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[Fwd: Announcing Emacspeak-12.0 (GoldenDog) (fwd)]

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           Announcing Emacspeak-12.0 (GoldenDog)
           -------------------------------------

For Immediate Release:

San Jose, Calif., (May 1, 2000)
    Emacspeak-2000++: Opening The Gates To A Speech-Enabled Semantic WWW
    --Zero cost of ownership makes priceless software affordable!
   
Emacspeak Inc (NASDOG: ESPK)
- --http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net-- announces immediate
world-wide availability of Emacspeak 12.0 --a powerful audio
desktop for leveraging today's evolving semantic WWW.

What Is It?
- -----------

Emacspeak is a fully functional audio desktop that provides
complete eyes-free access to all major 32 and 64 bit operating
environments. By seamlessly blending all aspects of the Internet
such as Web-surfing and electronic messaging into the audio
desktop, Emacspeak enables speech access to local and remote
information with a consistent and well-integrated user
interface. A rich suite of task-oriented speech-enabled tools
provides efficient speech-enabled access to the evolving semantic
WWW. With support for the freely downloadable IBM ViaVoice
Outloud speech synthesis engine, Emacspeak now turns Linux into
the first zero-cost Internet access solution for blind and
visually impaired users.

Code Name Note:
- ---------------

After 10 years of loyal service, Aster Labrador retired from
active duty as a guide-dog on November 29, 1999. She agreed to
stay on as Emacspeak's press contact for the immediate future,
but gave up the marketing role after just one week --she passed
away peacefully December 5, 1999. this release is code named
GoldenDog to welcome Hubbell (Bubbles) Labrador, a frisky young
yellow Labrador who stepped into Aster's shoes earlier this year.

Major Enhancements:
- -------------------

1. Task-oriented web tools to exploit the evolving semantic WWW.
2. Further enhancements to single-click web-search.
3. Speech-enabled access to CVS.
4. Speech-enabled access to the new Java debugger.
5.  RPM package to  allow single click installation.

See the NEWS file for additional details. The Emacspeak source
distribution now includes a structured FAQ list designed to introduce
new and old users to the Emacspeak environment.

Opening Doors To A Windows-Free 2000:
- -------------------------------------

Emacspeak is now voluntarily bundled with all major Linux
distributions. Extensive studies have shown that users consider
Emacspeak to be absolutely priceless. Thanks to this wide-spread
user demand, the present version is being made available at the
same zero cost as earlier releases. At the same time,
Emacspeak-2000 continues to innovate in the area of speech
interaction and carries forward the well-established Open Source
tradition of introducing user interface features that eventually
show up in commercial user environments. On this theme, when once
challenged by a proponent of a crash-prone but well-marketed
windowing system with the assertion "Emacs is a system from the
70's", the creator of Emacspeak expressed surprize at the unusual
candor manifest in the assertion that it would take popular
idiot-proof interfaces until the year 2070 to catch up to where
the Emacspeak audio desktop is today. Upon hearing this, the said
proponent of the crash-prone system turned blue in the face
(screen), crashed to the floor and refused to get booted (ever again).

Industry experts welcomed this refreshing breath of Courage
Certainty and Clarity (CCC) at a time when users are reeling from
the Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) unleashed by complex
software systems backed by even more convoluted press releases.

Independent Test Results:
- -------------------------

Independent test results have proven that unlike some modern
software, Emacspeak can be easily uninstalled without adversely
affecting the continued performance of the computer. These same
tests also revealed that once uninstalled, the user stopped
functioning altogether.  Speaking with Aster Labrador, the
creator of Emacspeak once pointed out that these results
re-emphasize the user-centric design of Emacspeak; "It is the
user --and not the computer-- that stops functioning when
Emacspeak is uninstalled!". 

Note from Aster and Bubbles:
(UnDoctored Videos Inc. is currently looking for volunteers to
star in a video demonstrating such complete user failure).

History:
- --------

Emacspeak-12.0 --code named GoldenDog-- leverages the evolving
sematnic WWW to provide task-oriented speech access to electronic
information on the Internet. Emacspeak-11.0 --code named Aster--
goes the final step in making Linux a zero-cost Internet access
solution for blind and visually impaired users. Emacspeak-10.0
- --(AKA Emacspeak-2000) code named WonderDog-- was the last in a
series of award-winning software releases designed to make
eyes-free computing a productive and pleasurable
experience. Emacspeak-9.0 --(AKA Emacspeak 99) code named
BlackLab-- continued to innovate in the areas of speech
interaction and interactive accessibility. Emacspeak-8.0 --(AKA
Emacspeak-98++) code named BlackDog-- was a major upgrade to the
speech output extension to Emacs.

Emacspeak-95 (code named Illinois) was released as OpenSource on
the Internet in May 1995 as the first complete speech interface
to UNIX workstations. The subsequent release, Emacspeak-96 (code
named Egypt) made available in May 1996 provided significant
enhancements to the interface. Emacspeak-97 (Tennessee) went
further in providing a true audio desktop. Emacspeak-98
integrated Internetworking into all aspects of the audio desktop
to provide the first fully interactive speech-enabled WebTop.

Obtaining Emacspeak: -------------------- Emacspeak can be
downloaded from sourceforge via HTTP or FTP:
http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net
ftp://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/pub/emacspeak You can visit
Emacspeak on the WWW at
http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/emacspeak (Cornell) --You
can also pick up emacspeak via anonymous ftp from
ftp://ftp.cs.cornell.edu/pub/raman/emacspeak/.  

Note that in my  experience the the sourceforge site is more
reliable than the Cornell site due to the operating system
each site has chosen to run.

You can subscribe to the emacspeak mailing list
emacspeak@cs.vassar.edu by sending mail to the list request
address emacspeak-request@cs.vassar.edu.

About Emacspeak:
- ----------------

Based at Cornell (NY) http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman --home to
Auditory User Interfaces (AUI) on the WWW-- Emacspeak is mirrored
world-wide by an international netwrok of software archives and
bundled voluntarily with all major Linux distributions. On
Monday, April 12, 1999, Emacspeak became part of the
Smithsonian's Permanent Research Collection on Information
Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American
History.

The Emacspeak mailing list is archived at Vassar --the home of the
Emacspeak mailing list-- thanks to Greg Priest-Dorman, and provides a
valuable knowledge base for new users.

About This Release:
- ------------------

This press release is certified to be Y2K compliant.  More
importantly, the software described is W2K-bug  free.  

Press/Analyst Contact:Hubbell Labrador

Windows-Free (WF) is a favorite battle-cry of The League Against
Forced Fenestration (LAFF).  --see
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f3800/msjudgex.htm for details on
the ill-effects of Forced Fenestration.

CopyWrite )C( Aster and Hubbell Labrador. All Writes Reserved.
GoldenDog (DM) and BlackDog (DM) are Registered Dogmarks of Aster and Hubbell Labrador.
All other dogs belong to their respective owners.
   

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-- 
Best Regards,
--raman

      
Email:  raman@cs.cornell.edu
WWW:    http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/             
PGP:    http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/raman.asc 


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