I started out with Zoomtext with speech before moving onto Jaws as my sight went..
I think even Zoomtext makers Ai squared admit that in terms of screen reading Zoomtext is not in the same league as designated specialist screenreaders like Jaws and has much less functionality. Zoomtext with speech works best if you have limited vision. For example the app reader works well only the web if you can see enough to spot the content that you want read out on the page and click on that part of the web page. In this sense the speech output from ZoomText is efficient and intuitive for those who have enough sight to use screen, pointer and other enhancements enough to use a mouse. Where Zoomtext starts to fall down badly is if you do not have enough sight to take advantage of these visual enhancements . So navigation on a web page with the basic Zoomtext screen reader is pretty tortuous. This is because you are pretty much limited to the tab and cursor keys as you are without the recourse to navigation tools that a screen reader would provide. . To be fair Zoomtext was never designed to be used by people who could not take advantage of the visual and mouse pointer enhancements it affords. I do not know it is still there but I remember reading on the AI squared site that if you did not have enough sight to take advantage of the screen enhancements you would be much better off with a specific screen reader like Jaws. This was refreshing honesty and is absolutely right. Actually I think a person without useful ability to use a mouse would be better off with NVDA rather than Zoomtext. Personally I found Zoomtext more intuitive and smooth than Magic and I would unhesitatingly recommend it for someone who still wanted to be able to use a computer with a mouse. I think it is a mistake to consider it as a appropriate utility for those without enough sight to use a mouse. It is simply not designed with these users in mind. Regards David Griffith -----Original Message----- From: blind-computing-boun...@jaws-users.com [mailto:blind-computing-boun...@jaws-users.com] On Behalf Of blindguy Sent: Thursday, 17 December 2009 20:28 To: blind-computing@jaws-users.com Subject: [Blind-Computing] zoom text Hi, I was wondering has anyone used zoom text with speech output? If so what is your experience like? Preferibly for those who are totally blind. I know, it's a program for visually impaired and not blind but with the speech output, I can see how the program would be useable. For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4697 (20091217) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4697 (20091217) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4697 (20091217) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
