The thing about JAWS vs NVDA is that it doesn't matter if @freedomscientific packs it with objectively better features. NVDA is free, easy to use (within the context of desktop screen readers), and it's good enough for the vast majority of screen reader users. Want to browse the web? Want to check your email? Need to type up an assignment? Need to track data with spreadsheets? Want to write some code? Want to run virtual machines? Just wanna keep up with your communities on Discord? Want to test your app for accessibility? NVDA can do all of those things. There is no faffing, no caveats, no running obscure commands, and no license to install. You download it. You install it. You run it. That's it. Want it to do more stuff? Open the addon store which is built into NVDA. If you know Python, you can write your own addons and share them with other users. FS is relying on organizations like schools and governments where paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars is normal and expected and you can't just install an addon to an existing app. This does not work outside of those organizations. The blind kid who wants to listen to memes and keep up with their friends doesn't have several hundred dollars per year, but they probably know that they can go download a free screen reader that will let them listen to memes and keep up with their friends. NVDA is winning because it's good enough for most people and costs nothing. If you do have the money to spare for a license and you want to use JAWS because you prefer it, that's fantastic! I'm glad you found a screen reader that you like. Most people will choose the free option because they just wanna listen to their favorite streamer while they type up their research paper. #blind #AccessForAll #ScreenReader #nvda #jaws #jaws26
Perhaps smaller communities retain more of the culture of chat rooms. The experience is like having a real conversation, in a real room, so why would you not finish the conversation?
Meanwhile, the average Internet denizen now are just driving by an interaction, and don’t even expect a conversation to happen
You were not judging, but I’ll say it — the #blind Internet sounds better to me.
That's exactly it. If I see a post from a #blind person that I think is interesting, I will often look at the replies. Although I can usually see all of the replies unless the person has their privacy settings to followers only. So then I might want to reply to a reply like I did here, that includes a couple of people and then somebody else might want to reply to my post and it also include those people. I don't often get drawn into those kinds of threads because while they are interesting in the beginning, chances are that eventually I'm going to get tired of the conversation and just end up muting the thread because the discussion is going to change from the original topic and I'm not going to be interested anymore.
So one thing I notice about #blind Internet culture: even back on Twitter, and now here in the #fediverse, blind people tend towards having discussions in giant threads, sometimes with as many as 10-12 people in them, that can often stretch on for days. I rarely (if ever) see sighted culture do this. I wonder why? It's not a criticism, it's just interesting to me. Maybe because Discord and other chat apps were historically less #accessible, so blind culture tends to use the fediverse more as a discussion platform? Or maybe it's something UI related that makes it easier for blind folks to track giant threads of doom? The few times I've been involved in this style of discussion with sighted folks, they've become confused and begged for everyone to move to Discord or Slack or somewhere. On the other hand, I rarely see blind people do a single, lengthy post broken up and threaded the way sighted people do, with (1/N) at the end. We tend to just move to instances with longer character limits, or put our long form thoughts on a webpage or something.
Edit to add: I'm pleased to say that this post has now become a perfect example of the thing I was talking about; my last post in the thread included the phrase "transsexual furry puppygirls". It makes me happy that people unfamiliar with what I'm talking about need do nothing more than look at the thread on this post.
📣 Do-It-Blind (DIB) online Besprechung am Montag, 27. Oktober, um 19:00 Uhr. Du bist eingeladen! bbb.metalab.at/rooms/joh-szv-o… Wöchentlich am Montag besprechen wir neue Formen der digitalen und inklusiven Zusammenarbeit. Mach mit! 🛠️ #make #blind #inklusion
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I have a thought that's a sort of question and I hope I can express it well. Specifically for my #Blind friends, since we have greater access to books in other formats such as ePUB, Daisy and means through which to read in #Braille and the like, are #AudioBooks as important or necessary as they once were? Do people find themselves as a result less willing to embrace any narration human or otherwise merely to have the book in an auditory format as they might have in earlier times when that was more likely to have been our only means of access? I hope my question makes sense. It's just something I'm thinking about as I listen to samples of Audible books and think do I really want to listen to that narration; and would I have been as prone to such a thought in earlier times when it might have been that narration or no access at all.
