Re: nvda: its achievements over the years and its drawbacks
Somehow I feel that you're following the "if not broken, don't fix it" analogy, while your arguments supporting Jaws do not really stand. See below.
I don't see myself switching to nvda, because jaws can do everything just as good, if not better, than nvda can, and I feel that nvda copied a lot of what was already in jaws.
Have you used NVDA for a long period of time? I have, after a few years of Jaws use. NVDA feels like Jaws on steroids.
Jaws does everything that NVDA does, but not more. The features that are being added to each release are ridiculous, while NVDA is adding innovative features, like audio ducking, which is actually useful. They do not try to reinvent a web browser (see research it), or explain a redesigned UI as a new, hyper super addition. They will never script around standard Windows use (see ribbons and virtual ribbons in JFW), which,
if it breaks, causes all the people who rely on it to be incapable of using a regular interface.
Yes, NVDA copied a few features, which is unavoidable when designing a new screen reader from scratch. Which, by the way, happened in about six years, as opposed to Jaws's 15, with 2 main developers only mind you! Jaws, on the other hand, copied a lot from every screen reader available. VoiceOver's and NVDA's object navigation (see touch screen interaction), the ability to redirect a synth to a specific audio device, the ability to restart upon a crash, OCR, muting speech on the fly... is it worth going on?
Why should I have to waist my time downloading addons when jaws already has those features included? This is dumb and a waist of my time, time that could be devoted to doing other things, rather than finding addons for nvda to work better with this and this program.
I
assume Jaws includes the ability to translate text via Google Translate, monitor your pc's resources (ram, cpu, hard disk space), and can also query the status of Dropbox. These are just things you would waste your time downloading, as you said. But let's suppose that you would: NVDA's shear speed would make up for it!
As to scripts, I hardly ever use them and haven't found a need for them.
Actually you do use scripts. Switching between the Jaws and pc cursors executes a script, reading a window title executes a script, checking the time or date executes a script, even just a simple tab key executes a script.
I also don't like the way nvda proforms on the internet. It won't recognize some web elements like jaws will, such as tables and other eelements.
NVDA has t
he most advanced Firefox, IE and Chrome support. Tables, layered tables, table headers, summaries all work as expected. Are you sure it was NVDA you tried?
I also don't like the fact that nvda doesn't have a wraping to top or bottom feature like jaws does. This is really annoying when I missed a heading close to the top or bottom of the page and I would have to go clear back up or down to reach it.
Hmm, is ctrl+home or end really uncomfortable to press?
It is not by accident that NVDA has lots of followers, give it a try and you will be switching in no time!
Rob
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