ACB and Pulse Data HumanWare Provide Discount Program for ACB Members

WASHINGTON DC and CONCORD, CA, (November 18, 2003) -- The American Council of the Blind (ACB), and Pulse Data HumanWare (PDH) have joined in a marketing program designed to provide savings to ACB members who purchase PDH products according to a joint announcement made by Chris Gray, ACB President and Jim Halliday, PDH President Emeritus. The program provides a 5 (five) percent discount on all PDH core products beginning immediately.

“This program demonstrates how we can benefit our members through cooperative programs with manufacturers and distributors of technology which is critical to the success of blind and visually impaired
individuals,” Gray said. The ACB is the Nation’s leading consumer based advocacy organization representing blind and visually impaired consumers.

“This joint effort reflects PDH’s commitment to respond to consumer organizations that want to assist blind people to acquire appropriate technology in the United States and Canada,” Halliday said. Pulse Data is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of adaptive hardware and software designed to provide information access in Braille, speech and large print.

“To receive the discount a person needs only to identify themselves as an ACB member when they order a core product,” Halliday explained.

PDH’s core products available for the discount include a wide range of adaptive technology. 

· BrailleNote and VoiceNote are PDAs (personal data assistants), like a Palm or Pocket PC would be for a sighted person that offers an email package, internet access, a scheduler, a database manager, a calculator, a book reader, plus full word processing and spellchecking. These PDAs are amazingly friendly yet powerful personal productivity tools.

· The Braille Star 40 and 80 are intelligent Braille terminals designed to work with a screen reader accessing a laptop computer or a desktop workstation. Unlike other Braille terminals, Braille Stars include a scratchpad and memory that enable users to take notes or read books even when disconnected from a computer.

· The Mountbatten Brailler is a favorite of parents and teachers who want young blind children to start writing and exploring Braille at the same early ages that sighted children start exploring print, something that is not possible with traditional Braille writers. 

· The PIAF is a product for making tactile graphics quickly and easily. 

· The ScannaR is a stand alone scan/read machine that will scan print and read it to you in synthetic speech or dump the scanned text directly onto a BrailleNote where it can be read in contracted Braille. 

·For folks who still have some useable vision, there are six SmartView video magnifiers options from a basic black and white system, to full color systems to computer access models.

·For portable applications at restaurants or while shopping, PocketViewer is a miniature video magnifier that is ideal for portable reading applications.

“The discount does not apply to products purchased prior to this announcement or to accessories,” Halliday explained.

“We are pleased to join with PDH because they have a proven record of providing valuable products and services to blind and visually impaired individuals,” Gray said.

Media Contacts: 
Ralph Sanders 
American Council of the Blind 
ralph.pat1@juno.com 
(800) 424-8666 

Jim Halliday 
Pulse Data HumanWare 
jhalliday@humanware.com
800-433-8314