This newsletter is published three times a year by Artic
Technologies, Inc.                                                
                   Fall 1992 / Number 1         

From the Editor

WHERE'S ARTIC? It has been quite some time since we have released
news from Troy.  During this absence, we have heard a variety of
rumblings and grumblings as to what we have been doing and
whether there is still life in Troy.

I am here to assure you that we are here, alive, well and ready
to kick some products out the door.  Since our last newsletter,
we have released Vision 3.x (our newest screen review software),
Focus 1.x (our new screen enlargement software), and Gizmo (a
navigation pad for Vision).

Unfortunately, there was no newsletter to let you know these
things.  Well, that's where I come in.  It is my job to keep you
informed about what we are doing and when we are doing it.  In
fact, we hope to be doing enough things to force me to write one
of these things at least three times a year.

What's New Now?  This issue of the Visions Newsletter talks about
TransPort, our new speech synthesizer. Also covered is FOCUS: 
impressions from one of our users of FOCUS and information on the
performance of FOCUS.  There are a variety of other tidbits
included that are guaranteed to make you demand more NEWS.        
                                                                  
              What's In Store?  Some promised products, some
surprises and a guarantee to keep you better informed about our
work.  Though we can't talk about any products until they are
ready to go to market, we can say that we are busy, excited, and
confident that we will be doing some exciting things.  Now, read
on;  I will see you in four months. Randy Knapp

TRANSPORT  NEW EXTERNAL SYNTHESIZER

For years, many users strongly encouraged us to develop a
portable, battery operated voice synthesizer that could be easily
attached to a computer and is as responsive as our internal
speech cards.  Well, it's here.

Artic Technologies is proud to announce our new family of
external voice synthesizers called TransPort.  TransPort is
small, light weight, (less then a pound), rugged, and operates on
rechargeable batteries or AC current.  You can use TransPort on
Desk Top, Lap Top or Notebook Computers and get the same
efficient performance you have come to expect from our internal
speech cards.Here is a description of TransPort.

Dimensions And Weight:  TransPort is three quarters of an inch
high, by four  and one eighth inches wide, by seven and one half
inches long.  It weighs approximately 15 ounces, just under 1
pound.  TransPort easily fits in a coat pocket and its small size
makes it easy to carry.

Construction:  Transport is housed in a sturdy aluminum case and
stands up to use at home or on the road.

Speech:  All Transport synthesizers use the Artic 263 speech
chip.  It sounds like the speech you get with Business Vision. 
TransPort has thumb wheel controls that adjust its volume and
tone.  You can listen to TransPort using its internal speaker, or
through headphones or an external speaker.

Responsiveness:  One of the common criticisms of external speech
synthesizers is that they are sluggish and unresponsive.  The
TransPort line of voice synthesizers do not fall into  that
category.  They offer the same responsiveness, speed, and clarity
that you get from our other speech products.

Battery Operation:  All TransPort models run on batteries or AC
current.  Therefore it is ideally suited to work where you do.

Battery Life:  The TransPort external Voice Synthesizer operates
for approximately 16 hours before you need to recharge its
batteries.  A typical Lap Top computer only goes about three
hours before it needs to be recharged.  TransPort also contains a
low battery alarm that lets you know when to charge your
synthesizer. You will have enough time to finish your work before
you need to charge the unit.  You can still use TransPort while
it is recharging.

TransPort 615:  TransPort model 615 is the flagship of our
external synthesizer line.  It has features common to external
synthesizers and additional enhancements that are unique and will
add flexibility and convenience making this product quite useful. 
Here is a brief overview. 

TransPort And Business Vision:  TransPort model 615 comes with
Business Vision, our screen review program.  It includes a
feature that permits you to copy the current version of Business
Vision from TransPort's electronic ROM disk to any  computer
without needing a diskette.  This feature is handy should you
forget to bring your software with you or if you need to install
Vision on more then one computer. 

VEST:  The model 615 contains VEST, our most advanced speech rule
set.  Users of Business Vision have come to depend on its
accuracy and reliability.

Other Unique Features:  The model 615 has a real time clock
calendar.  You can get the current time and date, and set up to
16 alarms with prompting messages to remind you of appointments
or things you need to do easily and without fuss.  

Storing And Retrieving Files:  The model 615 has battery backed
RAM for storing and retrieving files.  This is convenient because
you can choose to take important files with you and they will be
there as long as your batters remain charged.  If TransPort is
fully charged, files in Battery Backed RAM can be stored for
approximately thirty days from the time it was turned off.

TransPort With Gizmo And Turbo Pedals:  The model 615 has a Turbo
Port that permits you to plug in and run either Gizmo or Turbo
Pedals.  It also comes with a Turbo Pad that duplicates all of
the functions of Turbo Pedals and plugs into the front of the
unit.

TransPort And Other Programs:  All models of TransPort can
operate with other screen review programs.  Specifications will
be published so that third party developers can write drivers for
TransPort.  Transport supports 2 emulation modes, PortTalk, our
standard control code set, and external Accent.  Therefore, if
your screen review program supports the external accent or
Transport, you can easily use our synthesizer with it.

