Industry | Software |
---|---|
Founded | 2008 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Yael Karov (Founder) Alex Ben-Ari (Vice President, R&D) |
Website | http://www.gingersoftware.com |
Ginger Software is an American and Israeli start-up specialized in natural language processing and AI. The main products are tools aiming to improve written communications, develop English speaking skills and boost productivity. The company was founded in 2008 by Yael Karov and Avner Zangvil. Ginger Software uses the context of complete sentences to suggest corrections. [1] In December 2011, Ginger Software was one of nine projects approved by the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation for a funding of $8.1 million. [2] The company also raised $3 million from private Israeli and US investors in 2009. [3]
In May, 2014 Intel acquired one of Ginger's business units and the rights to use the company's patented technology. [4]
Before founding Ginger Software, Yael Karov had worked with Rosetta Genomics as its Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Research and Development from 2003 to 2006, and with ClickSoftware Technologies as a Director of Research and Development from 1990 to 1994. Karov also founded Agentics, a company specializing in free-text classification of e-commerce product information based on natural language processing, [5] in 1996.
Avner Zangvil is the co-founder of Ginger Software. Zangvil co-founded Menta Software in 1996 with his brother Arnon Zangvil to develop a product that transforms any Windows-based application into a Web-enabled application usable from any remote computer running a Web browser. Menta was acquired by GraphOn Corporation in 2001. [6]
Ginger Software uses patented software algorithms in the field of natural language processing. The company claims that the algorithm allows it to correct the written sentences with relatively high accuracy (eliminating up to 95 percent of writing errors), [7] compared to standard spell checkers. Its unique algorithm allows the software to understand the context of the sentence rather than correcting based solely on a word. According to its founder, Karov, the software operates on the logic of sentence context in addition to the memory of a database of words. [8] The company is at the heart of a growing revolution in the world of assistive technology. [9]
Ginger claims that the benefits of the software have been leveraged by native English and non-native speakers alike, and have also found value in niche markets like dyslexia management. They further claim that ESL users derive great benefit from the use of the software, as it lets them write error-free English text. Its use also extends to native English speaking business professionals and students who use it as a 'safety net' for their email edits, as well as international students writing in English.[ citation needed ]
More recently, the company has focused on implementing its technology in mobile devices as an integral component of its mobile keyboard products.
Ginger Software products include Ginger Page, a cross-platform writing enhancement app, and Ginger Keyboard which is available for Android devices.
Ginger Writer can be used as an online service or installed on your PC or Mac. It supports MS-Word, MS-Outlook, MS-PowerPoint, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and functions as a writing enhancement app for Android and iOS mobile devices. Its main feature is English grammar and spelling checker that runs seamlessly with the different user interfaces. It also has an advanced paraphrasing tool, contextual synonyms and definitions, translation and a text-to-speech function that enables users to hear sentences before and after correction.
Ginger Keyboard for Android replaces the stock keyboard and functions as a productivity boosting keyboard app. Featuring a full set of advanced keyboard features like Stream (swipe-like) typing, adaptive word prediction, a wide variety of customizable themes and emoji, Ginger Keyboard is the only 3rd party keyboard to offer proofreading and other writing tools via one tap access to Ginger Page.
Ginger Software started off targeting people with dyslexia. The algorithm underlying the software studied a vast pool of proper sentences in English and builds a model of proper language. The software does not analyze the text at the level of the word, but of the whole sentence. Dyslectics can have trouble choosing the right word – hence the attention to the sentence as a whole. [10] From 2010, Ginger Software included a new target segment in its marketing outreach – users of English as a second language (ESL). Its contextual-based writing correction tool could benefit those who are not proficient in the English language. [11]
The main business model for consumers is freemium. The free version offers contextual-based grammar and spelling checker with some limitations. Its premium features include unlimited access to Grammar Checker, the grammar and spelling checker, and Sentence Rephraser the rephrasing tool. [12]
Ginger Keyboard is free to download and use, although it does offer in-app purchases like themes and theme packs. It also will disable your original spell checker.
Ginger also provides a powerful Rest API which can correct full documents in one call.
In software, a spell checker is a software feature that checks for misspellings in a text. Spell-checking features are often embedded in software or services, such as a word processor, email client, electronic dictionary, or search engine.
Autocomplete, or word completion, is a feature in which an application predicts the rest of a word a user is typing. In Android and iOS smartphones, this is called predictive text. In graphical user interfaces, users can typically press the tab key to accept a suggestion or the down arrow key to accept one of several.
A grammar checker, in computing terms, is a program, or part of a program, that attempts to verify written text for grammatical correctness. Grammar checkers are most often implemented as a feature of a larger program, such as a word processor, but are also available as a stand-alone application that can be activated from within programs that work with editable text.
Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder and learning disability that concerns impairments in written expression, which affects the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) as well as a transcription disability, meaning that it is a writing disorder associated with impaired handwriting, orthographic coding and finger sequencing. It often overlaps with other learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders such as speech impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or developmental coordination disorder (DCD).
ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language designed to simplify and clarify technical documentation. It was originally developed during the 1980s by the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) at the request of the European Airline industry, who wanted a standardized form of English for technical documentation that could be easily understood by non-English speakers. It has since been adopted in many other fields outside the aerospace, defense, and maintenance domains for its clear, consistent, and comprehensive nature. The current edition of the STE Specification, published in April 2021, consists of 53 writing rules and a dictionary of approximately 900 approved words.
ShapeWriter was a keyboard text input method for tablet, handheld PCs, and mobile phones invented by Shumin Zhai and Per Ola Kristensson at IBM Almaden Research Center and the Department of Computer and Information Science at Linköping University.
A foreign language writing aid is a computer program or any other instrument that assists a non-native language user in writing decently in their target language. Assistive operations can be classified into two categories: on-the-fly prompts and post-writing checks. Assisted aspects of writing include: lexical, syntactic, lexical semantic and idiomatic expression transfer, etc. Different types of foreign language writing aids include automated proofreading applications, text corpora, dictionaries, translation aids and orthography aids.
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Management of dyslexia depends on a multiple of variables; there is no one specific strategy or set of strategies that will work for all who have dyslexia.
Swype was a virtual keyboard for touchscreen smartphones and tablets originally developed by Swype Inc., founded in 2002, where the user enters words by sliding a finger or stylus from the first letter of a word to its last letter, lifting only between words. It uses error-correction algorithms and a language model to guess the intended word. It also includes a predictive text system, handwriting and speech recognition support. Swype was first commercially available on the Samsung Omnia II running Windows Mobile, and was originally pre-loaded on specific devices.
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WordQ® is an assistive technology software developed by Quillsoft Ltd. and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. WordQ's main purpose is helping individuals who struggle with reading and writing. Often that struggle is due to physical disability or neurodivergence such as Dyslexia or ADHD. WordQ uses intelligent word prediction to suggest words that the user is typing in as few as 1.3 keystrokes. This helps with spelling, and reduces the amount of physical movements a user has to make when typing. It also uses high-quality Acapela text-to-speech voices to read back text that the user has entered, allowing for proofreading and editing. WordQs speech recognition feature, SpeakQ®, is included in WordQ Desktop for Windows OS. It allows users to switch between speaking and typing while writing. WordQ Desktop is available for Windows and Mac OS, iWordQ is available for iPadOS, and WordQ Chrome for the Chrome browser is slated for release in January 2022.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to natural-language processing:
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LanguageTool is a free and open-source grammar, style, and spell checker, and all its features are available for download. The LanguageTool website connects to a proprietary sister project called LanguageTool Premium, which provides improved error detection for English and German, as well as easier revision of longer texts, following the open-core model.
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