PR: AssistiveWare announces version 1.0.1 of Proloquo(R), a groundbreaking
speech and communication solution for Mac OS X
Amsterdam – 16 September 2005 – AssistiveWare today announced the release
of Proloquo(R) 1.0.1. Proloquo is a groundbreaking multi-purpose and
multilingual speech solution for Mac OS X that provides: (1) a full-fledged
communication system (AAC) for people who cannot speak; (2) improves
accessibility of Mac OS X for people with visual impairments; (3) provides
speech feedback in any application while typing for children and people
with learning disabilities; (4) can serve as a talking word processor; (5)
provides text to speech for people who prefer listening to reading; (6) can
be used as a tool to learn the pronunciation of foreign languages; (7)
provides an advanced, multilingual speech engine for our KeyStrokes(R)
on-screen keyboard and our SwitchXS(R) switch access solution.
Version 1.0.1 fixes a few bugs and now, on request, permits users to test
drive Proloquo with a high quality voice in their own language (the
standard test drive only uses the Mac OS X built-in English voices).
Proloquo’s suggested retail price is US$ 299 or Euro 249 (excl. VAT),
including High Quality and/or High Density Acapela voices for a language of
choice. The languages currently include US English, UK English, German,
Dutch, Flemish, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian,
Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Acapela voices for additional languages
can be purchased as a language pack for US$ 119 or Euro 99 (excl. VAT). In
addition, to offer users even more choice, registered Proloquo users can
contact us for a discount coupon to purchase Cepstral voices that work not
only in Proloquo but system-wide. Finally, Proloquo of course works with
all the built-in voices of Mac OS X.
Proloquo can be used to create a complete personalized
Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) system using simple drag and
drop of phrases into lists organized by topic. Proloquo can also be
combined with LayoutKitchen (suggested retail price of US$ 119 or Euro 99
excl. VAT). With LayoutKitchen users can design their own speech panels for
Proloquo with colorable and resizable buttons containing text and/or images
in a variety of formats. Optionally, LayoutKitchen can be combined with PCS
for LayoutKitchen, which contains a collection of over 8000 Picture
Communication Symbols(TM) licensed from Mayer-Johnson that can be used with
LayoutKitchen to design speech panels for Proloquo as well as scanning
panels for SwitchXS. It is available for a suggested retail price of
US$/Euro 199 (excl. VAT).
Proloquo is available in English, French, and German, but works fine with
most other languages. Proloquo requires Mac OS X 10.3 or higher, while Mac
OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is recommended. For more information, a fully-functional
downloadable demo and to listen to samples of the voices please consult the
product page at http://www.assistiveware.com/proloquo.php
To see Proloquo in action watch the 4 minute video at
http://www.assistiveware.com/videos.php in pristine H.264 (requires
QuickTime 7 or Mac OS X Tiger) or several other formats (mp4, QuickTime 6,
Real) in English or French. The video shows how Marie-France, who has lost
her voice and can only move a jaw muscle because of Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) or Lou Gherigs
Disease, uses AssistiveWare’s Proloquo, KeyStrokes and SwitchXS to access
her computer and communicate with others.
Proloquo as well as the other AssistiveWare software will be shown at the
Education Solutions center at the Apple Expo in Paris next week, where you
can also meet the lead developer of AssistiveWare.
This press release is also available at:
http://www.assistiveware.com/pr.php#PR160905
AssistiveWare (http://www.assistiveware.com/) is the worldwide leader in
innovative assistive technology software for Mac OS X that gives people
back their lives. This includes award-winning KeyStrokes(R) and
TouchStrokes(R) virtual keyboards, SwitchXS(R) scanning on-screen keyboard,
LayoutKitchen(R) panel editor, and Proloquo(R) multi-purpose speech
solution.