5 ms·

Consider installing a screenreader and the Lynx web browser so you can demonstrate what it’s like to access internal apps/websites with those tools. It might he

by mch82 7y ago

Consider installing a screenreader and the Lynx web browser so you can demonstrate what it’s like to access internal apps/websites with those tools. It might help to record your experience so people can watch the demo at their convenience. Lynx... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_%28web_browser%29?wprov=sfti1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_%28web_browser%29?wprov...

akavi 7y ago
What does lynx have to do with anything? No blind person I know browses the internet without JS, and every major screen reader supports it.
- mwcampbell 7y ago
  You're absolutely right. Aside from a few stubborn hold-outs, the blind people I know stopped browsing with Lynx, or Links or w3m, in the early 2000s at the latest.
  - VBprogrammer 7y ago
    I have no experience at all with screen readers. Is there a modern FOSS screen reader that would help give an idea of what a visually impaired user would realistically experience?
    - dbjorge 7y ago
      The most popular FOSS screen reader by a very, very large margin is NVDA (https://www.nvaccess.org https://www.nvaccess.org). It is Windows specific, though.
      - mwcampbell 7y ago
        There's also the Orca screen reader for GNOME. And I believe TalkBack for Android and ChromeVox for Chrome OS are both open source. If you don't care so much about open source, as I said elsewhere on the thread, Mac has VoiceOver built in (Command+F5 to enable), and Windows has Narrator (Control+Windows+Enter to enable on recent versions). Disclosure: I'm a dev on the Narrator team at Microsoft, but I'm posting on my own behalf here.
    - mch82 7y ago
      @Zeldman tweeted this screen reader survey, which includes free/non-free options plus lots of usage data... https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/ https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/ Edit: source tweet is https://twitter.com/zeldman/status/1180100942131277824 https://twitter.com/zeldman/status/1180100942131277824
Scoundreller 7y ago
Not blind, but an HN and lynx story. I sometimes use lynx these days because Canadian telecoms have shitty mobile bandwidth plans. Lynx would always think I was making an NNTP connection to news.ycombinator.com unless I put in the HTTP:// Slipped me up every time.

by mch82 7y ago

akavi 7y ago

What does lynx have to do with anything? No blind person I know browses the internet without JS, and every major screen reader supports it.

mwcampbell 7y ago
You're absolutely right. Aside from a few stubborn hold-outs, the blind people I know stopped browsing with Lynx, or Links or w3m, in the early 2000s at the latest.
- VBprogrammer 7y ago
  I have no experience at all with screen readers. Is there a modern FOSS screen reader that would help give an idea of what a visually impaired user would realistically experience?
  - dbjorge 7y ago
    The most popular FOSS screen reader by a very, very large margin is NVDA (https://www.nvaccess.org https://www.nvaccess.org). It is Windows specific, though.
    - mwcampbell 7y ago
      There's also the Orca screen reader for GNOME. And I believe TalkBack for Android and ChromeVox for Chrome OS are both open source. If you don't care so much about open source, as I said elsewhere on the thread, Mac has VoiceOver built in (Command+F5 to enable), and Windows has Narrator (Control+Windows+Enter to enable on recent versions). Disclosure: I'm a dev on the Narrator team at Microsoft, but I'm posting on my own behalf here.
  - mch82 7y ago
    @Zeldman tweeted this screen reader survey, which includes free/non-free options plus lots of usage data... https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/ https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/ Edit: source tweet is https://twitter.com/zeldman/status/1180100942131277824 https://twitter.com/zeldman/status/1180100942131277824

Scoundreller 7y ago

Not blind, but an HN and lynx story. I sometimes use lynx these days because Canadian telecoms have shitty mobile bandwidth plans. Lynx would always think I was making an NNTP connection to news.ycombinator.com unless I put in the HTTP:// Slipped me up every time.