[guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
- From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 15:34:41 -0500
Thanks Will! That is very helpful. I'll take a look if I need to -- but I
still haven't had a chance to download the browser and try it out.
Actually, I just got my new laptop in the mail and am in the process of
moving my stuff off my old very buggy, headache of a machine that has given
me so much grief, so I have had toput stuff on hold for a few days.
)Actually they have been on hold, or at least slowed down, for weeks because
of this machine.)
But I should be back up soon!
Thanks again!
--le
----- Original Message -----
From: "Will Pearson" <will-pearson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 3:30 PM
Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
> Hi Laura;
>
> Yes, you could build an interface directly from within the scripts.
> There's
> not generally not much need to build an MSAA client from within scripting,
> as generally the existing script functions that deal with MSAA work
> perfectly well, but occasionally you want to do something a little
> different, and this is where it becomes a useful technique to know.
>
> Have a look at the script functions GetCurrentObject and GetObjectAtPoint.
> These return an instance of the iAccessible interface, which is the
> interface for the MSAA objects. All the properties and methods for
> iAccessible are detailed in MSDN (http://msdn.microsoft.com), and they
> explain them better than I can. But if you build your own MSAA Client,
> then
> you'll be interacting with these directly. For example:
>
> Script MyScript()
> Var
> Object oObj,
> String Temp
>
> Let oObj = (GetCurrentObject(GetCurrentWindow());
> Let Temp = oObj.AccName(); assigns the iAccessible::AccName to Temp
> SayString(Temp);
> EndScript
>
> The line:
> Let oObj = GetCurrentObject(GetCurrentWindow());
> assigns the iAccessible interface for the current window to oObj. The
> line:
> Let Temp = oObj.AccName();
> then assigns the AccName property to the Temp string.
>
> It's also worth having a copy of oleacc.h, which is the C++ header for
> MSAA
> handy. This contains all the return values that equate to things like the
> control type (AccRole) and control state (AccState).
>
> Will
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 7:34 PM
> Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
>
>
>> So it's the script and set file writers that need to access the hooks,
>> not
>> necessarily the screen reader developers.
>> Anyway, what I'm saying is that a person independent of the screen reader
>> development companies can put in the interface.
>> Am I correct? I only know about jaws and have never used more/less
>> programmed set files, for WindowEyes.
>> And what about the other screen readers, like Supernova and Hal?
>> Take care!
>> --le
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "david poehlman" <david.poehlman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:53 PM
>> Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
>>
>>
>> > Hooks to use msaa are apploication specific.
>> >
>> > Johnnie Apple Seed
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> > To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> > Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:38 PM
>> > Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
>> >
>> >
>> > But that's the point Dave -- Jaws and Window Eyes have already put
>> > hooks
>> > in
>> > to handle MSAA, so if it is implemented correctly in firefox it should
>> > work.
>> > But if someone has already put it in Mozilla, perhaps it is close to
> being
>> > accessible.
>> > I'm going to download it and try it. I'm always open to
>> > alternatives...
>> > Take care and again, thanks for the info.
>> > --le
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "david poehlman" <david.poehlman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> > To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> > Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:34 PM
>> > Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
>> >
>> >
>> >> LE and all,
>> >> Msaa is utillized in the mozilla family but I'm not certain that it is
>> >> available in firefox 1.0 Even if msaa is used, this does not provide
>> >> automatic accessibility as the screen reader vendors must also do
>> >> their
>> >> side
>> >> of it.
>> >>
>> >> Johnnie Apple Seed
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> >> To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> >> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:27 PM
>> >> Subject: [guispeak] Re: Firefox 1.0
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Hi -- This is very interesting -- I know a few people using firefox
>> >> and
>> >> love
>> >> it, but none are visually impaired.
>> >> However, in order to work effectively with jaws or WindowEyes, it has
> to
>> >> use
>> >> MSAA to pass info to the screen reader. The MSAA interface is
> supported
>> >> in
>> >> libraries for the various programming languages on vs.net (the
> Microsoft
>> >> programming environment platform), but I don't know how to use it.
>> >> It would be an interesting project to add MSAA hooks to firefox and
>> >> distribute the source.
>> >> Now as for linux versions, I am not familiar with how screen readers
>> >> handle
>> >> browsing there.
>> >> I used to do hacks and bug fixes on lynx a long time ago, but quit and
>> >> moved
>> >> to windows when I foundout how much better screen readers had become.
>> >> Now
>> >> I
>> >> haven't been on unix/linux since I lost the rest of my vision, but
>> >> know
>> >> many
>> >> blind persons who work heavily there with screen readers that have
>> >> also
>> >> come
>> >> a long way.
>> >> So when I have enough money to get a linux box I may get one -- maybe
>> >> next
>> >> Feb or March.
>> >>
>> >> Anyway, I once purchased a program called "secure IE" -- a web browser
>> >> put
>> >> out by McAfee that is supposed to guard against all the malicious
>> >> hacks
>> >> some
>> >> people put on web pages. But it was not accessible at all, and I went
>> >> back
>> >> to IE. So MSAA is important.
>> >> But the proof is in the pudding.
