[gui-talk] JAWS and Window Eyes Now Owned By the Same Company
Hoffman, Allen
allen.hoffman at hq.dhs.gov
Fri Jun 17 11:47:19 UTC 2016
Well said David.
Allen Hoffman
Deputy Executive Director
The Office of Accessible Systems & Technology
Department of Homeland Security
202-447-0503 (voice)
allen.hoffman at hq.dhs.gov
DHS Accessibility Helpdesk
202-447-0440 (voice)
202-447-0582 (fax)
202-447-5857 (TTY)
accessibility at dhs.gov
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-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Andrews via gui-talk
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2016 5:23 PM
To: Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List
Cc: David Andrews
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] JAWS and Window Eyes Now Owned By the Same Company
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 > >
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