[gui-talk] JAWS and Window Eyes Now Owned By the Same Company

[David Andrews]

While I agree with both of you, Gerald and Ray, 
for the most part, I also think that, in the long 
run, it won't make much of a difference.

This is because the things that allowed a screen 
reader to differentiate itself from its 
competition are fast going away.  In the 
beginning, screen readers had to insert 
themselves into the video chain of your computer, 
create an off-screen model, and play other tricks.

These methods have mostly been blocked by 
Microsoft, so screen readers are having to rely 
on accessibility API's like MSAA and UI 
Automation for their information.  NVDA totally 
uses API's, and not other methods.

Eventually non-API access will be completely 
blocked. Microsoft is also improving Narrator, 
and it is my prediction that at some point, we 
will use either VoiceOver or Narrator for access, 
and third party applications will mostly go away.

This is why I say I don't think it matters much in the long run.

Dave



At 11:48 AM 6/15/2016, you wrote:
>I am afraid I agree with your speculation about 
>Window-eyes being fazed out in consequence of 
>this acquisition.  Even though I was a JAWS user 
>back in my windows days, I’d hate to see 
>window-eyes go away like it looks like it might 
>now.  If this benefits anybody, I suspect we can 
>predict that the folks over at NVDA will soon be 
>quite happy as they will gain quite a few 
>thousand users now. Sent from my Mac, The only 
>computer with full accessibility for the blind 
>built-in Sincerely, The Constantly Barefooted 
>Ray Still a very happy Mac, Verizon Wireless 
>iPhone6+ and Apple TV user!!!!! > On Jun 15, 
>2016, at 11:12 AM, Gerald Levy via gui-talk 
><gui-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > > For those of 
>you who may have missed this bombshell, VFO, the 
>parent company of Freedom Scientific, which 
>markets JAWS, has acquired AI Squared, which 
>markets the rival screen reader, Window 
>Eyes.  This development does not bode well for 
>Window Eyes users, because such mergers 
>invaribly lead to consolidation of products and 
>services to reduce costs and eliminate 
>competition, and Window Eyes, having the smaller 
>market share than JAWS is likely to be phased 
>out and its users transitioned to JAWS, although 
>this is just speculation on my part.  But it 
>would make no economic sense for VFO to continue 
>marketing and supporting two essentially similar 
>screen readers.  .  And with System Access 
>already on life support and its future 
>uncertain, the demise of Window Eyes would leave 
>JAWS with a virtual monopoly in the commercial 
>screen reader market,  which could lead to even 
>higher prices.  On the other hand, JAWS might 
>eventually incorporate features from Window Eyes 
>that it does not already offer, making it more 
>attractive.  For more details: > > 
>http://www.blindbargains.com/rss/latest.xml > > Gerald > >