[Blindmath] Accessible Matlab

Mon Feb 6 14:33:10 UTC 2017

Hi all,

I am quite glad I came across this recent thread of conversation as I am also in the process of deciding on which platform to use MatLab. I never used it before but is a university requirement for my Financial Portfolio Analysis module. Unfortunately the university only offers a one computer / system free license so I have only one shot and need to decide whether to try Mac OS X MatLab or Windows MatLab.

I found this link:
https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/newsreader/view_thread/323327
with regards to using MatLab on Windows and JAWS, but to be fair it is an older post and looks like quite some work is needed to get it work.

From Jonathan’s and Santi’s words it sounds to me the Mac MatLab works more or less out of the box just fine, given one uses the terminal to run scripts.

I am using both Windows 7 with JAWS 17.0 and a Macbook Pro with Voice Over. I am comfortable using both screen readers but one feature I miss a lot from Voice Over when doing things like quoting and checking results in a Python computation, is the JAWS virtual viewer function. Does this not cause a problem when trying to read MatLab output with Voice Over?

Many thanks and all the best to all,
Daniel 
> On 2 Feb 2017, at 04:16, Santiago Velasquez via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Doug, I hope that the following can help you and others.
> 
> With regards to Apple, Microsoft, and the mathematics software companies it is very unusual for them to see a blind person using their software, as such they tend not to have many answers.
> 
> I am currently running Matlab on a late 2015 Mac book pro, and its software version is Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11.6). Since Apple computers don’t have a touchscreen, all of the input is performed using the keyboard. I do use a Hims Edge 40 bluetooth display as well, but that is more for reading, than inputting code into MatLab. However, if you would prefer to input code into Matlab the bluetooth display works fine. Last, my version of MatLab is (MATLAB_R2016b).
> 
> I have been using MatLab since 2012, and each iteration has some things that become accessible, and a few minor things loose their accessibility. it is just like all software in that regard.
> 
> One thing that you might want to consider if you do decide to switch platforms is: Are you comfortable learning a new screen reader if you haven’t used it before? And do you have the time to learn that screen reader to a level that you will be comfortable at?
> 
> Octave is a great program, so I hope that it works for your particular needs.
> 
> I hope I was able to help, and please feel free to send any other questions.
> Regards to all
> Santi
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On 2 Feb 2017, at 1:06 AM, Doug and Molly Miron via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>>      Hi Santi,
>> 
>> I  only found out about thismailing list a week ago.  Unfortunately it's unknown to many accessibility people at the various companies and even MN State  Services for the Blind.  What version of Mac are you using?  Is access through a real keyboard rather than a touch screen?  I suspected that an Apple platform with VoiceOver might work, but neither the Apple people nor the Matlab people could tell me.  I think I will try Octave since I've already invested in a high-end HP Windows 10 system.  I'll keep your route in mind though.  Thanks.
>> 
>> Regards to all,
>> Doug Miron
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- From: Santiago Velasquez via Blindmath
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 2:28 AM
>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>> Cc: Santiago Velasquez
>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Accessible Matlab
>> 
>> Hi Doug, I hope all is well.
>> 
>> I can tell you from experience that Matlab is accessible. However, I can only speak about its accessibility when used on a mac with Voice over. With regards to its accessibility on Windows, and with the many screen readers that exist, I don’t know.
>> 
>> It goes without saying that not 100% of Matlab is accessible, but I would say that around 90% is. Either way, most of what you mentioned that you will be doing can be performed using Scripts, functions and the built in command line. Most of the toolboxes that I have used are accessible. However, if you’re planning to use a toolbox that requires some form of graphical input, you might want to contact the developers of that particular toolbox to see if those functions can be achieved using text commands. As Jonathan stated there are other programs, but if you are planning to use Mathematica’s Graphical User Interface, I can tell you right now, that at least on the mac, it is not accessible at all. Last, you can always use the aforementioned programs in Batch mode, and that tends to be more accessible depending on the configuration of the software.
>> 
>> I hope I am able to answer some of your questions, and I will be happy to answer some more.
>> Kind regards
>> Santi
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 1 Feb 2017, at 11:57 AM, Godfrey, Jonathan via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Doug,
>>> 
>>> Start with Octave then. It uses the same syntax, but may not have every function offered by Matlab. It won't take long to find out though.
>>> 
>>> Jonathan
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Doug and Molly Miron via Blindmath
>>> Sent: Wednesday, 1 February 2017 2:38 p.m.
>>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>>> Cc: Doug and Molly Miron
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Accessible Matlab
>>> 
>>>   Hi,
>>> 
>>> I'm doing numerical electromagnetics.   No matter what the method, one fills
>>> a large, dense matrix and a  source vector to solve the problem.  As you probably know, Matlab stands for matrix laboratory, so it is suited to the nature of the problems.  In '84, I had a summer job at IBM Rochester, MN at which I learned APL to work on their code for disk drive read-back error simulation.  Matlab is the diminished stepchild of APL, but it has the advantage of using only ASCII characters.  Anyway, I read of Octave somewhere and sent their people an e-mail inquiring about accessibility, but never heard back.  If you have a suggestion about which to use, I'd be grateful.
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Doug Miron
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Godfrey, Jonathan via Blindmath
>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2017 2:09 PM
>>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>>> Cc: Godfrey, Jonathan
>>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Accessible Matlab
>>> 
>>> Hi Doug,
>>> 
>>> Offering advice on what alternatives exist without knowing what you are using Matlab for is a little difficult.
>>> 
>>> You could use Octave, Maxima or R to do all the functions available on a standard scientific calculator in an interactive mode of working.
>>> 
>>> You could use Mathematica, R, Octave,  or Maxima if you need to do higher level work; all of these programs can be used in batch mode. Your choice will almost certainly depend on the type of higher level work you are doing as the coverage and user-friendliness will differ among these options.
>>> See https://r-resources.massey.ac.nz/batchprocessing/
>>> For instructions on batch processing with these options.
>>> 
>>> Matlab did have a command line to allow batch processing of script files, but I've not had a machine with Matlab on it for some time to test the current settings needed. I would have thought that you could investigate this with a colleague running a more recent version of Matlab. I'd like to know if you do manage this experiment (successfully or not) so I can update the above web resource.
>>> 
>>> Jonathan
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Doug and Molly Miron via Blindmath
>>> Sent: Wednesday, 1 February 2017 8:51 a.m.
>>> To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Doug and Molly Miron
>>> Subject: [Blindmath] Accessible Matlab
>>> 
>>> Good day all,
>>> 
>>> Alternatively, does anyone know of a Matlab-like scientific computing package that is audio accessible?  I’ve tried SciLab and FreeMath without success.  I’m presently using an old version of Matlab that is audio accessible, but it’s a 32-bit version that I’m running on a WinXP box, and the 4GB RAM is barely adequate.
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Doug Miron
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>> 
>> 
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> 
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