Kurzweil Educational Systems Raises Bar
With New License-to-Go Feature™

New Kurzweil 3000 for Windows Version 9
Adds More Flexibility and Portability for Network Users

LOS ANGELES, CA and BEDFORD, MA - March 16, 2005

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc., innovator of reading technology for individuals with visual or learning disabilities, today unveils Kurzweil 3000™ for Windows Version 9 at the 2005 California State University of Northridge (CSUN) "Technology and Persons with Disabilities" Conference held March 14th-19th at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott in Los Angeles, CA. Kurzweil 3000 is the premier reading, writing and learning software for struggling students.

Kurzweil 3000 is the first software of its kind to offer a feature like License-to-Go, which provides an easy way for network users to access Kurzweil 3000 without being physically connected to the network. Schools can grant licenses "to go" to any laptop on the network, enabling usage of Kurzweil 3000 on that computer in or out of the classroom – whether at the library, resource room or even at home. Best of all, teachers or IT administrators can control the usage of the license by specifying the length of time that the license remains valid, whether overnight, a week, a semester or a year.

"I work in a number of schools and I like the new License-to-Go feature because I always have access to Kurzweil 3000 on my laptop whenever and wherever I need it. I can also show parents, teachers and administrators how Kurzweil 3000 can help their students – both at and after school," said Debra Reichard, Assistive Technology Specialist for North Attleboro Public Schools in North Attleboro, MA.

In addition to the new License-to-Go feature, both the network and standalone editions of Version 9 include a host of new instructional and learning tools for teachers and students as well as new writing, vocabulary-building and document preparation features, including:

• Additional Instructional Support with Bubble Notes
  
  Bubble Notes allow teachers to add notes that automatically come up when a user encounters one in a document. With Bubble Notes, teachers have access to a collection of tools to insert multiple choice, true/false, matching, and open-ended text response questions. Teachers can also insert comments that will appear when the student arrives at a particular section of text. By using Bubble Notes, teachers are better equipped to help their students develop specific skills, assess their reading comprehension, guide them through tasks and keep them on track.
   
• Additional Read the Web and Online Information Sources
  
  Kurzweil 3000 for Windows now supports the exciting new Firefox browser from the Mozilla Foundation. With its enhanced security features, Firefox is becoming increasingly popular as a browser alternative for businesses, educational institutions, and individual users. Using Firefox, Kurzweil 3000's Read the Web feature has the ability to read text aloud within frames and new windows and supports the use of e-Learning course management systems. Kurzweil 3000 Version 9 also has the added ability to search online encyclopedias and other sources, such as Columbia Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica Concise (also Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Britannica Student available by subscription), Wikipedia Encyclopedia (in English, French and Spanish), Bartlett's, and Respectively Quoted Quotations, so students can do research assignments quickly within the software.
   
• New Voice Options
  
  Two new fully integrated VoiceText™ voices from NeoSpeech – one male, one female – offer natural-sounding voices that are easy to comprehend and adjust to the user's reading preferences.
   
• Expanded Writing Options
  
  Kurzweil 3000 for Windows now includes more flexible Word Prediction options to meet student vocabulary needs. Students can start with a small, medium or large Word Prediction vocabulary, depending on their writing level, or they can choose to start with only their own specific word lists. Students and teachers can also add additional words to Word Prediction by typing in new words related to a specific subject area or choosing specific word lists from existing Kurzweil 3000 Vocabulary Lists.
   
• Updated and Enhanced Document Preparation:
  
  - New and Updated OCR Engines
  Two new OCR engines from ScanSoft® and an update of ABBYY FineReader™ provide the most accurate available recognition.
  
  - Added Scanner Optimization
  Kurzweil 3000 for Windows now incorporates powerful scanning enhancements for settings such as thresholding, brightness, resolution and speckle removal, providing an easy way to obtain better recognition results and eliminate the frustrating trial and error associated with scan settings.
  
  - Enhanced Edit Underlying Text and Zone Editing
  The Edit Underlying Text window is now WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), making editing of scanned text easier than ever. Users can now see exactly where they are in the image document when editing and have the option of saving underlying text edits before or after zone editing (ordering the sequence in which blocks of text are read aloud).

Availability

Both the standalone and network editions of Kurzweil 3000 for Windows Version 9 are scheduled to ship in Q2 2005.

When shipping begins, Kurzweil 3000 for Windows Version 9 can be purchased through VocaLinks Inc. (1-877-410-0342).

About Kurzweil 3000

Kurzweil 3000 is widely recognized as the most comprehensive and integrated solution for addressing language and literacy difficulties. The software uses a multi-sensory approach – presenting printed or electronic text on the computer screen with added visual and audible accessibility. The product incorporates a host of dynamic features, including powerful decoding, study skills, writing and test-taking tools, all designed to adapt to each individual's learning style and to encourage active learning.

Today, students around the world are using Kurzweil 3000 for its award-winning reading, writing, study-skills and test-taking capabilities. In addition, the states of Massachusetts and Maryland, the Canadian Province of Ontario and the U.S. Department of Defense schools throughout the U.S., Europe and the Pacific have formally approved Kurzweil 3000 as an accommodation for use in annual high-stakes assessment tests.