J-Say is the world leader in providing a blind person with the ability to control the computer with the human voice.
J-Say brings together Dragon professional from Nuance, and JAWS For Windows from Freedom Scientific. However although the product integrates these applications, it also presents the User with an easy to understand interface enabling interaction with the computer using natural language and easy to remember and understand vocabulary.
It's quite simple. You can talk to the computer and it talks back to you. You can control most aspects of the computer just by using your voice, so J-Say is ideal for anyone who cannot (or does not want to use) the keyboard. See J-Say in Action or Hear Our Audio Podcast!
As the product has evolved the range of people who are benefiting from the technology has increased. From people who simply want to be more productive and use their voice as an additional means of computer input and control, to individuals who have complex combinations of needs, and who find it difficult if not impossible to make use of computer technology using traditionally accepted methods of input access and control.
Even more remarkably many people interacting with this technology do not have a visual impairment simply finding it difficult or uncomfortable to use the computer screen and so find the J-Say approach more suited to their needs.
Please do try it. We would really like you to! Remember, do not touch the computer keyboard. Within a minute or two, you will soon discover it is an extremely frustrating experience.
In addition to our amazing J-Say features listed below, the product gives you:
J-Say provides access to applications which reflect the three most common things which people need to do with computers on a day-to-day basis.
Complete access to this application is made possible enabling people, without having to touch the keyboard or look at the screen, to create documents, control text layout, fill in forms and other complex documents, and open/save files, amongst other things.
If you need to word process, doing it the J-Say way takes away the need to use either one's hands or one's eyes, do it all controlling the application with your voice and accessing the computer screen with your ears.
If you need to work with e-mail, then J-Say Pro provides you with a set of
tools to enable you to take complete control of anything e-mail related.
From creating messages to Email navigation, moving and copying messages to
folders, to keeping track of your schedule through the Outlook calendar. Our
user interface to Microsoft Outlook provides the user with fast, efficient and
effective access and control to all aspects of the application.
J-Say Pro technology provides intuitive access to all aspects of internet navigation and control. From the finding, launching and browsing of WebPages, to the completion of web forms such as searches and shopping carts, J-Say provides the user with natural language internet access like never before.
Assuming a level of installation and training is purchased, J-Say can be easily configured to allow a physically disabled and visually impaired person to independently carry out tasks such as dialing telephone numbers, through to using software-based DVD and DAISY talking book players. J-Say Pro can also be customized to perform optimally with applications used in the workplace.
You may also care to Purchase Training from your local J-Say Distributor.Please read this section carefully!
It is important that the computer on which J-Say and associated products are to be installed conforms to the following minimum specification, and that the software requirements are met.
The J-Say User Guide comprises three Books. The first Book consists of the "Installation Guide", which gives you step by step detail on how to install your J-Say product. It goes onto describe the voice training enrollment process and how to configure the Windows operating system, associated applications and the J-Say software to perform optimally. Finally, the "Installation Guide" discusses the hardware and software which should be used to ensure you can get the most from the J-Say interface, all using non-technical language where possible and delivered from the perspective of visually impaired people wishing to install the product.
The second volume consists of a J-Say tutorial or "Learning Module". The tutorial teaches you how to use J-Say with its many features, how you can work with non-supported applications and how you can educate the software to learn how you pronounce words and phrases. Again, the language used is not technical, delivered using step-by-step instructions.
The third book is the Command Summary which lists every voice command which can be spoken.
Please Read a Sample of the User Guide!
An E-Mail list has been established to discuss all aspects of the J-Say product line. In particular, it can be used as a vehicle for product suggestions or for gaining assistance from other J-Say users. Feel free to Subscribe to the mailing list!
We are very proud to bring you the anticipated release of J-Say version 17.0.
During 2018, we brought to the J-Say community three major releases of the product: One in January, another in May and a third in June. We brought to you at least 15 new features this year, including the commands in Sleep Mode, access to news and weather, and a new way of accessing attachments in Microsoft Outlook.
This year, we are adopting a similar approach. We are already ahead on our release schedule because we are not at the end of 2018 yet.
Principally due to the release of JAWS 2019, and Vispero’s annual licencing model for Home Users, we are bringing to you the initial release of J-Say now to ensure it is compatible with JAWS 2019. This was not quite as straightforward as it would appear. Due to a faster startup time within JAWS, (and what Vispero call a “grace period of authorisation being adopted at startup”, work needed to be done in that area. In JAWS 2019, the mechanism by which JAWS deals with different Office applications has significantly changed. The end result to you is that the response time when using Office is faster, but that created more work for us. Finally, the Skype support needed a complete rewrite to coexist withSkype version 8. It wasn’t just a case of adapting what we had available.
All this work has now been done and is available in this version. We’ve also ensured that this release coexists much more favourably with Zoomtext Fusion as there were problems with earlier versions.
Our next major release will be with you before Christmas. The priorities are to improve the range of voice commands for Skype 8 users, provide some support for Skype for Business, and to deliver a range of commands for use with the OpenTween Twitter client.
J-Say 17 is compatible with JAWS and Fusion 2019 and earlier, all versions going back to 14.0. With technology changing so rapidly, including Windows itself and Microsoft Office updates, we highly recommend the use of JAWS or Fusion 2019 if at all possible. But if not, we're still supporting the older releases.
If you are using Office 365 and/or Windows10, we highly recommend the use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional Individual version 15.3.
Please note at this time, J-Say 17 is only compatible with Dragon Professional Individual 15.3. Should there be a need to support an earlier release of Dragon, this can be easily accommodated. Please let us know.
J-Say 17.0 coexists with:
Microsoft Office 2010 through to 365(Microsoft Office 365 is highly recommended);
JAWS for Windows versions 14 through to 2019,
Zoomtext Fusion with JAWS for Windows 2018 or 2019,
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version 15.3.
When you purchased J-Say 17.0, you will have received an Email containing details of how to download and install the product.
If you think you may be entitled to a free upgrade, (either because you purchased the product after August 2018 or because you hold a current Software Maintenance Agreement), you will need to send your JAWS serial number to jaws@hartgen.org, whereupon we will get you up and running.
The documentation is available to you when you install the product by saying
“Get Help”
Or by locating it from the J-Say Configuration Wizard.
You do not need to uninstall the previous version of J-Say, 16.0, before installing the new version. Please just follow these instructions.
1. Be sure that the computer to host J-Say technology has an active connection to the internet.
2. Log onto the Windows account of the person to be using J-Say. Be sure that the user’s account contains “Administrator Privileges”. Please note that logging onto the Windows account of the person using the technology is a critical step. Many people are not doing this.
3. Download the J-Say 17.0 program, a link for which will have been provided within an Email message following the purchase of a licence. If you have not received such an Email, please send your JAWS serial number to jaws@hartgen.org.
4. Run the J-Say 17.0 installer program, restarting the computer when prompted.
5. Wait for approximately two minutes after Microsoft Windows has fully loaded. If an activation file is found, it will be downloaded to the computer and you will be prompted to restart JAWS. Please select the “Yes” Button to comply with this request.
Any Contacts, Shortcuts or Text Notes should be automatically available to you and will have been brought across from your older JAWS version to the new one.