OKAY THANKS ALOT.
On 22/09/2014 9:30 AM, Amiyo Biswas wrote:
I got the following from the freedom scientific web site. Read on.
With best regards,
Amiyo Biswas
Cell: +91-9433464329
How good are Windows 8 accessibility features for the blind?
By Mardon Erbland
You can find many reviews about Windows 8 Consumer Preview. This one
is different because I set out to understand how Windows 8 performs
for a blind person who must use keyboard shortcuts to navigate. I am
sighted but tested the operating system thinking about my blind nephew.
My review focuses on navigation of the new OS using keyboard shortcuts
and no mouse. It is not aimed at partially-sighted or low-vision
people who use a mouse and may actually benefit from the larger icons.
Neither do I evaluate how screen readers such as JAWS will read the
screen contents once the correct location is reached. I suspect that
the makers of JAWS and other screen reader software will have lots
work to do before their programs will work well with Windows 8. I hope
that isn't the case. But my guess is that it will be.
I run Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a VMware Player x64 v4.0.1 virtual
machine. My hardware is a Gigabyte MoBo; i7 Hex core at 3.2GHz OC;
24GB DDR3 RAM; nVidia GTX580 512; host OS Win7 on 250GB Intel SSD; VM
on 150GB partition on an internal 2TB SATA300. Other internal drives
are two RAID0 arrays each 2 x 1TB WD Caviar Black and two NEC
1920x1200 displays.
Editor: That's a helluva rig.
Boot Up Experience
When Windows 8 first boots, it goes into what Microsoft calls a "Lock
Screen". This Screen displays information such as the time of day but
does not allow for any user input. To advance to the Login Screen you
press "Tab". Once at this location you can type in your password.
Windows 8 is designed to encourage the use of a Microsoft Account and
its associated username and password for logging into your local PC.
Hotmail users will already have a Microsoft account. This is
apparently done to allow access to the many cloud-based features built
into Windows 8. The Login Screen also contains an icon for shutting
down the computer. Navigate to it by pressing Tab repeatedly. Once
there, hit "enter" to get a menu for: Sleep, Shut Down or Restart.
While at the Login Screen, repeatedly pressing Tab will cycle from the
Login Box to the Submit Button to the Ease of Access Icon to the Shut
Down icon then back to the Login Box. The Ease Of Access Button gives
a Menu that can be navigated with the up and down arrows. If no keys
are pressed, the menu selections advance on their own after a short
time interval. The menu contains: Narrator, Magnifier, On-Screen
Keyboard, High Contrast, Sticky Keys, and Filter Keys. The Escape key
takes you back to the Login Screen.
Measuring Metro's Worth
After logging in, you go to what Microsoft calls the Metro User
Interface. I'll call it Metro for short. This displays a series of
icons in table -- some might call "tile-like" -- format. Use the
arrow keys to navigate. Unfortunately, all the cells are not the same
size. This makes the table more difficult for a blind person to navigate.
There is no Start button in Windows 8. Metro replaces it. The Metro
screen contains many icons that can be used to launch programs and
apps, which are new to Windows 8. Their icons are dynamic, in that
they show the status of the apps and programs they represent. For
example, the Weather icon shows temperatures and weather conditions.
The music app icon shows what is playing, etc. I do not know how this
dynamic approach will work with a screen reader.
The Metro screen also contains an icon for your personal user account.
Pressing Tab will move you between the program and App icons in Metro
and your User Account. After first arriving at Metro, you can Tab once
to go your user account. Press Enter. This brings up a menu that
contains three options: Change Account Picture, Lock and Sign Out. The
arrow keys can be used to navigate this menu. Escape exits the menu.
While in Metro, the arrow keys can be used to navigate to the
individual icons. There are things such as Maps, Weather, People,
Xbox, Messaging plus any Programs that you have "Pinned to Start"
(explained later). Once you arrow to the program or app you want to
launch, press Enter to launch it.
Navigating Apps
Not all programs are displayed on the Metro screen. To access all of
the apps and programs you must press Control+Tab while in Metro. This
brings up an apps screen containing icons for all apps and programs.
It's much like what would have been accessed via the Start Button in
previous versions of Windows. Use the arrow keys to navigate this
screen. Standard features like the Control Panel are accessed from
this apps page. Press the Windows key to go back to Metro.
Once you are on the apps screen and have navigated with the arrow keys
to a program of interest, you can press Enter to launch the app or
program. You can also press Space to get another menu. When this
second menu opens, you will get several choices that can be navigated
with the right and left arrow keys. The options available depend on
the program but may include "Pin or Unpin from Start", "Pin or Unpin
from Taskbar", "Open new Window", "Open File Location", etc. Pinning a
program to Start places it in the Metro screen. Press the Windows key
to return to Metro.
