Screen Readers
A screen reading software reads out the screen content for the users in the form of electronic speech. Users can access entire screen contents starting from the top of the screen till the bottom of the screen by pressing a keystroke. Screen readers also provide audio feedback when users are typing data.
Users with visual disabilities, such as blindness, and deaf-blind user's use screen reading software for working on the computer. Depending on the degree of visual disability, users with low vision also use a screen reader. Most screen readers available in the market include Braille support. Today screen readers are available not only for computers, but also for personal digital assistance and mobile devices.
Screen readers provide different options to the users for adjusting the audio output such as increase/decrease the speed, adjust the pitch, set punctuation reading options etc. In addition, screen readers support different reading options, such as reading, a letter, a word, a line or a paragraph. Today there are screen readers available for different languages, such as French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, German, Italian, etc.
Screen readers are capable of not only reading web pages but also provide speech support for developing technologies such as Flash, Visual basic. Net. Thus it has become possible for individuals with visual disabilities to get employment in the Information and Technology (IT) industry. Keyboard is the only input device used by screen reader users and all functions from clicking a button on the toolbar, selecting text and opening/closing a window are performed with a keyboard.
Features
Some of the basic features of screen readers include:
- Speech support for accessing Desktop, applications and the internet;
- Accessing menu bars, toolbars, dialog boxes, title and status bar of an application;
- Keystrokes for reading letter-by-letter, word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, and paragraph-by-paragraph;
- Adjusting the punctuation reading settings;
- Providing speech support while typing data;
- Compatible with basic applications, such as word processors, spreadsheets, email clients, browsers etc;
- Configuring the speech settings, such as adjusting the pitch, volume etc;
- Support for different languages;
- Support for Braille;
- Performing mouse functions, such as navigating, clicking and dragging using the keyboard.
Different Screen Readers
Some of the screen readers available in the market are:
- Window-Eyes: A product by GW Micro, works on Windows operating system. For more information, visit GW micro website (External Website) (http://www.gwmicro.com/Window-Eyes).
- Hal: A product by Dolphin Systems, works on Windows operating system. For more information, visit Dolphin website - Hal (External Website) (http://www.yourdolphin.com/productdetail.asp?id=5).
- Supernova: A product by Dolphin Systems, works on Windows operating system. Supernova provides a combination of magnification, speech and Braille support. For more information, visit Dolphin website - Supernova (External Website) (http://www.yourdolphin.com/productdetail.asp?id=1).
- EmacSpeak: EmacSpeak is an open source screen reader that works on Linux operating system. For more information, visit Emacspeak website (External Website) (http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net).
- JAWS: A product by Freedom Scientific, works on Windows operating system. For more information, visit Freedom Scientific website (External Website) (http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/JAWS_HQ.asp).
- Home Page Reader: A product by IBM, works on Windows operating system. For more information, visit IBM website (External Website) (http://www-03.ibm.com/able/solution_offerings/hprtrial3.html).
Following are some of the screen readers that work on mobile phones and PDAs:
- Mobile Speak Pocket: A product by Code Factory, works on Symbion operating system. For more information, visit Code Factory website (External Website) (http://www.codefactory.es/mobile_speak_pocket/mspeak_pocket.htm).
- Nuance TALKS 3 Premium Edition: product by Nuance, works on Symbion operating system. For more information, visit Nuance website (External Website) (http://www.nuance.com/talks/premium.asp).
