By the way, I also have a Win7, 64-bit system, along with Office 2010. As John says, no need to upgrade for the sake of it. JAWS is one of my rare exceptions to the rule.
-----Original Message----- From: JAWS-Users-List [mailto:jaws-users-list-boun...@jaws-users.com] On Behalf Of Adrian Spratt Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 5:22 PM To: jaws-users-list@jaws-users.com Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] Downgrading to JAWS 16 Gene, When FS publicizes new features in each annual upgrade, they don't mention what I believe are a slew of behind-the-scenes changes they make in order to keep on top of developments on the Web. Sometimes I suspect these background improvements are what cause a deterioration in performance for some users with some websites. It's why many JAWS users keep more than one version on their systems. But if you decide to give up your SMA, you will find the Web increasingly more difficult to navigate because your old version can't catch up. That's been my experience as JAWS has gone from V. 2 to today's V. 18. There are always wrinkles. For example, when you install a new version, it will share components with any previous versions on your system. It can affect performance on the old version, which I've experienced. In fact, even when I've uninstalled an old version, decided I wanted it back, then uninstalled the new version in order to eliminate shared components, the old version comes back with problems associated with those shared components. Perhaps I've failed to get rid of all traces, but I won't mess with the registry. Others here do so all the time. I think Miriam's point about the SMA functioning as insurance is a good one. It fits in with what I'm saying here. Finally, I see no deterioration in performance between JAWS 16 and 18. In the past, a JAWS upgrade has made certain websites less easy to navigate, but I haven't had that experience in a long time. Moreover, there are so many workarounds now, most of all the success many of us have had with turning the virtual cursor off in certain situations. -----Original Message----- From: JAWS-Users-List [mailto:jaws-users-list-boun...@jaws-users.com] On Behalf Of Gene Warner Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2017 3:26 PM To: JAWS Users Subject: [JAWS-Users] Downgrading to JAWS 16 Hi everyone! Back in 2013, when I was finally declared legally blind and had to switch from Zoom Text to JAWS, JAWS was at version 15. As I recall, other than having to learn it on my own because the Lighthouse here is a bad joke, there were few, if any problems I had with it, it just worked. JAWS 16 was pretty much the same but with the addition of the very useful command search function. Then came JAWS 17 with the apparent almost complete rewrite of the engine. From there it seemed like every time I turned around I was running into another misfunction of JAWS. Version 18, when it came out wasn't much better. So, after long thought, as well as fighting an apparently recalcitrant version of JAWS, I've finally decided to install version 16 to see how it compares to version 18. If it works as well as my memory of it recalls, I will eventually uninstall JAWS 18, and consider not maintaining my SMA anymore. Besides my dissatisfaction with versions 17 and 18, it seems like most of the enhancements are for Windows 10 and have no effect on my Windows 7 system which I have no plans to upgrade. If things do change for the better in the future, I can always reestablish a new SMA. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this idea or has already preceded me in downgrading back to version 16. Thanks! Later... For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
