ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

For educators who are using the Kindle's in the classroom you will be glad to learn that Amazon has just upgraded the System Software to Version 3.1. With this upgrade you will get the most asked for feature, true page numbering that matches the printed version. This is a god send and one that I know academicians will enjoy as well when they need to create a citation. There is a lot more in this upgrade but having true page numbering that matches the printed text is really great. To get started with the the Upgrade click on this link which will take you to the Amazon page. Please note that if you prefer you can also upgrade your Kindle over the air via a wireless network.


Some of the features included in this update are:

• Public Notes -- This feature lets Kindle users choose to make their book notes and highlights available for others to see. Any Kindle user -- including authors, their fans, book reviewers, professors and passionate readers everywhere -- can opt-in to share their thoughts on book passages and ideas with friends, family members, colleagues, and the greater Kindle community of people who love to read. This is a new way for readers to share their excitement and knowledge about books and get more from the books they read. To review and turn on Public Notes in your own books, view the Public Notes of people you follow, track your reading activities, see Popular Highlights and your annotations, and view your full library of books, go to https://kindle.amazon.com. Learn more.
  
• Real Page Numbers -- Our customers have told us they want real page numbers that match the page numbers in print books so they can easily reference and cite passages, and read alongside others in a book club or class. We've already added real page numbers to tens of thousands of Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions and thousands more of the most popular books. Page numbers will also be available on our free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps in the coming months. As with all of Kindle's features, we want you to lose yourself in the author's words, so page numbers are only displayed when you press the Menu button. Learn more.
  
• Before You Go ... -- When you reach the end of the book, you can immediately rate the book, share a message about the book with your social network, get personalized recommendations for what to read next, and see more books by the same author. Learn more.
  
• New Newspaper and Magazine Layout -- We're introducing a new and improved layout for newspapers and magazines. This new layout gives you a quick snapshot of the news and helps you decide what you want to read first. Learn more.

Today I went out to Staples during their Presidents' Sale and purchased a HP PhotoSmart D110 printer for $59.98- not bad considering that when I went to buy replacement ink cartridges for a much older HP PhotoSmart printer that I had, the new printer cost less! In any case, I decided to buy the new HP printer to  accomplish a couple of goals; one to be able to print from my laptop wirelessly, two, be able to print from my iPad, and three to be able to print from the web. When I purchased the HP PhotoSmart D110 printer, I accomplished all of my goals in one fell swoop. Not bad for a rather inexpensive printer! Within minutes I had configured the printer to find my router and I was up and running on my laptop computer. I then took out my iPad and opened Pages and printed out my first document which looked great from my new printer.

The last piece of the puzzle was printing from the web. I went up to the HP web site to register my printer and approved a list of users with their emails who can print to my printer.  You see each HP ePrinter has a unique email address that you are given, which lets you print to, over the web. You can print just about any type of document by sending it to your unique email address which kicks in the process. There is even a web site where you can monitor your printer and assign new users who can print to your printer. Having the new HP PhotoSmart D110 printer is liberating knowing that I can print from just about anywhere. If  you are in the market for a new printer I would certainly recommend the new line of HP printers that support ePrinting. With ePrinting you can use your Mac, PC, iPad and print over the web from any device-now that's a printing solution!

CS Odessa Announces ConceptDraw MindWave Integrates With SAP® StreamWork™
Through Integration, ConceptDraw MindWave 3.0 Allows Teams to Visualize
The Process of Collaborative Decision Making

SAN JOSE, Calif., February 16, 2011 – CS Odessa today announced that its popular ConceptDraw MindWave, a cloud-based mind-mapping application, is available within the SAP® StreamWork™ application. ConceptDraw MindWave version 3.0 is the newest release of CS Odessa’s proven web-based mind-mapping tool, which has been adopted by individuals and organizations around the world. ConceptDraw MindWave can use both cloud- and desktop-based information to generate mind maps. Through integration with SAP StreamWork, ConceptDraw MindWave brings easy-to-use map visualization features to customers. Ease of use combined with ConceptDraw MindWave desktop integration provides organizations with the ability to produce presentations and documentation that augment any planning or decision-making process.

“Mind mapping was one of the most requested features by users of SAP StreamWork,” said Holly Simmons, senior director, OnDemand Marketing, SAP. “With OpenSocial, CS Odessa was able to integrate MindWave easily with SAP StreamWork, delivering value to customers rapidly.”
SAP StreamWork is a cloud-based collaborative decision-making solution that brings together people, information and structure to help teams solve problems, brainstorm, collect feedback, build consensus and/or drive decisions.  By using ConceptDraw MindWave and ConceptDraw Office (a powerful suite of products including ConceptDraw MINDMAP, ConceptDraw PROJECT, and ConceptDraw PRO), with SAP StreamWork, teams can visualize the process of collaborative decision making, and quickly transition from planning to implementation.

