The following is only tangentially related to JAWS, but there is a connection.
At one time, not all that long ago, virtually anything presented on a web page
visually was just precisely what it appeared to be, but not now. More and more
objects are being "visually masked" to appear as one thing when they are indeed
another. One example, which I just now encountered again when checking out the
Adblock Plus main page, is their "Install for {insert the browser you're using
at the moment here}" link, which is actually shown such that it looks for all
the world just like a button to a sighted person.
I mention this only so you, and a sighted assistant, don't come close to coming
to blows when they're telling you something like, "Hit B and you should land on
that button since it's the only one on the screen," when the thing turns out to
not really be a button. I find myself, more and more frequently, falling into
an "I'm getting ready to scream any moment now" mood because I'm
unintentionally misdirecting my clients when we land on a page I'm not familiar
with and "object X" is visually disguised to look just like "object Y." I hate
that, but I've already accepted the fact that it's likely to get far, far worse
and may never get better. I've been learning to love JAWS search much, much
more due to this very issue. Now that I better understand the logical split
between the PC Cursor, JAWS Cursor, and Mouse Pointer within JAWS that will
make my life, and those of my clients, somewhat easier as well.
Brian
