The reasons for the differences are many. However, the two most important ones are these. First, screen readers do a good deal of web page analysis. Jaws, Windows and Hal for example all interpret web pages based on MSAA (Microsoft Active Accessibility) and the Document Object Model (dom) as well as looking at the actual html coding. Window-Eyes, therefore, can look at a page and tell you how many headings, lists, tables, frames, and links are on the page. You might also notice that Window-Eyes will tell you whether a link is "visited" or not, meaning whether it is a link you have clicked on before. Insofar as abbreviations used for a Braille display, I believe that both Window-Eyes and, yes, the Shark, allow the user to modify the abbreviations that they use. Key web uses its own set of symbols/abbreviations, and I don't believe they can be modified by the user. A screen reader, any decent screen reader is simply more powerful than Key Web. Key Web uses its own set of commands and they are naturally nothing like Window-Eyes commands. One thing that I like about Key Web is the ability to press the first letter of a given link and to immediately land on that link. You can do that with Window-Eyes by pressing insert plus tab, or with The Shark by pressing insert f7, but with Key Web, the feature is always on. I know individuals who do a good deal of shopping with their BN products, and although I do not, perhaps others can describe to you what their experiences have been and how they have solved whatever problems they may have encountered. The second reason is simply that Internet Explorer for the PC is a much more powerful program, and the Windows operating system, with all its flaws is a more powerful operating system than Windows CE. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Terri Pannett Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 9:58 PM To: BrailleNote List Subject: [Braillenote] Keyweb and Internet Explorer
Dear List, I have been using Keyweb for the past several days because I was not home and I didn't have access to my PC. Most of the time, I surf the web using my PC with Internet Explorer and WindowEyes for my screen reader. I'm not the best web-surfer and I haven't had as much experience with Keyweb as some of you but I have noticed some differences. 1. The web pages load faster using Keyweb, but they look totally alien to me. For one thing, the braille displays links, edit boxes, frames and tables buttons and dialog boxes appear differently. I suppose this must be because HumanWare decided to use different symbols and abbreviations than GW Micro does. I suppose people who use the shark have learned yet another set of braille symbols and abbreviations. Although I think Keysoft is usually intuitive, I find Keyweb not to be so intuitive with its symbols and abbreviations. It's too bad there aren't a standard set of symbols and abbreviations for all braille displays. 2. I don't know if it's just me, but I have noticed web pages on the PC have more details than web pages on the BN. For example, let's take the www.amazon site. I don't remember seeing a special link for screen readers when I looked at it using the BN, but the link jumped out at me when I used the PC. I also found it harder to search for an item using the BN than using the PC. 3. The layout of the web pages seems different. On the BN, the text goes across the line with lots of space between columns. I find this extra space to be annoying. But on the PC, the columns are laid out vertically and the lines are shorter. The BN occasionally gives details about the web page, but WindowEyes always gives details like: "11 tables, x amout of rows, x columns x frames and x headings and x subheadings." It also tells me when I'm starting to look at a new table, but the BN doesn't. Since I can't tell where one table ends and the next begins, I can't jump from one table to the next. 4. If a site, like Google, has an edit box, WindowEyes will automatically jump to the edit box but the BN always places me at the top of the page and I have to wade through the links to find the edit box. Also, when I go back and forth between web pages, WindowEyes remembers where I left off but the BN doesn't. 5. This difference has been mentioned before, but I can't understand why it exists. I'm referring to the fact that Windows on my PC will remember my username and password when I go to certain web sites but the BN won't. Also, I'm more certain to have trouble typing in my username and password and having the site recognize it when I use the BN. This is annoying, especially when I want to use a "quickcheckout" or "1-click purchase" at an online store. In fact, I couldn't even checkout with one store--I had to phone in my order. But previously, I had been able to set up an account and checkout using my PC. If I had had a PC at my location, I could have placed the order online. 6. The BN shows everything in one grade of braille. This is fine except (1) when I'm looking at a URL or email address and (2) when I write in an edit box. I can't even route the cursor to the computereze and see the URL or email address in computer braille like I can when I'm using Keymail. WindowEyes, on the other hand, will always show anything under the cursor to be in computer braille. Is there a way to route the BN's cursor to an item without accessing a link? Can someone explain why Keyweb and the BN behaves differently from the PC and WindowEyes? Does it have to do with the platform, (Windows CE versus Windows XP) and the methods of interpreting the web sites? Thanks for any insight. Terri, Amateur Radio call sign KF6CA. Army MARS call sign AAT9PX, California ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