I've been using IndentNav for a while to write Python. Recently I installed BrowserNav and now get way more positional info about HTML elements. It took some getting used to, but now the beeps and tones help me get an idea of the physical layout of a site or electron interface. It's similar to IndentNav, but it has more rules and works with web browsers instead of being focused on code in a text editor. Positioning is one of the pieces of information that I forgot how much I miss from my sighted days. It's especially helpful with API reference docs that rely on positional encoding. Since there's more info in the browser, I only have beeps instead of precise indentation levels to get a general idea of the structure #blind #nvda #nvaccess #browsernav #indentnav #accessibility #code
To #blind people with experience with #PowerPoint, I need help! My school wants me to create a #presentation with speaker notes and graphics, and I'm having extreme trouble even getting started. My info text box with my name, school, and date covers everything up, and I can't figure out moving it or how to get to speaker notes. I normally create assignments with #LaTeX, but I kept running into issues making a presentation that way. I'm on #Windows using #NVDA. Disability services made this sound doable and even easy, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case. #accessibility #MicrosoftPowerPoint #BlindStudent @mastoblind @main
To everyone adding alt-text to your posts so #NoKings signs and pics can be #Accessible to all, thanks on behalf of the #Blind community. Even a little thing like that is an act of love and resistance. And I'm personally loving all the descriptions of random costumed protesters. Bravo!
Just a quick note for the archives and for those of us who have hearing issues and need easy youtube transcripts with #a11y to #screenreaders. I've generally used downsub.com to produce text, but it's becoming less usable, often saying "waiting" for a minute or two before giving an error with no specifics as to what the problem is. I wanted something else and found something similar, if not slightly better, at youtube-transcript.io/ It allows 25 transcripts a month free, though I'm not sure how it tracks usage since I didn't have to sign in. Anyhow, it's quite simple, paste in your link, hit enter, and it comes back with a transcript in English for English videos. It appears to use the captions YT itself generates, since I compared the results with what I got from downsub and saw no difference. You can read the transcript on the page or copy it to the clipboard with a button, again on the page. It has 30 second timing markers by default when it's on the page, but doesn't when you copy it, at least by default. I'm still after an easy local transcript grabber, but this is a step forward when downsub doesn't work for me and I thought people might like to have it. #blind #braille
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October of 1987 was when the Braille 'n Speak was first released. This device had a major impact on the community and on my life on several levels, as it helped to launch my career in this field. I'm working on a blog post celebrating this which will hopefully get posted to the Blazie Technologies blog in the next day or so. @BlazieTech #blind
TIL: There's a W3C candidate recommendation draft for a CSS markup to transfer different properties of text and controls on the web via audio cues and changes to the TTS volume, speech rate, tone, prosody and pronunciation, kind of like the attributed strings in iOS apps and it's called CSS Speech. w3.org/TR/css-speech-1/ #Accessibility #A11y #Blind
📣 Sei #A11y und unterstütze den Zugang zum !@metalab für Menschen mit Sehbehinderung oder Blindheit! Komm zum Do-It-Blind (DIB) Treffen 🛠️ am Montag, 20. Oktober, Treffpunkt metalab um 16:00; Ende 20:00 metalab.at/calendar/event/8264… #make #blind #inklusion
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I don't know who of you posted this theory but thanks to you and my colleague who helped me test this, I know for sure no that you can use the sound split feature of your screen reader to send just the sound of your other apps, without the TTS, while screen-sharing on meeting platforms. I tested this with NVDA and Jitsi running inside Chrome. When NVDA is on the left and everything else right, only a faint echo of my TTS could be heard most likely owing to how my headset and the jack of my Thinkpad is wired. This must mean that probably Chrome or Windows take the right channel as the mix in case of doubt and when everything has to be mono, but then I might be wrong on all of that so let's goooo! I'll have to test with other platforms. #Accessibility #A11y #Blind
Chris McCausland: “I thought my neighbour was ignoring me, and he thought I was ignoring him, until he found out I was blind, and I found out he was deaf.” ...
