[blindlaw] Windows Eyes or JAWS?

Wed Jun 3 14:52:47 UTC 2015

hi guys:

I have been following this window eyes or jaws thread a bit and one question 
comes to mind?

that is, if the courts and government agencies are all supposed to of the 
ADA and its provisions in the public sector portion under title II, then how 
come these issues are coming forth from folks in the field saying that their 
software that the agency tey work for is inaccessible?  this is confusing to 
me and says that the agencies are not taking the ADA title II seriously, or 
that it simply doesn't apply to them?  I could see this happening in the 
private sector simply due to ignorance of the law; this would be 
correctable; but to hear of public government agencies making these faux 
pas's is quite disturbing to me as an outsider looking in?

Please explain, I need to be educated?

Sincerely:

Mike M.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Susan Kelly via blindlaw
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 9:46 AM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Cc: Susan Kelly
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Windows Eyes or JAWS?

Alex mentions another screen-reader side issue that has frustrated me, and I 
think a lot of other folks on this list.  If you are in an office setting 
that uses an electronic file management program, be prepared for nothing to 
completely (or in some cases, even partially) narrate and assist in its use. 
The same is true of any of the court-based file management systems.  Our 
office (government agency, so no wiggle room to run something else, 
unfortunately) chose to purchase an electronic file program which is 
completely inaccessible - as a result, my assistant does the entries in that 
program for me, and copies everything to a system that I created in Word 
which is totally navigable by JAWS.  The court programs have varying levels 
of usability, which I was initially able to get around using screen 
magnification software in addition to the screen reader.  As that becomes a 
less and less viable option, my assistant also transfers that information to 
an accessible format in Word.

Long story short, a lot of the final choice will depend on the nature of 
your work environment.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Stephen 
Alexander Marositz via blindlaw
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 3:45 PM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Cc: Stephen Alexander Marositz
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Windows Eyes or JAWS?

Okay, taking a break from bar prep to answer this one.

Ed, this is obviously a loaded question.   A lot of this comes down to your
own preferences and needs though.  Here are some things to think about.  You 
say you are new to screen-readers.  Does that mean you are losing your 
vision slowly?  If so, I found that window-eyes has some stability issues, 
that Jaws and NVDA do not, not at first, but after a few hours of use.  If 
you have enough residual vision to recover the program when this happens, 
then this will not be a problem for you.
Next, are you a braille reader who uses a braille display?  I find that in 
terms of connectivity, NVDA presents the least difficulty connecting and 
configuring your braille display.  If you test it out, and find that you 
have no trouble connecting your braille display to Jaws and Window-eyes, 
then I would say that all three are superior at outputting braille, even to 
Voiceover.
Do you work in a corporate environment?  Do you use a virtual desktop or 
anything like that?  If so, Jaws is your best bet for making that happen.
Also, if this is the case, cost may not be an issue for you.
Do you access a lot of complex websites/web 2.0 applications like google 
docs and sheets?  This is one of NVDA's strengths but both NVDA and Jaws are 
superior to Window-eyes on this point.  Window-eyes is making strides in 
this area but I found that many student management web based applications I 
had to use for work wouldn't work with it whereas the others would.  I would 
imagine case management programs work in much the same way.
Is security important to you?  NVDA is open source and for some, this means 
that it is potentially more secure than the other commercial screen-readers.
Learning curve. I think Jaws is the clear loser here, it is the most 
complex, except when you consider that because it is the industry leader 
there is a lot of documentation out there for it.  Freedomscientific also 
puts on excellent webinar based training which is superior to anything that 
Window-eyes (in particular the free Microsoft version) and NVDA have.  NVDA 
and Jaws share many of the same commands so if you are familiar with one, it 
isn't difficult to move to the other.  NVDA's command structure, I found 
through training people to use both, was easier to pick up than Jaws's 
though.  Window-eyes is completely different.  many of the skills you learn 
in Window-eyes cannot easily be brought to the other screen-readers.  One 
thing it has going for it is that it is completely customizable though.

If I were introducing someone to screenreaders for the first time, and they 
were going  to be a Windows user, I think I would begin with NVDA because it 
is free and, because most if not all of the skills you learn in NVDA can be 
brought over to Jaws if need be.  I would move over to Jaws if the need 
arose or if the person needed more support and/or training than I could 
provide.  I frankly can't think of a good reason why I would start with 
Window-eyes.

What do I use on Windows?  Well, I use Jaws most of the time at home.  Jaws 
is what I am using right now to study for the bar and write this e-mail.  I 
have been a Jaws customer for almost 20 years except for a 3 year period in 
the early 2000s when I used Window-eyes.  At work, I have used a combination 
of NVDA and Window-eyes for the last 2 plus years (almost exclusively NVDA) 
because I couldn't justify the cost of Jaws to my employer.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you.

Alex
-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Susan Kelly 
via blindlaw
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 11:29 AM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Cc: Susan Kelly
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Windows Eyes or JAWS?

I use both, depending on what device I am using, and also prefer Voiceover.
That said, most legal firms, especially in my home state, are totally 
invested in Windows / Microsoft type computers.  For that, JAWS is likely 
the best.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cody J.
Davis via blindlaw
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 11:18 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Cody J. Davis
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Windows Eyes or JAWS?

If you are not set on a Windows computer, all Apple computers come with a 
built-in screen reader called voiceover. I have found that voiceover is much 
easier to learn, at least it was for me. It seems to be more intuitive than 
JAWS. In high school I was taught how to use JAWS but it didn't really stick 
and I was very slow and limited with it. I think it really is a person by 
person basis though. I found quite a few YouTube videos that were helpful 
when deciding whether or not to switch from jaws to voice over.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 2, 2015, at 12:11 PM, Ed Rizzuto via blindlaw
> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
>
>
> I'm new to the world of screen reader technology and would appreciate
> any thoughts on whether Windows Eyes or JAWS are preferable for use in
> practicing law.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ed Rizzuto
>
>
>
> Edward Rizzuto
>
> Law Office of Edward Rizzuto
>
> 1280 East 9th Street, Suite D
>
> Chico, California  95928
>
> (530) 899-9280
>
> edrizzuto at edrizzutolaw.com
>
> www.edrizzutolaw.com <http://www.edrizzutolaw.com/>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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