We're back in Australia and to celebrate, we've got a new 2023.1 Release Candidate! https://www.nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2023-1rc2/ As well as all the previously mentioned 2023.1 goodness, this RC includes a fix for NVDA stopping reading in Kindle when turning the page. #NVDA #Kindle #release #update #screenreader

Cool, #VoiceOver is now jumping to the previous heading when I hit H, even though it knows full well that Shift is not held down. Seriously WTF is with this #ScreenReader and its appalling number of destructive regressions? #accessibility

it's odilia, the odilia screenreader! finally, the long awaited by some, version 0.1.0 is out, it has been for afew hours now, but as they say, the news are only old if you heard them at least once, so for most people they should be fresh. If you want to check it out, feel free to do so, dropping bug reports as you find them, never hesitate to pop things in that issue tracker, or come talk to us in our matrix space, #odilia:stealthy.club, or irc, #odilia:libera.chat, #odilia-oftopic:libera.chat and #odilia-dev:libera.chat
the releace announcement can be found at https://odilia.app/news/release_0-1-0/
finally, we're here! A big thank you to the community who waited patiently for this release, as well as everyone who contributed, in one way or another, to the project's growth, we're here, we hear you, and we'll never forget our community! let's show the world it can indeed be done, make linux great again!
#accessibility #screenreader #screenreaders #blind #linux #odilia

While folks have been posting about why they didn't use such-and-such apps years ago: Why didn't I use RSS readers for years? They're brilliant and inherently screen-reader accessible. *slaps forehead. sheesh! #RSS #Accessibility #screenreader

@x0 @SingingNala
@JesseF8693

thanks everyone for your input. Very helpful.

What strikes me as odd is that a #screenreader will announce a hashtag as “number” even though the # sign is followed by letters and not a number. I’d expect them to say „hashtag“.

That should be an easy fix for any developer, and I imagine it would be nice to know right away that a clickable link is coming up, or am I missing something?

If I want to switch to using the #fenrir #screenReader in a graphical terminal, how would I do this? I used the -e option which I thought would work, and while it did, it didn't seem to interrupt on pressing control or read much input/output correctly. It also used teh same keyboard layout as orca which caused some problems. Does anyone do this?

@Sylvia Thank you for making the app so simple and fully accessible for #screenreader users. BTW I have installed from @F-Droid

Recently I've found a lightweight modern #opensource #audio #recorder app for #Android called #RecordYou. I like it that much so I've attempted to submit some #screenReader #accessibility improvements.
Let me know how do you like it once it's accepted.
https://github.com/Bnyro/RecordYou/pull/48
This is my first experience with #Jetpack #Compose so bear with me and try to suggest improvements if you can please.

Does someone knows a good #alt-text generator? I always find it hard to describe images enough so a visual impaired Person could get a sense of what the Image is showing. I really try though.

Hashtags for better reach:
#ScreenReaderAccess #screenreader #Accessibility #alttext #webaccessibility

Making my first attempt to completely reframe a narrative:

#Blindness or #VisualImpairment is not a #disability. Rather, it is a #disperception. Imagine yourself blindfolded, put on an airplane and dropped off in a foreign land where no one speaks your #language and all the signs are in an #alphabet you have never seen. . You of course would not be able to #experience the world around you in any meaningful way without an #interpreter or a #translator. You have no disability, only a disperception, as you cannot perceive the language or the printed alphabet they are using in a meaningful way. By the same definition and the same experiences, #accessibility as it relates to blindness or vision impairment is not an #accommodation for a disability; it is instead a #translation into the #perception we can experience.

What is a #screenReader? It is simply an interpreter that takes what it finds on a device screen that we cannot see and translates it to speech, a sound that we can hear, or braille, an alphabet pattern that we can feel.

What is #Braille? Why it's nothing more than a translated alphabet that we feel rather than seeing.

What is accessibility? It's nothing more than being sure that your app, website, device, building, whatever, can reliably interpret or translate its visual cues that we cannot perceive into auditory, tactile and haptic cues that we can perceive, usually using a translation matrix that we already have available, although providing such a translation matrix can help in some cases as well.

