5 ms·
Yes, I use Jaws for Windows. I also make heavy use of WSL for command-line stuff.
by jareds 7y ago
Yes, I use Jaws for Windows. I also make heavy use of WSL for command-line stuff.
- randomvectors 7y agoKudos to you. Speaking as someone who has taken their eyesight for granted, it's absolutely incredible that anyone can do this at all.
- murph-almighty 7y agoMaybe I'm mistaking you for someone else but did you write a blog post about this?
- stallmanite 7y agoI have always wondered about this and I hope you wont mind one more question: For me being able to see as much on a page as possible really aids me. For you to get a piece of code into your mind it seems like you’d have to have really sharp memory to store the relevant items in working memory as the screen reader recites the code one word/token at a time. Am I missing something or do you simply overcome this with badass memory skills?
- rjbwork 7y agoI've seen a blind programmer code before. His screen reader tool was set to go REALLY fast, and so to me it sounded like tiny short rapid fire bursts of audio but to him, he was getting like hundreds of characters per minute or more of context.
- stallmanite 7y agoThat makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
- StavrosK 7y agoI had a blind coworker. I was really jealous when he connected a Raspberry Pi to a power bank on the airplane, connected his headphones and a keyboard and started working in the cramped seat that wouldn't fit a screen. Seems like a very nifty way to work and you can just keep your computer in your pocket. And yes, the screen reader went super fast. I had trouble following it but I think that's mostly because I wasn't expecting what it was doing, whereas he was controlling the cursor so he knew more or less what he was hearing.
- Forge36 7y agoI program for accessibility, having used JAWS it can go FAST. Having observed a blind user: it's entirely a skill you practice, some people in the room could follow along, others were lost. I encourage you to try it if only to test your development.
- StavrosK 7y agoI should, but you know how these things go, it's not a great use of time if you're sighted because you get relatively little benefit, so you never exercise it enough...
- DoreenMichele 7y agoIt's a general truism that when you lose some faculty, the brain reallocates the space normally devoted to that faculty. If you lose a finger, the brain remaps and makes your remaining fingers more sensitive. Blind people are known to be better at echolocation, which is part of what the tapping of their cane provides.
- faissaloo 7y agoWhen you get a new computer how does setup go? Do you have some shortcuts memorised that you use as soon as it boots or something?
- mwcampbell 7y agoWindows and macOS each have a built-in screen reader with a standard keyboard shortcut to turn it on. On Windows 10 version 1703 and later, you can turn on Narrator with Control+Windows+Enter. On macOS, you can turn on VoiceOver with Command+F5. I think it's fair to say that most blind Windows users still use a third-party Windows screen reader. But at least they can use Narrator to get through the setup process and install their preferred screen reader.
- jareds 7y agoIn fairness to Microsoft they have been doing a lot of work with Narrator. I am posting this reply using it with Chrome on a windows insider build.