Despite experiencing some of the problems other listers have described, I've noticed two genuine improvements with JAWS 8. At any rate, they're improvements over 6.2. I skipped Version 7 altogether.
First, JAWS 8 seems to handle links with much greater stability. For example, when clicking on a link on Yahoo, 6.2 often took me to a webpage from another link on that page. The solution was to press the insert-F7 links list command each time and locate the link with the arrow keys. Linking on Yahoo with JAWS 8 saves me this distracting intermediate step.
Second, JAWS 8 appears to hold documents in focus much better. With 6.2, I found that my OE message edit window and WordPerfect documents, for example, would lose words and lines, forcing me to use a variety of tricks to get JAWS to give me the information I needed. With JAWS 8, I'm finding all words and lines are read by JAWS even after a lot of editing.
JAWS 8 does have some strange behavior. Some listers have noted difficulties with online lists, and I've experienced that with Dean Martineau's website and elsewhere. When I switch back to 6.2, that problem goes away. JAWS 8 also does very strange things when I go from an OE message window to the system tray, even though JAWS 8 gives me no other problems with the system tray.
I've had some difficulty with JAWS 8 stopping in mid-message when I'm reading a new message in the OE edit window with the "say all" command. However, maximizing the window restores normal JAWS function. Moreover, with 6.2 I often couldn't fix this problem at all, making editing difficult. I'm also getting that first word of the next message when deleting or moving between OE messages, but pressing and releasing the control key before the delete key or alt-arrow combination eliminates it.
I hope this report of my experience is helpful to anyone considering whether to experiment with a JAWS 8 upgrade. On balance, I find it much superior to 6.2, although for certain essential operations I'd advise keeping any earlier version that works for you so you can overcome JAWS 8's limitations.
Adrian
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