I am going to share bits of this mail with the Microsoft Enterprise Disability Team, since I have access to them thanks to my employer. Request other members to also approach them with some feedback on Narrator. To put some salt, apple products are accessible out of the box and do not need 3rd party assistive technologies to use them.
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Ashutosh Singhal Sent: 20 March 2025 08:49 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [AI] Microsoft Narrator bad condition and JAWS monopoly I would like to know outside India conditions regarding Screen Readers permission specially in Banks and Companies. As we all know, Microsoft’s screen reader, Narrator, lacks many essential features. For example, it does not support automatic language switching on non-Microsoft platforms. If English India and Hindi (or any other Indian language) appear together, Microsoft Narrator cannot read the text properly—for instance, on YouTube. Additionally, it does not have a Screen Curtain or Dim Screen feature, which is a fundamental privacy function for screen reader users. Despite being a major company with abundant resources, Microsoft has not prioritized these improvements. As a result, JAWS (Job Access with Speech) holds a monopoly in the Indian professional sector. In India, Companies, banks, and competitive exam bodies do not permit NVDA due to its open-source nature. Since Microsoft’s Narrator lacks important features, users often have no choice but to rely on JAWS, which is sold at a high price. If Microsoft Narrator were improved, employees with visual impairments in companies and banks would not need to wait as long to obtain JAWS—a process that can take six months to a year in some cases. Employees could simply use Narrator on their professional computers. Likewise, competitive exam bodies could provide laptops with Windows pre-installed, allowing students with visual impairments to use Narrator during exams. I urge Microsoft to focus on enhancing Narrator’s features. This would empower individuals with visual impairments in professional and educational settings and reduce their dependence on JAWS. Kindly repost, like and share your thoughts on this Twitter/X Post: Ashutosh Singhal (@Sugamyata) posted at 2:10 pm on Wed, Mar 19, 2025: @Microsoft @MSFTEnable Please improve #Narrator as its limited features make @FreedomSci's JAWS a costly monopoly. In India, Many organisations delay purchases, blocking blind employees. They reject NVDA as it's open-source. A better Narrator can fix this! @satyanadella (https://x.com/Sugamyata/status/1902279095720751415?t=0Au4C6nTRkbEhd8owgP5YQ <https://x.com/Sugamyata/status/1902279095720751415?t=0Au4C6nTRkbEhd8owgP5YQ&s=03> &s=03) -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAFL6VgJhMajEhDnVnqCG_8oB_NGsyMzChJk3Um%2Bmm4FBRoJ7YQ%40mail.gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAFL6VgJhMajEhDnVnqCG_8oB_NGsyMzChJk3Um%2Bmm4FBRoJ7YQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/003e01db9a16%24df2985c0%249d7c9140%24%40gmail.com.
