The issue is that the AFB get financial support from the Window's Screen reader developers. So they have a financial incentive to do everything they can to keep those companies in business and if that means dishing Apple, which is the greatest commercial threat these companies have ever faced, well AFB will do just that. They have to their financial support is at stake.
It was the author of the original VoiceOver review for Access Word that told me to my face before the review was ever written that AFB was going to make sure that Apple's accessibility efforts "blew up in their face".
Greg Kearney 535 S. Jackson St. Casper, Wyoming 82601 307-224-4022 gkearney@xxxxxxxxx On Nov 2, 2007, at 5:45 PM, Buddy Brannan wrote:
I think AFB's bias is showing... Begin forwarded message:From: "Deb and Cori" <debsoundandscent@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: November 2, 2007 6:58:14 PM EDT To: <buddys-dogscoop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: lendinghand@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Buddys-dogscoop] Fw: [TSE-Chat] Leopard article. Reply-To: "Buddy's Dogscoop" <buddys-dogscoop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [TSE-Chat] Leopard article.Feed: CNET News.com Posted on: Friday, November 02, 2007 12:01 PM Author: CNET News.com Subject: Leopard looks great. But what if you can't see?Despite new accessibility features in Leopard, people with disabilities arestill likely to choose Windows computers over Macs. View article... <http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9808510-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547 -1_3-0-20> November 2, 2007 12:01 PM PDT Leopard looks great. But what if you can't see? Posted by Elsa Wenzel Leopard is Apple's best-looking operating systemyet, from its breezy Cover Flow file browsing to the starry- looking TimeMachine backup. It's no wonder visual artists love Macs. But how well does Leopard work for blind users?"[Vision-impaired] people who use Macs are mostly in the category of, "Myboss sayswe have to use Macs," or "I'm a teacher and that's what I'm stuck with,""said CristaEarl, director of Web operations at the American Foundation for the Blind. Among 10 million visually impaired people in the United States, at least 1.5millionuse computers, according to the American Foundation for the Blind. To servethis population, Windows machines have traditionally offered more baked-in features and compatibility with third-party software and devices than Macs.Earl, who is blind, only uses computers running Microsoft Windows. She editsdocumentsin braille and relies upon a screen-reader application to "read" text andlinks aloud in Internet Explorer and other programs. However, to serve users such as Earl, Apple has made 17 Universal Access enhancements within Leopard.Leopard is the first operating system that can be installed using a brailledisplay.It also supports the forms of braille used both for reading and editing.There areenhancements to the VoiceOver tool, which reads aloud text on a page in amale orfemale voice. Users can now move VoiceOver's preferences from one Mac toanother,so they don't have to waste time configuring each new machine. In addition,VoiceOvercan recognize misspelled words and jump to chunks of a Web page instead offorcing a user to wait while it reads one word at a time.Earl said these changes are a step in the right direction, and she hopes tocheck them out on a friend's Mac. Mac OS X also offers some advantagesover Windows for people with limited vision, such as the capability todisplay the screen in black and white."I don't mean I'd give up my Windows computer," she said. "I have work todo. It's gonna take a lot from the last time I saw VoiceOver."Accessibility features from any vendor are usually more frustrating to usethan advertised,Earl added. Part of the problem is that instead of integrating essentialtools withintheir operating systems, Microsoft and Apple have left it up to thirdparties to fill in the gaps with extra, paid software.For example, the screen readers within Windows and Mac OS X pale next toapplications like JAWS or Window-Eyes. Earl wonders why the tech giants don't just buy one of the better tools,then weave it into their operating systems."One of the reasons things haven't gotten very far is that the companiesmaking screen readers are constantly fighting the next battle," Earl said.Blame the ever-evolving nature of Web site designs. Once screen- readermakers figuredout how to make Adobe Acrobat accessible, for instance, Adobe Flash renderedWebpages mute to blind users. Now that more Flash sites work with screenreaders, the AJAX coding of the Web 2.0 era poses new challenges.Both the challenges in making accessibility tools and the market for themare poisedto expand. More young people are suffering repetitive stress disorders suchas carpaltunnel syndrome, while aging Baby Boomers grapple with diminished vision,hearing, and mobility.People whose hands and arms suffer keyboard fatigue, or worse, can usespeech-to-text software that types what they speak. For them, Windows builds in voice-activateddictation and commands. Leopard enables voice-activated commands only. Therich Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance runs only on Windows. For Macs, the equivalent ViaVoice (or iListen, which I haven't tested) are considered less robust.I find each of these dictation applications awkward to use. Just spend anhour with one for a few laughs as it garbles your speech. Nevertheless, hardware and software manufacturers appear to be paying more attention to the needs of an affluent, aging population."A newcomer to visual impairment tends to expect, rightly, for things to bea wholelot easier than they are," Earl said. "That pressure of lots of disappointedusers might make things better for everybody." Mike&Brent email: mrtownsend@xxxxxxxxxxx Arlington, VA 22204 H; 571 312-2085 C: 732 718-9480 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition.Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.18/1104 - Release Date: 11/1/20076:47 PM to contact the list owner TSE-Chat-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to subscribe TSE-Chat-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To receive message digests TSE-Chat-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To receive individual messages TSE-Chat-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To go no mail TSE-Chat-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Yahoo! 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Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/_______________________________________________ Buddy's Dogscoop buddys-dogscoop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.screenreview.org/mailman/listinfo/buddys-dogscoop-- Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA Phone: (814) 746-4502 or 888-75-BUDDYCheck out some of the best music you've never heard, and claim your free trial platinum mmembership: http://www.musicforte.com/trial/bbrannan Check out the new Watkins: natural plant-based home care and our 2007 holiday gift line: http://www.tastyshop.net And claim your free mall: Unlimited earning potential just for the shopping you already do: http://www.powermall.infoClick on the link below to go to our homepage. http://www.icanworkthisthing.comManage your subscription by using the web interface on the link below.//www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover Users can subscribe to this list by sending email to macvoiceover-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxwith 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by logging into the Webinterface at //www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
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