Voice of Vision
Volume 3 Number 1 -- January 1995

Voice of Vision is a quarterly newsletter published by GW Micro,
Inc.  Articles are contributed by readers and staff.

This issue features a review by Ron Faulkner of the popular
software package "Managing Your Money."  Mike Lawler, GW Micro
technical support, gives us an overview of what computer viruses
are all about, while Dan Weirich, GW Micro's electrical Engineer,
tells us what we need to know about NiCad batteries.  Crista
Shaikh, also of GW Micro's technical support staff, tells users how
to write a batch file to change the rate of all set files at once,
and of course this issue has the usual general announcements and
hints for new users which we think you'll find interesting.

--------------------
Product Review: Managing Your Money
by Ron Faulkner

Occasionally, getting out of rush hour traffic and off the freeways
and getting on a well traveled secondary road can bring great
relief and rewards that the folks living in the fast lane do not
receive!  Early this year, I got tired of the frustration of
driving in the heavy traffic of my old and very popular financial
program  and tried a financial program that I had first heard of
years ago.  To my amazement it was fairly easy to learn and fairly
clean to make the voice work with.  Managing Your Money by Andrew
Tobias and MECA Software has been a very pleasant switch for me. 
Perhaps because the author at least makes you think that he is not
a computer whiz, either, like many of the rest of us.

The first time you run the program, it comes up with a helpful
tutor that gets you started in setting up an account.  It is not
very long and you start with an introductory screen containing your
name, today's date and generally, an interesting quote which
constantly changes each time that you use the program.  Next, is
the main screen with the menu bar across the top and a status line
at the bottom and the part of the program where you decide whether
you are receiving money, spending money, reconciling an account or
other things relating to money accounts.  The left and right arrow
keys take you to the different sections of the program and the up
and down arrow keys make various selections within each section of
the program.  Once you make your decision, pressing the F10 key
brings up the next screen.  The use of the F10 key is not difficult
to adjust to and you can change it if necessary.  The tab, shift -
tab, and return keys most often move you through the areas or
fields that need to be filled in or the various selections.  Once
in one of these sections of the program you generally have to back
up to get to other parts of the program.  However, where it is
important and convenient to cross reference, the manufacturer has
taken great care to make that information available.  As an
example, the calculator is available in almost every part of the
program.

The money section of the program not only allows the tracking of
your finances in checking, savings, and money markets, but allows
you to print checks, set up a budget, monitor your progress, and
establish an alert list for future and recurring transactions.

The tax section Keeps track of tax deductible items as you
categorize your spending in the money section so that at any time
you can look at your tax status and play "what if."  This section
also exports data to popular tax preparation programs.

There is an insurance section which not only helps in understanding
how much insurance you might need, but keeps track of house, car,
life, and other insurance for you.

The investment section will keep track of stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, property, and just about any other investment that you have. 
It will also automatically update the prices of equities through
CompuServ and Prodigy when properly set.

Data from other financial programs such as the popular Quicken and
others can be easily imported in the "File" section.  Other user
files can be created, data exported and other options are also
available in this section.

The F1 key sets up a help screen that essentially covers the whole
screen which I like very much.  The help is appropriate,
consistently in the same place on the screen, and generally
expresses the pleasant humor of the author.  Independent of the
help screen there is a whole help section.

Last but indeed not least is a section which will keep track of
appointments, phone calls, reminders, and includes a card file
which not only keeps addresses and phone numbers but allows for
reminders of birthdays and anniversaries for those of us with poor
memories!  From the card file, you can write letters and print
envelopes.  A small word processor is also available.

There are many other facets of the program that I have neither
mentioned nor covered.  This program is quite obviously designed to
help an individual or the family keep account of almost every type
of assets and records and does a nice job of it.  The program is
competitively priced and available most every where and can be
ordered through their 1-800-820-7458 MECA number.  If you have a
financial program that you are content with, I would not recommend
that you change, but if you are tired of pop up windows everywhere
and other inconsistencies or if you are contemplating buying a
multi-use program I can recommend Managing Your Money Version 10
very highly.  The program is improved every year and Version 11
should be out soon.

