From time to time we like to share feedback directly from our customers. If we may, we would like to share a little of that feedback now. We don't like to boast. We prefer to quietly work hard for you, to bring you what you need, but yes, we admit notes like the one below helps us remember why the work is always worth it. The note follows: Hello Friends, Just thought I'd take a quick moment to mention just how much I was recently very pleasantly surprised by the versatility and accessibility you've built in to System Access. A few days ago, I needed to access and use the "My Choice" portion of the UPS website (www.ups.com. This section of the UPS website uses a lot of Flash programming to display and allow control of page content. I had some difficulty navigating and filling out the forms presented by this part of the UPS website. I tried several approaches to accessing and manipulating this content. I tried using the latest versions of three screen readers I had available to me (Window eyes, NVDA and System access). I also tried the latest versions of three common Windows internet browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome). I encountered varying degrees of difficulty … [Read more...] about System Access, Not the Last Choice
Serotek News
Alexa, Start Sero!
As we teased in our last entry, Sero was coming to another popular platform. Well, guess what? It's here! "Alexa is Amazon’s voice service and the brain behind millions of devices including Amazon Echo. Alexa provides capabilities, or skills, that enable customers to create a more personalized experience. There are now more than 10,000 skills from companies like Starbucks, Uber, and Capital One as well as innovative designers and developers." And now Serotek Corp is proud to announce it too is a part of the growing base of Alexa skills developers, because why swipe this way and that when you could just tell your device to play your favorite Sero audio content? Here's how you do it: Enable the Skill in your Alexa app Tell Alexa to "Start Sero." Alexa will ask you to link your account. Return to the Alexa app and link your app. That's it! The Alexa Skill is currently free for all current Sero subscribers. This offer will not last forever though, so please give it a test drive, see what you think, and if you like what you hear, tell your friends about it! … [Read more...] about Alexa, Start Sero!
A Tax Break You Can’t Beat!
There are two certainties we tend to agree with, death and taxes. Actually, there is a third certainty we can add to the list, and that is competitive prices for your hard-earned money. That’s really no shocker though, right? Look around the access technology industry and identify just one company who charges less for comparable products. At the end of this tax season, we want to continue the tradition. We understand Uncle Sam took his bite out of your checkbook, so let’s explore a new means of saving money for the entertainment you love and enjoy on the mobile device of your choosing. Starting today, we're going to release new single-platform subscription packages for Sero. Each subscription package will be $6.00 per month (or $5.99, depending on the app store.) These new subscription plans can be purchased within your app. We're doing single-platform subscriptions for: iOS/tvOS (which count as one platform) Mac Android Amazon Fire OS Windows Stay tuned for the availability of another platform option in the very near future... So what will you get? These new subscription packages include the content and community features you’ve come to love of the Sero experience. This … [Read more...] about A Tax Break You Can’t Beat!
A DocuScan Plus Endorsement
We regularly receive positive feedback from satisfied customers. Every now and then we pick out some of these unsolicited testimonials to share with you since their words will mean a lot more than our own biased opinions. In that spirit, here is one noteworthy message from one of our DocuScan Plus users, reprinted with permission: Greetings From Your New Biggest Fan; My name is Ryan Eversole and I have been using accessibility software since 1997 or so. I have been a beta tester for Dolphin SuperNova for nearly a decade now, I have done beta testing for ZoomText from the time they rolled out a 64-bit solution until present and I have even done beta testing for JAWS. Beyond that I am the only approved trainer within about 100 miles of my home town for ClaroSoft products like Lightning and Thunder. Additionally, despite my visual impairment I work full time as both a fully licensed California insurance agent and an I.T. Manager/Consultant. In my spare time I am actually building an invention that is guaranteed to bring blind and low vision mobility and independence to the next level. At present I am working on prosecuting my patent so for obvious reasons I cannot go too far into … [Read more...] about A DocuScan Plus Endorsement
Liked It? Disliked It? Review It!
Sero has always been about connecting you to your favorite content and your community. Now, we're bringing these two aspects of Sero together. When you listen to a piece of content, now you can tell the Sero community what you think, by giving us your rating and writing a review. Giving us your rating is as easy as pressing one button. Once you've done that, you'll have the option to write a review as well. And don't forget that you can share your favorite content on social networks, by email, or even in a text message if you're running Sero on your smartphone. Ratings and reviews are available now on Windows, Mac, iOS, Apple TV, and Android. Unfortunately it is not currently practical to write a review on the Apple TV, so instead, Sero will send you an email that you can open on your computer or mobile device to write a review. So when you listen to something on Sero, whether you loved it, hated it, or just lost interest, please tell your community what you thought, by giving us your rating and writing a review. … [Read more...] about Liked It? Disliked It? Review It!
Double Your Spending Power on Black Friday!
