Re: Screen reader discussion
As far as I know, there aren't any other topics. The problem with JAWS is not necessarily the screen reader itself, but the shady and generally crummy business practices of Freedom Scientific. They've essentially monopolized the commercial assistive technology market in the United States. For some reason, they have most businesses and government agencies convinced that their solution is the best and only one out there. This is why I wish people would be just a little more curious and do research. Other options do exist such as Narrator and NVDA that will not make employers, schools, government agencies, and other organizations pay an arm and a leg for assistive technology when these free solutions are more than adequate for someone to do his/her job effectively.
I might not have such a problem with JAWS and Freedom Scientific if they A: stopped charging absurd prices, B: stopped treating their customers with such disrespect, disregard, and hostility, C: stopped purchasing their competition, D: Cared more about improving accessibility than making a profit, E: spent their time improving JAWS instead of adding minor features and charging $200 for a new release, etc, etc, etc.
I've said this in the past, and I'll say it again. I think it would be wonderful if Microsoft purchased Vispero. Imagine the talent those people could bring to the Narrator, Magnifier, and Disability Answer Desk teams. Sadly, Microsoft isn't going to do that, and I don't think anyone at Freedom would even though all of their software is for Windows and it would make logical sense. Oh well. Most people don't pay attention or care just how bad Freedom Scientific's business practices actually are.
As for the JAWS product itself, I'd like them to get rid of their video intercept nonsense. NVDA and Narrator use accessibility APIs and work just fine. I'd also like to see the complete keyboard hijacking behavior done away with. Again, Narrator and NVDA handle this extremely well, so should JAWS. I think the biggest problem is JAWS is full of so much legacy code that we don't really need anymore. If they worked on streamlining the product, I'd be happier than this constant cycle of coming out with ho-hum features every year and charging ridiculous Software Maintenance Agreement prices for what are essentially minor features and bug fixes. Where's the innovation?
-- Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
