Re: [orca-list] Some bugs with perhaps possible fixing in master branch

[Alex Midence <alex midence gmail com>]

I'd forgotten about the Research It feature.  I never ever ever use
that thing.  I remember how absolutely annoyed I was when it came out
and all the issues with Java accessibility remained unresolved.  I can
feel my frustration mounting just remembering it.  You make a very
very good point with that one.  Usefullness really does have to be the
key determinant when manpower is limited.  If this feature with
control c is a royal pain to code into Orca, I say forget about it and
move on to other more pressing things like QT apps or stuff like
Impress and the like.  Oh, God how I hated that Research It Feature!
Most ridiculous waste of money there ever was!

Alex M


On 6/4/12, Geoff Shang <geoff quitelikely com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> This is straying off-topic.  I will attempt to make it relevant so please
> stick with me.
>
> In response to Alex' message asserting that JAWS features are implemented
> due to demand, this may have been true once but it's not necessarily true
> anymore.  Two reasons for this:
>
> 1.  They are the most used screen reader, particularly in the USA which is
> their main concern.  As such they can pretty much do what they want.  The
> other screen readers need to play catch-up and everybody knows it.
>
> 2.  Many people take out software maintenance agreements for major
> releases of JAWS.  This entitles a person to the next two major releases.
> Back in the day, these major releases were usually worth it, being notable
> upgrades in performance or functionality.  But now, Freedom Scientific has
> effectively made it a two-year support contract because they roll out a
> new major release every single year.  This of course gives them a more
> reliable income stream from SMA customers.  However, it also means that
> they need to come up with enough new features to warrant a new version
> designation, or at least to make it look like people are actually getting
> something for their money.  So this results in highly dubious features
> like ResearchIt that very arguably should not even be in a screen reader
> being touted by FS as a major feature in JAWS 11.
>
> Now I say all this because we should take this into account if we want to
> consider using the functionality present in commercial screen readers as a
> gauge for what should be implemented in free ones.  My point is that the
> wants and needs of the user are not the only things that drive commercial
> screen reader development, and are quite possibly not the most influential
> ones that do.  Since screen readers like Orca are not subject to such
> commercial pressures, and particularly since they also lack the kind of
> development man-power that commercial money can buy, we can and must think
> more about the usefulness of various features rather than merely copy what
> someone else decided to do.
>
> Cheers,
> Geoff.
>
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