[nfbcs] Is there a PRO / CON list for screen readers

[Steve Jacobson]

In addition, in some cases you can access a Linux machine through the network from Windows using a terminal emulator.  This works all right if what you 
want to do is to run commands but won't give one access to the GUI on Linux.  So it depends if you are wanting to manage a Linux machine or use as 
many apps as possible.  

If you were to find a pros and cons list for screen readers, you would have to be very careful to know when it was updated.  I have been involved in the 
past in writing reviews for screen readers with the intent of giving people a way to compare them, but updates happen so fast that it is very difficult to keep 
such documentation current.  For example, one screen reader might pose a real disadvantage with a certain important application, but a minor upgrade 
might well correct the problem.  Publishing information that is incorrect is worse than not publishing information at all.  

While both Window-Eyes and JFW allow accessing a remote desktop, they require that a copy be installed on that remote desktop.  In some employment 
settings, that is just not practical for security or stability reasons.  If you want to access a computer you operate remotely, you can do that.  It isn't clear to 
me if you need JFW Professional or not to do that, but if you do it costs extra.  JFW has the largest market share and is the screen reader that most people 
are familiar with, but Window-Eyes is pretty compettitive and offers payment alternatives such as leasing to own that JFW does not have.  There are a 
number of options with System Access as well that are less expensive.  

There are a number of Linux flavors that include speech.  If you are installing Linux on a computer you maintain, looking for one of those would be 
worthwhile.  There are people here who use Linux who can give you information on where to get Linux screen readers and how they can be installed on 
an existing installation of Linux.  To be of much more help would require that we know more about what you need to do.  I do not believe there is such a 
thing as a "best screen reader" though, there are too many variables.  You have to consider what you need to do, and you must also consider what 
resources are available for help if you need it.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 28 Dec 2012 07:02:26 -0600, nancy coffman wrote:

>Window Eyes allows Cittrix and some remote access. System Access by Serotek also has a remote incident manager. I don't know much about other 
operating systems and how to access them. I know there several versions of Lynix. Each uses its own screen reader. I don't know of a screen reader that 
reads across multiple platforms. What does the Lynix machine do? Is it a server to the Windows machines?

>nancy coffman

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Graham Mehl <blind at trailstone.com>
>Sent: Friday, December 28, 2012 3:40 AM
>To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>Subject: [nfbcs] Is there a PRO / CON list for screen readers

>Hi All,

>I was trying to resolve a screen reader issue I am having at work and got
>into a discussion with a colleague about screen readers.  I quickly realized
>I did not know all the various screen readers out there now. Does anyone
>know of a place I can get a list of screen readers that are available now?
>And even better yet a Pros and Cons list for each. One of the issues I am
>trying to resolve is how to communicate between two OS platforms (Windows to
>Linux [Redhat or CentOS]).  And the second major issue is communicating
>between two [remote] desktops. The only screen reader I am currently aware
>of that handles  these issues to any degree is JAWS from Freedom Scientific
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