--------------------
What is a Computer Virus
by Mike Lawler

It is January and here in Fort Wayne we are in the middle of the
flu and cold season.  In lite of this I thought that it would be a
good time to talk about viruses.  These viruses are not the common
cold, but your computer might think so if it ever catches one of
them.  The questions are how common are these viruses, how can I
avoid getting a virus, and how do I get rid of a virus if I happen
to get one?

Computer viruses are becoming more and more common, but the
likelihood that most people will ever run into them is very small. 
Most computer viruses are transmitted over computer bulletin boards
and all reputable BBS operators have taken steps to insure that the
virus will be caught and eliminated long before it has the chance
to reach your computer.  There are several thousand computer
viruses.  Some common viruses include Brain, Cascade, Dark Avenger,
Jerusalem, and Michelangelo.  Viruses tend to do things that will
destroy your data or programs.  They can corrupt or delete files,
format your hard drive, or destroy the boot sector or partition
table on your hard drive.  These two areas of the hard drive are
used by your computer when it boots.

Many people mistakenly believe that you can get a computer virus by
reading a text file, word processing document, spreadsheet, or
other form of data file.  Others believe that viruses can be
transmitted via online email messages or BBS screens.  The truth is
that you must run an executable program or read the boot sector of
a floppy disk in order to catch a virus.

Running a program consists of executing a DOS file with the .COM,
.EXE, or .SYS extension.  Many programs, such as Vocal-Eyes, also
use overlay files that have extensions like .OVL or .OVR.  Viruses
can also be contained in these files.  To access the boot sector of
a floppy disk you need only to do a directory of the drive.

So far you are probably thinking that it is very easy to get a
computer virus.  This is only true if you obtain your programs from
an unreliable source.  If you only use programs that you buy from
a store or mail order supplier your chances of contracting a
computer virus are very slim.  On the other hand, if you down load
many programs from BBS's your chances of contracting a computer
virus go up somewhat.  As I said before, most BBS operators run
virus scanners which scan programs before you are able to download
them.  If a program is suspected of having a virus it is placed
aside for the BBS operator to look at later.

You can reduce your chances of getting a virus by running a virus
scanner on a regular basis.  These software programs are available
from many companies including Mcafee Associates, Parson's
Technology,  and Symantec.  In addition, an antivirus program is
included with MS-DOS 6.0 and above.  Covering the operation of
these programs will have to be saved for a future article.

If your computer is acting strangely, locking up randomly, or if
you are randomly losing data then you could have a virus.  If you
believe that you have a virus or if a virus scanner suspects that
you do, you can either try to remove the virus with a virus cleaner
or you can format your hard drive with a write protected boot
floppy.  You should take the time now to make such a floppy that
also includes your access software such as Vocal-Eyes or LP-DOS. 
Having a boot floppy is also handy if you make modifications to
your system or if you install a program that stops your access
software from working.  To make a boot floppy execute the following
command from the DOS prompt.

FORMAT A: /s

You will also need to copy your access software on to this floppy. 
If you are using Vocal-Eyes the commands to do this would be

CD \SPEECH
COPY VE.* A:
COPY DRIVER.COM A:

Replace DRIVER.COM with the name of your synthesizer driver such as
SPEAKOUT.COM.  In addition, you will need to copy any support
software that your synthesizer uses to this floppy.  Also, copy
FORMAT.COM and FDISK.EXE from your DOS directory onto this new
floppy.  Finally, you will need to use an editor to put the
commands from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file into a batch file on your boot
floppy.  Be sure to test this floppy before you actually need to
use it.

Formatting your hard drive is a last resort option and you should
try to use a virus cleaner to remove the virus before you do this. 
I will cover more detailed operational instructions for the Mcafee
Associates antiviral software and the antiviral software included
with MS-DOS 6.0 in a future article.  Remember, it is the flu
season so avoid viruses if possible!

--------------------
NiCad Batteries - a personal testimony
by Dan Weirich

Many adaptive devices use NiCads for their power.  I've read more
than one article regarding NiCad batteries and I don't want to
plagiarize or be repetitive.  However, there still seems to be some
confusion regarding the charging of NiCad batteries and this
article is written to eliminate some of the confusion.