Another aspect is navigation, where we use various methods of translation to take what would normally be visual cues from vehicles, buildings, etc and translate them to sensations that we can perceive. Still, this is simply translation, it in no way affects our ability to navigate in an environment; it is simply a translation matrix similar to a screen reader, even if it's low-tech like the staff we carry. Yes, I call it my staff, because a new friend and coworker called it that and I love it. I've got everyone at work calling it that now. Although I don't mind cane or stick or whatever, staff is my favorite word for this handy translation tool that has saved my life on more than one occasion, although it still doesn't protect my head, which I actually find more important than protecting me from the waste down. GPS is another handy translation tool, as it generally uses voice cues, and can be helped along with the aid of the screen reader, to tell us where we are, and in many cases, what is around us. The point is that these things are all translation tools, nothing more, nothing less. They translate visual cues into audible and/or tactile cues that we are able to perceive meaningfully, with or without instruction from others.

Once again, for the people in the back, I do not have a disability, which is defined as an inability to perform actions. I have a disperception, meaning that I have different experiences based on the fact that I cannot perceive visual cues, and need a translator that will take those visual cues and translate them into the #auditory and #tactile perceptions I do have.

Are you coming to #CSUNATC23? It's on in just over two weeks in Anaheim, California! NV Access will be there, sharing the latest news and info about your favourite #foss screen reader, NVDA! If you're going, we'd love to see you there! Please drop us a line if you'd like to organise a time to meet. #NVDA #NVDAsr #conference #screenreader #csun #csunatc #csunatc2023

Hello, #blind #Linux users. About to take the plunge to learn Orca #ScreenReader and test #a11y of #MuseScore. Any suggestions for most accessible #distro, #DesktopEnvironment, ETC would be greatly appreciated. Thx. #BlindTwitter #BlindMastodon

does anyone know a #screenreader accessible #ebook reader for #linux? I usually just go with a simple #cli tool, like pdf2text, however I found a #book I wanted for some time, but it's in the #epub format. As I'm sure most of you who read this know, #calibre isn't accessible on linux, probably windows neither for that matter, so my question is, anything else recommended by the community of #blind linux users?

I’m amused. My speech synthesizer, Mac Voiceover Alex, pronounces “rubble” as “ruble”. I’m going to see if I can correct that by putting an entry in the pronunciation dictionary. #ScreenReader

Opinion: Voiceover Screen-reader for Mac really needs automagic language detection. Hearing “latin small letter l, Hebrew letter, section symbol” is kinda getting old. 🙃 And no, i'm not adding all languages to my system. #MacOS #Accessibility #ScreenReader

Today's winning #ScreenReader output: "Dialog Heading dialog. button Close this dialog window". An actual heading, nowhere to be found. Thanks for playing. #a11y #accessibility

Dear @Thunderbird ,
I know you are changing for the better. However while testing Thunderbird 111 daily I would like to see some gradual improvements so it becomes ready for most userf of Thunderbird 115 in terms of #screenreader #accessibility once it's declared stable.

Positive things I have noticed:

We have brand new message list that no longer renders all the messages in selected folder at once but only those that are visible on the screen and ready for the user interaction. From my point of view it looks similar to infinite lists on mobile platforms. Most importantly it almost fully elliminates enormous lag when browsing huge message lists on linux with #orca #screenreader running. I was curious enough and I have tested imap folder with up to 75000 messages inside.

It is still possible to use F6 and shift+F6 to move the keyboard focus from the folder tree to the message list and back.

Message list has headers that are used for sorting and a popup menu for setting up visible columns almost from the begining of Thunderbird existence. From now on these controls are finally accessible to screenreader users. And we are now able to configure sorting and show / hide individual columns.

We can still use ctrl+shift+k to show / hide the filter entry. Also there are accessible buttons alongside the filter entry that allow quick filtering the list such as labelled messages, messages with attachments, starred messages, messages from addressbook contacts, unread messages, even ability to keep the filter active when changing folders. Some of these features were already there earlier but now these are accessible to keyboard users including screenreader users.

