Play nice Please I do not necessarily disagree with this hasty
conclusion but it has implications for the future.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: A comparative review of Windowless and JFW's
InternetAccess
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 20:39:10 +1100
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (pattist)
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Jonathan Mosen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
With the recent release of Internet Explorer 5.0, there has naturally
been
discussion about screen readers for Windows and Internet access. A
number of
generalist statements have been made, resulting in some list members
asking
for substantiation of those statements. For what it is worth, here is
my
view, complete with feature examples, on why Windoweyes provides
superior
access to the Internet than JFW. This comparison looks at IE 5.0 using
the
beta scripts on the JFW Mailing List home page. These scripts are
essentially slightly modified versions of the IE 4 scripts,
compensating for
the fact that the IE 4 scripts mistakenly think that IE 5 is IE 3. So
the
functionality when using JFW with the IE 5 scripts mirrors that of IE
4
access with JFW. Apart from a huge speed improvement when using IE 5,
access
to the Net with Internet Explorer, Windoweyes offers the same feature
set
under IE 4 and IE 5. On this basis then, I believe the feature
comparison is
relevant.
I should also add that Window Bridge and Winvision, having made
excellent
use of Active Accessibility, offer similar functionality to
Windoweyes. In
some areas there are differences though, and while I have used
demonstration
versions of these two products, I don't feel proficient enough with
those
packages to make comment.
The heart of the superiority of Windoweyes over JFW for Internet
access is
the fact that the entire HTML document, or web page, is loaded by
Windoweyes
into a buffer, which it calls the MSAA buffer. This allows the user to
read
a web page as if it were a document in Notepad or Word. This means,
for
example, that the continuous read feature reads a web page from top to
bottom in Windoweyes.
This web page loading process eliminates the need for any reformatting
to be
done on a web page, as is necessary with pages with a complex visual
lay-out
in JFW.
Windoweyes has a feature which immediately alerts you to the fact that
a
page has frames when it appears on the screen, thus reminding you that
you
can use control+tab to move quickly between frames. A status hot key
specific to the MSAA buffer will tell you the line of the page you're
on,
which frame you are in, and how many frames there are on the page.
Both Windoweyes and JFW have the excellent feature allowing you to
bring up
a listview containing all the links on a page. However, Windoweyes
offers
two choices within this list view. One choice executes the link, in
other
words it takes you to the page pointed to. The other option puts the
MSAA
cursor on the link, allowing you to move your cursor around the
current page
to get an idea of the context of the current link. This is a great
feature
for all those obscure links that say things like "click here".
Searching an entire web page is significantly better with Windoweyes.
Instead of using the standard Internet Explorer search, one instead
uses the
Windoweyes search. In most circumstances, this searches only the
screen, but
when the MSAA buffer is turned on, you can search the entire buffer.
This
means that you can search for text on the entire web page, and have
the MSAA
cursor placed right at the result for you to continuously read from
there or
for you to explore the context further.
Filling in forms is about even in my view. It is annoying and
potentially
confusing to novice computer users that one has to turn MSAA mode off
in
Windoweyes when filling in a form, then turn it back on again when
you've
submitted the form. I hope this will be remedied in a version of
Windoweyes
in the not too distant future.
Finally, and I've saved the best for last, there is no comparison
between
the ease with which the screen readers get you past those annoying
contents
margins. By this, I refer to the list of common links you so often
find
taking up at least a screen full at the top of each web page. With one
simple key press, Windoweyes will instantly take your cursor past that
material and straight onto the stuff you want to read. It literally
saves
you hours over a few days of surfing, and makes the web a much more
pleasant
experience. This feature works well about 90 percent of the time, with
an
occasional requirement for several presses of this key combination to
skip
you past several contents margins.
In conclusion, I think the gamble GW Micro took in relying on Active
Accessibility to provide Internet access is starting to pay off. They
tolerated many angry customers saying, "JFW supports IE 4, why don't
you".
There is no doubt in my mind that a blind person will be more
productive and
efficient with Windoweyes than they will with JFW when surfing the
Internet.
JFW will have to at least match these features in 3.3 in order to be a
contender as a screen reader for serious surfers.
Jonathan
Regards Steve,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
