These are exactly the kinds of features we need in JFW. Unfortunately,
when I had to buy a screen reader, Window Eyes was way behind JFW. Now
it seems like they're ahead. I don't want to slo progress at HJ but
these screen readers are so damn expensive that I'll stick with the
one I have until something quite superior comes along.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Poehlman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: jaws for windows mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Saturday, March 20, 1999 7:27 AM
Subject: [Fwd: Fwd: A comparative review of Windoweyes and JFW's
InternetAccess]
>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
>
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
