[Blindmath] software accessibility inquiry

[Jonathan Godfrey]

Hi,

I've been away from work for the last ten days so didn't get to this message
before now. Hope the information is still timely.

You asked if Minitab was accessible. I have to say that it is and it isn't. 

The GUI is not Jaws friendly at all in versions released in the last five
years. The session window is accessible. This is where text output is
returned and commands can be typed.

The command syntax can be learned, but the vast majority of Minitab users do
not work with the command language if they can help it. I used Minitab under
DOS and the command language successfully but was horribly inefficient
compared to my class mates who used the GUI. Resources on the commands to be
used are also very difficult to come by as all education done using Minitab
uses the GUI and screen shots are the normal way of showing students what
they must do.

My ability to work with the current version of Minitab now relies heavily on
my experiences with older versions of Minitab before it became inaccessible.
I cannot however use many of the dialogue boxes with confidence unless I
have sighted assistance on hand. Personally I find that reliance
unacceptable.

I am not living or working in the US. If I were, I think I would be using
your legislation to get some of this type of software issue sorted out . As
I live in New Zealand where we do not have any legislation to protect our
rights as disabled people needing access to technology, I am forced to find
alternative solutions. In order to practice as a statistician I am reliant
on accessible statistical software. The best option at present is R. It is
free and functional with screen readers without modification -  well as far
as access to print is concerned. 

Hope this helps,

Jonathan


-----Original Message-----
From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of aerospace1028 at hotmail.com
Sent: Thursday, 28 June 2012 3:40 a.m.
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Blindmath] software accessibility inquiry


Hello,
I waslooking at a job-posting and found the following requirement.

"Knowledge and ability to use MS Windows/Word/Excel. Ability to learn and
utilize MS Access, Oracle, Everest, Testworks data acquisition systems, and
Minitab statistical programs."

I've used office tools before.  I've never used Oracle, Everest, Testworks
or Minitab.  Has anyone here run into any of these programs/suites/vendors
before?

I'm comfortable using either JAWS or NVDA under Windows.  I don't have
enough useful vision to make magnification an option.

Even if the GUI isn't that great, if I can funnel i/o through excel or
text-files to get access to the relevant information?

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