[NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020

Wed Feb 19 15:21:48 UTC 2020

Nicole,

The gap between Windows Upgrades and resolving issues with JAWS and NVDA is really much smaller now than it was at one time.  Given some of the issues I have encountered on my iPhone when I upgraded too quickly, I'm not certain that the gap is any greater than it is within IOS even though Apple owns VoiceOver.  Having said that, I sometimes share what I read as your frustration with dealing with sudden and unexpected changes that seem to come at us.  Given the state of development now, though, I don't see how we can avoid dealing with change as blind people, and I'm an old guy who isn't all that fond of change.  Since I work most closely with Microsoft products, I am impacted more by Microsoft's changes than I am by other changes, but I see a lot of constant change within Google and IOS, and you don't really even have options there to hang onto an older version if it is a web-based change.  

The upgrade process sometimes goes very smoothly but there are times it does not, I'm not going to kid you.  It isn't the sort of thing that anybody looks forward to.  However, I have generally found Windows 10 to work all right, and the ability to use Narrator more than before during Windows update and repair functions has been one of the bigger benefits to me personally.  The Disability Answer Desk that Microsoft now has in place can be very helpful as well.  Sooner or later, sticking with Windows 7 will probably bring you pain in some form.  If you are using a computer that will likely be replaced relatively soon, upgrading is probably not worth it.  However, on a computer that you plan on using for some time, it probably makes sense to upgrade before you run into a security problem or before some other piece of software doesn't run correctly under Windows 7.  The whole issue of constant change is something we need to help each other overcome because I don't see it going away, and some of us here can probably help you make the transition should you decide to do so.  

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Nicole Torcolini via NFBCS
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 9:25 PM
To: 'Christopher Chaltain' <chaltain at gmail.com>; 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020

	You are comparing apples to oranges with iOS/Android versus Windows. Both of the mobile OS have built in screen readers that change with the OS--or at least are supposed to do so. Although some people may use narrator, people who use JAWS or NVDA have to wait for the people who make those screen readers to update them, and, even when they do, it still is not always a smooth ride.

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Chaltain [mailto:chaltain at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 4:37 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List; Nicole Torcolini
Cc: Kevin
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020

I suppose this is true, but any given version of IOS is only supported 
until the next version comes out. Android gets three years of support. 
Ubuntu gets five for it's LTS releases. Microsoft supported Windows 
Seven for 10 years. I suppose you can say any company making an 
operating system and not supporting a version forever is holding us 
hostage, but any proprietary operating system will only be supported as 
long as the company is around anyway.

