Hello All -
I read with some amusement the recent comparison of JFW's and Window Eyes'
access to Internet Explorer 4.01 and 5. The gist of this comparison was
that Window Eyes had moved ahead of JFW in this area now that Microsoft has
finally released a correctly-functioning version of MSAA. In considering
these comments, it is worth remembering some very important recent history.
We all know that Microsoft completely bungled the version of MSAA which
was supposed to give blind users access to IE 4 when it was released in the
fall of 1997. This meant that it was completely impossible for any screen
reader company to make IE 4 work by relying on MSAA. Thus, blind users
were potentially locked out of using these products until MSAA was fixed.
Many of us found this to be an intolerable situation, and Henter-Joyce took
the aggressive approach that, while it's fine to use the tools supplied by
Microsoft when they work properly, it is not acceptable to pin all of your
hopes on Microsoft's capabilities and wait around while they fix things on
their own schedule. HJ decided to make IE 4 work immediately, and they did
it by innovative programming techniques that enabled JFW to work with IE 4
without relying on MSAA. Because of this, users of JFW have had excellent
access to IE4 for the better part of a year while users of other screen
readers have had to content themselves with earlier versions of Internet
Explorer. Meanwhile the rest of the world moved ahead. By acting
forcefully and quickly, HJ made its users part of that community which was
moving ahead.
That last point was so important that I want to recapitulate. HJ refused
to accept the fact that access was not possible because MSAA was defective,
and they quickly developed a work around for the problem. I think this
tells us something very, very important. Whenever humanly possible, HJ
will do what it can do and what it must do to make sure its customers get
access, and if that includes creating its own access methodology, so be it.
Okay, so now MSAA works, and it is possible to make even further
improvements to IE access. Does anyone seriously think HJ will sit around
and not add new features and capabilities to its Internet Explorer access?
Anyone who does think so doesn't know HJ very well. JFW got to be the
number one screen reader by providing the best level of access to a
tremendous variety of applications, and Internet Explorer is just one of
them. The total package of accessibility is what levels the playing field
between blind and sighted users, and it is this superior access to all
venues which makes JFW the screen reader of choice and which makes blind
users employable in this computer-driven job market. I think you can
expect HJ to take a good, hard look at what can now be done with Internet
Explorer with the combined capabilities of the proprietary access
techniques it has developed and the MSAA system which finally works. When
the smoke clears and HJ does give us even more advanced access to Internet
Explorer, I expect we will find that access to be the most advanced and
flexible available. And if that does not happen tomorrow or next week but
takes a little longer, remember that HJ is very busy working on the many,
many fronts of access that give blind users access to as many applications
as possible, applications that they use at home and at work. That's why
JFW users have access to, among many other things, Windows NT and excellent
Braille support, why they have had this access for quite a while, and why
they are about to have access to grade 2 Braille support in the forthcoming
3.3 release. So just be patient a little while longer.
And, finally, remember something else. The next time Microsoft or any
other company tries to leave the blind users in the dirt by not paying
proper attention to the access parts of their products, JFW users will have
the best shot at being up and running the soonest, because HJ won't wait
around until a broken product is fixed. HJ will do everything possible to
make it work today and to make it work because you need it as soon as
possible.
Best regards,
Ken
E-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please visit my store's home page at http://www.audionexus.com
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Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
