Hi Peter, I enjoyed your post very much. Having just completed my 19th Window-Eyes app, I do hope that whatever Windows screen readers survive, I hope it will be as easy to write apps for them as It has been for me to do with Window-Eyes.
Keep up the good work, and all the best. (smile) Peace and long life, Rod Hutton -----Original Message----- From: Talk [mailto:talk-bounces+rod_hutton=hotmail....@lists.window-eyes.com] On Behalf Of Peter Duran via Talk Sent: Friday, January 13, 2017 3:13 AM To: 'Window-Eyes Discussion List' <talk@lists.window-eyes.com> Subject: Going Backward in Accessibility? Hello All, There are different issues in play when discussing accessibility. Computer technology has changed rapidly and relentlessly since the first computer made its appearance. See the wonderful movie "Hidden Figures" currently in theaters about 3 African American women mathematicians who worked for NASA in the late fifties and beyond. They had to deal with racism, sexism, and rapid change in their jobs. Us blind folks, until Section 508 of the Accessibility law came into effect, had alike discrimination in the workplace. However, today,the major developers of software - Apple and Microsoft - build into their development efforts accessibility - perhaps not as fast as we would wish. The marketplace drives Web and Internet developments, and that development occurs rapidly and in unexpected ways. All of that makes it hard for developers of access technology to keep up. I have been in the access biz for forty years and my customers have feared being left behind with every marketplace innovation. The reality is, however, since Bill Gates of Microsoft made the commitment to accessibility, things have been really good for us. I have no doubt that progress will continue, yes in fits and starts, nevertheless forward. The core issue for us is whether third-party developers will disappear and access left to mainstream software manufacturers. Apple does a good job with its VoiceOver software, and tech support of disabled users is solid! iPhone technology has become the main communication tool for blind students in college and in professional job environments. It is dynosaurs like us old dudes that resist change. It took me lots of effort to get my wife to switch from a flip phone to an iPhone; she still refuses to learn more than she needs, but she now send text messages, pictures, cute visual effects, and so on. Sad to say, the older we get, the harder its is to change. (I have not as yet switched to Windows 10. It is good to wait until the bugs are under control, until access catches up, and until the need arises.) I did buy a Windows 10 HP laptop from QVC during their Christmas bash, and will get to it this Spring when I have time to write a tutorial for Windows 10. Microsoft, with the change of leadership a couple of years ago, rethought its overall corporate structure and switched to a "vertical model" where all development groups are required to incorporate alike software into core products to ensure uniformity of functionality. Last year, Microsoft created a new access group withsignificant powers to oversee accessibility issues. It is my personal guess that Narrator will become A significant screen reader within Windows 10 and will rival the accessibility features of VoiceOver of Apple and of Window-Eyes and JAWS. Let us all hope for the best access and let our dinosaur tendencies behind. Peter Duran _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/rod_hutton%40hotmail.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
