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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.

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A new week has begun. The recharge was wonderful. I read a bit, played some games, caught up on the weekly Torah portion along with the portion from the Prophets (haftarah), and generally had a restful day. I hope your day was everything you hoped it would be. And I would like to take the time to wish everyone a good and full week, with plenty of prosperity, goodness and sweetness, however you define those things. I mention goodness and sweetness because what is good for us isn’t always sweet, (see: Getting a shot, having a good advisor or mentor take steps to help keep the ego in check), while what is sweet isn’t always good (see: chocolate, eating a fabulous meal that contains a ton of calories). So I hope everyone gets enough sweetness to make things enjoyable, while at the same time getting enough goodness to balance things out. For me, it’s time to start on some work.