“The baby boomers are coming! The baby boomers are coming!” You can hear the cry ringing out in agencies and organizations that work with blind and low vision people throughout the country. And, just when they need more money and resources to deal with the influx of newly blind seniors, the Federal and state governments, feeling the crunch of a poor economy and a raging Federal deficit, are scaling back. Our brave, blind services militia is standing exposed, running out of ammunition, and seeing the hoard descending upon them. Wise people know that if this first line of defense fails and cannot contain the influx of newly blind seniors helping the majority of them to live independently with a high quality of life, society will feel the impact several times over with Medicare and Medicaid costs soaring and a huge demand society cannot fill for specialized housing, transportation, personal attendants, and more. You might think that the adaptive technology industry and the vendors who have, for years, made a healthy profit selling traditional screen readers, hardware, and services to this community, would now step up to the plate and help the home team meet the challenge. But … [Read more...] about Serving More People, Better, And For Less
SAToGo
Dining with Giants
We had an opportunity on Friday to have dinner with some folks who have made a difference in each of our lives. The occasion was the annual American Foundation for the Blind accessibility awards dinner and we were there because Serotek received the award for System Access To Go. My wife and I were in rare company and we were honored to be there. SAToGo has indeed made a difference in many people’s lives and will continue to do so for years to come. But I don’t want to talk about us today. I sat in a room full of giants – people making a difference every day and not getting a whole lot of press. I want to celebrate these people – both the recipients and the members of the American Foundation for the Blind who came together to recognize these contributions. There were three recipients of the 2008 Accessibility Award. In addition to Serotek, the award was given to Code Factory and to Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian. At the same event, Anita Aaron, Executive Director of the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind received the 2008 Gallagher Award. My good friend Eduardo Sanchez Palazon, CEO of Code Factory, came from Spain to receive the accessibility award for making cell … [Read more...] about Dining with Giants
Serotek CSUN 2008 Announcement
We cordially invite you to join us at booth 357 at the Marriott LAX for the annual CSUN conference, March 12 through March 15. We’ll be showcasing several exciting new features of System Access and the System Access Mobile Network that you won’t want to miss. First, we are proud to announce the addition of magnification to our System Access software. Magnification ranges from 1.25X to 6X, and can be increased in increments of .25. This update is available in all paid System Access packages as System Access version 2.4, and it is also part of the free online version of System Access to Go. There is absolutely no charge for the update, and it will automatically be downloaded and installed for all current users of System Access. Serotek continues its commitment to the accessible digital lifestyle by introducing features for portable devices that will ensure that you have access to all your favorite content from the System Access Mobile Network, even when you aren’t near a computer. Supported devices include the Victor Reader Stream from Humanware using the latest firmware update, and the Icon from LevelStar. You can send your email, news, podcasts, radio dramas, and even your … [Read more...] about Serotek CSUN 2008 Announcement
Are we nuts?
People are asking that question since Serotek elected to make its AFB Access Award winning product, SAToGo, available to all, in conjunction with The AIR Foundation, for no charge.For the record, the answer is “No. We are not crazy. This makes good sense both from a humanitarian perspective and from a business perspective.”Stop and think a minute. Does Google charge for using its search engine or for looking up a location on Google Maps? Does Microsoft charge for Internet Explorer? How about Firefox? And wasn’t it Netscape that broke open the Internet with a free browser?In the long run Netscape lost the battle of the browsers but they completely changed the marketplace.I think everyone out there understands the humanitarian reasons for making SAToGo available at no charge, but let me talk about the business reasons.Before we made the free accessibility announcement the entire market for accessibility tools was a few hundred thousand people, worldwide. But there are more than 350 million blind people and a couple hundred million low vision people who would benefit from these tools. So in a very real sense the structure of the adaptive technology marketplace was such that it could … [Read more...] about Are we nuts?
