Re: Coding for a new jaws accessible app

  • From: "Troy Sullivan" <troysullivan02@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:43:47 -0400

As stated earlier, I would like to see a more accessible version of itunes.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Martyn 
  To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 7:25 PM
  Subject: Re: Coding for a new jaws accessible app


  Wow, you made a good point. I have been hearing much talk about google docs 
lately. One thing about google docs is that I can still use the jaws cursor. 
Rhapsody Blind operates heavily on the jaws cursor because nothing is PC cursor 
friendly. I would have to investigate google docs to see what it lets you get 
away with. Very good suggestion.
  I have MS office 2002, 2007, and 2010 myself and though I get it free for 
school purposes, it is not cheap. Something that benefits us all would be the 
right direction. I would consider myself an intermediate script writer right 
now, but finding a way to do something is my talent. Eventually, I am going to 
organize a scripting site to help develop others in making more applications 
accessible. For now, it's gaining the knowledge and experience to share this 
valuable information. Even though google docs might be difficult, the one thing 
I have on my side is experience with script writing. I have spent hundreds of 
hours testing and playing with how jaws gets its information. Rhapsody Blind 
took so long because it was so difficult and because I had to learn how to 
accomplish it. 
  I have only heard of google docs as being inaccessible and tried it myself 
just when I started getting better at scripting. My feeling on it is that it is 
possible.
  To help save some time, who knows what all google docs is possible of doing?
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Marquette, Ed 
    To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 5:30 AM
    Subject: RE: Coding for a new jaws accessible app


    OK.
    This "coding for an application" raises a good point.  Indeed, Internet 
Explorer, FireFox, and the like are applications; however, Websites have 
progressed well beyond what we think of as traditional Websites.
    More and more, I'm seeing applications migrate away from the client/server 
model, where something is installed on a local PC, to Web-based applications, 
where the application resides remotely and is only accessed through the browser.
    For instance, I use a Web application at my office which is a pretty 
sophisticated document management system.
    By that, I mean only a shadow of a Microsoft Office document resides on the 
local drive (and only for emergency back-up purposes).  The real files are not 
even located on a remote server that our firm owns.  Instead, they reside 
somewhere in a mountain cave in Utah.
    When I want to access, search for, or save a document, Internet Explorer 
runs a Web application that looks up or stores the document with a whole range 
of information (e.g., author, creation date, last edit date, client number, 
matter number, document name, type of law, type of document, and selected key 
words.).  The look-up operates much like a Google search operates or, in the 
alternative, by field look-up.
    There are competitive applications, but they all operate on the 
client/server model.
    The point is that more and more of these Web applications are appearing.  
Fortunately, the one referenced above is pretty well behaved, particularly with 
JAWS and its quick keys, or whatever they are called.
    It does not, however, respond all that well to scripts.  That, however, may 
be my ineptitude as a script writer, though the scripts I wrote were hardly 
more than macros, i.e., a series of keystrokes.
    I would certainly like to see an accomplished script writer tackle, or try 
to tackle, a Web application of general applicability.
    I cannot think of an application with more general applicability than 
Google Docs, but I do have my own selfish objectives that, in the interest of 
full disclosure, I need to reveal.  Still, a free application that can be 
shared in a collaborative way with power that approaches Microsoft Office would 
be pretty important to lots of people.
    Google Docs is free.  Microsoft Office doesn't come cheap.
    Google Docs, however, may simply be too great a challenge.  After all, all 
the screen reader people seem to have given up on it.




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      From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Bob W
      Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 5:48 AM
      To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
      Subject: Re: Coding for a new jaws accessible app


      Peter, here's my thinking and I hope others will correct me if I'm wrong.
      A website is not an application. 
      the applications involved would be your browser--i.e. or firefox, or 
chrome.

      For that matter, google docs would not be an application either.

      Just my  thoughts.

      Bob

      A learning experience is one of those things that says, 'You know that 
thing you just did? Don't do that.' Douglas Adams  

        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: Peter Holdstock 
        To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
        Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 5:06 AM
        Subject: Re: Coding for a new jaws accessible app


        Hi, for many blind people dating is quite difficult and many dating 
websites don’t seem too accessible, and I have seen a few posts from people 
trying to get various websites working. I’d be very grateful if the website 
www.plentyoffish.com was made accessible in some way. It is pretty accessible 
at the mom            ent so shouldn’t require too much work, but there are a 
lot of extra links and information you have to try and bypass to get to the 
useful stuff.

        I may be the only one who wants that website accessible, but I hope not 
and I think lots would benefit from a fully accessible dating site where it’s 
not just disabled people.

        Peter

        Thanks.

        Peter

        From: John Martyn 
        Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 8:33 AM
        To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ; jaws-users-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
        Subject: Coding for a new jaws accessible app

        Hi folks,
        As my 32nd birthday approaches, I think I am going to make a habit of 
picking one new application per year to make jaws accessible. Picking Rhapsody 
was not an easy task, but it taught me many things about an application that 
seems next to impossible to make behave. I am taking off this summer from 
school and will have the time to code a new application. Rhapsody Blind was a 
test to see if I could pull it off, and it worked. I selfishly chose the first 
one, now I'm looking for the popular vote on what you might want. I probably 
won't start until this semester is over at the end of May, so this gives plenty 
of time to decide. It would be a good idea to chat among each other and find 
out what is needed or just plain want for entertainment purposes. So, let's 
open up the floor and hear some suggestions.
        Thanks,
        John Martyn

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