Using a Computer as a Blind Person - JAWS Screen Reader

[deekaygee33]

What do you think about Speakeasy media system? i just ordered one for my 10 year old cousin, hes blind as well and I hope he'd be able to navigate it.

[jjovereats]

What is about Linux and our little blind dolphin Orca?

[fxkill2006]

I am making a website, and I used to care nothing about accessibility issues such as screen resolution, blind accessibility etc... Now you make me realize there are people there who use computers in a different way... Thank you Angie!

[cutseypoo777]

@fxkill2006 You're welcome, & thank you. I am glad to hear that you found the video to be an eye-opener (No pun intended), and you will be taking accessibility into consideration for folks like me, or folks with other disabilities. All the best to you in your website!

Respectfully,

Angie

[sightlesssamurai]

I hate jaws. You should try System Access. If you do, you should buy the better voices.

[linguisticsandjazz]

Thanks for this video. I use VoiceOver and I still always wonder how JAWS users understand the voice. I guess it's a matter of being accustomed. Have you heard VoiceOver--and if so do you find it hard to understand? Apart from that, it sounds like JAWS and VoiceOver work more or less the same.

[KurvelVrece]

Thank you for this very educational video. I play MUDs which are text based multi-player role playing games. The owner of the game is working to make his game more screen reader friendly. I'm personally planning to make more of an effort towards using better spelling and grammar when talking to or around the blind players in the game. Again thank you.

[cutseypoo777]

@KurvelVrece You're very welcome, and thank you for taking an interest in my video. I'm interested in these MUDs, especially considering I also use Facebook, & cannot play their games because Flash Player doesn't work with screen readers. Also, your spelling and grammar usage seems to be accurate and well-constructed respectively.

Peace to you,

Angie

[KurvelVrece]

@cutseypoo777 I play at 7thplane.net on port 8888. I use MUSHclient to connect to the mud. MUSHclient offers a wide range options to remove unneeded text and the ability to filter out chat information to separate file that can be read at your convenience. I do not have a great deal of experience with manipulating the tools that it offers. With that in mind I'm thinking trying to make a package download for the Blind that will quickly set them up to start playing. If someone hasn't already.

[xxlollylaurenxx]

i'm blind and find jaws awsome, even though some of the voices sound robotic :P. Before I used jaws it was relitavely hard to use my computer

[digerpaji]

I am a developer, and this is very valuable information. I will try my best to make sure all software and web applications i make are better for all people using this information.

[fobgirl19]

I'm a website designer, and found your video's topic to be very informative, I've looked into jaws a bit more, and I hope to implement compatibility into further work.. Its sad in all the books for web design I've used, it never has mentioned screen readers like jaws, although I've seen a few mentions on coloring, specifically for color blind, once again thank you

[cutseypoo777]

@fobgirl19 I'm quite pleased that you found my video most helpful to you. One thing that's sad is that even in the 21st century, not all websites are compatible with JAWS or other screen readers. Thank you so much for your interest, and I hope your research will result in making more websites screen reader friendly.

[BertramAllMighty7]

i feel like trolling u, but im a nice person and im resisting it. thanks for giving me this insight though

[xJumpStyleZx]

Angie, where you born Blind or did it happen?

[cutseypoo777]

@xJumpStyleZx I was born blind; my eye condition is due to genetic disorder. Thanks for the inquiry. Blindness can occur for many reasons, and it can strike at any age, depending on the eye condition.

[midas402]

God bless you.

[cutseypoo777]

@midas402 Ahh, thank you so much. God dearly bless you, too! :)

[spiritkitten314]

aww your kitty is cute!

[hemasoft2009]

nice

[chiachhu]

how long can you use a computer without being annoyed with the computer sound?

[cutseypoo777]

Well my dear, considering I work for 9 hours a day, I have to at least endure 9 hours of listening to my screen reader droning without wanting to fall asleep. I guess it can be as equally tiring & annoying as a sighted person staring at a computer screen for several hours at a time. :) Thank you so much for your interest.

Angie

xxx♥♥♥♥♥

[DarkNessBear]

Awesome. How do you read comments on youtube?

[VideoGuyNC]

There is now a completely free screen reader called NVDA. I use it as a visually impaired computer user, and it is very similar, though slightly different from Jaws. The best part about NVDA is that you can simply load it on a flash drive, memory card, or any portable media, and use it on any computer without needing to install it. Many report that NVDA is better than JAWS, because NVDA works better with video because it doesn't use video intercepts. NVDA also uses high quality SAPI5 voices.

[weathered79]

i just looked this up out of curiosity it's very fascinating but i bet that computer voice gets on your nerves

[starhannahpc]

Oh wow. Thanks so much for sharing.

[cymonebreathe]

thank you soooooo much for making this video. you've taught me so much and i'm happy to know how blind people navigate the computer.

[nikki33100]

hi im legally blind as well. thank u for putting this on here so totally sighted ppl would know how we can use a computer and know we arent dumb take care u can add me as a friend if u want

[dancrew32]

Thank you for demonstrating how you utilize this application. Very useful for people that are trying to design more accessible websites!

