard merge, switch from insert mode to typeover
mode.  The data you type in will replace the corresponding spaces, but
since you have located the merge code past the underline code, your
data will still be underlined.  No matter how many times you fill out the
fixed-format form, the F9 key will move your cursor to the same spot
on the page when it's time to move to the next field.

Another way to handle this problem is to insert advance codes before
the merge codes.  Advance is adequately explained by WordPerfect's
help screens and can be found in WordPerfect's "Layout, Other" menu
(SHIFT-F8).  It lets you tell the print formatter exactly where on the
page to print the text that follows.  The screen display will not be
WYSIWYG; that is, the system cursor will appear on the display in the
same place it was before you entered the advance codes.  This can
actually be helpful because, if you are using small fonts, more of the
information you type will likely appear on the screen instead of flowing
off the right side after indents.

All the text and all attributes contained in the form file will show up in
the new file that Merge produces, so you can design a form to convey
as much information as you wish and look as attractive as your printer
will bestow.  No matter how attractive user-made forms can be,
however, some forms still have to be preprinted, especially many of
those intended for customer use or approved as official documents. 
But fret not; preprinted forms work just fine.  Here's how.  Simply
design a form file containing hidden merge and advance codes, only,
without field labels, that is.  Since the prompts you write when
creating the form file will be displayed in the status line during the
merge, you don't need to have field labels in the editor to prompt you
for what to type anyway.  The merged file will print right on the
preprinted form.

Version 5.1 (WP51) has an equally effective merge facility, which
works just a little differently.  To hide the merge codes, you will have
to go three menus deep into "Setup."  Press the SETUP key (SHIFT
F1).  First, choose "Display," then choose "Edit screen Options," and
finally set "Display Merge Codes to "No."  Press EXIT (F7) until you get
back to the editor.  To enter a keyboard merge code, press SHIFT-F9
and select "More" from the status line.  A menu of merge codes will
pop up.  Type K and the light bar will jump to "KEYBOARD."  Press
ENTER.  The opportunity to key in a prompt doesn't occur
automatically; you have to start over with the SHIFT-F9 key and
choose "More" again to bring up the menu of merge codes.  This time,
type PROMPT to get to "PROMPT(message)," and press ENTER.  Your
prompt will be called for on the status line.  Key in your prompt and
conclude with the ENTER key.  There is also a difference in vocabulary. 
WP51 calls the form file the "primary file," and the data file the
"secondary file."

Here are some final tips and reminders.  Remember to start your
keyboard merge with a clear editor.  Do not load the form file and try
to merge from within it; the merge program will go to the disk to fetch
the form file, not to the editor.  Remember to switch to insert mode
when performing the keyboard merge if you are working with a fixed-
format form file.  Whether you have insert or typeover mode selected
when merge is running, WordPerfect will insert a new line when you
type past the right margin.  Therefore, when entering more than one
line of data into a given field of a fixed-format form, at the end of the
field you will need to delete whatever number of lines were inserted as
you typed.  Set the Vocal-Eyes typing bell on to help monitor if need-
be.  Remember too that you have to press the F9 key, not the ENTER
key to move from field to field as you fill out the form.  There are other
merge codes you may want to use.  "DATE" will fill in the date
automatically instead of your having to type it.  "BELL" will sound the
system bell.  "QUIT" will end the merge and leave you with the newly
created merged file, avoiding your pressing F9 one time to many and
ending up with an end-field code to go back and delete.  You get to
these additional codes from the WP6 editor by pressing SHIFT-F9 twice
in a row and either cursoring down or typing them by name.

Plan on some trial and error and maybe asking for help in getting it all
in place, but the possibilities you can actualize with Merge are well
worth the effort.  You may enable yourself to do some tasks easily that
were difficult or impossible before, or you may just find some new
conveniences.  At my office, this is how we prepare and fill out all our
forms, and I even have a form file set up to put headings on my
intraorganizational memos.

---------------
COMMO:  Telecommunications
Your Ticket to the Electronic Highway
By Peter Duran

The Electronic Highway is filled with potholes and sometimes land
mines.  Most programs that let you ride on the InfoBahn (a cute name)
are complex and evoke frustration and even great anger at the program
authors.  The electronic highway is supposed to make life easy -- so
they tell all of us.