Pressing Alt+Tab lets you switch between open apps or programs.
Pressing Alt+F4 seems to close individual windows just as it does in
previous versions of Windows. When programs such as Windows Explorer
are launched, they open on the Desktop and the short-cut keys seem to
work like in old versions of Windows. While at the Desktop, you can
navigate the taskbar as previously with a combination of Tab and arrow
key movements. The Desktop is the one part of Windows 8 that is very
similar to previous versions of Windows.
Multimedia Mayhem
Windows Media Player is still accessible via the Apps page but it is
no longer the default player for video or music. The defaults are the
new Video App and Music App. As far as I can tell neither app is
accessible via keyboard short-cuts. The problem with this is that if
you accidently open a video or music from Windows Explorer by hitting
Enter there is no way to stop the music or video from playing by using
keyboard shortcuts.
When a DVD is inserted, it begins playing automatically in Windows
Media Center. Once the movie is playing, the Right Click Key can be
pressed in order to bring up a set of Action Menus. Use the right and
left arrow keys to move within this menu. From here you can do such
things as: play or eject the disc and go to the title menu or root
menu of the disc. I have not been able to figure out how to pause the
video using keyboard shortcuts from within Windows Media Center. It
can be done with a mouse by simply moving it, and a new menu appears
allowing the user to control the speed of the video and to pause it. I
don't know how to get to that menu without a mouse.
I suspect that Windows Media Center operates the same in Windows 8 as
in Windows 7. The problem is that the default program for playing DVDs
is now Windows Media Center and not Windows Media Player, and I cannot
find a way by using keyboard short-cuts to open the DVD in WMP.
Not Good Enough Yet
In summary, it's obvious that Microsoft designed this OS with a
primary focus on touch-screen compatibility. Metro, the introduction
of apps and Windows Store, more use of the Windows Key with less use
of the Escape key and substantial integration with the cloud and cloud
services like Facebook and Flickr are all new features. The Lock
Screen is also new.
The good news is that Windows 8 will probably make a great OS for
Tablets. The bad news is that it is probably going to be a real
headache for blind people who are currently using a screen reader like
JAWS with Windows 7 and no mouse. Many (if not most) of the apps I've
tested do not implement keyboard short-cuts effectively. Many do not
use them at all.
Navigation of the actual operating system using keyboard shortcuts is
not too bad. It's the next level down where the problems begin. The
apps and programs are a long way from being keyboard shortcut and
screen reader friendly. It will probably take a long time, a lot of
effort and substantial collaboration with software developers to make
Windows 8 apps and programs work with screen readers.
For sighted users, the transition may not be so bad. People averse to
change will certainly hate Windows 8 but otherwise it may be an okay
OS for a desktop or notebook. The move to replace the Start Button
with the apps page may seem like a big change at first but it's really
not that different once you get used to using the apps page instead.
That said, the feel of the Metro UI is a big change that is obviously
driven by a desire to make this OS integrated with the cloud and work
on tablets and phones. In that regard, it will have no benefit for
blind users since there is not yet any tablet or phone that is
accessible to the totally blind community.
===
Windows 8 with JAWS
http://doccenter.freedomscientific.com/doccenter2/doccenter/rs25c51746a0cc/windows8/02_Windows8.htm
NOTE: For those of you participating in the live Webinar, the
following link will open the documentation in a new browser window.
The Start screen
When you press the WINDOWS Key, the Start screen opens. This replaces
the Start menu from prior versions of Windows. Each program is
represented by a tile.
Navigation of the tiles of the Start Screen is supported. As you
navigate with the ARROW keys, you will hear the name of the tile
gaining focus, the row and column of the tile, and expanded state of
the tile. Expanded means that the tile takes up twice the space as a
standard tile. This is necessary because columns may be skipped when
navigating when a tile is twice the width of a standard tile. If you
navigate to another group of tiles, JAWS plays a sound to indicate
when you have switched groups. You can also simply begin typing the
name of the application you want to quickly move to it.
Unlike menus, the rows and columns of the Start screen do not wrap.
This means when you get to the edge of a row or column the focus will
not cycle back around to the beginning of the row or column. Press
INSERT+TAB and JAWS will announce coordinates of the row and column
where the cursor is currently located.
Finding a list of all programs
Perform the following steps to find the list of all available programs
installed on your computer.
