[Trainer-talk] training client in office and email. suggestions?

[David Goldfield]

I am personally a fan of Mozilla products, including Thunderbird, and 
love the transparency of open source software in general.  However, 
there are some things to consider when recommending Thunderbird to a 
user who is not very computer savvy.
First, since Mozilla has decided to release new versions of their 
software every six weeks this can cause the JAWS scripts to break 
without notice and will therefore confuse the user.  Secondly, 
Thunderbird has the annoying default setting of placing the subject of 
the message before the message sender in the message list.  This can be 
changed by sighted users and even by blind users who have a little bit 
of patience but if this step isn't done it will be something different 
from not only Outlook Express but every other email program I've used.
David

David Andrews wrote:
> The  virtual ribbon in JAWS13 works pretty well, and for a noncomputer 
> user, casual person it might be a good solution.  You might consider 
> Thunderbird for e-mail, it looks a lot like Outlook Express.
>
> Dave
>
> At 03:11 PM 1/26/2012, you wrote:
>> Hi. Thanks for the response. She will be using jfw 13. I also use 
>> context menus where possible, she is an older woman and the less she 
>> has to remember the better I think. She has no problem learning some 
>> new keystrokes but I wouldn't inundate her with them. I will check 
>> out this virtual ribbon. I only have a few hours with her so I'd like 
>> to make the most of them, including making sure she writes down steps 
>> if she forgets them.
>> I don't think she needs specific outlook features though she does 
>> want to use her braille note more. I think windows mail will be 
>> sufficient unless anyone else has any suggestions.
>> Thanks for your help everyone. Like I said I haven't trained any 
>> clients in a few years so I'm slowly getting back in to it.
>> bb
>> Brett Boyer
>> Audio Production and voice over
>> http://brettboyer.voices.com
>> Brett Boyer's Big Bag of Goodies!
>> Check out my radio show at my new home:
>> http://www.mushroomfm.com/brettboyer
>> every Monday 5 o'clock eastern 2 o'clock pacific
>> Listen to the Shroom live!
>> http://listen.mushroomfm.com:8760/listen.pls
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <holdsworthfan at eml.cc>
>> To: "'List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology'" 
>> <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:07 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Trainer-talk] training client in office and email. 
>> suggestions?
>>
>>
>>> What screen reader is she using? JAWS has a Virtual Ribbon Menu 
>>> feature that
>>> emulates a classic menu feel while navigating lower ribbon controls; 
>>> but
>>> functions are still in their 2007/2010 places and it doesn't take 
>>> away the new
>>> dropdown/split buttons and galley controls (e.g. header and footer 
>>> selection),
>>> and you are then tethered to that setup. Personally I go over the 
>>> ribbons so
>>> students can find what they need to if necessary, and then try to 
>>> keep them away
>>> from it wherever possible--context menus for some common things, 
>>> quick access
>>> bar so that alt+numbers 1-0 can be pressed for 10 most frequently 
>>> used items.
>>> It's even easier to avoid ribbons if they're used to hotkeys.
>>>
>>> Windows Mail is most similar to Outlook Express, and that should be 
>>> fine unless
>>> she likes or requires Outlook-specific features.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>>> [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>> On Behalf Of Brett Boyer
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:25 PM
>>> To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
>>> Subject: [Trainer-talk] training client in office and email. 
>>> suggestions?
>>>
>>> Hey all. Well I'm finally getting back on the training train. Anyway 
>>> I have a
>>> client who is moving to windows7. She is used to classic style menus 
>>> for office
>>> and she uses outlook express. I'd like to find the easiest 
>>> transition possible
>>> for her. So what r people's recommendations.
>>> 1 Using the ribbon control in office. I thought someone said on here 
>>> it's
>>> possible to use a classic style menu bar in Office. But is ribbon 
>>> control worth
>>> it in the long-run.
>>> 2  is it worth training her in outlook since it's widely used but in 
>>> the
>>> blindness community it is not very popular and seems a little 
>>> confusing.
>>>
>>> This person is a writer and like I said I think the easiest and fastest
>>> transition is the best way to go here.
>>> bb
>
>
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