📣 Do-It-Blind (DIB) online Besprechung am Montag, 13. Oktober, um 19:00 Uhr. Du bist eingeladen! bbb.metalab.at/rooms/joh-szv-o… Wöchentlich am Montag besprechen wir neue Formen der digitalen und inklusiven Zusammenarbeit. Mach mit! 🛠️ #make #blind #inklusion
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OK #Blind #Linux people, is it really worthwhile to consider dual booting @elementary or at least testing it out in a VM? I’m probably not going to be able to give up windows completely, correct? What can I do natively under Lennox and what can’t I do? How is word processing, spreadsheets, making presentations? How about editing music notation? what works, what doesn’t, and what am I going to be giving up in terms of time and efficiency? Boosts appreciated and input very much welcome. #BlindMasto #BlindMastodon #BlindFedi @mastoblind @blind #OpenSource #ElementaryOS #ScreenReader #Accessibility #A11Y
Shower thought: I wonder if any #blind kids today are growing up on espeak the way we grew up on eloquence? Is there a future where espeak is out of date and ancient, and people are clinging to it with the desperation people today cling to eloquence and dectalk? Honestly y'all, espeak read isn't that bad. I just wish espeak was usable on IOS; the available app is old and littered with bugs. #a11y#screenreader#accessibility
LinkedIn: "Dr. Sarah Morley Wilkins sent you a connection request". Folks, I'm genuinely thrilled! We had a great talk today, hopefully it will be available rather sooner than later. But I'm still thrilled! #Accessibility #Blind #UK
The Japanese Blind ICT Network (JBICT) is currently running their fifth annual survey on Assistive Technology usage preferences of users with visual impairments. As I discovered it only this year, naturally I read through the results of the 2024 edition with the help of Google Translate. Some interesting patterns: 1. The survey was distributed through many channels including mailing lists, Line chat groups (the leading instant messaging app in Japan(, X and, if I understand correctly, a local Braille magazine. Most respondents were in their 40's and 50's with a stark difference even towards respondents in their 30's and 20's. 2. PC Talker, the locally manufactured screen reader with some 30 years of history, is still the leader, however NVDA and Narrator are winning some ground too. Most respondents admit to using a combination of two or three screen readers, the most popular combo being PC Talker, NVDA and Narrator. Interestingly enough, the reason most given for sticking with their primary option is being used to it rather than added features or exemplary app support. 3. iPhone definitely dominates the market which cannot be said about the Mac. Two users are still running Raku F-03, an early smartphone manufactured by Fujitsu in the 00's with a screen reading capability, compatible with I-Mode, the predecessor of current Web but with many modern features we associate with smart technology such as video, payments etc. I might have gotten the model wrong in which case, my apologies. One of those users owns this phone alone while the other uses it in parallel with an iPhone. 4. The adoption of Word as a text editor is super marginal compared to some local options, many of which are linked so can be tested. Outlook is the second email client next to a local option. Browsing email from the provider's website is more popular than Thunderbird and Becky was used by just a couple users. 5. OCR and image recognition apps are used primarily on mobile devices for reading mail, product packaging and social media photos rather than books. The apps we all know like Seeing AI, Envision and Be My Eyes are far more popular than Japanese products. jbict.net/survey/at-survey-04 - I'd be happy about insights, feedback and corrections from Japanese users - I'm just a geek exploring whatever can be found with the means available to me. #Accessibility #A11y #Blind #Japan
📣 Do-It-Blind (DIB) online Besprechung am Montag, 6. Oktober, um 19:00 Uhr. Du bist eingeladen! bbb.metalab.at/rooms/joh-szv-o… Wöchentlich am Montag besprechen wir neue Formen der digitalen und inklusiven Zusammenarbeit. Mach mit! 🛠️ #make #blind #inklusion
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#fediblock the following accounts. It's JT Impersonating other people in the #Blind community. Manny_0211_@mastodon.social CookieTeamTalk@mastodon.social kjsapergia@mastodon.social
So I found the secret to getting Google to listen to us! See, you have to join their Discord servers lol.