NiCad batteries have two lives.  When discussing NiCads you must
explain which life you are talking about.  The first life is, "How
long will the batteries deliver power to my device before going
dead?"  The second life is, "How long before they must be
replaced?"

The answer to the first question is dependant upon the batteries
and the device they are powering.   Batteries are rated in milliamp
hours.  This rating is power delivered multiplied by hours.  An
analogy to this rating would be - my body can run one mile in eight
minutes or eight body-minutes.  Therefore (theoretically) I should
also be able to run one-half mile in four minutes or even fifty
miles in 400 minutes.  As a matter of fact, I cannot run fifty
miles but the point is this - milliamp hours are almost linear.  If
your device uses twice as much power as my device, my device will
last twice as long as your device on a full charge if we both use
the same batteries.  Other factors such as temperature are also
important but I'm not getting into all the possible factors.

What this all boils down to is this - if you are buying NiCad
batteries from a store, you should find out what the milliamp hour
rating is for the batteries.  Bargain batteries may not be such a
bargain if their milliamp hour rating is low.  I just opened a
battery catalog and can find double A batteries rated anywhere from
650 to 800 milliamp hours.  If you draw 800 milliamps from 800
milliamp hour batteries, your device will run for one hour.  If you
draw 400 milliamps from the same batteries your device will run for
two hours, and so on.  In case you wondered, Speak-Out uses 800
milliamp hour batteries.

To make this more confusing, NiCad batteries have a memory.  If the
batteries in your device are capable of running eight hours on a
full charge but you repeatedly stop the device after four hours and
then recharge the batteries, after a while your batteries will only
be capable of delivering power for four hours.  NiCads "remember"
how much is asked of them.  The best way to use NiCads is to always
run them all the way down followed by a full recharging.  By the
way, this memory problem is temporary.  Repeatedly fully charging
and discharging will bring the battery back to its maximum capacity
after a period of time.

Another factor is age.  The milliamp hour rating is for new
batteries.  As time passes the capacity will decrease. 
Fortunately, modern NiCads keep most of their capacity until just
before they fail.  Once the capacity starts to decrease, it's time
to buy new batteries.  Just like my body and running - age matters.

The second life is related to the number of recharges.  NiCads can
typically be recharged a few hundred times (200 to 500).  No one
will tie this number down because it is totally dependant on the
user, the device, and the environment it's stored and used in. 
It's analogous to two drivers - the first driver slows the car
gradually when coming to a stop sign and the second driver
continues at full speed until the last moment and then slams on the
brakes.  The second driver will have to change the brakes sooner. 
If you use your NiCad device every single day and recharge it every
single day you will charge  it 365 times in a year unless it
happens during leap year which will increase it to 366 times unless
you cross the international date line.  In any event, if you have
to recharge your batteries daily you may have to replace your
batteries after the first year.

If you need your device daily there is little you can do to
lengthen this life.  If you have the option of operating your
device on either NiCads or plugging it into the wall (what we
engineer types refer to as "AC"), plugging it into the wall will
lengthen this life.  Of course they will last longer if you don't
use them.  This isn't quite true however - see the last paragraph.

In the real world, most devices don't draw a constant amount of
current.  Tape recorders draw a lot when rewinding and
fastforwarding but much less when just playing.  Microprocessors
have "sleep" modes which cause them to draw much less power when
they are not computing.  People forget and leave batteries dead for
weeks at a time and then find they don't hold a charge like they
used to.  Operating in cold temperatures and storing in hot
temperatures both cause problems.

If you leave your device on and it doesn't have a circuit to
protect the batteries against it, the batteries may get damaged. 
If NiCad batteries are completely shorted out, individual cells may
act as if they are plugged in backwards and then the whole battery
pack won't deliver the proper voltage.  When I advise you to run
batteries down completely, I am referring to the power level your
device considers as run down.  For example, when Speak-Out's
batteries are low it starts beeping.  If you keep using it, it will
shut itself down, preventing you from running them down any
further.  Speak-Out was designed to run the batteries down to the
minimum, safe limit.

