Two Industry Leaders Purchased
On May 15, 2007, HumanWare shareholders voted to accept an offer to sell a controlling interest in the company. The purchaser is Jolimont Capital, funded by private equity from Jolimont, debt financing from ANZ National Bank, and personal investments from HumanWare's senior managers. HumanWare is based in New Zealand, and Jolimont is based in Australia. The sale price was reported to be $10.80 per share. HumanWare has approximately 3.3 million shares on issue. Its CEO is Dr. Richard Mander. For more information, contact HumanWare: phone: 800-722-3393; web site: <www.humanware.com>.
In April 2007, Wafra Partners announced the acquisition of Freedom Scientific. Wafra Partners is a U.S.-based private equity firm and a Delaware corporation that has Kuwait as one of its investors, and offices in New York City. According to its web site, the company focuses on middle-market companies based in North America that have enterprise values between $20 million and $150 million.
Trademark Lawsuit Dropped
On May 14, 2007, Freedom Scientific filed suit against Serotek Corporation, claiming trademark infringement for use of the term "FreedomBox." The claim stated that "Continuously since May 15, 2000, the Plaintiff has used the mark 'Freedom Scientific' to identify its products tailored to blind and low-vision users, including software that translates the Internet and digital information into braille or audible synthesized speech, and to distinguish these products from those made or sold by others, by, among other things, prominently displaying the mark 'Freedom Scientific' on the products, their containers, the displays, and marketing associated therewith."
On June 7, Freedom Scientific and Serotek jointly announced that they had reached an agreement that Serotek was inadvertently infringing on Freedom Scientific's federally registered trademark. "It is unfortunate that we had to take this action," said Lee Hamilton, president and CEO of Freedom Scientific, "but trademarks are valuable corporate assets, and they must be protected, or they are lost. This agreement accomplishes that, and we have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit." Serotek will rename FreedomBox and other affected products. For more information, visit the companies' web sites: <www.freedomscientific.com> and <www.serotek.com>.
Voice on the Go
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Voice on the Go is a new service that enables people to access e-mail, calendar, contacts, and other information with voice commands alone. The service is available through cell phones and BlackBerry or other PDAs (personal digital assistants) and is advertised as both "hands-free" and "eyes-free." Although Voice on the Go was designed primarily with drivers in mind, giving them a way to enter calendar appointments, listen to and compose e-mails, and access contacts and other content without jeopardizing their safety, people who are blind or have low vision should also find the service useful. For more information or for a 30-day free trial of Voice on the Go, visit the web site <www.voiceonthego.com> or telephone 877-977-0555.
Free Braille Translation
For those who occasionally need embosser-ready documents translated into literary braille, two programs that are available online can do the job free of charge. At <www.robobraille.org>, a project supported by the European Union, files can be translated to or from contracted braille and delivered via e-mail. In the United States, the WinTrans translation program is available for free download from <www.wintrans-bt.org>.
Text Message from Your PC
If you are blind and do not own a cell phone that is capable of accessible text messaging, there is a site that makes it possible to send a text message to another individual's cell phone from your computer keyboard. This site is useful, however, only for one-way communication from the computer to the cell phone. To try it, go to Click2text at <www.click2text.com/?gclid=CI77yYuz5IcCFQR8UAodsAMrgw>.
Coalition Moves Communications Access Forward
A new coalition of 67 disability-related organizations (including the American Foundation for the Blind, American Council of the Blind, National Association of Parents of the Visually Impaired, American Association of People with Disabilities, and Communication Services for the Deaf) was formed in March 2007 to address the need for mainstream manufacturers to develop technologies that are accessible to people with all types of disabilities. The first public statement of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) was in its praise of the Federal Communications Commission's order in late May 2007 to make VoIP (voice-over Internet protocol) services accountable for accessibility in the same way that other telephone services are expected to be. The focus of COAT, according to a recent press release, will be "to advocate for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high-speed broadband, wireless, and other Internet protocol (IP) technologies."
Online Dating Service with Blind People in Mind
Dominic Carrejo, a San Antonio-based man who is blind, has launched an online dating web site that he hopes will appeal particularly to people who are blind. While in basic training for what he hoped would be a long career in the army, Carrejo was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. Later, after adjustment to blindness—followed by love and marriage—he concluded that it was particularly difficult for his blind friends to establish new friendships and relationships. His site, called Love Is Blind, is modeled after the growing number of dating services worldwide, but asks a few questions that are unique to blindness. Visual acuity is one such unique question, and whether the individual uses a guide dog is another. Carrejo has also kept the fee considerably lower than other similar sites, recognizing that many people who are blind have limited incomes.
The service is not exclusively for people who are blind, Carrejo stressed. He invites everyone, blind and sighted alike, to participate. He also invites members to specify whether they are seeking a dating relationship, friendship, or marriage. To check out the site, visit: <www.luvisblind.net>.