Well, the road to "electronic information" freedom is, indeed, bumpy,
and many casualties are strewn along the way.  The most notable
cause of accidental death on the InfoBahn is the Telecommunications
Program that attacks its owner:  misdialed calls; lost information; and
downright unfriendly interface confrontations.  Now, there is a
Telecommunications Program that voice users can tame and even
enjoy.

COMMO
Fred Brucker's Telecommunications Program, called COMMO, is a "kind
and gentle" utility.  It has a Speech Friendly Interface that lets Vocal-
Eyes do its job, and it contains the right tools so that you can do
yours.  This program, unlike most others, keeps necessary information
(like telephone numbers) in text files that you can edit with your
favorite editor or word processor.

Free at Last
These text files are "free form" so that you can put spaces and
comments wherever you like and still have the program work properly. 
You can also edit these files from within COMMO itself via a built-in
editor.

Manual Labor
The documentation comes in two main parts:  COMMO.DOC for all
users and MACRO.DOC for advanced users.  The author assumes that
you are new to Telecommunications; that is, you just received your
license to drive on the InfoBahn.  Much jargon, familiar to those who
frequent the electronic information speed track, is explained, but much
is left to mystify the newcomer.  however, the program author, Fred
Brucker, is available most of the business day to demystify the speed
racer's lifestyle.

The user documentation seems incomplete -- which it is!  The missing
information (lots of nice features) is only mentioned and described in
the online help.  This help is, fortunately, easy to read and easier to
use.

Easy and Obvious
COMMO lets you, after a few little headaches but no migraines, make
life easy for yourself.  You can, for example, call the GW Micro, Inc.
Bulletin Board System with the command

COMMO GWM-BBS

where you name the system to be called and let COMMO do the rest. 
You can also specify the IQ of your terminal dumb, ASCII or, smarter,
VT102.

Let Freedom Ring
You can receive a free and fully functional demo copy of COMMO from
ARTS and ring up your favorite online system as much as you like for a
full month.  You can, when and if totally satisfied, remit a mere $40 to
receive a valid personal copy.  A new release of COMMO is do soon,
and ARTS shall prepare braille manuals for the new release.

ARTS Computer Products, Inc. can be contacted  by calling (Voice) 
800-343-0095 or through the InterNET at E Mail Address: 
pduran@world.std.com

---------------
LEARNING DISABILITIES AND ADAPTED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
by Jacqueline Robertson

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has refocused the provision of
academic support to students with disabilities.  In light of this legislation,
Ball State University has established a unique configuration of adapted
computer technology for students with learning disabilities.  The net result
is improved reading, writing, speaking, and listening which fosters
educational and employment opportunities.

Serving the needs of students with learning disabilities is complicated due
to the nature of the disorder, incomplete knowledge about the disorder,
and the variety of ways "learning disabilities" can be manifested. 
Although definitions and diagnostic procedures vary widely, it is clear that
under the rigors of university expectations, students with learning
disabilities in the academic area are greatly frustrated and frequently
disadvantaged.  Since ADA has been established, postsecondary
institutions must assume their rightful responsibilities to support students
with disabilities.  Whatever services currently exist within universities
need to be examined.  It is crucial that on a moral, ethical, and legal basis
necessary services be provided.

University students with learning disabilities compensate in many ways,
including making use of tutoring, study groups, and taped textbooks.  As
useful as these approaches can be, however, improvement in reading and
writing does not occur without direct instruction.  The problem:  how to
provide extensive direct instruction throughout a course of studies.  A
solution:  adaptive computer technology.

Overview of the Program
Through the use of computer adaptations, students can read and listen to
material they have written or scanned themselves.  Since the material
they hear and read is all self-initiated, the students improve their
comprehension, reading rate, and composition skills.  Students will obtain
control over the reading/writing process because they can regulate the
reading speed and adjust it to their comprehension.  Failure has been
minimized and there is no criticism; consequently, the chances for
success, increased self-esteem, and independence are maximized.

The hardware/software components were combined and interrelated by
Leah Boyle, Coordinator of Adaptive Computer Technology, and was
successfully Beta tested at Ball State University.  Prior to this program, no
individual or institution had put these pieces together like this.  Other
institutions can replicate this program because it uses commercial
software and hardware at a low cost; also, programmers are not needed.

