Hello Dennis,
I whole-heartedly agree!
Michael, the Infamous Chinaman!
-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Brown--dbTech! [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, 17 November 1999 11:31
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Opportunists are Lerking
Hello emmonst,
Being misquoted quite a bit in both print and E-mail, I've come to
expect
it, but it still causes my blood pressure to leap, just at the total
lack of
integrity of people that do such things!
I use to be one of HJ's largest critics, but have since changed my tune
drastically", and don't mind admitting I was wrong in most cases!
There are
still issues that I don't agree with, but I believe the level of access
afforded, and the power of the scripting features, sets JFW above the
other
packages in several key categories.
Window Eyes is a really nice, relatively powerful, user-friendly screen
reader, but it doesn't have the power given in the JAWS scripts.
A couple of my whining about HJ is the need for more-detailed
information on
*every* script and function available, not just a small one/two-liner
mention within the script editor presented when you select that
particular
function from the list of some 400 plus scripts! These scripts are
extremely powerful, but that lack of detailed information makes you
feel
like you're driving a high-power sports car governed to go only half
it's
capable speed!
I'm constantly stumbling over routine functions and uses that I didn't
know
were available, and in some cases, were the difference in scripts
working
correctly or not!
There seems to be only a couple of the gurus at HJ that know the full
potential of these scripts, but doesn't have the time to document them
fully--which is one of the main contributing factors to the
"Script-intimidation" level felt by new users looking at the scripting
language for the first time! Sure hope those few chosen gurus don't
ever
get hit by a truck on the way home--we'll all be in a world of hurt!
The other whining item is the support response; whether justified or
not,
the HJ support staff take a beating on the support-side of the coin. I
think it is because JFW has been such a big success, the amount of
support
staff isn't growing as fast as the product. They have a good many
techs,
but on a ratio of user-to-tech, it is an astounding number! Last I
heard,
(and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), the number of support
staff,
(counting the ones that are their for support only, and not
development,
etc.), was 14, and the probable user count was somewhere above 35k;
that is
2500+ users per tech! Of course, you'll never get that many requests
for
support at one time, that is still a lot, considering the tech has to
research every item.
Still, giving credit where credit is due, HJ support staff are some of
the
best in the business, and they aren't the cause of the discontent by
the
users that do bash them. When you get to be a corporation with
thousands
and thousands of users, you have to have some type of regimented
system to
handle each claim efficiently, even though it sometimes seems to some
people
that they have been given a number in place of their name. Other
developers
don't have this problem mainly because they don't have such a large
user-base.
At any rate...I do hate sending questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in a
lot of
cases have the answer returned either in several days, or not at all!
By
the time those particular answers arrive, I've had to do some trial nd
error scripting to fix whatever it was I sent the question on! If
scripts
is going to be the main meat and potatoes of the screen reader, then
they
need support in likewise proportion--after all, the scripts are what
the
power of JFW is based on; it allows more flexibility in difficult
situations, it allows menu creation for those inaccessible buttons
that have
no keystroke access, it allows the user to reach a level of confidence
testing new applications that the others don't offer, and on and on!
I hate
to see it get the minimal support-resources it seems to be getting at
present, and I'll probably take heat about that statement, but that is
just
the results I've experienced in that area, having to wind up e-mailing
the
upper echelon to get answers that is outside their job description!
Give me a detailed script/function reference manual, and a question
answered
now and then, and I'm a fat happy camper, off in my little
script-filled
world!
And before Peter decides to plaster this on all the other lists--no
doubt
out of context--I want to go on record as saying that JFW is my chosen
screen reader, chiefly due to the power of the scripts; it has it's
faults,
but it's assets far outweigh those faults! I've used other screen
readers,
trying to get them to do what I was able to do with JFW to a particular
application, and it just didn't work. I'm not bashing HJ, nor am I
bashing
the others, I'm just saying what I feel about the comparison between
the
different readers, from a power-user's view. If I've stepped on some
toes,
it wasn't in a spiteful manner, just an opinion.