Model 611:  TransPort model 611 operates just like the 615 but
does not include Business Vision.  .

Pricing And Availability:  If you have additional questions, or
need pricing information, contact Artic Technologies at
313-588-7370.  Randy Knapp 
The Artic BBS

For some time, we have operated a Bulletin Board system (BBS) to
assist users with problems and to provide a forum for general
discussion, problem sharing, and access to software and Artic
Related utilities.  Our number for the BBS is 1 313 588 1424 and
is on line 24 hours a day.  We support baud rates from 300 to
38,400, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity.

Many of you have responded to this service and have helped to
contribute to those of us who use it.  For those of you who do
not know about it, or have not tried it out, we strongly
encourage you to do so.

Changes To Our BBS:  We are making some changes to our BBS that
we hope will help better serve your needs.  Here they are: New
High Speed Modem:  We have purchased a high speed modem to
accommodate those of you who use one.  You can dial in at 14,400
baud using V32-BIS protocol.  Don't Worry, those of you that have
slower modems can still call the board without difficulty.

New Bulletin Board Software:  We will be switching from PC-Board
to WildCard version 3.50.  We are making the switch to become
FIDO compatible so we can participate in the FIDO network.  We
hope to become active in bulletin boards such as Blink-Link and
other services that are used by our customers.

Increased Presence:  There are times when we respond to messages
left on the board more slowly then we would like to.  We will try
to speed up our response time so that you can get messages back
in a timely manner.  If you leave a message and do not get a
quick response, call Artic and let us know that you need an
answer.  We will do our best to respond quickly and efficiently. 
By the way, Nick Dotson, of Dotson Enterprises, Inc. has kindly
agreed to be a remote sysop for this board.  Don't be surprised
if you hear something from him.

Comments Or Suggestions:  We would like to hear from you.  We
want to make this board as good as it can be.  Therefore,
comments and suggestions are always welcomed.  Randy Knapp SYSOP.

Focus On FOCUS

I have been involved with Artic Technologies speech products for
the last five years.  One of the things that has made the
products so popular is their responsiveness and the palate of
many USEFUL features. Artic then released its first Screen Enlargement products Artic
Focus and Business Focus.  There are many delights that make
computer screens more readable such as smooth formed fonts,
square aspect ratio characters, (those based on square shape are
easier to read), and Ultra-Glide to name a few.

Most of my experience has been with speech products.  Even though
I have 10% vision, I still tend to think as a blind person when
accessing a screen.  That's where I find the real power of the
Focus product line.  I have seen other large print screen access
systems, and though they have lots of features, I could never
find how they would be very useful in a working environment. 
This is where the Focus product line differs.

There are arguments concerning whether a mouse-based system would
be faster than a command driven one for accessing material on a
computer screen where we only see a small magnified area.  With a
little practice, commands from the keyboard are an extremely
effective way of seeing what you want to see when you want to see
it.  They work much better than taking your hands off the
keyboard and "fishing around" for your material.  For example, if
a blind person using speech wants to read the line the cursor is
on, he/she would request it with a keystroke.  Artic Focus
products are the only screen enlargement system that can perform
this simple but required task.

Another example is easily reading a designated portion of the
screen with a single keystroke.  Blind users have been doing this
for years using speech windows.  We can finally do this in large
print.  It is really nice to be able to ask for the bottom two
lines on the screen by pressing the appropriate keystroke.

Has anyone ever heard of a large print system that can search for
text in a crowded help screen of a program.  Again, most speech
products do this as a standard must-have option.  This feature in
Focus allow me to rip through a spell check with ease.  No
fumbling.  I just ask for the misspelled word, summon the window
with the possible corrections, make my selection, and carry on. 
In the Windows environment, adding Artic Gizmo can make your work
much easier because you can do such things as:  Move quickly to
corners or to the center of the screen, Move diagonally, Switch
to the 1X screen.  You can easily scroll the screen without
disturbing the mouse pointer.  When you are ready to use the
mouse again, move the mouse slightly, and presto, your mouse
pointer area is back in view.

I would challenge a blind person with speech, and a low-vision
person with a large print package to have a race completing a
given task.  In most cases, assuming that the persons had about
equal ability and experience with their access technology and
computer equipment, the blind person would win. To sum it up, the
Focus products offer many useful features to help you glide
through your computer work with ease. John Ogilve 
 Creating Configs

We would like to encourage interested users of Vision and Focus
to submit configurations for programs you know work well.  If we
agree, we will send you the next major revision of our product at
no charge.  To qualify, you must submit the configuration and
documentation file in Zipped format.  The documentation should
cover window definitions, smart zone definitions, and any other
information that one would need to use it with the appropriate
program.  Be sure to put your name in the documentation file so
we know who to credit.

In case we get two identical configurations, the one arriving
first will be selected as the winner.  Randy Knapp

Artic Technologies, Inc.                                         
          55 Park Street                                         
            Troy, Michigan 48083                                 
                    313-588-7370
