Hi, I just read this morning that beginning later this year new computers will begin vastly improving the speed of computers by changing the way graphics chips work inside the machines. They said this will be a major step forward for hardware but a major headache for software. This was on a CNET article. Right away I thought of how my improved GPU on my new machine made using Magic and Jaws at the same time so much easier. My machine doesn't even get warm after being on for hours. But I already know that if this new way of programming software is going to be a major headache for mainstream software that it will be a migraine for the rest of us. And I also know that there will be expectations that assistive companies like Freedom and AI Squared will already have those products available yesterday.
-----Original Message----- From: Jfw [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Carolyn Arnold via Jfw Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 11:03 AM To: The Jaws for Windows support list. Cc: Carolyn Arnold Subject: Re: Keeping Up With Technology Absolutely, Brad, I think the exact same thing. "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right." Henry Ford. Carolyn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brad Martin via Jfw" <[email protected]> To: "The Jaws for Windows support list." <[email protected]> Cc: "Brad Martin" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 22, 2015 9:33 PM Subject: Re: Keeping Up With Technology >I can't really fault Freedom Scientific for this. Designers do crazier and >crazier things with software and websites every day, and the people at FS >aren't psychic. It's been this way since before I got into computers I'm >sure, and that was 1992. You can't redesign software to fix a problem until >the problem exists. So what happens. A new version of Windows comes out, >and then JAWS has to be rewritten to handle the new stuff. A new version of >Office comes out replacing menus with ribbons, and again, the software has >to be rewritten to deal with the new layout. Netflix changes their website, >and again something has to be tweaked to handle the new wrinkle. If the >site designer would use Alt tags on their graphics, graphical links >wouldn't be an issue. > > The other side of that coin is that you have to do your part, and that > means updating to the latest version of JAWS if you want the latest fixes > to the latest problems. I don't generally update to every new release, > because for what I do, I can usually skip five or so versions. It's > cheaper that way, and I don't feel like I'm missing out. If you're more on > the cutting edge of technology, you may have to update more frequently. > > Which brings me to my final point of the night. People gripe about the > cost of assistive technology, but as rapidly as things change, programmers > are always having to work writing code to accommodate those new features > and problems. And unlike, say, Microsoft Office, which people use by the > millions and millions of copies, assistive technology has an extremely > small market share. People want the very latest and greatest, and they > want the software authors to work for free. > > Is what we have perfect? No. But if you were using JAWS back in the days > of Internet Explorer 3.0, you remember when the only way to read a news > article was with the JAWS cursor (there was no virtual cursor), and you > had to read three or four columns of articles at one time with all the > stories mixed together. We've come soooooo far since 1997 when I started > teaching people how to use the Internet. When you step back eighteen > years, it's really quite amazing how rapidly our technology catches up > with the rest of the world compared to how long it used to take. > > Brad > > On 6/22/2015 6:25 PM, Kevin Wollenweber via Jfw wrote: >> You know, with all the hardships that I read within this EList, >> especially >> regarding Netflix and other such sites-I know I'm having my share of woes >> regarding these-I think the fault lay not only with sites like Netflix >> that >> change configurations as often as they change their underwear, but also >> with >> Freedom Scientific for not keeping the programs compatible and current >> with >> a lot of new programs and changing graphics. If screenreaders were able >> to >> recognize changing graphics, I think things would be a lot more >> accessible. >> No one saw this Netflix change coming; I mean, the site is definitely >> changed completely to the point where I cannot find my DVD queue; if they >> were phasing out the DVD queue, news of this should have been announced >> to >> subscribers long ago, but if this is merely a configuration issue where >> more >> is made of graphics, well, then I guess that, right now, they'll lose a >> lot >> of subscribers who can't figure out the situation, but my hope is that >> screenreading software is keeping up with the times, because they're >> certainly *NOT* slowing down for us. >> >> >> Kevin >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> <http://lists.the-jdh.com/pipermail/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com/attachments/201506 22/f12f1ed9/attachment.html> >> _______________________________________________ >> Jfw mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com >> > > -- > Brad Martin > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > My Facebook page where I post online shopping coupons and deals: > facebook.com/ucoupons <http://www.facebook.com/ucoupons> > My SmarterBucks signup link <http://bit.ly/1w5FCPu> > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.the-jdh.com/pipermail/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com/attachments/201506 22/2fb05c0a/attachment.html> > _______________________________________________ > Jfw mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com > _______________________________________________ Jfw mailing list [email protected] http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com _______________________________________________ Jfw mailing list [email protected] http://lists.the-jdh.com/mailman/listinfo/jfw_lists.the-jdh.com