So Gemini on Android is less accessible with TalkBack than Gemini on iOS or even Gemini on the web. And I'm tired as fuck of sucky ass technology shit for the day just trying to do BSI on this iPhone because obviously having both hands on either side of the screen is having more than 3 fingers on a single side of the screen or some bullshit. Crem of the storming crem, Apple. So St'm not going into detail about the issue here because anyone who's kept up with the complaining I do knows the issue. Anyway, so I join the Gemini Discord, and I thought I'd posted that issue months ago, but apparently not. I know I reported it from the feedback part of the Gemini settings, but this is just proof that they don't read that shit.
So I post the bug report in the bug channel, and within a good hour or 2 I get a reply. Because of course. Now Google, make a TalkBack Discord server lol. Fucking insane. But yeah y'all if you have issues with Gemini, go to their Discord lol.
The Description-Rich Story Hour at Lee Lifeson Art Park was a big success! Thank you to artists Shak Gobert, Trina Moyan, olivia shortt and to Lindsay Walker and Shak for their work on the tactile map enjoyed by Blind and low vision community. Huge thanks to sighted guides Kim, Christina, Linda, Thanzeem and James; technician Gerald Grisonand; ASL interpreter Marcia Adolphe; Associate Producer Janis Mayers, Writing Consultant JJ Hunt, Arts in the Parks rep Holly Hebert and Anaïs Rozencwajg for capturing the event in photos! The stories were recorded and will be shared in an upcoming podcast episode. Subscribe to the Described Toronto Podcast so you don’t miss it! buzzsprout.com/2368549 #describedtoronto #blind #lowvision #storytelling #asl
📣 Do-It-Blind (DIB) online Besprechung am Montag, 29. September, um 19:00 Uhr. Du bist eingeladen! bbb.metalab.at/rooms/joh-szv-o… Wöchentlich am Montag besprechen wir neue Formen der digitalen und inklusiven Zusammenarbeit. Mach mit! 🛠️ #make #blind #inklusion
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After a short break, I’m returning to accessibility training services.
I provide one-on-one training for blind and visually impaired users across multiple platforms. My teaching is practical and goal-driven: not just commands, but confidence, independence, and efficient workflows that carry into daily life, study, and work.
I cover: iOS: VoiceOver gestures, rotor navigation, Braille displays, Safari, text editing, Mail and Calendars, Shortcuts, and making the most of iOS apps for productivity, communication, and entertainment. macOS: VoiceOver from basics to advanced, Trackpad Commander, Safari and Mail, iWork and Microsoft Office, file management, Terminal, audio tools, and system upkeep. Windows: NVDA and JAWS from beginner to advanced. Training includes Microsoft Office, Outlook, Teams, Zoom, web browsing, customizing screen readers, handling less accessible apps, and scripting basics. Android: TalkBack gestures, the built-in Braille keyboard and Braille display support, text editing, app accessibility, privacy and security settings, and everyday phone and tablet use. Linux: Orca and Speakup, console navigation, package management, distro setup, customizing desktops, and accessibility under Wayland.
Concrete goals I can help you achieve: Set up a new phone, tablet, or computer Send and manage email independently Browse the web safely and efficiently Work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations Manage files and cloud storage Use social media accessibly Work with Braille displays and keyboards Install and configure accessible software across platforms Troubleshoot accessibility issues and build reliable workflows Make the most of AI in a useful, productive way Grow from beginner skills to advanced, efficient daily use
I bring years of lived experience as a blind user of these systems. I teach not only what manuals say, but the real-world shortcuts, workarounds, and problem-solving skills that make technology practical and enjoyable.
