FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Paul G. Silva
Cofounder and President
ZForm LLC
psilva@ZForm.com
(413) 585-9692
Northampton, MA – June 17, 2002 – ZForm today announced the launch of its first product, ZForm Poker, an online multiplayer game playable by blind, low vision and fully sighted users. To help inform the blind and visually impaired community (BVI) of the new release, ZForm will be exhibiting at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).
ZForm Poker was designed to fulfill ZForm's mission: to bring blind, low vision, and fully sighted together through the social medium of online games. Sporting a wild-west theme and an intuitive audio and graphical interface, the game is fun and easy for everyone to play. Using the Internet as a distribution medium means the game is readily available to people around the world.
"We've been pleasantly surprised not only by the response in the U.S., but by the number of people from all parts of the world that come together through ZForm Poker," said Paul Silva, ZForm's cofounder and president.
To help spread the word about ZForm Poker, ZForm will be exhibiting at this year's NFB convention in Louisville. They will be holding Poker tournaments throughout the convention, and giving away all kinds of great prizes. First-place prizes will change daily, featuring IBM's Home Page Reader®, Dolphin's Supernova®, and Independent Living Aids' Can-Do® Cassette Recorder. Second-place prizes will be 60-day evaluation copies of JAWS® for Windows®, provided by Freedom Scientific.
"We're very excited to have so many long-time contributors to the BVI community sponsoring our tournament. We look forward to a growing relationship with all of them, as our games complement the many great products that they have produced to make the world more accessible," said Jeremie Spitzer, cofounder and CEO of ZForm. For more information about the contest and how to locate ZForm's booth at the convention, browse to http://www.zform.com/news.html.
Tournament Sponsors:
Dolphin Computer Access has been developing assistive technology since 1986. They have consistently been among the leaders in the field, working closely with Microsoft to release their screen-access products shortly after operating system and program upgrades. Their current product, Supernova, combines the best of their screen-reading and magnification software into one flagship product, giving the user an unprecedented array of options in accessing the Windows screen. To download a free demo, or learn more about Dolphin, visit their website at http://www.dolphinusa.com.
IBM, throughout its corporate history, has demonstrated commitment to the advancement of persons with disabilities through innovative technologies and award winning programs. The IBM Worldwide Accessibility Center has been active for more than a decade in providing solutions for persons with disabilities. By partnering with IBM Research, universities, and selected business partners throughout the world, the IBM Accessibility Center is fostering the development of innovative, accessible e-business solutions that will provide greater access to information and technology. Today, IBM Home Page Reader, a self-voicing browser, empowers persons who are blind or visually impaired with equal access to the Internet. For more information about IBM solutions for persons with disabilities, or to download a thirty-day trial of IBM Home Page Reader, visit http://www.ibm.com/able.
Independent Living Aids has provided products that help the blind and visually impaired in their daily lives for over 25 years through their extensive Can-Do catalog. Their Can-Do Cassette Recorder boasts a sleep switch, so you no longer need to figure out where you were in that book when you fell asleep last night. To browse their catalog or learn more, visit their site at http://www.independentliving.com.
Freedom Scientific brings together the leaders in many areas of assistive technology, from notetakers to screen-readers. With unprecedented support for many common applications, JAWS for Windows, the world's most popular screen-reader, is the screen-reader of choice for 78,000 people and growing. To download a demo or find out more, visit http://www.hj.com.
About ZForm Poker:
ZForm Poker is a multiplayer online version of five-card draw poker, which allows both blind and sighted players to play and socialize together. The game's fun, intuitive interface lets PC users running any Windows version 98 or above and using any connection speed interact with other players in an entertaining atmosphere, complete with a Wild-West theme and a chat window that lets players send messages back and forth. An intuitive keyboard interface allows players to find any information they need at the press of a key. The amount of information a player hears can be set to "novice" or "expert," depending on the user's desired verbiage. Sighted players can completely turn off spoken messages in order not to be distracted.
ZForm Poker offers a variety of playing levels, ranging from beginner, with lower stakes and a slower pace, to the high-paced "High-Rollers" tables. There is also an option to play as a single player against computer opponents, which is a great way to familiarize oneself with the way the game works. Emphasis for this game is on fun and friends, and features like "Find-A-Friend" allow the player to search for other players by name.
To download the game and start your 15-day free trial and join the ZForm community, go to ZForm's web site at http://www.zform.com.
About ZForm:
ZForm is a small company in western Massachusetts dedicated to bringing the blind, low vision, and fully sighted together through online games. It all started in 1998 when cofounders Paul Silva and Jeremie Spitzer met Tim Keenan, a blind computer science major at UMass who was desperate for some "good" computer games that he could actually play. Paul and Jeremie integrated Tim's dream into their own, to create computer games, and the concept for ZForm was born. They have spent the last two years building infrastructure and gathering funding to enable them to launch their first product. ZForm Poker is a result of the generous contributions of many sponsors and individuals who have helped the company tremendously over the past two years. More information about the company and its sponsors can be found at http://www.zform.com.