HELP Read™: the Freeware Reader Project.

HELP Read™ is FREE software that reads along with you while you do the reading.  Whether you’re younger or older, new to reading or have your own library, HELP Read™ should be able to help you read more and understand more of what you read.

NOTE:  Although you may be running this site from a CD, you can still Bookmark The HELP Read™ Site by pressing the Ctrl + D Keys at the Same Time.

This will Add HELP Read™ to Your Browser Favorites so that Revisiting is Easy to Complete the Tutorials and Share New Ideas.

Over the Last Year…

…or so, a number of developments have occurred effecting direction of the HELP Read™ project.  While no great progress has been made in developing a next generation version, the current edition of HELPRead™ continues to affirm its niche in the world providing an ample resource for many.

What Happened to the HELP Read™ 2000 Beta-Volunteer Program?

The beta-test phase never made it to launch.

Initially, the advances we were making with some new ideas seemed so promising that we thought the beta testing phase would come swiftly.   Always it seemed just out of reach of becoming a true replacement possibility for the current version.

Let’s take a minute for those who might not be that clear on the steps of software development testing.  After deciding on a concept, the developing organization starts with the software engineer and the various potential components prepared by the development team are coordinated, then there comes alpha testing where we in-house test for bugs and glitches as much as we can, followed by a beta testing where we ask a select group to seek and find anything we may have missed.  Ideally, after a suitable period to allow beta testers time enough to thoroughly explore, development gets everything back to go over.  Once development has addressed the reported bugs and solved all problems, a release version is offered.

In the case of the new version concept referred to as HELPRead™ 2000, we were using technology that wasn’t as stable as our current version for reading longer articles of text and book length documents.  As a result of this and a few other hurdles, the 2000 version never got passed the alpha stage.

The development obstacles may have been solvable with enough resources. However, the funding criterion where we have applied for grant moneys didn’t allow for this concept as a solution. Painfully apparent as it might seem, technically advanced solutions are still not as warmly utilized as one-on-one tutelage with the technologies of yesteryear such as print materials and the more marginally accepted video resources.

The bottom line suggests a sizable grant would be needed to take up new development.  Meaning: there is no current development underway.  In the interim, the project will offer as much as possible toward solving the individual need for literacy from our latest download.

     HELPRead™: SUMMER 2001 EDITION Non-profit orgranization Info, Tutorials, & Updates

Power User’s Tip:

For Even Smoother Web Page Reading ADD this readweb.bok to your “C:\HELPREAD” Directory

Would You Make a Donation to Support this Project?

Some believe that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings generates weather somewhere in the world.  Won’t you please take a moment to add your support to this effort?

Who Uses HELPRead™?

Everybody can.  Many who don’t should. Power-readers, students, teachers, or those first learning to read are represented in the overall user group.  There has been a surprisingly wide user mix from the start. Most people see this software as having been designed for them.  The reality is the concept came from an uncomplicated goal to just make reading from a computer easier, or simply less of a strain.

You see, if you use a computer, you are probably reading as much as only the most intense scholars did a century or two ago.  What about tomorrow?  Expect an increase.

In the overall mix of HELPRead™users this project serves are people from all over the world.  Even though the bulk of our users do come from teachers and individuals in the United States and Canada, there is enough feedback from non-English speaking countries to merit some real attention to the English as a Second Language (ESL) need for such software. Many correspondences indicate sight, hearing, and attention limitations in describing themselves, family members, or those they assist in some way with reading.  Our highest concentration of messages comes from those concerned with what they indicate as a Learning Disability (LD) including a rather high interest from those with the various needs to address the conditions described as dyslexia.

Some Good People have moved on.

The contribution they made to this work has been invaluable.  Without an infusion of working capital, we simply could not ask them to stay.  The work commitment was far too great to conduct on a purely voluntary basis for these folks.  As they move forward with their lives, it should be paved with the knowledge that they have provided a great deal of HELP to a lot of people all over the world.