Remote training is available worldwide.
Pricing: fair and flexible — contact me for a quote. Discounts available for multi-session packages and ongoing weekly training.
Contact: UK: 07447 931232 US: 772-766-7331 If these don’t work for you, email me at aaron.graham.hewitt@gmail.com
If you, or someone you know, could benefit from personalized accessibility training, I’d be glad to help.
Is Bluesky gaining any significant popularity among #blind people yet? I know a lot of us flocked to the fediverse when Musk canned the old Twitter accessibility team. Now that Bluesky has gained momentum in the mainstream, and even among some techies who weren't happy with the fediverse, I wonder if it's time for us to at least give Bluesky a try. And I wonder if some blind people already are.
After a short break, I’m returning to accessibility training services.
I provide one-on-one training for blind and visually impaired users across multiple platforms. My teaching is practical and goal-driven: not just commands, but confidence, independence, and efficient workflows that carry into daily life, study, and work.
I cover: iOS: VoiceOver gestures, rotor navigation, Braille displays, Safari, text editing, Mail and Calendars, Shortcuts, and making the most of iOS apps for productivity, communication, and entertainment. macOS: VoiceOver from basics to advanced, Trackpad Commander, Safari and Mail, iWork and Microsoft Office, file management, Terminal, audio tools, and system upkeep. Windows: NVDA and JAWS from beginner to advanced. Training includes Microsoft Office, Outlook, Teams, Zoom, web browsing, customizing screen readers, handling less accessible apps, and scripting basics. Android: TalkBack gestures, the built-in Braille keyboard and Braille display support, text editing, app accessibility, privacy and security settings, and everyday phone and tablet use. Linux: Orca and Speakup, console navigation, package management, distro setup, customizing desktops, and accessibility under Wayland.
Concrete goals I can help you achieve: Set up a new phone, tablet, or computer Send and manage email independently Browse the web safely and efficiently Work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations Manage files and cloud storage Use social media accessibly Work with Braille displays and keyboards Install and configure accessible software across platforms Troubleshoot accessibility issues and build reliable workflows Make the most of AI in a useful, productive way Grow from beginner skills to advanced, efficient daily use
I bring years of lived experience as a blind user of these systems. I teach not only what manuals say, but the real-world shortcuts, workarounds, and problem-solving skills that make technology practical and enjoyable.
Remote training is available worldwide.
Pricing: fair and flexible — contact me for a quote. Discounts available for multi-session packages and ongoing weekly training.
Contact: UK: 07447 931232 US: 772-766-7331 If these don’t work for you, email me at aaron.graham.hewitt@gmail.com
If you, or someone you know, could benefit from personalized accessibility training, I’d be glad to help.
As the premier free screen reader, #NVDA is very pleased to be trending in South Africa! Thank you to all our South African users, we do appreciate you! We understand the burden commercial software places on #blind users around the world and are glad to be the alternative! If you are new to screen readers, you can find out more about us at: nvaccess.org/
A brief overview of some of the things NVDA can do. The video demonstrates the screen reader at work in several programs and using different synthesizers (i...
📢 Wir haben verbesserte G'schmeidigkeit und Lesbarkeit von Braille mit kontrastreicher Profilschrift in einem Druck mit nur einem Filamentwechsel über ein Scharnier verbunden. #make #blind #inklusionoskars.org/posts/geschmeidige-…
📣 Do-It-Blind (DIB) online Besprechung am Montag, 22. September, um 19:00 Uhr. Du bist eingeladen! bbb.metalab.at/rooms/joh-szv-o… Wöchentlich am Montag besprechen wir neue Formen der digitalen und inklusiven Zusammenarbeit. Mach mit! 🛠️ #make #blind #inklusion
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