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Related ACB Press Release

HiSoftware Company Receives Product Endorsement From American Council of the Blind

Concord, NH - May 21, 2003 – HiSoftware Company Inc announced today that its solutions Cynthia Says™ and AccVerify Cynthia Says™ Edition were given a full recommendation by American Council of the Blind (“ACB”) President Chris Grey and Executive Director Charlie Crawford. HiSoftware solutions were endorsed by ACB because of the solutions scalability, cost effectiveness, and usefulness in Web site accessibility testing.

HiSoftware Company launched Cynthia Says™ in March of 2003, in cooperation with the International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet ( http://www.icdri.org/...), and the Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter (http://www.isocdisab.org/about.htm...). Cynthia Says™ provides testing of Web sites for compliance with Section 508 and W3C web accessibility standards. The portal bases testing service tests Web Sites and reports Accessibility issues immediately through simple and easy-to-understand Web browser based reports.

Through it’s endorsement, American Council of the Blind will also be promoting the downloadable version of the software, AccVerify Cynthia Says™ Edition. This solution is available at no cost to all K-12 schools. It is also available at a nominal cost to others. This special edition of AccVerify has been made available to help educate and assist web content developers in accessible development. More information is available at: http://www.cynthiasays.com/accverifycs/index.html...

The software provides feedback to users in a reporting format that is clear and easy to understand. Accessibility issues are detected within web sites from Web-based applications, dynamic pages, or static HTML pages. Users get an immediate report of their Web project accessibility.

Robert B. Yonaitis, HiSoftware Company CEO and President stated, “We are very pleased to have the support of American Council of the Blind for these solutions. Our goal is to provide a well supported, accessibility validation tester for those who need to test a page and to expose them to the underlying technology. AccVerify Cynthia Says™ Edition educates users in the concepts behind Web site accessibility. The simple, well-designed interface puts accessibility compliant code within the reach of all users, even those with little or no knowledge of Web design.”

HiSoftware Company’s software applications AccMonitor Server and AccVerify power Cynthia Says™ and AccVerify Cynthia Says™ Edition. HiSoftware’s commercial verification, repair and monitoring solutions provide a comprehensive interface for testing content against global standards for Accessibility, Privacy, Usability and Search. These solutions, available as desktop and automated server-based applications, empower quality assurance teams and content developers to create and manage Web Content quality factors. They allow users to define and conduct custom tests. The final result is a complete and concise report on the total accessibility, quality and policy compliance status of content that has been tested. The software allows users to work collaboratively on reporting and repair and provides unsurpassed team services, workflow capabilities and a flexible, scalable enterprise monitoring system.

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ABOUT HISOFTWARE
HiSoftware Company, the leader in enterprise content quality management solutions, provides innovative products that empower quality assurance teams, content developers, Web site architects, and company executives to work collaboratively on their efforts to create and manage corporate Web standards for Accessibility, Privacy, Searchability, Usability and custom guidelines and policies. HiSoftware’s integrated, full lifecycle solutions dramatically reduce the time required to test, manage and deploy e-business Web sites.

HiSoftware works closely with industry leaders and visionaries to provide solutions for today's information accessibility, content quality, search and retrieval needs. HiSoftware’s customers represent Fortune 500 companies, and many of the largest e-commerce, government, and educational sites in North America and around the world and include ChevronTexaco, Commerce One, Mercury Interactive, and Microsoft Government.

Founded in 1998, HiSoftware Company maintains North American corporate headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire. Further information about HiSoftware can be found online at www.hisoftware.com

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ABOUT AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND
The American Council of the Blind is a national membership organization whose purpose is to work toward independence, security, equality of opportunity, and improved quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people. Founded in 1961, ACB's members work through more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by: serving as a representative national organization; elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperating with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and assisting all people with severely impaired vision to develop their abilities and conducting a public education program to promote greater understanding of blindness. To learn more about the Council's work, visit the organization’s web site at http://www.acb.org..., listen to ACB Radio online at www.acbradio.org..., or contact the national office in Washington, DC at (202) 467-5081.
 

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