WE MAKE COMPUTERS TALK

NEWS FROM HENTER-JOYCE, INC.
June 1994

2100 62nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL  33702
(800) 336-5658 or (813) 528-8900
FAX (813) 528-8901, BBS (813) 528-8903
 


                                                                          
 A PERSONAL TOUCH OF INDEPENDENCE
 
     As president of Henter-Joyce, Inc., Ted Henter always
keeps time in his busy schedule for community service.  In recent
months, Ted has visited many Florida communities to talk with
young people about blindness and his company.  This personal
contact helps students learn about blindness and other
disabilities, and demonstrates that people with disabilities can
live happy and productive lives.
 
     Ted recently spoke to a class of visually impaired elementa-
ry students at Cross Bayou Elementary School, Pinellas Park,
Florida.  He described his work with Henter-Joyce, Inc., and
provided many of the students with their first contact with the
world of adaptive technology. The children especially enjoyed
working with his Type 'n Speak, and were delighted by the stories
he told about his championship waterskiing and the handling of
his guide dog, Lori.  Here are a few responses to his visit.
 
          "Thank you for coming.  We like your watch. 
     And we like your dog.  We like Type and Speak. 
     We love that you talked to us about being blind. 
     We think you are a great trick skier.
                                   Love, Chris and
Keosha"
 
     "Dear Mr. Henter,
 
          Thank you so very much for giving up your
     time to visit Cross Bayou.  As an intern for
     visually impaired children, I have had limited
     exposure to successful adults who are blind.  Your
     visit to our class was just as exciting for me as the
     children.  I was very impressed by your
     accomplishments since your impairment.  I also
     believe the students were also very interested in
     your skiing abilities and your dog guide.  Role
     models for visually impaired students seem to help
     stress what their abilities are and take the
     emphasis off their disability. 
                                   Sincerely, Kelly
Hunt"
                                   
     Speaking to children is also a high priority of other staff
with Henter-Joyce, Inc.  Recently, sixth and eighth graders at St.
Petersburg Christian School in St. Petersburg, participated in a
Career Day.  Ted Henter and Jeff Belina (our Manager of
Technical Support) told the several classes of middle-schoolers
about career opportunities for computer programmers.  They
explained how their work with computer technology has solved
many problems for persons with disabilities and they encouraged
the students to think about careers in the expanding world of
assistive technology.
 
     Ted and Jeff gave the sixty students a hands-on experience
with a "talking" computer, and answered an endless stream of
questions.  The kids were extremely interested in the inner
working of computer technology and they wanted to know the cost
of everything.  The day was an especially good experience for Jeff,
for he enjoyed his many conversations and appreciated the
opportunity to polish the skills he has been learning in a Dale
Carnegie course.
 
     On another occasion, Ted and Eric S. Damery (our Director
of Marketing) spoke to the monthly meeting of the Dade Access
Technology Association (DATA).  At its monthly meetings, DATA
discusses various concerns related to the access to technology by
blind people.  Participants at the meeting included members of
DATA, and representatives from the Miami Lighthouse, the Meed
Program at Miami-Dade Community College (Wolfson Campus)
and Miami-Dade Community College (North Campus).  Eric and
Ted spoke about JAWS, JAWS for Windows and demonstrated
the Arkenstone reading machine.  We would like to thank Paul
Edwards and the other members of DATA for the invitation to
speak to such an informed gathering.
 
     Through our community involvement, we are able to
contact people with varied backgrounds and to spread the word
about adaptive technology.  We are proud of the personal touch
we provide to the greater Florida community and look forward to
future opportunities to promote the independence of people who
have disabilities.
 
 
A SMALL WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS
 
     Many people do not realize that Henter-Joyce, Inc. is a
woman-owned business.  Our Chief Executive Officer and
majority stockholder is Ms. Mary E. Henter.  The designation of
Henter-Joyce, Inc. as a woman-owned business is relevant to the
purchasing policies of a large number of companies and
government agencies.  We are always willing to complete
certification forms that your purchasing department may need in
order to list us as a vendor with the designation of woman-owned
small business enterprise.  Please ask your purchasing manager
to update his/her records to reflect our company's vendor
classification.  
 
 
FINANCING ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
 
     Beyond Sight, a business owned and operated by Jim
Misener, recently began offering a loan program for adaptive
technology.  Jim is an inventive H-J dealer in the Denver area
who is working hard to bring technology to the people who need
it.  Terms of financing are 15% for loan periods up to 5 years. 
They currently have a loan approval rate of 90%.  You can call
Jim and Beyond Sight at 303-795-6455 for more details.
 
 
FROM THE BEACHES OF PANAMA
An Employee Biography
 
     Suzanne C. Nolan, (Sue) is Henter-Joyce's administrative
assistant.  Sue has been with Henter-Joyce for five years and has
acquired experience from working in almost every facet of our
business.  She currently supervises the shipping department and
also helps with accounting matters.
 
     Even though she was born in Waltham Massachusetts, she
didn't stay there for long.  When she was three months old, she
and her family moved to the Panama Canal Zone where she was
raised.  Eventually, she and her six brothers and sisters left the
tropical breezes and sun of Central America, and have all
relocated to the "more temperate" climate of Florida.  During her
free time, Sue enjoys frisbee golf, bowling and spending time with
her boyfriend Jeff and her six year old son Jason.
 