Components of the Adapted Technology
Vocal-Eyes was developed by GW Micro.  It offers complete access to
information of the computer screen as well as keystrokes as they are
typed.  The moving block cursor highlights each word as it is spoken. 
Information on the screen can be accessed again with either the cursor
keys or with "review" mode.  The DEC speech board, fully compatible
with the Vocal-Eyes software, produces the most human-like speech for
its price range.  The Open Book Unbound (OBU) optical character
recognition software will scan printed material and provide speech output
with a moving highlighted cursor.  The Hewlett-Packard scanner is the
preferred hardware to use with the OBU software.  WordPerfect 6.0 is
supported by GW Micro, the developers of Vocal-Eyes software. 
Grammatik is incorporated in the software as well as the thesaurus and
spell checking functions.  The Franklin Language Master provides auxiliary
spell checking and thesaurus capability when students are utilizing the
computer for work other than word processing.

Success of the Program
The importance of the program can be emphasized through  several
statements.  The current program does:

1.        Provide an environment which fosters independent  learning.
2.        Provide a cost-effective method for students with a learning disability
          to receive direct instruction in the language arts.
3.        Provide reading/writing practice in which both visual and auditory
          modalities are stimulated.
4.        Provide a learning/tutoring setting which does not have the pressure
          of past failure.
5.        Provide rudimentary computer literacy skills which can transfer into
          future educational and employment endeavors.
6.        Provide comprehensive computer adaptations which other institutions,
          or employers, can replicate at a reasonable cost to meet the needs of
          learning disabled individuals.

Although many computer labs are equipped with adaptive technology for
the physically disabled, it is important to take the next step and provide
support for the learning disabled.  Through the combination of
hardware/software, individuals can improve the skills which are at the
heart of educational and employment opportunities.

Dr. Jacqueline Robertson
Coordinator, Reading and Study Skills
Learning Center
(317) 285-8107

Leah Boyle
Coordinator, Adapted Computer Technology
University Computing Services
(317) 285-2286

Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana  47306

---------------
A Handy Hand-Held Talking Dictionary                       By Doug Geoffray

I remember good things about my college days except for the English
classes.  If you thought you were the world's worst speller I have good
news for you-- I'm the worst speller.  I also have difficulty remembering
definitions.  I would never be good with trivia games.  I always used to
carry a bulky dictionary so I would not embarrass myself with gross
spelling errors.

This brings me to what this article is actually about-- the Franklin
Language Master Special Edition.  It is a very small hand-held dictionary
and more.  Its dimensions are 5.6" x 5.8" x 1.0" and weighs 12.2
ounces.  It runs on four AA 1.5-volt batteries.  This tiny box contains the
following features:
- Merriam-Webster(R) dictionary with more than 300,000 definitions
- Dictionary entries include parts of speech, hyphenation points, and
  derivative words.
- Merriam Webster(R) thesaurus of more than 500,000 synonyms,
  11,000 antonyms, and core definitions.
- 110,000-word spelling correction list
- 3,300-word SAT(tm) list for review and game practice
- Context-sensitive Grammar Guide(tm) covering more than 70 topics
- Classmates(tm) (words classified by topic)
- Confusables(tm) (commonly confused words)
- Dynamic Pronunciation Guide(tm) that pronounces words phonetically
- Context-sensitive help messages
- More than 1,100 given names and surnames
- 10 word games: Keyboard Wizard(tm), Flash Cards, Hangman,
  Anagrams, Jumble, Word Builder, Word Train(tm), Word Blaster(tm),
  Memory Challenge(tm), and Deduction(tm)
- A user word list of more than 50 words for study and use in games
- A user message list that saves up to 26 text-to-speech messages

The special edition was designed specifically for people with visual
impairments or learning disabilities.  It will display the information on an
LCD.  It can also speak the information and even highlight each word as
it is being spoken.  I keep our demo unit sitting right next to my
computer.  I have grown very dependant on the Language Master. 
Although I use WordPerfect for all my writing, its spell checker doesn't
hold a candle to the Language Master.

Not only do I enjoy it on a professional level, but also on a personal level. 
I am a Scoutmaster for a local Boy Scout troop.  Recently we have gone
on some long bus trips.  I brought the Language Master with me and the
boys loved to play the word games.  Normally I am against video games
but the word games offered on the Language Master are educational and
fun.  It also came in handy on my way home from a recent convention.

The Language Master is extremely fast and easy to use.  If you want a
definition, simply type in the word and press enter.  If the word is
misspelled, you will be given a list of optional words.  You can then pick
the correct spelling and get the definition.  You can reread any of the
information quickly.  You can adjust the speech rate directly from the
keyboard.  It has worked flawlessly from day one.  The pronunciation of
each word is also flawless; I have never heard the Language Master
mispronounce a single word.  If Franklin, the manufacture, asked me what
they could do to make the product better, I honestly would have no idea. 
The user interface was obviously well thought out.

