Keytools are specialists in ergonomic and assistive technology and have helped many thousands of computer users. Below are published articles that can help to guide you to making the right decisions for your users.

Open your eyes - Age Related Macular Degeneration

Why should you make information accessible?

It’s fair
People with sight problems should have equal access to information.  It enables all of us to make decisions and lead independent lives.

It’s the law
The Disability Discrimination Act means there is a legal duty to meet the information needs of the blind and partially sighted.

It makes business sense
2 million people is a sizeable customer base which you cannot afford to ignore.

Every day 100 people start to lose their sight

Around 2 million people in the UK define themselves as having some sort of a sight problem.

The older you are the more likely you are to have a sight problem. Every day another 100 people start to lose their sight and numbers are set to double over the next 25 years.

Macular Degeneration is a painless disorder that affects the central part of your retina, usually in both eyes, causing progressive loss of central and detailed vision.  An estimated 500,000 people in the UK have Age Related Macular Degeneration and it is most likely to affect people over 50.  Initially, sufferers may start to experience difficulty in reading, watching television and recognising faces.

With Age Related Macular Degeneration:

• You may see the outline of a face but not the features
• There may be some distortion of vision
• Objects appear larger or smaller than normal or straight lines appear wavy, so judging distances and heights may become difficult
• You may become very sensitive to light or you may see colours or lights that are not there

A report published in 2005 by the AMD Alliance (UK) highlights the nation’s lack of awareness about the disorder.  The report shows that only 7 per cent of people know that AMD affects the eyes.

The simple layout of the BigKeys LX has lettering 10 times larger than standard. This makes keys easy to see, find, read and press.

There are 10 different versions to choose from and BigKeys is both USB and PS2 compatible.

BigKeys LX includes all function keys F1 - F12 making it especially suitable for use with literacy software.

> To purchase this keyboard from Keytools, follow this link

Lunar Screen Magnification Software - view online
See text up to 32 times larger with Lunar Screen Magnifying Software.

For people struggling to see what’s on their computer screen, Lunar software makes life so much easier!

Lunar Screen Magnifier works with Windows and all applications including word processing, spreadsheets, the Internet and email. Images remain clear and easily readable.

> To purchase this software from Keytools, follow this link