Serotek Honored with AFB Access Award
Technology company earns prestigious award for SA To Go software MINNEAPOLIS – January 24, 2008 – Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services, is pleased to announce they have been chosen as a recipient of the 2008 Access Award. Presented by the American Foundation for the Blind, the Access Awards recognize individuals, corporations and organizations that are eliminating or substantially reducing inequities faced by people who are blind or visually impaired. One of only three companies chosen to receive the Access Award, Serotek Corporation is being honored for providing access to screen reading software from any computer at any time through its System Access To Go (SA To Go) product. A Web 2.0 software offering, SA To Go is available at www.satogo.com to anyone interested in having their computer screen content read aloud to them. From the blind to novice users to multi-taskers, this accessibility option is operational from any computer with Internet access. “From macular degeneration to diabetes and more, the world’s aging population will have a growing incidence of visual impairment, low vision … [Read more...] about Serotek Honored with AFB Access Award
New Pricing Explained
We have received several calls and emails that indicate some confusion about one of our new pricing packages. Let me take a second to explain it.If you choose to pay $24.95 per month for 48 months, you are actually buying System Access Mobile and network access on forty-eight month terms. You are paying for:1. System Access Mobile – a $499 retail value.2. Neo Speech -- a $49.95 retail value3. And four years of System Access Mobile Network complete with all software updates at a cost of $129 per year, retail value.Note: We do not offer this package without network access. Because users would not have access to features like SAToGo and remote computer access. Not to mention our tons of content.After your fourth year of service, you have completed the purchase of System Access Mobile and Neo Speech. That means starting in year five, you have the option to continue with product updates with no SA Mobile Network services for $60 per year for life or to purchase System Access Mobile Network Services complete with product updates for $129 per year for life.What do we mean by “for life?” These prices continue for you as long as you maintain an ongoing business relationship with Serotek. If … [Read more...] about New Pricing Explained
Living the Digital Lifestyle
This week I am in our Minneapolis office and was able to work with my computer at home, my Serotek intranet, and even hear music. I did all this without even plugging in a thumbdrive. Using SAToGo I did it all. I got to thinking about this digital lifestyle.We’ve been seduced into it, often without even knowing that it is happening to us. In our pocket we have a cell phone that does an amazing number of things besides make voice calls. Quite likely we have some sort of music-playing device – an I-pod or MP3 player. We have a computer or two or three, probably wired together (or today, connected via a wireless network). Maybe we have a personal digital assistant or other type of note-taker. It’s a lot of gear, but we don’t think of any of these as gadgets anymore. They are necessities. We can’t imagine functioning without them.Welcome to the digital lifestyle. But it’s more than devices.We are also members of a variety of online services for social networking, entertainment, education, information. We order our movies and music online and maybe pizza. We “Google” anything we need to know. We are “wired” into any number of online communities and exchange information on our … [Read more...] about Living the Digital Lifestyle
SAToGo Beta – Phase 2
Thank you for participating in the first phase of Beta testing for Seroteks amazing online accessibility tool, SAToGo. We are reviewing your many comments and making adjustments to the product in response. The initial reaction from beta users is that SAToGo is an astounding success.Effective October 15, 2007, the public beta phase is ended. We are now moving into the second phase of Beta testing which focuses on interaction with features of the System Access Mobile Network. SAMobile.net subscribers can continue their use of SAToGo indefinitely. Those who are not yet SAMobile.net subscribers but would like to continue to use SAToGo are invited to subscribe. A one-year subscription to SAMobile.net costs $229 for the first year and $129 for every year of continuous service after that for life. Or you can purchase System Access Mobile, for $499 Seroteks award winning screen reader alternative for PC access at home, on the job, or at school, including a license for a U3 compatible thumb drive. Purchase this package and get a years subscription to SAMobile.net at no additional charge. Offer is valid until December 1st 2007. In either case, you will be able to continue to use … [Read more...] about SAToGo Beta – Phase 2
From Street Kid to CEO: An Interview with Mike Calvo – AccessWorld® – September 2007
We invite all of you to check out this interview of Mike Calvo, Serotek's CEO, in the September 2007 issue of AccessWorld, the assistive technology newsletter published by the American Foundation for the Blind. … [Read more...] about From Street Kid to CEO: An Interview with Mike Calvo – AccessWorld® – September 2007
BBC Access 2.0: SAToGo on the Go
Great article about System Access to Go has been posted to BBC's Access 2.0 blog. … [Read more...] about BBC Access 2.0: SAToGo on the Go
