Kurzweil Educational Systems Inc. announced on Monday that Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh version 2.5 will start shipping May 12. The new version, which helps learning-disabled students become better at reading and writing, adds the ability to scan and display documents, such as worksheets and textbook pages, in color. In addition, version 2.5 includes the ability to record voice notes and bookmark documents or images as well as a Read by Highlight feature that pulls out only the highlighted text for the student to read.
System requirements call for Mac OS 9.2.2 or Mac OS X v.10.2.4 or higher, a G3 or better processor, 128MB RAM (64MB for OS 9 users), 100MB hard drive space and a scanner that’s TWAIN-compatible in OS 9 or Image Capture compatible in Mac OS X.
Company representatives told MacCentral that with the addition of the color capability, current customers that are covered by their upgrade agreement will still need to pay the difference between version 2’s US$395 price per seat and version 2.5’s $539 price per seat. Customers can upgrade for free, however, if they don’t want the color capability but would like to add the other new features. Kurzweil’s upgrade agreement covers a 15-month period and sells for 15 percent of the software’s purchase price.