     Sue is a friendly source of valuable information for Henter-
Joyce customers and co-workers.  She orders all of our supplies
and equipment, and directs the shipment of approximately 1000
out-going packages a month.  She is a packaging expert when it
comes to shipping delicate computer equipment, which is
confirmed by our low incidents of damaged or misdirected
shipments.  Thank you for your hard work and dedication to
customer service.
 
 
AFB'S CTIB
 
     The Careers and Technology Information Bank(CTIB),
operated by the American Foundation for the Blind, provides
first-hand information about work experiences and assistive
technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired. 
You can, for example, use it to locate sight impaired persons who
are employed in your field or in a field of interest.  You also can
use it to exchange information with other users of assistive
technology, which includes over 100 users of Henter-Joyce
products.
 
     The CTIB is a network of 1600 blind and visually impaired
people who use assistive technology at home, at work, or at
school.  It provides a unique opportunity to exchange information
and get advice.
 
     You can get in touch with someone who is willing to discuss
how they perform their job tasks, or exchange information with
other users of a particular product.  A complete list of jobs held
by the people in the CTIB is available in print or in braille upon
request.
 
     To participate in the CTIB, or to tap into its resources,
contact: Careers & Technology Information Bank
American Foundation for the Blind, 15 West 16th Street, New
York, NY 10011, phone (212) 620-2080.
 
 
SOME RESULTS OF TRAINING
 
     We hold a JAWS training session at our training center in
Florida on the third Saturday of each month.  Representatives
from various blindness agencies in the St. Petersburg/Tampa area
have participated in our six hour training class in recent months. 
Many trainees are themselves trainers and are responsible for
training others in the use of screen reading software.  During a
typical Saturday, we will demonstrate the simplicity of JAWS
software in a variety of applications, and provide detailed
instruction on the use of the JAWS speech pad, menu system, and
macros.  Trainees enjoy the hands-on opportunity to try out
screen reading features and to creatively explore new solutions to
screen access problems.  Various other training topics are also
covered during the day depending on the interests of the trainees.
 
     An attendee at our June training, Betty Ewerts, instructor
for the Pinellas County Schools (Center for the Visually Impaired)
sent the following note.
 
          "Thank you so much for offering me the
     opportunity to participate in your JAWS
     workshop.  It was a very beneficial session and I
     learned so much more about JAWS to be able to
     give to my students."
 
Greg Carlson, Talking Book Library in Largo, Florida writes:
 
          "Thanks for the JAWS training and hands-
     on experience.  We should be able to communicate
     basic features effectively to visitors and investi-
     gate more sophisticated uses on our own."
 
     You may make a reservation to attend one of our upcoming
sessions by calling our office.  We charge a fee of fifty dollars for
the day of training.  A similar program can be arranged on an
individual basis for agencies desiring JAWS training who are not
located in the St. Petersburg area or in Florida.
 
 
LET THE FACTS SPEAK
Comparing JAWS to Vocal-Eyes
 
     We frequently receive requests for factual comparisons
between JAWS and other screen reading software.  We are
always willing to discuss the facts about JAWS, but we have not
made an attempt to closely scrutinize other screen reading
software. The numerous requests from potential customers,
rehabilitation engineers, and our dealers have encouraged us to
begin a systematic comparison of JAWS to other screen reading
programs.  In doing these comparisons, we will focus on the facts
of performance and avoid sales rhetoric.  Comments we make
about the performance and features of software from other
companies will be based on the statements they make about their
products, and on our use of their software.
 
     We have completed a comparison between JAWS and
Vocal-Eyes.  This fact filled analysis clearly reveals the
superiority of JAWS, but we would like to give you the
opportunity to draw your own conclusions.  The written
comparison can be downloaded from our BBS or can be sent to
you free of charge when requested.  The BBS document
containing the comparison is named "VOCALEYE.JAW" and is
located in the newsletter area of the files section.  Future issues
of this newsletter will contain announcements about the
availability of other product comparisons.
 
 
WORDPERFECT 6.0 AND JAWS VERSION 2.31
 
     We are now shipping the latest update for our JAWS
screen reading software.  JAWS version 2.31 has a powerful new
configuration for WordPerfect 6.0.  Based on comparisons with
other screen reading products, we feel that the 400 hours of staff
time we devoted to producing the WordPerfect 6.0 configuration
has produced a highly effective and easy to use tool for working
with this newest version of WordPerfect.  JAWS 2.31 also
contains a new Macro Compiler.  The compiler can be used to
create a text file from the macros that are contained in a JAWS
macro file.  This text file can then be read and edited with a text
editor or word processor.  The compiler also can be used to
"compile" the revised text back into a JAWS macro file.  Please
contact your local H-J dealer or Henter-Joyce, Inc. for a complete
description of new features, pricing information, or to order the
JAWS 2.31 update.  The update cost for those who are currently
using JAWS 2.3 is $25, which includes shipping and handling.  
 
 
TRADING POST
 
WANTED:  Used ScanJet Plus interface card, part number
88290-60011.  Contact Glen at (607) 273-3042.
 
FOR SALE:  Used Accent SX('92), price $300, ask for Bud, (301)
473-4656.
 
FOR SALE:  Used Accent SA('90), pre-battery model, price $400,
contact Cathy at (813) 528-8900.
 
 
NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
     The H-J Newsletter is published six times per year.  The
annual subscription cost for the print or cassette versions of the
newsletter is $25.  The newsletter also can be downloaded from
our BBS without a subscription charge.  Back issues are also
available on the H-J BBS.  The cassette version of the newsletter
will from time-to-time include expanded commentary on topics
presented in the newsletter, such as product demos or training
tape samples.
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