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Re: Jaws and Window Eyes info needed

for

From: Birkir Gunnarsson
Date: Nov 14, 2009 7:10AM

Keep in mind both System Access from www.satogo.com and NVDA (Non Visual
Desktop Access) from www.nvda-project.org are free screen readers that can
be used while testing accessibility. If a page works with these two they
will work fine with Jaws and the more expensive alternatives (a disclaimer
that NVDA is designed for FireFox and its IE support has been very minimal,
however I see in their latest update they are adding IE support).
NVDA is open source whilst Serotek has provided this free accessibility
solution for mobile users and, I suspect, partly for people wanting to test
accessibility.
I hope I am not seeing a representative portion of this list as I very
recently subscribed. I was hoping to see discussions on web accessibility
problems, not the usual screen reader bashing, however justified.
Cheers
-B

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Samantha Mignano
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 5:35 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Jaws and Window Eyes info needed

I would just like to add that we as a company are fully intending
buying the full version of Jaws and Windows Eyes for Randi, at our own
expense - not hers, along with a computer to run these on.
We discussed about trial versions as we thought this might help Randi
evaluate the products beforehand, and also help her to get to grips
with how much training she feels she might need, so that we can also
budget for that too.

I advise all of my clients to have testing done on all websites,
whether we have developed them or not, with our own team of testers
who have a range of disabilities or browsing methods.
We have testers who have mobility and/or motor skills impairments,
testers who have partial sight, testers with dyslexia, testers with
long term pain problems that cause attention and concentration issues
for them and more.
I am committed to testing with people who have actual requirements,
rather than trying to test with the technology alone as I do not feel
this works well enough. Like Geoff said, the site or interface needs
to be tested by someone who has full knowledge of the barriers he or
she encounters for the testing and solutions to be effective.

It is not always easy to sell this testing service in to clients as
other companies try and say that they have tested the site with a
screen reader and some automated tool and think that ticks all the
boxes. They seem happy to then deem the product or service accessible
- and some clients think that is enough.
It does bite me when I hear this as I know there is a very long way to
go towards getting sites accessible. We are currently re-doing our own
company site and it is going through the same testing with our team
before launch to ensure that we are practising what we preach.

Samantha Mignano

Beyond Metrix Ltd ~ evolving business online ~ http://www.beyondmetrix.com

Independent website audits, web strategy, web design & development,
usability, accessibility, SEO & online marketing.

Need help with your website? Call us now for a free website audit
consultation. 08456 44 88 54

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On 14 Nov 2009, at 02:01, Randi wrote:

> Oh also, yeah, iTunes is a total pain, but with some doing, I was able
> to figure it out and its been wonderful. I found forums of other
> Voiceover users to help, so maybe there are other screen reader users
> who have figured out the craziness who could help too. Its worth
> figuring out if at all possible with Windows readers, because iTunes
> is implementing descriptive audio into their videos. It took me days
> of playing to figure it out, and then after an update, things changed
> and I wanted to hurl the laptop out the window, but thats another
> story...
>
> Please feel free to email me off list if you want to chat, or just
> vent about how inaccessible the net can be.
>
> ~Randi
>
> http://raynaadi.blogspot.com/
>
>