My advice is this - when using NiCads let them run down completely
prior to recharging.  If you occasionally break this rule it's not
the end of the world but don't make it a habit.  Also, if you have
the option of using either AC or batteries, use the AC.  But (and
this is a big but) you should run the batteries completely down a
minimum of once per month or they will "remember" that they don't
have to deliver any power - and they won't.

--------------------
How to Write a Useful Batch File
by Crista Shaikh

If you've never written a batch file, here's your chance. 
Following are step-by-step directions for creating a batch file
which Vocal-Eyes users will find useful.

Do you frequently find you want to change the rate of all your .SET
files at once?  Maybe you have two synthesizers and prefer to use 
rate eight with one and rate three with the other.  Maybe you're a
trainer and you want to adjust the rate for students at diverse
levels.  You know how to use SET2TEXT to convert a .SET file into
a text file and you know how to use TEXT2SET to turn a text file
into a .SET file.  Let's take that knowledge one step further.

What we'll do is take only the lines from the text file that we
want to change and set them to the values we want using a batch
file.  So, if you want to change both the screen rate and the
keyboard rate, the selected lines look something like this:

Screen_Rate = 5
Key_Rate = 5

If you create a text file with these two lines and use TEXT2SET to 
"compile" those settings into all your .SET files, you could have
all your .SET files changed to rate five.  Then, the next time you
wanted to change to, say, rate eight, you could bring up that
little file again, change the fives to eights, save the file, and
rerun TEXT2SET.  Does that sound like too much trouble?  We can do
better.

We'll put those two lines in a batch file and use variables (you
remember variables from sixth grade math class, don't you?) to take
any value you provide.

If you're not sure what a batch file is, see the April 1994 issue
of Voice of Vision for a quick overview or Chapter Ten of The MS-
DOS User's Guide and Reference for a more in-depth explanation.   
To create a batch file, you simply type the lines into a text
editor (what's that?) and save the file.  You could use EDIT as
your text editor.  It comes with DOS 5.0 or higher, so you don't
have to run out an buy anything.  If you prefer, you can use
WordPerfect or another word processor, but you need to know how to
save the document as an ASCII or DOS text file (you don't have to
know what that is, only how to make your file one of them).

Okay, if none of this makes sense to you, try following these
directions.  Go into your speech directory.  The name of it is
probably SPEECH, but you'll know what it is:  it's the directory
where all your Vocal-Eyes files are kept.  You get there by going
to the DOS prompt and typing

CD\SPEECH

and pressing enter.

Once you're in the right directory, type

EDIT RATE.BAT

and press the enter key.  We typed EDIT because we want to run the
EDIT program.  We named the file RATE because we want to change the
speech rate and that name should be easy for us to remember, and we
gave it the extension BAT so that DOS  would recognize it as a
batch file.  By the way, if you already happen to have a file by
that name in that directory, EDIT will retrieve it for you and let
you edit it.  Since that isn't what we want to do right now, use a
different name.

Now that you're in EDIT, key in the following lines.  Be sure to
hit the enter key at the end of each line.

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Screen_Rate = %1> SR.TXT
ECHO Key_Rate = %2>> SR.TXT
TEXT2SET SR *.SET
DEL SR.TXT

Some of these lines might look vaguely familiar.  If you've ever
looked at a batch file before, you might have seen "@ECHO OFF" at
or near the beginning.  This tells DOS not to display the lines of
the file, but to simply do them.  The output of the lines is
displayed, but not the commands themselves.   If you have a very
old version of DOS, prior to 3.3, you will find that the "@" is not
allowed, so omit it when you type in your lines.

The second line of the batch file looks very much like the line of
the little file we created above, but has a few extras.  Echo
followed by a line of text means to display that line on the
screen.  In this case, however, the text is followed by a greater
than symbol, meaning to divert the output to the file SR.TXT.  We
used this file name because we thought it unlikely that you would
already have a file by this name in this directory.  If you do have
such a file, change this name in your batch file.

is this becoming any clearer?  If the greater than symbol sends the
line of text to a file, what does the pair of greater thans on the
next line do?  They do almost the same thing, but the single
greater than creates the file and the double greater than appends
to an existing file; that is, the second line will be added to the
file that contains the first line.

