The News Review:
- Microsoft Word Plug-in Will Aid Visually Impaired.
- Google Empire Moves From Creating to Recreating
- IBM’s Lotus Symphony Continues DF Push
Microsoft Word Plug-in Will Aid Visually Impaired.
Free with registration – eWeek – AccessMyLibrary.com – Nov 13, 2007
BARCELNA–Microsoft and the Daisy Consortium are working together to create a text-to-audio translation plug-in for visually impaired users of pen XML-enabled Microsoft Word documents. The resulting “Save as Daisy”(Digital Accessible Information System) plug-in for Microsoft Word will make it possible to convert pen XML-based documents into Daisy XML a standard for reading and publishing navigable multimedia content used by individuals who are visually impaired Reed Shaffner product manager for Microsoft ffice Word and accessibility told eWEEK in an interview at the Microsoft TechEd: IT Forum conference here. “This is a great opportunity.
Google Empire Moves From Creating to Recreating
Washington Post – Nov 13, 2007
Roger Kay an analyst with Endpoint Technology Associates said the company has matured both financially and technologically giving it the flexibility to wait for its programs to gain ground gradually. But Kay also said Google which dominates online search and advertising could run into the same business dilemma as Microsoft. Microsoft had two blockbuster cash cows: the Windows operating system for computers and the ffice software package that includes Word Excel and. But now Microsoft is trying to figure out how it will evolve Kay said. "They generated huge amounts of cash but then they had the other business problem of ‘What do you do for an Act II?’ " Kay said.
IBM’s Lotus Symphony Continues DF Push
PC World – Nov 13, 2007
Rhodin says IBM will eventually offer fee-based phone support for Symphony for those who feel they need it. “I don’t expect a lot of people to buy it” he says. “The reality is when was the last time you called. “We will turn the Symphony Web site into a social-networking showcase on how to distribute and manage software in the field” Rhodin says. IBM says Beta 2 will streamline the download process which frustrated some users of Beta 1.