Hi Dark, Unfortunately, this looks like a step backwards instead of forwards to me. The reason Dosbox is inaccessible to a screen reader is because it doesn't use the Windows API and uses a cross-platform generic graphics toolkit. Since it doesn't use an API the screen readers were designed to support the screen readers basically don't know what to do with it.
This is and has always been the problem with screen reader technology. Each operating system has a default graphics toolkit such as the Windows API for Windows, GTK+ for Linux, and Cocoa that the screen reader was designed to support through specialized hooks in the API. When a developer goes off the beaten path uses a non-standard API the screen reader can't access the onscreen information because there probably aren't any low-level hooks to pass important information on to the screen reader or the screen reader was never designed to support them if it does. Something like the Windows XP Command Prompt is accessible because it was designed using the Windows API. All of the menus and the command prompt itself are all standard Windows controls which the screen readers know about and can directly support through the Windows API hooks. Where Dosbox obviously uses something else to make it cross-platform and screen readers don't know what is on the screen because the app is failing to broadcast that information through the Windows API. Cheers! On 12/27/11, dark <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi. > > I recieved this from the Eamon delux announce mailing list, and to forstall > questions, see http://audiogames.net/db.php?id=Eamon+delux > > I'm not however sure whether or not this is goodnews, sinse with what the > developer says about Doxbox, I'm not sure if this also means the new version > of Eamon delux will be as inaccessible as the Apple Ii emulation that most > people use to play eamon. I don't however want to mail the developer and > tell him false information, because I'm not absolutely certain as to the ins > and outs of why a screen reader will! work with a dos application in xp, but > not with dosbox. > > I really hope this is a step forward in tersm of access to eamon but I'm not > absolutely sure, and perhaps Tom or someone with more technical knolidge > than me could contact the Eamon delux developer and ask the right questions. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