Press the WINDOWS Key to open the Start screen.
Press CTRL+TAB to switch to the list of all programs.
Use the arrow keys to navigate through the list of items.
The list is divided into groups. The first group is the list of
Windows 8 apps followed by standard Desktop apps. JAWS announces each
group as you move between them.
Begin typing letters to quickly narrow down the list of items.
Searching for programs and settings
Just like with Windows 7, you can still use a powerful search feature
to quickly find programs, files, settings, and more.
Press the WINDOWS Key to open the Start screen and begin typing to
start the search. If you hear the item you are looking for, press
ENTER to open it or scroll down to find other top matches.
Alternatively, press TAB to move to a list of categories that contain
items that match your search. Press ENTER on any of the items in the
category list to display those matches.
For example, perform the following steps to find the Windows Notepad
application using the search feature.
Press the WINDOWS Key to open the Start screen.
Type the first few letters of the word "Notepad" (without the quotes)
and when you hear JAWS say "Notepad" press ENTER to activate the item
and start the Notepad application.
Perform the above steps again but this time type the first three
letters of "Notepad" and instead of pressing ENTER, press the TAB Key
to move to the list of categories that match the letters you typed.
As you scroll through the list JAWS will announce the category name
along with the number of items in the category. Press ENTER on any of
the categories to display a list of all the items.
Press ESCAPE at any point to close the search screen.
Accessing the Charms bar
Press WINDOWS+C to move focus to the Windows 8 Charms bar. This is a
new feature of Windows 8 that allows you quick access to common
features such as Devices, Settings, Search, and Share. Press the arrow
keys or TAB to cycle through the items and press SPACEBAR to activate
an item.
NOTE: The Settings group in the Charms bar contains options for the
system volume as well as shutdown options. Press WINDOWS+I as a
shortcut to move directly to the settings group in the Charms bar.
Windows shutdown options
The shutdown options can be found in the Settings group of the Charms
bar but an easier way to access them is to move to the Desktop and
press ALT+F4. The standard shutdown dialog box will appear with the
options available for your particular computer.
Internet Explorer
Windows 8 currently has two versions of Internet Explorer. By default
when Internet Explorer is launched from the Start screen or from a
metro app, it opens in a form that is optimized for mobile devices.
This version is slimmed down and does not have a menu bar or many
other functions such as the favorites list. It is recommended that you
run the Internet Explorer from the Desktop which behaves like all
previous versions and includes a menu bar. Perform the following steps
to configure Windows to always open Internet Explorer from the Desktop.
Press WINDOWS+R to open the Run dialog box.
Type "www.google.com" without the quotes and press ENTER to open
Internet Explorer for the Desktop.
Press ALT+T to open the Tools menu and activate the Internet Options
item in the menu.
Press CTRL+TAB to move to the Programs page of the Internet Options
dialog box.
Your cursor will be on the "Choose how you open links" combo box.
Scroll down to the "Always in Internet Explorer on the Desktop" option.
Press TAB to the "Open Internet Explorer tiles on the Desktop" check
box and press SPACEBAR to check it.
Press ENTER to close the Internet Options dialog box and save your
changes.
Internet Explorer for the Desktop will now open when ever you activate
links or icons from the Start screen, Desktop, or from within other
applications.
----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]>
To: "AccessIndia: a list for discussing accessibility and
issuesconcerning the disabled." <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2014 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: [AI] wanted assistance creating shortcut in window's 8.1
-----Original message-----
From: Jeegar
Sent: 21/09/2014, 1:11 AM
To: [email protected]; AccessIndia: a list for
discussing accessibility and issues concerning
the disabled.; Voice Vision.
Subject: [AI] wanted assistance creating shortcut in window's 8.1
hi friends,
i am trying to learn creating shortcut on desktop in window 8.1, but
unable to do so,
please any expert guide me in this regard.
is there any step by step method?
waiting for assistance!
--
contact me
cell num."09924796432"
Skype ID jeegar.pithva
editional Email ID
[email protected]
[email protected]
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/jeegar.pithva.
☺
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of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its
veracity;
2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the
mails sent through this mailing list..
Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing
accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on:
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Disclaimer:
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of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its
veracity;
2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the
mails sent through this mailing list..
--
contact me
cell num."09924796432"
Skype ID jeegar.pithva
editional Email ID
[email protected]
[email protected]
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/jeegar.pithva.
☺
"send from email client Mozilla Thunderbird"
Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of
mobile phones / Tabs on:
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Search for old postings at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
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person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity;
2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent
through this mailing list..