>> >> If anyone does try the windows version of firefox with a screen please
>> >> post
>> >> and let me know what you find -- and I'll do the same!
>> >> Take care!
>> >> --le
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Bundy, Keith" <Keith.Bundy@xxxxxxx>
>> >> To: <guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <vicug-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> >> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 1:00 PM
>> >> Subject: [guispeak] Firefox 1.0
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>> Below is an article that appeared a few days ago. I am wondering if
>> >>> anyone has already tried this program with a screen reader.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> Free Firefox 1.0 ready to battle MSIE
>> >>>
>> >>> By Joseph Menn
>> >>> Los Angeles Times
>> >>>
>> >>> published: 11/9/2004
>> >>>
>> >>> Early editions of browser have lured 10 million former Microsoft
>> >>> users
>> >>>
>> >>> Get ready for Browser Wars: The Sequel.
>> >>>
>> >>> Six years after Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer defeated Netscape
>> >>> Navigator in the signature fight of the online age, a direct
> descendant
>> >>> of the pioneering
>> >>> Web browser is exacting a small measure of revenge.
>> >>>
>> >>> The nonprofit Mozilla Foundation today will release Firefox 1.0, a
> free
>> >>> browser based on Netscape's technology but improved through the years
> by
>> >>> thousands
>> >>> of volunteer programmers. It's the first version intended for a wide
>> >>> audience.
>> >>>
>> >>> Earlier editions of Firefox attracted millions of users fed up with
> the
>> >>> viruses and spyware that increasingly exploit Internet Explorer's
> flaws
>> >>> to infect
>> >>> computers.
>> >>>
>> >>> After a series of security warnings this year, Explorer's share of
>> >>> the
>> >>> U.S. browser market slid from more than 95 percent in June to less
> than
>> >>> 93 percent
>> >>> last month, according to Internet consultant WebSideStory. Most of
> those
>> >>> computer users went to Firefox.
>> >>>
>> >>> A drop of a couple of percentage points may not sound like much, but
>> >>> globally, it represents more than 10 million people who have dumped
> the
>> >>> world's largest
>> >>> software maker in favor of an outfit with 10 full-time employees.
>> >>>
>> >>> It's part of a broader move toward so-called open-source software,
> which
>> >>> has Microsoft on the defensive. In the most visible part of that
> trend,
>> >>> many big
>> >>> corporations and everyday users alike are powering their computers
> with
>> >>> the free operating system Linux, encroaching on Microsoft's lucrative
>> >>> Windows franchise.
>> >>>
>> >>> Browsers have been free for a long time. But analysts say Firefox has
>> >>> special significance because it could open many more eyes to the
>> >>> possibilities of
>> >>> open-source software.
>> >>>
>> >>> Users like Firefox because it works about as fast as Explorer, adds
>> >>> features such as multiple-window browsing and presents a less
>> >>> tempting
>> >>> target for hackers.
>> >>> Users also can change the way it works, for example, by barring all
>> >>> images so that the text on Web pages appears more quickly. Most but
> not
>> >>> all sites can
>> >>> be visited with Firefox.
>> >>>
>> >>> "It's actually quite intuitive, and it's very fast," said Shekhar
>> >>> Venkataraman, an intensive-care doctor in Pittsburgh who has been
> using
>> >>> the Mozilla browser
>> >>> for more than a year.
>> >>>
>> >>> Milton Blackstone, a retired TV writer and producer, said he turned
>> >>> to
>> >>> Firefox after he became fed up with Explorer's frequent unexplained
>> >>> crashes. Although
>> >>> he complained he has had trouble following Web links in e-mails,
>> >>> Blackstone said he was glad he made the switch.
>> >>>
>> >>> "I think it's thought-out," said Blackstone, a resident of the San
> Diego
>> >>> community of La Jolla. "I have a lot of respect for Mozilla."
>> >>>
>> >>> As with Linux, the complicated computer code powering Firefox is
> freely
>> >>> available for any programmer to examine, improve and pass along. Fans
> of
>> >>> open-source
>> >>> software say that sort of continuous review makes the programs
> stronger
>> >>> and more reliable.
>> >>>
>> >>> Because anyone can read the Firefox code, hackers could create
> malicious
>> >>> programs the way they do with Explorer - and some have. But because
>> >>> thousands of
>> >>> volunteer programmers also can see any potential problems, they can
>> >>> respond quickly to plug security holes.
>> >>>
>> >>> "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow," says Eric Raymond,
>> >>> president of the nonprofit Open Source Initiative, which promotes the
>> >>> development and
>> >>> distribution of open-source software.
>> >>>
>> >>> Firefox grew out of a 1998 project at Netscape Communications Corp.
>> >>> to
>> >>> make the browser's underlying code public. It was released in a
> preview
>> >>> version in
>> >>> February and has been downloaded from www.mozilla.org as frequently
>> >>> as
>> >>> 250,000 times a day.
>> >>>
>> >>> Keith Bundy
>> >>> Director of Student Development
>> >>> Dakota State University
>> >>> 605-256-5121
>> >>> Email: Keith.Bundy@xxxxxxx
>> >>> http://departments.dsu.edu/bundyk
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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