[macvoiceover] Re: Fwd: Microsoft office 2008 for macintosh. please read this

This is the *only* message I'll send on this topic, because it disgusts me just too much and I don't wish to get carried away. Saying that fs works their bottoms off to make ms products accessible is like saying that the subway engineeres work their fingers to the bone making their trains accessible. 
What fs does, is to claim ms improvements as fs upgrades.
I.E. ms adds a new api for accessing this or that, fs adds a script to jaws to use that api, then announces to the whole world that now jaws works with so much more software, when in actuallity all they did was wrap something that already exists into a new layer, and called it their own. There are so many examples of this I can't even count them all. Add to this the fact that for some eason (I've never figured out why/how) fs manages to find out about these apis months before the rest of the developer community does, and you've got the recipe for why fs claims they've added this or that feature before any other screen reader. 
I did ask them about this once, and all I got was the cold shoulder.
I don't mind them saying features have been added, but when those features aren't actually added by them, but only grafted on via someone else's work, then you see why I find it irritating. I've always stated that jaws is really not a screen reader, it's a script engine that just happens to focuse on accessibility. Remove all the jaws scripts (including the ones that come with it by default) and what's left wouldn't read the startup screen of it's own product. Now, to prevent a flame war, I will add tht there's nothing wrong with tis approach, I'm just tired of seeing all the hype about what jaws supports, what it adds every release, and so on, while other screen readers who actually do real work get nothing. 

I've called fs technical support exactly 3 times.
Each time, I've left the call no closer to a solution than I was when I called in the first place. (even in one case telling me what I was having happen was impossible) Sorry, it's not impossible if it's happening folks. 

So, there's my entire seminar on the topic, do what you like with it.




On Jan 23, 2008, at 6:47 AM, Shaun Jones wrote:
Yeah, Microsoft isn't accessible, JAWS is. The FS guys have a product that needs to work on the surface, so they work their bottoms off to do this in order to sell JAWS and other products. If Windows has a problem FS has to wait until Microshaft fixes it before FS can begin work on the problem. 
On Jan 22, 2008, at 8:32 PM, David Poehlman wrote:
Microsoft has been shamming the assistive technology community for years and throwing money around like it's watter to underline their point but at the end of the day, how much of microsoft is really accessible and how much of it is accessible because the little guys sweatted bullets and hacked into 
software and operating systems to make it happen.

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Hess" <johnythehess@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 8:21 PM
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Fwd: Microsoft office 2008 for macintosh. please 
read this


Cheryl, you raise some very valid points and I don't have an answer
for that. Perhaps in our minds it's too late but in my opinion any
opportunity we have to share our concerns is a valid one.  If anyone
knows about the need for accessibility it is certainly Microsoft.
They have made changes in windows apps to accommodate this need. the
name "Microsoft accessibility" says it all doesn't it?
On Jan 22, 2008, at 7:49 PM, Cheryl Homiak wrote:


I'm sorry but this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is Microsoft
trying to say they are in the dark about what the problems are and
need us to tell them about it? The developers were certainly able to
turn on voiceover and see what the issues were. Had they asked us
for this feedback before 08 was released I could see it but why now
when the cow is already out of the barn so to speak? I could also
understand it had it not ben reported on this list that office 08
was expected to be accessible. Likde David, I'm not shooting the
messenger and i hope this isn't a sham but I have to say I have
definite doubts.



John W. Hess & Barclay the WonderLab




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