Category: Geeks r Us
Prior to asking my questions, I wish to paste in something that I wrote in another thread, here on The Zone, called "Where Has All the Adaptive Tech Gone?" I've modified it slightly to make it more readable. If you know of another such package, please post it here.
There are apparently a number of ocr packages available today that are ridiculously cheap. I found them at
http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=19327&top=15778&deep=2&trail=22,13134,13179
I'm listing the ones still available along with their sites and current prices. Their descriptions can be found at AbleData and at their sites but I'll include a quick note on whether they're self-voicing.
TEXTBRIDGE PRO 11 79.99
(updated from one on AbleData site also makes Omnipage 17 and Paperport but prices not given and latest version not given on latter)
Nuance Communications, Inc.
http://www.nuance.com
UNIVERSAL READER PLUS 79.95
(self voicing and more than just an ocr program)
Premier Assistive Technology, Inc.
http://www.readingmadeez.com
SCAN2TEXT £49.00 (ex vat)
(not self voicing, recognises text in over 100 languages)
Claro Software Ltd
http://www.clarosoftware.com
TEXT CLONER PRO 99.95
(not self voicing, also have a more expensive program, Scan and Read Pro, still under $150)
Premier Assistive Technology, Inc
http://www.readingmadeez.com
Has anyone used any of these with Windows XP and NVDA? If so, how accessible are they? I'm particularly interested in SCAN2TEXT and whether it can recognise Greek, and even Greek and English on the same page. In any case, I probably should get something other than Kurzweil and these seem like affordable options. My main concern at the moment is finding a fast usb scanner with good resolution (what Kurzweil would call 600 or more) for use with my netbook. Ideally, I would like it to be plug and play, as the last one I bought had a horribly inaccessible driver, and if it doesn't need to be plugged into the wall, that would be great. But it must be a flatbed and I would prefer something under $150 (really under $100 if possible) so that may limit my options. But I don't want to buy one only to find that it won't work with either Kurzweil (I think I have 7 or 8) or with one of the above cheaper packages. Note that it doesn't have to be brand new. I just want it to meet my specifications.