New Co:Writer 6 Word Prediction Software -- Assistive...

As students write, Co:Writer presents the predicted words in a list that is read aloud.

[Donald]

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This latest version of Co:Writer now works and looks almost identical to WordQ. Did they license the engine or copy the interface because of WordQ's success?

[Rainmaker22]

It would make sense that they licensed it, because at $335 they are charging $135 more than WordQ. That must be their cut. I haven't seen any information about them licensing the WordQ's speech recognition plug for kids, SpeakQ. Perhaps that is to come? How much of a mark-up are they going to put on that?

[AT Advocate]

Co:Writer is an excellent word prediction writing tool and value. The company (Don Johnston) is a developer and has evolved this program through years of testing in schools. I know they work with educators and students to respond to their needs and are always asking for input. I hesitate that they use other company's technology, when there programs have been such as success.

[Ben Johnston]

Donald, I’m glad you like our design. Being affiliated with Don Johnston, I can answer your question “Did they license the engine or copy the interface because of WordQ's success?”. Don Johnston has been working with the same developers since Co:Writer was released 18 years ago, and even before that when it went by the name “Predict It”(available for the Apple II). Co:Writer pioneered the concept of word prediction. You can investigate the history of innovations like Flexible Spelling, Topic Dictionaries, Predict As Needed, and even our use of the Acapela Speech Engine and judge for yourself. But, it’s futile to discuss how we arrived where we did, because the true measure of success is when a student who has a significant writing disability writes for the first time, or writes more than they could without our technology. That’s where our heart lies, and that’s how we measure success.