Now features that need some polishing:

It appears we can now open individual message folders on a new tab / in a new window however this feature needs some fixes. For example when navigating using up and down arrow keys in the folder tree, pressing shift+F10 first moves focus to the parent folder and displays popup menu for that parent item instead of currently selected one.

When navigating in huge list new selection is not properly reported to assistive technologies while scrolling. For example press end to move to the last message. Now press up arrow key several times to navigate back a message and notice how screenreader is reporting new selection as it happens. Now press the page up key to move the selection by the larger increment. New message is highlighted but the selection changed event is not fired properly or it's getting mixed with some spurious focus event on an unlabelled pannel. Some screen readers are able to filter out these but I think it would be nice to address it at the source rather than working it around.

Now the main window has a lot of focusable controls and it is no longer comfortable to use tab and shift+tab to navigate. It would be nice if buttons were grouped in a toolbar like controls implementing toolbar pattern the way it's explained at
https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/toolbar/

It's nice that ability to reconfigure message list columns is now fully accessible to keyboard and screen reader users however accessible name of each item in the message list does not yet respect these settings. Subject is the only content that is communicated to assistive tools when navigating in the list using arrow keys. This is major issue and will likely be considered as a regression if it won't be addressed before releasing the stable version.

When navigating in the list of messages it is possible to select multiple messages for executing actions on them. I am afraid the fact multiple messages are selected or not selected is not properly communicated to assistive tools. This is major issue for screenreader users.

It is no longer possible to use applications key / shift+f10 to inwoke a popup menu in the message list.

Yesterday @guilevi visited us, and told me about a new #rhythm-based #game called #RhythmQuest. There's a free demo to download at rhythmquestgame.com if anyone's interested to try it. Has #screenReader support on both #Mac and #Windows. Very enjoyable.

do I know anyone who's actually good at using the #Orca #screenReader on #Linux? I have questions, and I can't find answers :) #a11y #accessibility

a pause buffer seems like a very sensible idea. It's doubtless one of those things that we'll now say 'Duh, why didn't I think of that?'
Be good if it could become a #screenreader default!

As a #ScreenReader user, I find #hashtags at the end of a post to be suboptimal. As I'm unable to visually scan, I don't know that you haven't written anything after the hashtags, and hence have to choose between: listening to them anyway, or being okay with potentially missing content. When written inline within the flow of your text, this problem doesn't occur. #accessibility #a11y

It's been a while, and with twitter's newest idiocy I imagine we have many new folks. So a quick reminder that for those who like to post #pictures and the like, #image descriptions are very, very helpful. Unlike the bird site, people here actively encourage descriptions and some won't boost without them. For me, a #blind person using a #ScreenReader, I can't engage with your post at all without them. I know for some it's cognitively hard but if you can, please describe. Thanks!

#introduction :
Hi, my name is Wenwei (She/Her) and I am #blind. I will mainly use this account to #write #MicroFiction centering my #disabled experiences. I deeply care about the notion of equitable access, and in order to achieve this, good #accessibility practices is a concept that should be part of the public consciousness. As a blind #ScreenReader user, I am most familiar with good accessibility practices for blind and low vision individuals, but I make it my mission to learn about other marginalized and disabled groups. I am a #ChineseAmerican #feminist #queer #asexual and I believe that I cannot include marginalized voices (including my own) if I advocate for my own position and callously dismiss other perspectives that add an uncomfortable dimension of conflict to my own thinking.

I'm looking for a super simple text-based #webchat system that can be imbedded into a page with minimal headaches. The plan is to use it for #Q&A when I'm #streaming. Must be #accessible with #screenreader software, preferably free/open source. Doesn't need authentication or anything fancy, it'll only be a handful of people using it at a time. Thanks in advance for any tips!

Content warning: Intro post. Screen reader users, careful, loads of hashtags. Reveal/hide

People who use screen readers:

Are those alt text bots on Twitter actually useful?

Have long been suspicious of them since they bury the alt text deep in the thread and out of context, but none of use screen readers.

