Hey, Ken: Well said.
Richard Hutcheson
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: Ken Gould <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: JFW User List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, March 26, 1999 9:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Fwd: A comparative review of Window eyes and JFW's
Internet Access]
> 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
> -
> Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
>
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