How many times have you come across those gift certificate opportunities where you have to spend a good chunk of money to earn just a little money? You know the ones we’re talking about. Spend twenty-five to get thirty or some such. Well, we know there’s a place for those opportunities, but in typical Serotek fashion, we want to break tradition. How about this: Spend whatever quantity you want on a Serotek gift certificate, and we will fully match your amount. If you want a one hundred-dollar gift certificate, Serotek will give you another gift certificate of equal value. That would mean two hundred dollars toward the purchase of our popular document scanning app, our intuitive screen reading solution, a subscription to our growing feature set of the Sero app, or a combination of all three! It just doesn’t make sense to give you only a fraction of your return. We want to double your spending power, but this deal is only good on Black Friday, from midnight to 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The inventory is unlimmited. You just need to seize it! Are you interested in maximizing your hard-earned money? Yeah, we thought you might be, so click right now to take advantage of this rare promotion! … [Read more...] about Double Your Spending Power on Black Friday!
Why You Should Upgrade from Windows 7: Sometimes the Little Things Make All the Difference
It happens from time to time to all of us who rely on a screen reader. You go to a website, and with no prompting on your part, the website starts playing some music, a video, or something else that drowns out your screen reader. How do you turn the sound down, or just make it stop, short of closing the web page altogether? You try to find your way to the stop button or the volume control, but the sound from the web page is making it hard to hear what your screen reader is telling you. Wouldn't it be nice if your computer could automatically turn down the other sound while it's talking? Your iPhone can do that, after all. So why can't your PC? Now it can, if you're running Windows 8, or better yet, Windows 10. Starting with Windows 8, your computer can lower the volume of other sounds while a screen reader is speaking. We call this audio ducking. Earlier this year, NVDA added support for this very handy feature. JAWS is adding support as well in the public beta of version 18. And today, we're happy to announce that System Access supports audio ducking as well. To start taking advantage of audio ducking with System Access, simply open your System Access preferences, go to the … [Read more...] about Why You Should Upgrade from Windows 7: Sometimes the Little Things Make All the Difference
DocuScan Plus Will not be Fooled!
You might remember Brad Dunse from his contributions over on the SeroTalk blog. He’s got a knack with the words, and when we received the following email from him, we thought it worth asking for permission to reprint it here. He agreed, and so here you are, proof positive that DSP really is everything it’s cracked up to be, from the words of one satisfied customer. Here’s Brad: Even a cell pic of an old photo copy can’t fool DocuScan Plus I run two businesses, three when I’m doing my musician thing. And, I like being independent. On top of that, I volunteer for a state committee. Recently, one committee member forwarded a PDF to some of us blind folk to look at before a meeting. Here’s the exact exchange that went on. Check it out. Begin paste: “Dan, Do you have another format for the form. JAWS reads it as a 'blank document'. Brad, Did you have the same issue? Thanks Tim” Dan’s reply: “Tim, Unfortunately we were never given electronic copies as the limits were always subject to change, so this is a cell phone picture of a photo copy from several years ago.” End paste. You know what I did? I took that old slop of a cell pic. Put it through DocuScan Plus, and … [Read more...] about DocuScan Plus Will not be Fooled!
Blindfold Racer Championship 2016: A National Audio Gaming Tournament for The Blind and Visually Impaired
From time to time we like to bring you items of interest outside of the Serotek community. This is one such opportunity we thought you might find worth looking into: Project Starfish, a not for profit organization that provides persons with disabilities an opportunity to launch their careers, and Blindfold Games, a company founded by iOS developer Marty Schultz with a mission of providing a wide variety of audio games for the Blind and visually impaired, have come together to launch the first ever national gaming tournament for those who love audio games. Why have a national Blindfold Racer Championship? Project Starfish and Blindfold Games believe that visually impaired people who enjoy playing games deserve the same opportunity as their sighted counterparts. With this in mind, these two remarkable organizations are bringing audio gaming to the attention of the mainstream and the visually impaired community. Surprisingly, 90% of people with a visual impairment do not even know that Blindfold Games exist; and thus, do not know that they have the same opportunity to play many of the games that their sighted friends and family play each and every day. How Did This Tournament Come … [Read more...] about Blindfold Racer Championship 2016: A National Audio Gaming Tournament for The Blind and Visually Impaired
The Beta Program is Winding Down but the Savings are Ramping Up!
To show our appreciation for everyone’s participation in the Sero beta program, from now through Labor Day, we're offering a one-year subscription to our network service, plus a free month, for just $99. We haven't made this service available for such a low price in years, so don't miss out. Make sure you take advantage of this special offer before the end of Labor Day! Haven’t signed up yet? What are you waiting for? Get sign up now! The move to Sero means entertainment and information from the convenience of a single app across multiple platforms. It means faster updates across the board. It means voice chat and text chat at home on your computer or on the road via your smartphone. It means the ability to download content from our ever expanding library, starting a movie on your Mac or PC and finishing it up on your tablet. You’ll be able to better rate, share, and favorite the content you want and lots more! If you haven’t checked out Sero, we’ve got a lot to catch you up on! Sign up here and start experiencing entertainment and productivity at its finest! … [Read more...] about The Beta Program is Winding Down but the Savings are Ramping Up!