 “ConceptDraw MindWave was developed to address our customers’ requirements for collaborative meeting support and finished documentation,” explains Olin Reams, general manager of CS Odessa. “Now by adding support for SAP StreamWork as a collaboration platform, we have addressed many organization’s requirements for an enterprise solution that allows users to visualize collaborative decision making, manage information and prepare supporting presentations. ConceptDraw MindWave integrated with SAP StreamWork provides key value and is a great time saver for a manager’s decision making.”
ConceptDraw MindWave leverages ConceptDraw INGYRE2 integration technology, allowing for effortless content generation. ConceptDraw MindWave can be found in CS Odessa’s collaboration area of ConceptDraw Solution Park and tightly integrates with ConceptDraw MINDMAP and ConceptDraw Office, addressing many of the documentation requirements in modern organizations.

About CS Odessa
Founded in 1993, Computer Systems Odessa supplies cross-platform productivity tools and graphics technologies to professional and corporate users around the world. With headquarters in Odessa, Ukraine, and an office in San Jose, Calif., USA, CS Odessa sells products internationally through resellers in over 25 countries. The ConceptDraw line of products has won numerous awards and is used by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.
For more information, visit www.conceptdraw.com.
# # #
ConceptDraw is a registered trademark, and ConceptDraw Office, ConceptDraw Solution Park, ConceptDraw PRO, ConceptDraw MINDMAP, ConceptDraw PROJECT, and ConceptDraw Solution Browser are trademarks of CS Odessa. SAP, SAP StreamWork and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries.  All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

SAP Forward-looking Statement
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

PR Contact
Rebecca Hurst
Kinetic.PR, LLC for CS Odessa
rebecca@kineticprllc.com
Office: (650) 679-9282
Mobile: (650) 274-7533

Over the past couple of weeks I have had a chance to review a number of software applications that have recently been released. All of the applications have represented a major commitment from the developers to release these upgraded products to give the user a better experience when using their product. If there is a trend that I see in the world of software, it is that rather than the developers adding a host of new features they really have spent the time on refinements in the user interface and the ease of use. Many of the companies are spending their efforts to really understand their user base and to  include only features that make sense for their product. Feature creep is always a problem with mature software applications and it was great to see that Matchware, Inc. choose to go down a path to refine and only add functionality that made sense to their flagship product, MindView 4, which was recently released.


Businesses that have invested in MindView 3 will feel right at home when upgrading to MindView 4. MindView 4 now sports the new Office 2010 interface which is both aesthetically pleasing and well organized. Moving about the program with the new Office 2010 interface is very intuitive and the functions are clearly organized to make it easier to use. MindView 4 has incorporated some new styles for your maps which are easy to apply and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It is much easier in MindView 4 to edit and format text and change the color of the branches. Likewise Matchware has made it very easy now to place your images on branches by simply dragging them to the location of your choice. You can now place your images on the top, right and left of the text within the branch. I am also enjoying the ability to attach an audio note to a branch which is a quick and easy way to capture my ideas. Matchware has also added the ability to export to a PDF file with different styles which makes it easy for me to share my maps for those individuals that don't own a copy of MindView 4. Exporting your mind maps to a PDF is fast and straightforward and the results are outstanding. The addition of the Presentation Mode is outstanding and one I know I will use more often when I use MindView 4 during the presentations and workshops that I often give. It is the little changes and the attention to detail that I feel really highlights this update and brings huge value to upgrading to MindView 4.

Look for additional posts as I delve into this upgrade with a focus on collaboration and project management.. To give MindView 4 a try download a Trial Version by clicking on this link.

For a long time now I have been using Adobe Acrobat as an access tool for students that need to access their worksheets on the computer. Using a scanner teachers can scan worksheets into the computer and using either the Forms Tool or Typewriter Tool students can type their answers right on the screen. One of the really handy tools in Adobe Acrobat X is the Typewriter tool but with the advent of the new version Adobe has moved the tool and so in this video you will see how you can find it and add it to the Toolbar for quick access.

One of the really nice features of Adobe Acrobat X is the integration of Adobe SendNow service. Adobe SendNow is a subscription based service that can right within Adobe Acrobat X send your PDF files as a link for your recipients to pick up and download. Adobe SendNow subscription services starts at $9.99 a month and there is a free trial period for you to try it out. If you tend to create large PDF files this is the perfect service for you. Now you can be rest assured that your recipients will receive your documents without the worry of  maxing out their email inbox.

Just today I received a call from a school that I will be providing some services to, and they needed my W-9 and New Jersey Business Registration Form to set up my account in the business office. Having scanned and stored these documents in a PDF file I was now ready to use the Adobe SendNow feature. Right from within Adobe Acrobat X, I clicked on the Share tab- entered the email address of the recipient and within seconds my PDF file was sent. Besides the convenience of emailing the documents from within Adobe Acrobat X- the service keeps a history and emailed me that the file was uploaded successfully as well as that it was successfully downloaded. Having access to Adobe SendNow is a welcome addition to my office toolkit and one feature that I know I will continually use with Acrobat X.