There is one more interesting thing on these two lines.  You
probably noticed that in place of the digit five that we used in
the little file above, there is a %1 on the Screen_Rate line and a
%2 on the Key_Rate line.  These are your variables.  I know, in the
sixth grade you used things like a, b, and n for variables.  DOS
uses a percent sign followed by a number to indicate a variable. 
In a minute we'll see why we're using "1" and "2" instead of some
other numbers.

The next line of the batch file should be familiar to you.   This
is where we use TEXT2SET to compile the values in SR.TXT into all
the set files in the current directory (*.SET).  This is the line
you would have typed if you had created the file as described in
the beginning of this article and had called it SR.TXT.

The next line simply deletes SR.TXT.  That helps to keep your hard
drive from becoming cluttered.

Now that you have keyed in the lines and some of them make sense to
you, you need to save the file.  If you're using EDIT, press ALT-F. 
This brings down the file menu.  Press the letter "X."  EDIT will
remind you that you haven't saved the file and will ask if you wish
to do so.  Answer by pressing "Y."  You will be returned to the DOS
prompt in your speech directory and your file will be saved as
RATE.BAT (or whatever name you used when you entered EDIT).

Now comes the fun part.  You get to test your batch file.  If you
want your screen rate set to three and your keyboard rate set to
seven, type the following:

RATE 3 7

and press the enter key.  The screen will clear and your output
will look something like this:

TEXT2SET 1.8C Copyright (c) 1992-94 by GW Micro, Inc.
Written by Michael Lawler and Steve Holmes

C:\SPEECH\SR.TXT compiled to C:\SPEECH\WESTFUNC.SET
C:\SPEECH\SR.TXT compiled to C:\SPEECH\123.SET
   ...
C:\SPEECH\SR.TXT compiled to C:\SPEECH\VIEW.SET
C:\SPEECH\SR.TXT compiled to C:\SPEECH\VE.SET
80 out of 80 SET files were compiled.
C:\SPEECH

Of course, if you have errors in your batch file this might not be
what you get.  Go back into EDIT and fix the errors.  Be sure to
save the file on your way out.  Also, if you have set files which
can't be used, such as those left over from an older version of
Vocal-Eyes, TEXT2SET will give you an error and will terminate.  If
this happens, simply run FIXSET to bring your .SET files up to date
and then rerun the batch file.

Once you have all the boo-boos out of your batch file (of course,
you don't have any to begin with), you'll be able to run it
anytime.

Do you remember that we used two different variables in the batch
file?  %1 was used on the Screen_Rate line and %2 on the Key_Rate
line.  This means that the first item (parameter) after the name of
the batch file will be filled in in place of %1 and will become the
screen rate value, while the second parameter will be placed in the
file in place of %2 and will be used as the value for the keyboard
rate.  What if you want both your screen and keyboard rates to be
the same?  Using this batch file you could type:

rate 5 5

and both would be set to five.  Or, if you never wanted to allow
anyone to use this batch file to set them at different rates, you
could change the %2 in the batch file to %1.  Don't forget to save
the file any time you make a change.  With one variable in the
batch file, you would only be allowed to use one parameter on the
"rate" line:

rate 7

would set both screen and keyboard rates to seven.

Enjoy playing with this batch file.  feel free to change and
improve it.

--------------------
Hints for New Users

Did you know that you could make a menu selection in WordPerfect by
hitting a letter?  For example, if you're using WordPerfect 6.0 and
want to change your left margin, you press SHIFT-F8 to get the
format menu, then press the letter "m" for margin, then press "l"
for left.  You then type in the margin you want and press enter. 
Okay, you knew that.  But how do you know which letter will evoke
which menu choice?  Trial and error?  Barbara Cislo at the Chicago
Lighthouse for the Blind discovered a way to learn the letters.  As
you navigate through a menu using the TAB key or the arrows, press
CTRL-C on each highlighted item.  This will read the "key letter"
for that item.  For example, if you go to the format menu and press
CTRL-C on the margin item, you'll hear "M."  Of course, you might
have guessed that.  Try going to the print menu (SHIFT-F7) and
pressing CTRL-C on the "PRINT" option.  The key letter here is "r,"
so pressing "r" when in the Print menu will cause WordPerfect to
begin printing.