[thewindwaker]

Angie you are very nice, thank you for this lovely video :)

[cutseypoo777]

Ahh! You are most welcome, my dear friend.

Love & peace to you,

Angie

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo♥♥♥♥♥

[rbairos1]

Hi. I just installed Jaws for my Uncle. I notice the default voice you are using is not nearly as natural as some of the other voice engines that are available. I think its called 'Real Speak Solo" for example. Why wouldn't you chose those? Just curious thanks!

[cutseypoo777]

Hi there. I've been using JAWS for several years when they only had the Elloquence speech engines, and I reckon it's because I've gotten accustomed to their voices. That's all.  Thanks for watching.

Peace,

Angie

[rbairos1]

I think its a great piece of software but Im puzzled that it still makes some simple mistakes. For example it says "redding" instead of "reeding" for the word " r e a d i n g ". Right now Im looking for a very stripped down email program. The learning curve is pretty high for learning how to use email for the first time as well as a screen reader. Cheers!

[BlindAspie]

Greetings. I know the original author replied to you, but I also agree with her. I've been using JAWS since 1996 or 97, and it's so natural to me that anything else just doesn't sound right. It's like putting in a Coldplay album and getting Metallica, nothing wrong with Metallica but it's not Coldplay.

[nuttygirl2001]

If you don't like the sound of the 'voice' on JAWS - it must get so annoying!

[cutseypoo777]

LOL! It can get annoying at times, but I'd rather deal with an annoying voice versus trying to press my face to the screen & straining my eyes. LOL One of these days, I'm going to get a braille refreshable display package so I can read the braille display without having to depend on the JAWS voice all the time. :)

[uBeR1337gUy]

The braille display is kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. It's bulky and you've got to find a place to put it beside your keyboard. I find it easier to use JAWS than it is to use a display.

Thankfully, you can change the voice on JAWS and alter the pitch and such so it doesn't feel and sound so odd. You can even set an accent on it if you'd like.

G'luck saving up for one too, those things are way too expensive for their own good.

To clarify, I'm not blind. I've just used both.

[cutseypoo777]

I do fiddle with the JAWSvoices every so often, & in certain applications, such as MS Word 2003, I customize the voice settings for that particular application so I know I do not have to hear the same exact voice & pitch, & when I go to such applications, my voice customizations will immediately take affect. Thanks for watching.

Peace,

Angie

[akuarashi]

huh, i never realized before that you wouldn't necessarily need to have the moniter facing you if you were blind... interesting ^^

[cutseypoo777]

Well, normally, the monitor would be facing me just because, but I had it facing away from me because I had to have a place to put down the camera, & there is a table that was facing the monitor at the time. For me, using the computer is a two-handed task. Thank you for watching.

Peace,

Angie

[tsjoencinema]

Very interesting. It's great you can use the pc

[cutseypoo777]

Yep. You can say that again. LOL Thank you for your nice comment.

Love & peace,

Angie

[tonymikel07]

My uncle is blind and I am purchasing JAWS for him as a late christmas present. Are there any tips you might have for easier use? For the next week or so, I won't be looking at my screen and I will run it on my computer so I will have a better idea of how to use it, rather than just running through his Quick Start guide and telling him what to do. I have found it pretty difficult the first couple days. I actually walked away from my computer because I got frustrated. l.o.l. Ill get it eventually

[mmmbop25]

It's great! I'm from Argentina, i have a friend who uses it. I would write more things, but my english is not very good, bye bye!

[cutseypoo777]

It's ok. I understood you just fine. Your English grammar is pretty accurate. :) Thanks.

[MollyAnglin]

This is a great video - I make websites for a living so it's always helpful to understand how these types of technologies are used. I have read the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines but I'm curious about your thoughts on the improvements a website manager can make to their sites more accessible. What would you say are the top three things that make a website easier to read/navigate using JAWS?

[cutseypoo777]

Hi. I tried replying to you last week, but I don't see my reply to you. I personally think the top 3 issues to consider are: 1. Making sure that all functions can be executed with keystrokes. 2. Providing a detailed links list. 3. When having to fill in fields, make sure that the field names are printed above the edit fields to ensure that JAWS and other screen readers can read them prior to filling in the fields. Best of luck to you. :)

[rohbit]

That's really cool! I think it's more a testament to human adaptability than a testament to technology :).

[cutseypoo777]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm glad you enjoyed my video. Peace. :)

[aldmo]

hello darlin,thanks 4 this video i've a friend she uses jaws as well and i realy been eager to know how this work,otherwise your cat seem wicked :),cheers hun

[cutseypoo777]

Hello, dear, I'm so glad you found this video helpful. If it wasn't for JAWS, I wouldn't be on the computer responding to you right now.  :) Cheers back at you.

[0Hello123456789]

Thank you so much for making this video! The technology is amazing! I have a question. Do you play games on the internet? If you do, which ones and how do you play them?

[cutseypoo777]

Hi. Thanks for watching my video. In regards to your question, I really haven't tried playing any games online yet. Most games probably wouldn't be accessible because there would be pictures and graphics that JAWS wouldn't recognize, but I'm probably guessing that there are games that are blind user friendly. I'd have to do some research on that one. :)

[antux90]

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