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Kurzweil 1000 Online Features
The main objective of Kurzweil 1000 online features is to provide
you with direct access to up-to-date material from a variety of
sources. Kurzweil 1000 online access is easy, central, and
virtual.Without leaving your computer, Kurzweil 1000 lets you get a
wide range of electronic text, such as the following:
Books and electronic text from free and subscription-based
digital library Web sites, and from the free Kurzweil 1000 Classic
Literature CD.
Lists of most or all of the items available from a digital library.
Magazines from free and subscription-based Web sites.
Articles from online encyclopedias.
Note: Although the Use an Encyclopedia feature is in the
Online menu, its details are in Chapter 6, Reference Tools.
News from Kurzweil Educational Systems Inc.
Translations find details about this feature in Chapter 6, Reference
Tools.
Updates for the Kurzweil 1000 product as they become available
from Kurzweil Educational Systems Inc. You can keep the material
download for your personal use, have Kurzweil 1000 read it and/or
convert it into portable formats. For more information about portable
file formats, go to Chapter 14, File Portability.
The next few subsections provide general information and
procedures that are common to all online search and download
functions, including file management for downloaded files. In later
subsections, you’ll find instructions specific to each type of search.
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Your Internet Connection
The first requirement for online access from Kurzweil 1000 is an
Internet connection. The speed with which you are able to search
and download material depends on the type of connection you
have. For instance, accessing the Internet on a T1 connection at
work would be markedly faster than having a telephone line.
If you are using a dial-up connection, you should connect to the
Internet before you attempt to use these features.
Live Web Sites
When you request an online search, you are reaching live Web
sites. While many sites included on the Sites list in the Search
Online Books dialog (ALT+N+S) are available to anyone, some
sites provide material only to those who are eligible and registered
with the appropriate organizations.
From time to time, Kurzweil Educational Systems adds new Web
sites. The following are sample Web sites that are part of the list
Kurzweil 1000 uses. For a complete list, go to Appendix C,
Searchable Web Sites.
Bookshare, at www.Bookshare.org, is an online book-sharing
community that provides its members with access to copyrighted,
scanned books on a subscription basis. Also, just after this
selection on the Sites list, is the related Bookshare.org New
Books, which lets you search for new Bookshare.org releases.
Project Gutenberg, at www.gutenberg.net, is an online repository
of electronic text and books.
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Web Braille. When you use the online magazine or online book
search features, you are searching the Web Braille Web site, a
service of the Library of Congress. Eligible individuals and
institutions have access to electronic text from a variety of sources
that the service has put into Braille format. The Web Braille site is
password protected.
Guidelines for Using Online Material
Kurzweil Educational Systems provides online access as a
convenience to and as a source of enjoyment for customers, but
keep in mind that the material you download should be used within
the guidelines of copyright laws.
Accessing Kurzweil 1000 Online Features
Online options and commands are accessible only through the
menu interface.
The Online menu is located to the right of the Tools menu in the
Kurzweil 1000 menu bar, and contains selections that enable you to
search for books and magazines, text from the Classic Literature
CD, as well as for news from Kurzweil Educational Systems and for
Kurzweil 1000 product updates.
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General Search and Download Process
Selecting a search from the Online menu opens a Online Search
dialog. Each type of search has its own Search dialog with unique
options as well as common elements that they all share. Refer to
the last several sections in this chapter for specific details about
each Search dialog.
While the system performs the search, the Online Status dialog
provides you with ongoing audible status.
The Online Status dialog contains five components:
Status box (mnemonic ALT+S) announces the status when
Kurzweil 1000 completes searching the first site and then again
after the last site, or when there’s an error. You can press any key
during the search process to hear the current status.
Items available for download box (ALT+I) follows. When the
search is complete, a checkbox list of books available for
downloading is presented in this box. Use the UP/DOWN ARROW
keys and the SPACEBAR to select any number of items.
You can also search the list of books by pressing CONTROL+F. In
the find dialog that opens, type in a word or partial word, then press
ENTER to search the list. Kurzweil 1000 reads the first item it finds.
Press F3 to hear the next matching item, and SHIFT+F3 to hear the
previous matching item.
Search Again (ALT+A) is active only if you have chosen not to
download any items. Choose this command to go back to the
Online Search dialog with the selections and entries you just used
for this search.
OK and Cancel. You can also use the ENTER key to OK the
download. When you OK a download, Kurzweil 1000 downloads
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the materials in the background so that you can continue to use
other functions and applications.
You can download multiple files. If there are multiple file formats,
you can select the format you want. This is especially helpful for
downloading Braille versions of BookShare documents.
Once downloaded, you can open and read the file or files.
Notes:
• Certain sites, like Bookshare.org, are subscription- or
member-based, and require a user name and password when
downloading and opening files.
• Bookshare.org also grants institutional accounts. With this type
of account, an employee of the institution logs on, and
downloads books on behalf of members, such as students. Each
downloaded book needs to be associated with the member who
gets it.
If you log onto Bookshare with an institutional account and
attempt to download a book, Kurzweil 1000 asks you to select
the appropriate member from a list of members associated with
the account.
Unexpected Search Results
If you don’t get the results you expected, or nothing is found, check
your search parameters and try another search strategy. It could
also be that the material you are looking for is not available at the
site(s) you specified.
Also, because the Web sites are live, you may encounter problems
when they change their content.
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Exiting Kurzweil 1000 During a Download
If you try to exit from Kurzweil 1000 while a download is in progress,
you’ll hear a warning. If you continue, Kurzweil 1000 stops the
download.
Managing Downloaded Files
You can find downloaded files in the Download folder in the
Kurzweil Educational Systems folder, or you can automatically
open files you have recently downloaded.
Opening Downloaded Files
1. Open the File menu and choose Open or press ALT+F+O.
Kurzweil 1000 asks if want to open the recently downloaded file
or files.
2. Press ENTER.
Notes:
If you want to open an older downloaded file, find it in the
Download folder.
Depending on the size of the file, it may take a few minutes to
open. If you are opening an encrypted Bookshare.org
document, the system asks you to enter your password again.
It’s a good idea to rename the downloaded files after you open
them and place them in another folder. Consistently organizing
your files can help you find them quickly at a later time.
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Using Online Cache to Store and Update Site Access
For some Web sites, Kurzweil 1000 downloads a complete list of
the site’s contents when you begin a search. You can specify how
frequently the program refreshes that list. A frequent refresh of a
site’s contents guarantees your access to new materials on the site.
However, it can slow down your search time.
Online Cache is available in the Configuration Settings tab page.
You can request Kurzweil 1000 to perform the cache function
Always, or if the list is older than 7 Days or 30 Days. The default is
7 days.
To configure the online cache option:
1. Open the Settings menu and select Configuration.
The Configuration Settings tab page opens.
2. Use the TAB key or ALT+C to go to the Online Cache list box.
3. Use the UP/DOWN ARROW keys to select 7 Days, 30 Days or
Always Refresh.
4. Press the ENTER key.
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
