[Trainer-Talk] Advice for Windows 10 with NVDA

[Reginald George]

I agree with everything David says here.  Also a new version of NVDA just 
came out that better supports Office.  I se no reason for a Windows 8.1 user 
to stay with 8.1 because Windows 10 is superior in almost every way, and the 
default apps like Mail under Windows 8 aren't accessible either.  Windows 7 
users might still like Windows 7 more than Windows 10, but Windows 10 is 
definitely usable.  One thing I don't like in Windows 10 is that you seem to 
lose the ability to use first letter navigation on the start menu, and 
Cortana, the automated voice assistant is pretty much worthless for a screen 
reader user.  And it didn't have to be that way.  Microsoft kind of blew it 
on that one.

-----Original Message----- 
From: David Goldfield via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2016 4:55 PM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
Cc: David Goldfield
Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Advice for Windows 10 with NVDA

Barbara,
I'm an NVDA user running Windows 10 Pro and I can tell you that the
operating system itself is accessible.
At times, I get this impression that people are fearful that Windows 10
is not accessible. The answer to this issue is a bit complex but I'll
try to summarize.
As an operating system, Windows 10 is quite accessible with the latest
version of today's screen readers, NVDA included. In other words, you
can easily access and navigate the start menu, desktop, various file
folders, etc. The sticking point comes in regarding some of the built-in
apps or programs. As an example, the new browser called Edge has some
accessibility problems and, as far as I know, NVDA is the only screen
reader which works with it and NVDA is claiming to offer just
experimental support. There were some problems accessing Windows 10's
built-in Mail app but Microsoft reports they have already implemented
some fixes, a claim I haven't yet verified. So, the short answer is that
Windows 10 is accessible. Where you may encounter problems is if you use
some of the built-in apps which come preinstalled with Windows 10.
However, for me this is a nonissue as I use Firefox as my browser of
choice and Internet Explorer 11 still comes with Windows 10 and works
reasonably well with NVDA. For mail, Outlook works well as does the free
Thunderbird, which I personally use and recommend. For me, Windows 10 is
an incredibly stable operating system. It's solid, fast and I personally
would never revert back to an earlier operating system. In spite of
accessibility issues which I feel Microsoft should have already
addressed, I honestly believe that Windows 10 is their best operating
system. In addition, Microsoft has publicly talked about accessibility
improvements which they are planning to implement in Windows 10.
I don't think you'll experience any major issues using Windows 10 with NVDA.



        David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info

On 2/28/2016 7:37 PM, Barbara Johnson via Trainer-Talk wrote:
> I am working with a student in Cameroon who is about to receive a computer
> from the United States.  The computer has Windows 8.1 and Office 2010.  He
> will be using NVDA as a screen reader.  NVAccess says that, as of 
> November,
> 2015, there are significant problems with NVDA and Windows 10.  I have 
> seen
> addons by Joseph Lee that are supposed to fix some of the problems.  Can 
> an
> NVDA user advise me whether to download Windows 10 for this student or use
> 8.1?  Thank you.
>
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