The Language Master Special Edition sells for $495.00.  Until June 1,
1994, if you mention you read this article, we will offer a $50.00
discount for a total of $445.00.  Although it is not inexpensive, it has
proven invaluable to me.

---------------
BBS Update                                                   by Mike Lawler

As many of you probably remember Doug Geoffray talked about our BBS
in the October, 1993 issue of this magazine.  We have been working hard
on adding features to the BBS and we think that you will be pleased with
the results. We have added "Silver Xpress" so that you can read and
write mail off-line thus saving you money on long distance calls.  We have
also added the "fidonet" echo "blinktalk" to the board.  For those of you
in fidonet our address is "1:236/55."

Silver Xpress is an off-line mail reader.  This program allows you to
download all messages from our BBS, read them off-line (on your own
PC), reply to them off-line, and then upload your replies to the BBS for
others to read.  By using this method to read your mail you can save
several minutes of on-line time and money and still be able to get the full
potential access from our BBS.  We hope that the addition of Silver
Xpress will encourage more of our users to communicate with each other
about the things they are doing with our products.

We have also added the fidonet echo blinktalk to our BBS.  Fidonet is a
network of almost 30,000 bulletin boards around the world.  If you are
new to networks or telecommunications you can think of fidonet the same
way that you think of the regular mail system.  If I was going to send a
letter to California it would go from my mail box to the central Fort Wayne
post office.  From there it would be sent to the central mail location in
Indiana, which is in Indianapolis.  The letter would continue to travel like
this until it reached my friend in California.  I could also contact my friend
faster and via a more direct manner by calling my friend on the phone. 
Fidonet offers means of communication that are similar to the above
described methods.

There are over 200 message categories distributed over fidonet.  Each
message category pertains to a specific topic.  Blinktalk is the fido
message area pertaining to the discussion of issues that concern the blind
and visually impaired.  These issues range from computer access products
to how blind people dream.  If this sounds interesting to you find a local
BBS that is a member of fidonet and ask the BBS system operator to get
the "Blinktalk echo."  By using fidonet you will be able to communicate
general interest information to all users of blinktalk and specific messages
directly to us at GW Micro.  To send a message directly to us you must
have "netmail" access.  Some system operators allow netmail to their
users and others don't.  If you can get netmail access you will be able to
send us a message to "1:236/55" which is our fidonet address.  So, for
example, if you wanted to send a message to me you would direct the
message to "Michael Lawler" and for my address you would enter
"1:236/55."  You can think of the fido address in the same way that you
think of a standard mailing address.  The mailer needs to know who you
want to send a message to and how to get the message to that person.

In the future we plan to add InterNET access to our BBS which will further
enhance our ability to communicate with you.  Feel free to give us a call
or leave suggestions on the BBS if there are ways in which we can serve
your needs better.  Our BBS phone number is: (219) 484-0210.

---------------
Hints for New Users                                        by Crista Shaikh

This regular column is intended to help users who are new to the
products discussed or to computers in general or who simply feel
they need more help than the manuals they have read have provided.

Question:  I hear the term "batch file" used a lot.  What is it?
Answer:  This is a file which contains one or more commands which you
would otherwise run yourself by simply typing them.  It's called a batch
because it contains a "batch" of commands like a "batch" of cookies.  For
example, maybe you're tired of typing

DIR /p

all the time.  You could create a batch file which would type that for you. 
Then you could give it a shorter name and simply type that name when
you wanted to get a list of files.  You might call it "D" so you would just
hit the letter D and then press enter.

Of course, you probably  wouldn't go to the trouble of creating a batch
file for something so simple.  Let's suppose you want to get speech up
and running on your machine by typing "SPEAK."  We'll suppose for this
example that you're using the Sounding Board and Vocal-Eyes and that
all the files you need are in a directory called "SPEECH" on drive C.

If you've been doing this by hand, i.e. not from within a batch file, the
commands probably look something like this:

C:
CD\SPEECH
SBLOAD
SB
VE
CD\

You probably make a typing error from time to time and have to do some
of this twice before you get it right.  If you want to change buffer sizes
or load multiple SET files, you have more typing to do and therefore a
greater chance of making errors.  So, this is a good candidate for a batch
file.