On 2/18/20 10:55 AM, Kevin via NFBCS wrote:
> This is yet another example of Microsoft holding the user hostage.  We 
> have little recourse.
>
>
> On 2/18/2020 12:34 AM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
>>     Thanks for the information, but my Windows 7 ain't going 
>> anywhere. If Microsoft wants us to use Windows 10, then maybe they 
>> should consider how some of the major changes impact blind users.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NFBCS [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kevin via 
>> NFBCS
>> Sent: Monday, February 17, 2020 2:05 PM
>> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Kevin
>> Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Windows 7 Support Has Ended As Of January 14, 2020
>>
>> This was a good thing to read but I admit a hard pill to swallow.  I
>> guess I'll need to get my rear in gear.
>>
>>
>> On 2/17/2020 4:57 PM, Curtis Chong via NFBCS wrote:
>>> Windows 7
>>> Support Ended After January 14, 2020
>>>
>>> By Curtis Chong
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Windows 7 has been around for about a decade, and for people who are 
>>> not in
>>> the habit of regularly buying new computers, this operating system has
>>> served them well. For many blind computer users, Windows 7 became 
>>> the gold
>>> standard of operating systems.  Because of the stability of this 
>>> operating
>>> system, some folks allowed their service maintenance agreements for 
>>> JAWS
>>> and/or ZoomText to expire, figuring that everything was working fine 
>>> and
>>> hence not in need of any updates. Many of us have read the Microsoft
>>> announcement declaring that support for Windows 7 ended as of 
>>> January 14
>>> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fhelp%2F4057281%2Fwindows-7-support-ended-on&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3aa927edad3c4e76389608d7b4eb851e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637176795946490459&sdata=OsEXB37yItq0dkswoc9AtWNCUjcKXoFAirWLpXLpLlY%3D&reserved=0 
>>>
>>> -january-14-2020> , 2020. What does this mean for Windows 7 users?
>>>
>>>
>>> First, while computers running Windows 7 will continue to work, 
>>> Microsoft is
>>> no longer sending out any security or other updates. Using a good 
>>> antivirus
>>> program (I'm not talking about the free ones) can reduce your 
>>> computer's
>>> vulnerability to security threats, but if your system is actually
>>> compromised, I can guarantee that you will eventually not be able to 
>>> get any
>>> help at all to recover from the attack.
>>>
>>>
>>> Secondly, Microsoft customer service is no longer available for 
>>> Windows 7
>>> technical support. This means that you will not be able to get any 
>>> telephone
>>> help at all from Microsoft for Windows 7-not even from the Microsoft
>>> Disability Answer Desk.
>>>
>>>
>>> Finally, technical support for screen reading and magnification 
>>> software
>>> will become less and less available as technical support personnel
>>> necessarily focus most of their attention on current versions of 
>>> programs
>>> like JAWS and/or ZoomText. There will come a time when Freedom 
>>> Scientific,
>>> the company which sells these two programs, will announce that the next
>>> version of JAWS and/or ZoomText will no longer work with Windows 7.
>>>
>>>
>>> What should a Windows 7 user do? Here are my suggestions.
>>>
>>>
>>> 1.         Buy a new computer.
>>>
>>> While it is certainly possible in some cases to upgrade your existing
>>> computer to Windows 10, experience has shown that upgrading an existing
>>> Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 creates enough problems that the 
>>> upgrade is
>>> hardly worth the effort. A brand new computer with a clean 
>>> installation of
>>> Windows 10 will give you a much cleaner (and more stable) operating 
>>> system.
>>> For around $500, you can get a respectable laptop computer with a
>>> decent-sized keyboard and a good amount of memory and disk storage.
>>>
>>>
>>> 2.         Update your screen reading or screen enlargement program.
>>>
>>> It is essential that your screen reading or enlargement software is 
>>> current.
>>> Windows 10 has been around for a few years now, but it is 
>>> continually being
>>> updated-with a major update coming about once every six months. Screen
>>> reading and enlargement software has to be kept up to date to deal 
>>> with the
>>> sometimes significant changes which Microsoft continues to introduce 
>>> every
>>> time a major update is released. If you have allowed your service
>>> maintenance agreement to lapse, you are likely going to have to pay 
>>> a few
>>> hundred dollars to bring your access technology up to date. 
>>> Fortunately, for
>>> users of JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion, Freedom Scientific now offers home
>>> annual licenses
>>> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.freedomscientific.com%2Fcollections%2Fsoftware-for-home&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3aa927edad3c4e76389608d7b4eb851e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637176795946490459&sdata=r%2BorfqMOUOSkpTDIxSaJFQSx0qBiVqUPXtpfrRsVQRg%3D&reserved=0> .
>>> Instead of paying, say, $300 to bring your software up to date, you 
>>> can pay
>>> an annual fee of $90 (for JAWS), $80 (for ZoomText) or $160 (for 
>>> Fusion,
>>> which includes both JAWS and ZoomText) by acquiring the appropriate 
>>> home
>>> annual license from the Freedom Scientific eStore, located at
>>> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstore.freedomscientific.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3aa927edad3c4e76389608d7b4eb851e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637176795946490459&sdata=wkFhY3wmaPYieeLmmdapWhiHOjUnOR9VT71t6KmrX%2BM%3D&reserved=0.
>>>
>>>
>>> The good news for long-time users of Windows 7 is that Windows 10 
>>> continues
>>> to offer the same keyboard commands and Windows Desktop which Windows 7
>>> users know. In other words, once you move to Windows 10, you will 
>>> hardly
>>> notice the difference between what is happening on your new system 
>>> and what
>>> used to happen on your old equipment-with the possible exception that
>>> everything will seem to run a lot more quickly.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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-- 
Christopher (CJ)
Chaltain at Gmail

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