Kurzweil 3000: New Version 12 Announced

I was testing my links for the entry I just posted and I noticed on the KurzweilEdu.com website that Kurzweil has a new version. I downloaded the pdf flyer and the file properties showed that the pdf was created yesterday morning, so I think this should be news to most people.

To quote the website, here are a list of new features:

Expanded support of electronic content
• Internet Explorer® 7 and 8
• NIMAS
• DAISY 2 and 3
• MathML – opens up the world of mathematics and science text translation
• Additional PDF related functions
• Bookshare.org

Additional support for the English Language Learners
• Picture dictionary with more than 1300 graphics in English and Spanish
• Human voice pronunciations from American Heritage® Dictionary
• Language translations "on the fly" with Google™ Translate
• Multi-language recognition option
• NeoSpeech Violeta for Spanish text to speech [TTS]

Enhanced writing supports
• A Start Writing button and newly re-organized Write menu help to streamline the starting points for writing, making it easier to access Draft or Brainstorm templates
• New, comprehensive set of writing templates in Brainstorm format for writers and learners who work well with graphics, rather than with the text-based draft writing templates
• A new Create Draft button converts the Outline to a draft that is ready for expansion and reworking into prose
• A new Review Button brings the writing checklist directly to the toolbar
• More spelling support comes with word underlining and Right Mouse Button corrections

Personally, I'm really excited about the picture dictionary, the math support, updated OCR and voices (hopefully not just Spanish), and enhanced ELL support features. I can't wait to try it out. When I do, you can expect a review here on the CyberSERT blog.