Thunder Screen Reader Free

[Zachariah Cameron]

Hello,
    there are at least two factors in play here.  Ones is that screen 
readers are not created equal so that when it comes right down to it, 
testing with the Thunder Screen reader will tell you if the site or tool 
is Accessible using the Thunder Screen reader.  In my part of the world, 
JAWS has a huge part of the market share.  Anyone experienced in Access 
Technology will have a general concept of a site's Accessibility very 
shortly after opening the page.  One does not really know, however, 
until one has worked with a site and the specific technology.

We have seen many screen readers some and go over the years. Many of us 
still lament the fact that OS2 and its screen reader never really took 
hold. It is often the case in screen reading software, as in other areas 
of life, that you get what you pay for. On the other hand, Thunder has 
some impressive patronage behind the corporation.

All of that said, I had not heard of this screen reader and will 
definitely try it out to see how well it works for me.

I am not sure this is the place to get into an online poll, but if list 
members would like to send me comments regarding screen reader usage 
(send to ability at yorku.ca) I could post a summary of the results at a 
later point. My experience, in a Canadian context, is that JAWS has by 
far the greatest market penetration.

thanks
Zachariah

Allison Bloodworth wrote:
> Has anyone heard of this free screen reader? I'm not sure how much 
> it's like JAWS or Window-Eyes, but if it's similar I wonder if it 
> might be helpful for folks who want to do usability testing with 
> screen readers but aren't able to get actual screen reader user 
> participants (e.g. http://www.webaim.org/articles/screenreader_testing/).
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> Apologies for cross posting with this news but I feel it may be 
>> useful to many folks including those testing websites for 
>> accessibility issues.
>>
>> Thunder screen reader is now free to all organisations and all 
>> individuals
>>
>> and can be downloaded from _http://www.screenreader.net/_   A useful 
>> addition
>>
>> is when it works with WebbIE text browser _http://www.webbie.org.uk/_
>>
>> Best wishes E.A.
>>
>> Mrs E.A. Draffan
>>
>> Learning Societies Lab,
>>
>> ECS, University of Southampton,
>>
>> Tel +44 (0)23 8059 7246
>>
>> _http://www.lexdis.ecs.soton.ac.uk_
>>
>> _http://www.emptech.info_
>>
>
> Allison Bloodworth
> Senior User Interaction Designer
> Educational Technology Services
> University of California, Berkeley
> (415) 377-8243
> abloodworth at berkeley.edu <mailto:abloodworth at berkeley.edu>
>
>
>
>
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-- 

Zachariah Cameron
Client Support Services
Steacie Science Library
York University