Ten months down, two to go. The year is flying by but the goal we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year was met today – namely making sure we release JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion 2019 at the same time. JAWS 2019 posted this past Tuesday; ZoomText 2019 and Fusion 2019 post today. Why does this matter?
It matters for a variety of reasons, the main one is ensuring that for our customers that support users of our technology, such as assessors, trainers, and educational institutions, we release the software that is tested to work together all at once. Having a lag of even one or two months between releases, especially in a product like Fusion, which includes both JAWS and ZoomText, becomes a support and training nightmare. What version do you have? Which versions work together? I have JAWS 2019 – can I use it with ZoomText 2018? I am using Fusion 2018, why doesn’t it launch JAWS 2019? And so on. You get the picture.
It also matters because we live in a dynamic world of software and systems that change about as often as you blink… okay, maybe not that often, but change they do. Our software engineering and system test teams are hard at work to make sure the latest versions of Windows 10, Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and more are supported. The 2019 releases represent the culmination of this effort.
In addition to some new productivity features, we focused on improving the overall feel and stability of the products – a challenge because the environment under us is constantly changing. But this is our mission, to provide you, the users, technology you can depend on.
Another goal we set was to provide a lower cost alternative to our software for home users. We begin this effort in the United States but will continue from there. It’s what we call our Home Annual licenses, which are fully managed by you, the user, via our Software Licensing Portal. After purchasing a license on the Freedom Scientific web store, you are directed to the Portal, where you can download and activate your license, view how many activation keys you have used, and best yet – reset your keys to allow you to move your license between computers you use.
Two years ago, ZoomText was not on a reliable and regular release cadence. Since the merger of Freedom Scientific and Ai Squared, we focused on releasing ZoomText and Fusion regularly, and releasing maintenance updates every 4 to 6 weeks. But today’s coincident release of all three products is our capstone. And now that the precedent has been set, our challenge and commitment is to repeat again in a year. So, hats off (not that I wear a hat…) to all the women and men at Freedom Scientific that worked long days and many hours to get to this point. If you haven’t tried the 2019 versions of our software, download and try it out. We are confident you will appreciate their hard work.
I love love love the anual licenses for JAWS! Thank you so so much for such an amazing product and making it affordable for me now!
I would also like to thank Vispero for offering a subscription option for their software. I’m a user with a license covering version 6.2. For users such as myself this new subscription model means that I can quickly and easily upgrade to the latest version of JAWS in a way that is very economical. Thank you for choosing to embrace this method of distribution.
I am 93, live in Canada & currently use ZT 10.1. My son is my adviser and we have contacted a Canadian supplier who has been very helpful. How long will we have to wait for ZT 2019 to be released to Canadians? I use Firefox as a browser ans two emails, gmail & Thunderbird, both have +&- so I use them for different purposes.
Since ZT8 I have found that if you did not use Microsoft products you ere left out in the cold in spite of evidence that other products are superior/
Serif typefaces are easier to read than sans-serif and again we are bullied by Microsoft to use Arial. My word processor defaults to Times New Roman. look at any newspaper or magazine to see what I mean.
Wilfrid Tarbet, Ottawa Ontario
All releases of ZoomText since 10.1 have been available in Canada, including our recent ZoomText 2019 release. For sales and support please contact our dealer, Optelec Canada 1-800-665-3005.
As usual you do, you are caring only to US customers. I suspect that we from some parts of Europe will ever be able to purchase JAWS home anual.
Our sales in Europe are through our dealers and distributors, and our next step is to discuss market interest in a similar Home Annual program. Stay tuned for future developments.