Ihr universeller Screenreader!

MyStick–Your universal and portable screen reader!

 

1. What is MyStick?
2. System requirements
3. Deliverables
4. Use by Webdesigner
5. Further links for Webdesigners
6. Where to buy MyStick

 

What ist MyStick?

With MyStick the blind and visually impaired PC-users can access almost any PC which has a free USB-port available.

MyStick is a mobile screen reader: it starts automatically from a U3-stick (in case automatic start-up of CD’s is activated) without installing anything. So easy can working be like - on any PC that is not yours. Also on PCs of which you do not have Administrator rights, like e.g. in an internet café, in a library or the PC of your (sighted !) colleague. The PC however, should allow for connecting to a removable storage medium that occupies two freely available disc drives. The U3-stick on which the MyStick software is stored, looks like a regular USB-stick but is a removable storage medium that is addressed like a CD-ROM drive AND an external disc drive. The MyStick software is started from a part of the U3-stick that acts like a CD-ROM drive. The other part – that acts like an external disc drive – can be used to actually store your own files and/or other applications. Both drives on the MyStick can be addressed through the PC or laptop.

MyStick can also bring help to your own PC: e.g. if your own installed screen reader has stopped functioning. In many of such cases MyStick will still be able to run.

System requirements

• Operating systems: Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003
• Processor speed as of 1.8 GHz
• 256 MB internal memory
• Multi-channel soundcard
• 1 free USB-port that allows to connect to a removable storage medium that occupies two free available disc drives ; automatic start-up of CD’s must be activated so MyStick can start automatically.

Note: on PC’s that are closed completely by its Administrator against any contact from outside or on PC’s that are safeguarded against start-up of unfamiliar software or PC’s that are safeguarded to connecting of a removable storage medium through USB, MyStick cannot be started. Please have any of these PC-settings changed if MyStick is desired to be used.

Deliverables

MyStick contains:

• 1 pce. of 1 GB U3-stick
• 1 installation version of WebFormator (URL to www.webformator.com/englisch/index.php ) is stored on the stick. This must be installed on the PC and it should be rebooted (navigation on the internet is also possible without WebFormator, but WebFormator improves reading of internet pages considerably).
• 1 english short manual on an audio-CD

MyStick is using the speech synthesizer Eloquence. MyStick with screen magnification and/or RealSpeak/RealSpeak Solo speech synthesizer is available also.

Currently MyStick is available in English, German, French, Netherlands, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish; other languages will follow. Please send an e-mail to info@baum.de, or your local BAUM-Distributor (find yours on:  http://www.baum.de/international.php ) in order to find out if your language is already available.

For North America you can contact Florida Reading and Vision by clicking here.

Use by Webdesigners

In connection with free available WebFormator MyStick plays an important role for Web-designers. WebFormator acts like a text window in front of a website and improves surfing the internet for the blind and visually impaired. It is used very often by web-designers to test accessibility for blind and visually impaired people of websites , as it is showing the web page contents in WebFormator’s text window in such a way as it appears for a visually impaired person.

In combination with MyStick, web-designers – as an addition - now are able to test rapidly and very easily how their freshly designed websites are being read by a screen reader.

Also presentations which have not been designed in html can easily be tested on accessibility for blind and visually impaired persons by using MyStick.

Further links for Webdesigners

Your free copy of WebFormator can be downloaded from www.webformator.com/englisch/index.php

On this website you can read more how blind and visually impaired people are working on PC’s.

Where to buy MyStick

MyStick is a product from BAUM Retec AG (URL to www.baum.de/index-e.php ) and Audiodata GmbH located in Germany.

For North America you can contact Florida Reading and Vision by clicking here.

Please send an e-mail to info@baum.de, or to your local BAUM-Distributor (find yours on  http://www.baum.de/international.php ) in order to find out if your language is already available!