L & H Kurzweil 3000 Version 3.0, The
© 1998 Learnout & Hauspi Speech Products, USA, Inc.
Note: This review is dated. See Kurzweil 3000. This is a print-to-speech hardware/software solution that "reads" aloud the words of any web page, using Microsoft Internet Explorer and a realistic synthesized voice. Prices range from $249 for a read station to $1,995 for the full-color scan/read version. New 3.0 features include text highlighting and spell checking. Other features include the ability to scan in a document and have the program read it aloud. Pronunciations are very accurate and the rate at which the program reads is customizable. An integral dictionary and pronunciation guide help with the words you don't know. This software provides many new opportunities for those who have trouble reading. Although easy to use, the program's scope is somewhat narrow; it only reads documents aloud. But if that's what you are looking for, this does the job and does it well. Note that a Macintosh version is available (as of September 2000).
$250, Win, Mac OS (CD-ROM)
Teaches: a print-to-speech utility