I am primarily an NVDA user. I switched after close to twenty years of Jaws for Windows usage, (including a stint as a technical support rep, so yeah, I’m really familiar with how it works), because as a web developer NVDA meets my needs better than Jaws does when it comes to less hand-holding and more stability. But I still keep a copy of the latest Jaws for Windows around because part of my job as a web developer is ensuring as much cross-screen-reader compatibility as possible along with cross-browser compatibility. Every single time I load Jaws to test something I re-encounter a host of bugs, random crashes, the need to kill the jfw.exe process when it randomly stops speaking and reload, only to find that now the display chain is fucked so let’s kill process after process after process and load clean. And yet, the National Federation of the Blind feels it necessary to go after Apple and leave Freedom Scientific alone. I’ll be the first one to tell you as a web developer that there are times I’d like to see VoiceOver die in a healthy forest fire. But Jaws for Windows is buggier by far, and I expect that the only reason the NFB is going after Apple is because it’s not giving proper obeisance and providing a suitable offering as its act of worship. Why doesn’t the NFB just come out and say that, as long as you pay for an indulgence, you’ll be fine. The NFB will leave you alone, look the other way, ETC. Also, how can the NFB be trusted as an accessibility advocacy organization when it’s more than clearly indicated that it’s willing to jump in bed with, and snuggle up to, any organization that’s willing to fill its coffers, regardless of whether or not they’re doing anything about accessibility? That’s not an advocacy organization, it’s a shake-down organization. But yes, we should totally trust their judgment when they sue people over websites.

4 thoughts on “Every Single Time I Load Jaws For Windows To Test

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