To put these commands into a batch file, you would first go into your
favorite editor or word processor.  Then, you would type the commands
exactly as you would if you wanted to execute them at the DOS prompt. 
You would hit enter after each one so that they would appear on separate
lines.  After proofreading your work, you would then save this as an
ASCII text file (sometimes called a DOS text file or simply a text file) with
the name "SPEAK.BAT" in a directory which is in your path.  You would
call it SPEAK because that's what you want to type when you want
speech, and you would give it the extension BAT in order to let DOS
know that it's a batch file.

After doing all of this, if you wanted to make the computer talk, you
would simply type

SPEAK

and press the enter key.  The commands would be executed one at a time
and your Sounding Board would talk.

Batch files can be created that can do anything you would normally do
from the DOS prompt.  They can take parameters, pause to let you
change disks, send commands to your synthesizer, and many other
things.  You might start by reading Chapter ten of the MS-DOS User's
Guide and Reference.  The DOS 5.0 manual is available from Recording
for the Blind (EA166 or EP017).  If you find this interesting and want to
explore the full power of batch files, get the book MS-DOS Batch Files,
RFB book number EA082.

---------------
Announcements

Are you running out of hardware interrupts?  You don't have to
understand what an interrupt is to understand that many devices require
one of them and the more devices you add to your system, the more
frustrating it is to get them working together.  One common problem
arises when you have more than two serial ports in your system and wish
to use two of them at the same time.  Generally, if you try to use a device
on COM1 and another on COM3 simultaneously, you will have an
interrupt conflict.  The same thing occurs if you try to use devices on
COM2 and COM4 at the same time.

If your requirements are minimal, it is simple to change the interrupts on
one or more devices and avert the problem.  However, if you want to use
a serial synthesizer, a serial printer, a serial mouse, and a modem at the
same time, you may find yourself pulling your hair out.

Mike Cozzolino at PC Place found another solution.  It's a sixteen-bit serial
card which allows you to use interrupts from 2 to 16.  He has it available
for $29.95.  If you think this card can solve your problems, give him a call
at (916) 481-1777.

---------------
Our BBS has more SET files available.  SET files for TAPCIS,
Quarterdeck's Manifest, the American Heritage Dictionary, and Sequencer
Plus Gold have been added to the board.  So have SET files for West
Publishing's Westlaw on-line service.  Bill Belew of Custom Eyes
Computer Systems found a small problem with EDIT.SET and
QBASIC.SET which has been fixed.  If you'd like to download any of
these groups of SET files or would like to contribute some of your own,
the board's number is (219) 484-0210.

---------------
Have you heard the good news about DragonDictate?  Not only has
Dragon Systems announced the April first release of the Power Edition,
with a vocabulary of 60k, but they've also announced price reductions on
the other two DragonDictate products.  DragonDictate Starter Edition is
now $695.00, DragonDictate Classic Edition (the familiar 30k version) is
now $995.00, and the new DragonDictate Power Edition is $1995.00! 
We're excited that this once-out-of-reach technology is now priced where
people who can benefit from it can afford it.  Call us for system
requirements and other details.

---------------
Demonstration versions of many programs are available from our BBS. 
Vocal-Eyes, of course, can be downloaded and tried out, as well as
demos of LP-DOS, MegaDots, ZoomText, Noteworthy, and Calcworthy.

---------------
If you think you might call GW Micro's Tech Support or Sales lines, you
might like to note that the times are a-changin'.  That is, your time has
probably changed.  Many people don't know that there are three states
which don't go on Daylight Saving Time during the summer months.  Yes,
as you might guess, we are located in one of them.   We stay on Eastern
Standard Time all year 'round.  In the summer you can think of our time
as Chicago time, and in the winter as New York time.  We're in the office
from 8:00 A.M. EST to 5:00 P.M. EST.

---------------
Subscription Information

Voice of Vision is published four times a year in large print, on audio
cassette, on 5.25- or 3.5-inch PC diskette, and in Braille.  You can receive
a subscription for $10.00 for each format.  VV is also available on GW
Micro's bulletin board at no charge.  Payment can be made by check,
MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover.  Send checks and
format specifications to the address below.

We seek reader input.  If we use an article you've submitted,
you'll receive a years subscription at no charge.

Please send articles on IBM compatible diskette or in print to:

GW Micro, Inc.
310 Racquet Dr.
Fort Wayne, IN  46825

or upload them to our bulletin board at (219) 484-0210.  Articles may be
edited for brevity and clarity.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at
(219) 483-3625.
