Comments on Screen Readers Suck! - ILoveJackDaniels.com

Comment on Screen Readers Suck!

Comment by Sucky Screen Reader ( http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_dealers/Contact_Us_Form.asp )

Totally agree with you Dave. This is what we have to put up with as web developers. Look what the blind have to put up with as users. Check out the contact page at http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_dealers/Contact_Us_Form.asp
the makers of JAWS. Put a space after your email address and submit. NOTHING. You have to view the source code to find the error. Remove the space and then the form goes through. Now regardless of whether you're sighted or blind, what chance has a non-web developer have of managing to do that?

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Comment by Richard ( http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freedomscientific.com%2Ffs_products%2FJAWS_HQ.asp&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0 )

The makers of JAWS don't even have a doctype in their HTML. 36 validation errors on the home page and 16 on the JAWS page.

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Comment by Leon ( http:// )

Hey buddy, what kind of screen reader for web content do you use? Can you list some?

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Comment by Josh ( http:// )

I would also like to know if screen readers have any updated abilities to handle HTML/CSS, etc. I'd like to design my pages to make them accessible, but there isn't much recent information out there about the state of things.

Thanks
Josh

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Comment by Fahed ( http://www.tm4b.com/ )

Two years later... are there any developments in this regard?

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Comment by Kersti ( http:// )

Have to agree with the user agent comments - I would love to pour some cash into a properly developed site for screen readers, but since I can produce absolutely zero statistics on the number of users out there who would benefit I can't produce a business case to release the funds.

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Comment by Amy ( )

Er.. I forgot to add this...

If you have articles on your page, please keep the use of PDF to a minimum. It's getting more accessible, but still has a long way to go. If you do have to use it, please try to provide a copy that is accessible or try to offer it in another format as well.

Thanks again.

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Comment by Amy ( )

Hey,

I have partial vision and use a screen reader about half the time. Thus, I am using both a visual browser, and the screen reader equivalent. I love seeing the pictures in my browser, but I like using JAWS to read text. I appreciate your thoughts, and agree that screen reader creators need to get thier heads on straight. My simple suggestions for making a site more pleasant are:

1. Alt tags for images are my friends.

2. Please don't use links labled "click here" Tell me what you are actually getting when you "click here" Jaws will jump through links, buttons, edit fields checkboxes, radio buttons frames, headings and the like, but I need to know what in the name of all that is good and proper I am clicking on.

3. If you use macromedia, try to use the accesiblity options they employ, and if possible, provide similar content in a non-flash format. I have several friends who won't even download flash because it gives thier speech programs all sorts of hiccups.

4. Please give me an immidiate option when using captia for verification. (I apologize if I didn't spell that correctly.) When I am signing up for an online service, and have to pull out a magnifying glass or not join a web page, I get a bit cranky. My friends who have to wait for me to pull out a magnifying glass for them, get even more cranky. We can use the audio equivalants, or maybe some other form of proof that we are humans, but when vision is the deciding factor.... it can be a bit demeaning.

5. Please don't take my suggestions as the last word. When things get sticky, I pull out my magnifying glass, so I am not going to be as helpful as someone who uses speech only.

I appreciate that web designers are trying to make things work for us, and agree that the screen reader market is pretty limited and problematic. If any of you create something new, let me know.. I am always ready to dump Jaws in favor of something better.

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Comment by karl ( http:// )

This just goes to show the difference between screen reader creators and those who simply rattle through the web trying to use them. I have been using a screen reader for a few years now and am always surprised by what seems to irritate people, I can live with >> as a spacer! To make me feel happy make sure any text doesn't include the words 'live' and 'read'
Context is everything.
Mind you, graphics labelling helps my sanity.

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Comment by HaigEK ( http:// )

Does anyone know whether ANY screen reader avilable today takes advantage of structural markup in data tables, such a scope attributes, ids, and header references?

I find myself spending huge amounts of time coding tables correctly but I have yet to find any indication that it actually matters in the real world.

If no screen reader (or web browser) makes use of this extra encoding, then why should anyone go to the effort of producing it?

Sheesh! It's enough to make a fella think he oughta go into the screen reader business. These folks seem ripe to be blown away in a market economy.