<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<div style="color: black;">
<div style="color: black;">
<p style="margin: 0 0 1em 0; color: black;">Gee, I wonder if NVDA will have
the same problem since apparently JAWS and its companions are the only
thing blind people use<br>
Cindy</p>
</div>
<div style="color: black;">
<p
style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 10pt 0;">On
October 25, 2017 6:23:07 PM Kevin Pearl via NFBKTAD
<nfbktad@nfbnet.org> wrote:</p>
<blockquote type="cite" class="gmail_quote"
style="margin: 0 0 0 0.75ex; border-left: 1px solid #808080; padding-left: 0.75ex;">
<div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><header class="entry-header"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><h1
class="entry-title"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Important
information for users of Mozilla Firefox</span></h1><div
class="entry-byline"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
class="entry-author vcard"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 1rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; display: block; background-position: 0px 0px;"><a
href="http://blog.freedomscientific.com/author/jmosen/"
title="Posts by Jonathan Mosen" rel="author" class="url fn n"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-position: 0px 0px;"><font
color="#000000">Jonathan Mosen</font></a></span><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="entry-date"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 1rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; display: inline-block; background-position: 0px 0px;"><time
class="published updated" datetime="2017-10-25T13:40:21+00:00"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;">October
25, 2017</time></span> <a
href="http://blog.freedomscientific.com/2017/10/25/important-information-for-users-of-mozilla-firefox/#respond"
class="comments-link"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; background-position: 0px 0px;">0</a></span></div></header><div
class="entry-content"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Overview</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">On November 14, Mozilla
is expected to release a new version of its Firefox web browser. Firefox 57
represents such a significant technical and performance change that it’s
going to be known as Firefox Quantum. Mozilla and mainstream reviewers of
the beta code agree, the browser is much faster and more memory
efficient.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The reason why mainstream
users will see such a significant speed increase with Firefox Quantum is
that it is switching to a multiprocess methodology. Unfortunately, Mozilla
in their switch to multiprocess for Firefox has chosen an accessibility
approach in which each call for JAWS to obtain information takes orders of
magnitude more time. We are disappointed that Mozilla has not at this
time adopted the highly performant approach that Google took with Chrome to
increase security while at the same time allowing screen readers to access
information at unparalleled speed without needing to make any
changes.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For now, we recommend
switching to the Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox as work on the
accessibility issues continues, because even when you are running assistive
technology that supports Firefox Quantum, performance with Firefox will be
much worse than you are used to. We’re working with Mozilla to improve the
situation and are hopeful of further improvement.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We appreciate that if
you’re a Firefox user, it’s software you are likely to use many times every
day. We want by way of this post to explain the situation as it currently
stands and how we got here, plus what we’re doing about it and steps you
can take so that in the short to medium term, you can use Firefox with the
same degree of responsiveness you’re used to.</span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Short-term
Work-around</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For now, there is a way
to avoid upgrading to Firefox Quantum while keeping your browser updated
with important security fixes. You can <a
href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; background-position: 0px 0px;">install
Firefox ESR</a> (Extended Support Release). The Quantum changes are
not scheduled to be rolled out to this release until the second quarter of
2018, by which time we hope the accessibility situation with Firefox
Quantum will have improved.</span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Compatibility</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">While we cannot recommend
Firefox Quantum at this time, we appreciate that some people may be curious
and want to experiment with it. Firefox Quantum will not work in any
fashion unless you are running the latest versions of JAWS 2018, JAWS 18,
ZoomText 11 and MAGic 14. Previous versions of our assistive technology are
not compatible with Firefox Quantum.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To ensure Quantum will
run at all, please ensure you are running the most current version of the
above technologies. Please <a
href="http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; background-position: 0px 0px;">visit
our downloads page</a> for the latest software.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If going current with
your assistive technology isn’t possible, the Firefox ESR release discussed
above will continue to work at this time with the technology you have. This
will not always be the case, so if using Firefox is important to you, you
should make plans to bring your technology up-to-date over the next few
months.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When it is installed,
Firefox Quantum will be able to detect if older assistive technology is
running that is not compatible. When this is the case, Firefox Quantum will
alert you to this.</span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Performance</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Unfortunately, even if
