[Blindtlk] JAWS 13 is out TODAY--lucky 13

[Brian Miller]

Too bad competition hasn't reduced the price at all... 13 versions later
(not including interim versions) and we still pay the same exorbinent  price
for every upgrade.  And of course if you don't keep up with them every year,
like a tireless JAWS lapdog, then you get soaked for all those interim
version to get current.  Even Microsoft isn't this rapacious.  I don't have
to buy every intermediary version of Microsoft office just to get the latest
version -- I buy the latest version, and that's all.  

I blame the VR system in many ways, since these state run programs are the
biggest purchasers of JAWS, and they do not negotiate for better price
structures.  Most of us are shielded from the high cost of technology until
we get out from under the VR umbrella, out on our own, and suddenly we have
to pay for things ourselves and realize we're getting soaked.  

Meanwhile, I can buy an iPhone of MAC, and have, for the exact same price as
my sighted peers.  Hmmm.  



-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 9:07 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] JAWS 13 is out TODAY--lucky 13

And this answers the question of how a screen reader like JAWS remains
relevant in a world where access technologies are built in to the operating
systems.  Neither Apple nor Microsoft is currently, nor is likely in the
near future, to add an accessible OCR package to their built-in screen
readers.

Certainly it's doable, and the notion is obvious enough, but it's not been
done before.

Competition is good for customers-it produces innovation.

Joseph


On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 06:44:08PM -0500, David Andrews wrote:
>
>>
>><http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp>Fr
>>eedom Scientific just released JAWS 13 today
>>
>>One of the biggest items is Convenient OCR--for all those nasty PDF 
>>files that are inaccessible and refuse to be read...AH HAH...there is 
>>a solution now
>>
>>Frequently, you will encounter images that contain textual 
>>information. These can include a PDF file, the setup screen of an 
>>application, or the menu of selections for a DVD movie. While these 
>>images contain text that is readable by a sighted person, JAWS is 
>>unable to read the text as it is part of the image.
>>
>>The new Convenient OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature enables 
>>you to access any image on the screen that includes text.
>>With just a few simple keystrokes, JAWS will recognize the image in a 
>>matter of seconds and activate the JAWS cursor so you can navigate the 
>>resulting text. The recognized text will be in the same location as 
>>the actual image on the screen. In order to differentiate the 
>>recognized text from other text that may be in the window, JAWS will 
>>use a different voice when it encounters the recognized text. When you 
>>activate the PC cursor, or switch to another application or dialog 
>>box, the text is removed, and you will need to perform the OCR again.
>>
>>To use Convenient OCR, the following layered keystrokes have been added:
>>
>>INSERT+SPACEBAR, O, W. Recognizes the current application window
>>that has focus.
>>INSERT+SPACEBAR, O, S. Recognizes the entire screen.
>>INSERT+SPACEBAR, O, C. Recognizes the currently selected control,
>>such as a graphical button.
>>INSERT+SPACEBAR, O, Q. Cancels recognition while it is in progress.
>>INSERT+SPACEBAR, O, H. Speaks a brief help message describing the
>>commands in the OCR layer.
>>
>>Read about all the new features at 
>><http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp>JA
>>WS
>>13
>> More info at: <http://www.yourtechvision.com>www.yourtechvision.com
>>       Denise
>>
>>Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
>>CEO, TechVision
>>Specialist in blind technology/teaching/training
>>email:  <mailto:deniserob at gmail.com>yourtechvision at gmail.com
>>Website with hundreds of lessons: yourtechvision.com
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