Thanks,
Dennis Brown, DB Tech! 770-465-9621
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thanks,
Dennis Brown, DB Tech! 770-465-9621
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: emmonst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: Opportunists are Lerking
> I have to agree with you Jim. I too have tried the competition, and
keep
the
> other one here at the University since I have a couple of students
who are
> familiar with it, and so, mgith have questions about it. But,
personally I
> agree that this is the top screen reader for many reasons of which
are
> obious. The fact that you can customize it the way you can is
definitely a
> big attractor. The only thing about this screenreader that drives me
crazy
> sometimes is the fact of the authorization disk. The authorization
makes
me
> crazy when A it doesn't work as it's supposed too, B when you
install, the
> software sometimes seems like it thinks if you don't install it you
are
> stealing it or something. But, that's a minor thing, compared to the
power
> and flexibility that it has. I wondered there for a while, but
331.35 has
> changed my mind and that's all I use. The lab here at the University
has
> just got it installed, and some of the students who have used the
other
one,
> or haven't used anything really are impressed to the point of
considering
it
> as their own use. It is defintely more stable than it used to be. I
hope
Hj
> keeps up the good work, and I will be carefull of lurking
opportunists. I
> have seen them on other lists as well. I hope one of them doesn't
get me
on
> here for this. Talk to you guys later.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 11:13 AM
> Subject: Opportunists are Lerking
>
>
> > A warning too all of you.
> >
> > I think I have become famous, now that my comments have appeared
in the
> > WyfiWyg so-called news letter.
> >
> > Several weeks ago, I posted some comments here expressing my
concerns
> > that HJ was not taking the necessary steps to prevent loss of
quality as
> > they brought out new releases. In those remarks, I said, among
other
> > things, that quality was a general problem throughout this industry
> > (meaning PC software in general), but that a screen reader was more
> > important to the blind user than your typical application because
it was
> > the window through which all other things passed. So, I reasoned,
a
> > screen reader must exhibit better than normal quality.
> >
> > My comments were not balanced. They were, in fact, deliberately
focused
> > on the problem of quality to raise public awareness of quality as
a key
> > factor in our strategy for success in all our lives. My target
audience
> > was, not only members of this list, people who are familiar with
Jaws
and
> > it's tremendous capabilities, but the staff of HJ itself. I
wished to
> > create an atmosphere where excellence was a primary goal for all
> > concerned, so that programs and procedures would be put in place to
> > insure improvement in this area. I pointed out some ways in which
this
> > might be accomplished. But, I did not focus heavily on why JFW is
the
> > best screen reader available, although I clearly do think it is. I
> > thought everybody knew that, so it did not bear repeating. My
target
> > audience was not the general population of uncommitted future
screen
> > reader users.
> >
> > Unfortunately for me, peter Duran, an obvious Jaws detractor, was
lurking
> > on the list. He chose to lift my remarks, without my permission or
> > knowledge, and reproduce them in his WyfiRag publication. He
framed my
> > remarks in a light obviously intended to cast aspersions on the JFW
> > product, presumably in favor of his own favorite screen reader.
This
was
> > never my intent, and violates my own wishes.
> >
> > So, a warning to all of you who like to sound off on various
issues from
> > time to time. Remember that Peter is lurking, and he and his kind
are
> > not above appropriating your remarks for their own purposes if it
suits
> > them. This has caused some political problems for me, a fact Peter
> > surely failed to consider, or, perhaps, chose to ignore.
> >
> > I do not retract anything I said in that posting. I think quality
is a
> > serious issue. But, I have since learned that important strides
in that
> > direction are being made at HJ, the benefits of which those of us
who
use
> > the world's most powerful screen reader will definitely enjoy.
> >
> > For the record, I have tried the competition, and I am convinced
that
JFW
> > is the best screen reader available. With it's terrific grade 2
Braille
> > support through which you actually can "Feel What You Get", and
it's
> > unique and incredibly powerful script language through which you
can
> > customize the interface to your favorite application for optimal
> > efficiency and maximum productivity, JFW is clearly the best
choice. No
> > other screen reader does all of that. That is why I push as hard
as I do
> > to make it even better.
> >
> > Peter, if you would like to quote the above in your next edition,
just
> > contact me.
> >
> > Jim Snowbarger
> >
> > -
> > Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
> >
>
> -
> Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
>
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