#Accessibility #ScreenReader #Disability #Blind #SightImpaired

I've thought about doing this for a while now.
#AltText is something I advocate for, as well as some other simple ways to make posts more #accessible and #inclusive. Let's make this #interactive.
Reply with an #image and I'll tell you what my #ScreenReader thinks it shows, as a practical #demonstration of inaccuracies, limitations and why alt text is better.
Edit on request: Not all screen readers can do image recognition. Alt text is the only viable way to be inclusive. #accessibility #blind

I would say now we #screenReader users should step in and try to fill your github sponsors page with suitable amounts as best as we can.
https://github.com/sponsors/mwcampbell

#Storium is built with #accessibility in mind. One of our most active members is blind and (without checking with him beforehand) I'm sure he'll be happy to show you around. But yes, the site works well with a #ScreenReader!

Here's a podcast episode we did about how people with disabilities play on @storium :

http://storiumarc.com/episode/episode-70-storium-with-disabilities/

#writer #roleplaying #pbp #rpg

Unfortunatelly #collaboraOffice #libreOffice are not yet #accessible to #screenReader users on #Android

Here's my random #screenreader thought of the day:

I wish that people would use a combination of the two finger scrub gesture and tap the "back" button when making #VoiceOver tutorials to demonstrate alternative ways of going back. This doesn't even need to be over-explained unless the tutorial is specifically an intro to VoiceOver tutorial. I know how to perform this gesture. I understand its function. However, I routinely forget about it because I don't always think it can be used interchangeably with the "back" button (if the gesture is indeed supported). Just today, I used it in the Kindle, NYTimes, Overcast, Safari, and Mona apps. I resolve to use this gesture much more often than I currently do. That is all.

The Every Door app looks to be usefull to #screenReader users to an extend. It allows listing near by POIs fetching real data from #OSM and suggest edits. I like this.
Of course for real mapping eye sight is required but for suggesting fixes it's not. e.g. filling in opening and closing hours and similar.

"For the past couple of years, the Firefox accessibility team have been working on a major re-architecture of the Firefox accessibility engine to significantly improve its speed, reliability and maintainability."
— @jcsteh
#Firefox #Accessibility #Opensource #ScreenReader
https://www.jantrid.net/2022/12/22/Cache-the-World/?utm_source=pocket_mylist

I've done this from the web interface, but is there a way in the tweesecake app to toggle the option on the settings for home timeline for hiding boosts? Sometimes I just need to hear what original posters have to say. I have too many folks on my follows and following to change the setting individually. #Mastodon #Tweesecake #Blindness #ScreenReader

Folks, I want to boost your lovely posts, I really do but I won’t if you don’t write image descriptions (alt text) so people who use screen readers can also experience them.

It doesn’t take long to write one.

And if you’re posting an image of text and you have an iPhone, you can select the text from the image with a long press and copy/paste it.

Even Linux has apps that do this (like Frog: https://tenderowl.com/work/frog/)

#accessibility #a11y #fediverse #altText #images #screenReader #mastodon

Dear folks, what do you use for #Matrix? I need a client with #screenReader #accessibility in mind. Better #Windows desktop software, but if not, web is also okayish. Thanks!

To all #blind #ScreenReader users on various platforms who use #Firefox: The project to speed up web page and screen reader interaction, code-named Cache-The-World, is now at a phase where in Nightly 109, it has been enabled for all users. So if you spot anything that is unusual or not working as before, please let the #accessibility team know. Next step is an experiment for 50% roll-out on Windows in the 111 beta.

The page where you can track the progress is here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Accessibility/CacheTheWorld

In the next episode of my #podcast, Mosen at Large, I'm devoting an hour to Mastodon from a #blindness perspective. As well as discussing some important cultural issues, I'll provide an audio demonstration of using the #web interface and the Metatext #iOS client with a #ScreenReader. A transcript will be available too, for maximum #accessibility. It will be available everywhere you get podcasts. More details here. https://mosen.org/malppreview0206/

Likely this will not be an open source thing, but I want to mention this service anyway for those you using #screenreader software and have related #a11y #accessibility needs.

Project Naptha looks to be a service that can generate descriptive texts for any image.

https://projectnaptha.com/

It is discussed on Hacker News now at:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32051736