Personally, I'd like to see companies like FS and GW just go away because they aren't needed. It would be great if Microsoft took over screen reader development in house like Apple has and rendered them useless, at least in the screen reading space. Having accessibility as just another feature
in the Apple world seems like a much better long term plan for we blind users and also reduces a big part of the cost barriers.
I've moved a big part of my life over to Voice Over now and just like
I disagree. The time for companies like FS should be over. It's time for
the actual OS developers to release this functionality as just another
feature. While JFW did blaze a path and has been an over all benefit to us
in recent years it's become a real hog in term of resources and become less
and less stable. Features are great but the usability has steadily
declined. Tools like Voice Over are much more of a benefit, especially for
folks in our professions because they allow for installation and total
management of the OS instead of the limited view that JFW gives us in the
windows world. Microsoft adding much more functionality to their OS
natively would help solve this problem and do a lot more to help us on the
job front than some over priced OCR feature or a package like JFW that may
well crash on you when you need it anyway. It also removes the complex
licensing requirements and the need to carry around a bloated screen reader
on a stick.
I totally agree with you that each has great features and sure I'd like
to see a single product with them all but by removing the cost of entry that
an FS or GW Micro introduces you only help everyone, especially if Microsoft
makes this available and opens up the world of low cost computers to the
blind with out the confiscatory fees that say an FS charges. Companies like
FS can still make money in the braille space and innovate but they will be
forced to drop their price points to one that makes more sense than the
artificially inflated rates they charge now because of government backing.
In the end, we're better served with the googles or Microsofts and Apples of
the world handling our requirements directly and letting these small nitch
companies die off.
-----Original Message-----
From: Darragh OHeiligh
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 5:10 AM
To: Blind sysadmins list
Cc: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Windows 8
I would like to think I'm quite impartial when it comes to screen readers.
I am mainly a Jaws user however I also use Window eyes, Orca in Linux,
Speakup, also in Linux, Voice over on the Mac and iPhone / iPad
I see benefits in each of them but they all have good points that I wish
the others had.
I completely agree with the arguement that Microsoft should enhance their
narator to be on par with Voiceover but I don't agree for a moment that
FreedomScientific and GWMicro have no place in the market. That's frankly
just silly.
FreedomScientific and GWMicro are required because they'll generate
competition when Microsoft finally get around to including better
accessibility in Windows. I firmly believe that they will also continue
to be leaders in their field because very simply, they've been doing it
for longer. They have a lot more experience and one thing that I agree
that I have heard Eric Damery from FreedomScientific say from time to
time. Jaws has come out of the relm of making aplications accessible and
into the relm of making applications usable and efficient. This is so
true and it doesn't just apply to Jaws. Let me give you an example.
Voiceover is brilliant but there's no way that anyone can say that it
gives as much information automatically as Jaws or Window eyes. For
example. When a window is presented and notifications are given somewhere,
Jaws and Window Eyes have scripts and functionality to have that text read
automatically. This is a simple example of how these two applications are
more market driven than voiceover. As I said before, Voiceover has
features that I wish Jaws, Window eyes and Orca had but the reality is
that Jaws, Window Eyes and to an extent even Orca are more driven by user
needs and have more experience in the assistive technology space than the
apple developers for Voiceover.
I fully understand that users have problems with things that
FreedomScientific have done in the past and I've been there and I've
shouted louder than most people. In saying that, I've also been helped by
FreedomScientific and their I just cant thank them enough for their
flexability over the past while. I have written hundreds of paragraphs
condemning both freedomScientific and GWMicro for their lack of inovation
over the past few years but credit where credit is due. The conveenient
OCR in Jaws 13 and the new remote assistance support in the latest version
of Window eyes are features that users need. I don't see Microsoft
providing that same level of support, accessibility or usability.
So. Please be careful what you wish for.
Regards
Darragh Ó Héiligh
Fujitsu
Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas,
Fredrick Building,
South Fredrick Street,
Dublin2
Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559
Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie
Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie
From: "Octavian Rasnita"
model a lot better.
-----Original Message----- From: Darragh OHeiligh Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 11:39 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Windows 8
The main thing I really want to see from assistive technology developers such as FreedomScientific and GWMicro is some kind of method that will enable blind users to access the system using the touch interface.
I particularly like the Mac, the iPhone and the iPod for their utilization of touch to enhance accessibility. For example, on the Mac, jestures can be used to move between controls and interact with elements etc. The touch pad can be used as if you were touching the screen giving me a better idea of the visual layout of web pages and dialogues. This is very useful when someone sighted tells me that a control that I want to interact with is at the top right of the screen for example. On IOS devices web browsing is really easy with the utilization of the touch screen even without using swipe jestures and the roter.
It's going to be a chalange but I feer that the main compeditors in the screen reader industry will not be up to the task.
I also thing that there may be secret feers of litigation if they infringe on pattents filed by Apple regarding copyrighted touch screen access techniques. I'd like to be proven wrong on that point though. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
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