Mitch Lynn reports that Parsons Technology QuickVerse 3.0 is out
and has a switch /r that causes the current verse to be
highlighted.  This is handy with speech programs because you can
then set a window to that color and read only the highlighted
verse.

Beyond Sight of Littleton, Colorado, has a bulletin board that is
of interest to blind and visually impaired users.  If you have a
modem, try it out.  The phone number is (303) 795-8598

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

Free videotape on Leadership and Technology available from CSUN
(California State University, Northridge)

CSUN's Center on disabilities has announced the availability of a
free, 14 minute, captioned videotape describing its new training
program, "Leadership and Technology Management" according to Dr.
Harry J. Murphy, founder and Director of the Center.

"The videotape is designed to give an overview of our new five-day
training program under the State Tech Act grant," says Murphy. 
"The tape will give the viewer a taste of the main themes of
systems change and consumerism," he adds.

"We are looking for leaders and future leaders...," say Murphy and
Brenda Premo, Director, California State Department of
Rehabilitation, "... people who will commit to the long and
difficult task of bringing about change which results in greater
availability and utilization of technology among people with
disabilities.  The success of the training program is measured by
the concrete changes that participants bring about in the months
and years to come."

"People with disabilities, parents and advocates of all kinds are
urged to apply.  We especially seek your help in including unserved
and underserved populations:  the very young (0-3 years), older
populations (60+), ethnic minorities, new Americans, the poor, and
rural populations," Murphy and Premo report.

For a free copy of the videotape and/or additional information,
please contact:

Gene Rodgers
CSUN Coordinator, State Tech Act Grant
Center on Disabilities
CSUN
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA  91330-8340
Voice Phone:  818-885-2578
FAX:  818-885-4929
EMAIL:  Grodgers@vax.csun.edu

--------------------
Coming Soon:  Window-Eyes, GW Micro's screen reader for Windows!

GW Micro will soon be releasing Window-Eyes 1.0, screen access for
Windows.  Registered users of Vocal-Eyes 2.2 can order Window-Eyes
and the upgrade to Vocal-Eyes for $250.00.  New users can buy
Window-Eyes only for $495.00 or a package including both Vocal-Eyes
and Window-Eyes for $795.00.

When Window-Eyes is released, the new version of Vocal-Eyes will
also be released.  New users will be happy to know that this new
version will include a tutorial program with text on tape, in
print, and on disk to guide beginners in the use of Vocal-Eyes and
standard software.  The user will learn how to set up light bar
tracking, how to define windows, what to do with hot keys and
cursoring keys, etc.  The program displays a mock word processor
screen, spread sheet, and database to acquaint users with the
layouts of these types of programs and features pop-up help.  Users
upgrading from previous versions of Vocal-Eyes will receive the
tutorial program and the tape and disk versions of the text.

--------------------
Are you on the Internet?  Are you looking for interesting lists to
join?  Here are a few we've run across that might interest you:

BLIND-L
Computer use by and for the Blind.  To subscribe, send a message to
listserv@uafsysb.uark.edu with
subscribe blind-l
in the body of the message

service-dogs
List for users of service dogs (including dog guides).  To
subscribe, send a message to majordomo@acpub.duke.edu with
subscribe service-dogs
in the body of the message

GW-INFO
GW Micro's mailing list.  To subscribe, send a message to
listserv@gwmicro.com
with subscribe GW-INFO Mike Lawler
(or whatever your name is) in the body of the message.

--------------------
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 year's 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

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at:
Voice: (219) 483-3625.
Fax: (219) 482-2492
BBS: (219) 484-0210
Internet: crista@gwmicro.com
