Just to say this actually went to the list.
On 05/07/2013 17:26, Sieghard Weitzel wrote:
Hi Alan,
I am writing to you directly since while using a screenreader with iTunes is
on topic for the list, I didn't want to start a message war about the merits
of Jaws versus other screenreaders. The fact is that I have never used
another screenreader except just a little bit of System Access to Go when I
am doing something simple on a computer which doesn't have a screenreader
installed.
If buying Jaws and spending $200 every 2 years for the SMA which allows you
to always download the latest version is not an issue for you, then I would
say that it is still your best and most advanced option unless you want to
switch to a Mac in which case you get Voiceover included.
I love my iPhone, but when it comes to computers I am a Windows and Jaws
person and probably always will be . Jaws is extremely advanced and while it
has its issues, so does everything else. If you only need very basic access
for email, the internet and iTunes then maybe NVDA or System Access will
even do the trick for you and they are either free or relatively
inexpensive. In my opinion they are free for a reason and I just think that
something that is free most likely is not quite as good as something that
costs money which means paid experts are at work to make it better all the
time. That is also the reason why I don't have a problem paying Freedom
Scientific my $200 or $250 every 2 years to renew my SMA which then gives me
access to the next 2 major versions of Jaws. I need this for work and to be
efficient and I don't expect Freedom Scientific to add features and improve
Jaws for free, no business can work for free and pay their employees to do
good work.
Yes, Jaws is rather expensive, but the argument that wit Apple you don't
have to pay for a screenreader is only somewhat true. Yes, you don't pay
more as a blind person to buy the computer, but any Apple user pays more for
the computer than you would for a Windows computer. The difference may not
be quite as bit any more, but it still exists and if you pay $500 or $600
more for the hardware then this already covers half or more than half of
what Jaws costs.
Anyhow, that is my 2 Cents worth and as I said, had I put this on the list I
would probably have started a huge discussion on how unfair it is that
Freedom Scientific dares to charge all these poor blind people to get the
latest version of their software and so on.
Oh, and by the way, with the exception of a few little things Jaws works
very nicely with iTunes and in my book iTunes 11 is absolutely fully
accessible with Jaws 14. Things like redeeming a gift card in iTunes are a
bit challenging, you may have to turn off the virtual cursor, but since it's
so easy to do on the iPhone, I just don't bother doing it on the computer.
The main interface is definitely easy to use and I actually quite like
iTunes. There could maybe be some more shortcuts, for example, it would be
nice if there were a shortcut for activating the "iPhone" button when your
phone is connected rather than having to tab around to find it, but they are
not huge issues. I think most people who have problems with iTunes just have
not taken the time to learn how to use it. Jonathan's FS Casts go over just
about everything and I guess you could always go to
www.FreedomScientific.com/FSCast and find them if you want to hear a
demonstration on how well this does work.
Regards,
Sieghard
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