you have an assistive technology product that has been updated to
accommodate Mozilla’s new approach, you will notice a serious deterioration
in performance. We would go as far as saying that at this point, you would
not want to use Firefox Quantum for your daily browsing. Pages will take a
long time to load, and navigating pages will be problematic.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The reason for this is
that Firefox’s implementation of multiprocess has caused a marked
deterioration in the speed of communication between the browser and
assistive technology.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As our users who browse
with Google Chrome, which has been using multiprocess for some time, can
confirm, multiprocess browsers can provide a highly responsive experience
comparable with what Firefox users are accustomed to, and it is still our
hope that Mozilla might adopt a similar approach.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The problem created by
Firefox Quantum is a complex technical one, but we believe all our users
are entitled to an explanation, so here’s our best shot. To give you a
browsing experience that is the most flexible available, as well as being
intuitive and accurate, JAWS behaves a bit like an impatient child on a
long car journey. It asks Firefox many questions on a regular basis,
including “are we there yet”. In the past, Firefox had no difficulty
answering all our questions quickly and patiently, meaning we could always
give you up-to-the-second information about what was happening on the web
page. For our readers with some technical knowledge, we did this through
calls to MSAA and it wasn’t necessary to ration those calls.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Because of Firefox’s
suboptimal implementation of multiprocess from an accessibility
perspective, it’s as if the driver of the vehicle is tired. Firefox takes
much longer to answer the important questions we need to ask it about
what’s happening on the page. This manifests itself in a serious
degradation of responsiveness that we fully accept is
unpleasant.</span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Resolving
the situation</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We’re committed to our
users being able to use whatever browsing solution works best for them.
Ideally, that choice should be made based on feature-set, rather than
accessibility considerations.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To that end, we’re
attempting to address the performance issues with Firefox Quantum in two
respects.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">First, we’ll continue to
work on minimising the calls we’re making to Firefox, the questions we’re
asking if you will, ensuring they’re kept to a bare minimum without
impacting on getting you the information you need.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Second, we’ll continue to
reach out and work with Mozilla, encouraging them to make refinements to
their approach that will improve accessibility over time.</span></p><h2
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="font-size: 28px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Final
thoughts on the future</span></h2><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For those with a
technical interest in the future of screen reading, we believe it is
important to have discussions about how we can ensure that we’re responding
to the changing, more dynamic nature of the web, while never losing sight
of giving users the great experience they’ve come to expect from
JAWS.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We want to acknowledge
Marco Zehe’s thoughtful post <a
href="https://www.marcozehe.de/2017/09/29/rethinking-web-accessibility-on-windows/"
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; background-position: 0px 0px;">“Rethinking
Web Accessibility on Windows.” </a> The approach Marco outlined
is functionally what we’ve already done to support Microsoft Edge, because
of similar performance issues that would be readily apparent with that
browser had we tried to have a virtual buffer. Yet in Edge, we have
retained where possible the current document-based paradigm, which works
well on most pages and which provides users with a functional, proven,
familiar experience.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We may conclude that we
need to make that switch for Firefox as well to get performance back up to
pre-Quantum levels, but we believe that the virtual buffer offers an
opportunity for JAWS to innovate with features like Flexible Web that would
be difficult or slow if most information gathering and navigating is left
to the browser. Flexible web is a powerful feature, used by our customers
to save time and be productive in environments that would otherwise be less
efficient. JAWS is about more than accessibility, it’s about efficiency,
productivity and the user experience.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Since Chrome has proven
that multiprocess, virtual buffers, and screen reader performance can
happily coexist, we see advantages to ensuring that virtual buffers
continue to operate efficiently.</span></p><p
style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: 0px; border: none; background-position: 0px 0px;"><span
style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We will continue to
update you via this blog and FSCast regarding the status of Firefox
Quantum.</span></p></div></div>
_______________________________________________<br>
NFBKTAD mailing list<br>
<a class="aqm-autolink aqm-autowrap"
href="mailto:NFBKTAD%40nfbnet.org">NFBKTAD@nfbnet.org</a><br>
<a class="aqm-autolink aqm-autowrap"
href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbktad_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbktad_nfbnet.org</a><br>
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
NFBKTAD:<br>
<a class="aqm-autolink aqm-autowrap"
href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbktad_nfbnet.org/slerythema%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbktad_nfbnet.org/slerythema%40gmail.com</a><br></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>