Distributors, eh? Our Friends North of the Border

Chester Creek produces computer keyboards, mice, and accessories that are available world wide.  We ship right here in Duluth all the way to the land down under.  But we could never do it without help.  It's time to give some credit where credit is due.  We're going to start off with our nearest neighbors to the North: Canada, eh?

Chester Creek has a handful of distributors in the great white North that is Canada, but today, we are going to focus on just three. Special Needs Computer Solutions offers their consumers the nicest and newest assistive technology.  With hundreds of items ranging from ergonomic work stations to portable Braille printers to large-print keyboards (you already knew that part, didn't you?).  Special Needs Computer Solution puts the focus on support, including consultation and training for the products they carry.  Check them out online here.

Aroga has been providing assistive technologies to their consumers for twenty-three years.  Look to Aroga for vision aids, communication aids, physical access products, and education tools.  Not only do they offer a variety of products, they also offer a variety of resources.  Aroga provides information on training, events, and the latest low-vision news.   Find all this and more here.

Last but not least is Bridges.  Bridges brings together a team of professions to bring their customers great assistive technology.  They offer direct sales as well as professional developement in both English and French.  As their vision statement says, Bridges aims to:

• To provide a wide-offering of solutions to individuals with special needs that will facilitate their successful participation in all areas of their life.
• To promote awareness of Assistive Technology and the impact that it has on individuals with special needs.
• To promote successful implementation of Assistive Technology through professional development programs (that increase knowledge, skill and application of Assistive Technology).

 Take a look at their offerings here.

Of course, the one thing all these companies have in common is a devotion to bringing their consumers the best new products and the most reliable old favorites - including an array of Chester Creek products.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, all!  Do we all recognize the stunning cartoon to the left?  No?  But it's Carl Sagan!  Amazing astronomer of great renown.  He was a huge part  of the space program, made great discoveries about the universe and solar system, and starred in the awesome mashup music video below.  Carl Sagan also has the dubious honor of being featured in my new favorite Valentine, as you may have noticed.

In other space-related news, spacecraft Stardust is making a historical second fly by of a comet. Twelve years ago it was the first spacecraft to collect dust particles from a comet.  Now, it will be flying past a second comet, with only a cup of fuel left, to take pictures of a man-made crater.  This is the first time one comet has ever been studied by two different spacecraft.

Other items of interest:

• Since 1986, more than 295 billion gigabytes of data have been stored.  In case you were wondering, thats a whole lot.  
• Playstation hops on the mobile tech bandwagon with a new smartphone that will feature 50 games, including the popular Splinter Cell, Guitar Hero, Assassin's Creed, and more. 
• A new human-aware computer is taking on Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, both champions, on a special episode of Jeopardy airing tonight.  Jennings commented at a press conference,  "One of the first things I thought was, 'This time, I'm not just playing to pay my mortgage or something, or to feed my kid's college fund, I'm actually sort of representing 7 billion human beings against our new machine tyrants.'"
• Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry smart phone, are releasing a new tablet, the Playbook, which will function on three different 4G networks.  This can be contrasted to the super-popular iPad, which is not yet available for the faster 4G.
• Our new software bundles are in!  Each bundle contains five titles, which in turn contain fun and educational games or programs.Look for these up on the website soon!

Software Bundles

I know, I know.  We've been telling you all about new products that we're coming out with, but actual introduction of the items for sale has been slow.

TextSpeak is up.  This is a great, ultra-portable little Augmentative Communication keyboard device that allows people to talk through their keyboard, no computer required. 




Braille Stickers are up.  These are the only Braille stickers for large-key keyboards, and are clear so that the large-print legend remains visible.




Headphones and the LittleMouse are new.  Chester Headphones are sturdy and adjustable enough for everyone, plus comfy and with convenient inline volume control.  The LittleMouse is perfect for kids still learning (color-coded!), or anyone who doesn't want to worry about a scroll wheel.



Large-key numeric pad is up coming soon.  This keypad is intended as a companion to any of our large-key keyboards for those who prefer the grid layout of numbers, but is also useful paired with any keyboard for those who like or need larger keys.  The keypad should be available by the end of the month.








The Wireless VisionBoard should be in by the end of the month, as well.  This keyboard is very similar to our VisionBoard, but includes f-keys, and will be available in black and white to start with.


We also have some great educational software bundles coming in soon.  We will be offering a pre-K bundle and an early elementary bundle, both of which will feature five titles.


The pre-K bundle will feature:

Baileys Book House
Millie's Math House
Trudys Time and Place House
Sammy Science House
Thinking Things Toony the Loons Lagoon

Our early elementary bundle will include:

Mighty Math Carnival Countdown
Reader Rabbit 1st Grade
Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum
Reader Rabbit 2nd grade
Zoombinis Island Odyssey