Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
2
↓
NVDA vs jaws 2019 (self.Blind)
submitted by blind_cowboy
So new computer and I’m trying to decide which way to go. I haven’t used jaws in a few years but now that they have software as a service I would spend about the same amount for it as I would for new keys for the NVDA synthesizer I like. So with all of that having been said if you’re using jaws 2019 has it gotten better or worse over the last years could you give a quick comparison?
Stick81 1 points 3y ago
I have had great success over they years using NVDA, I have retained some vision, but my eyes tire easily, so I use speech or Braille output for longer documents. I haven't had any real troubles out of its Braille functions, but I only have a Brailliant 32, so it may be different with other hardware. It wouldn't surprise me if Freedom Scientific uses firmware that doesn't play well with NVDA, in the hopes that people would shell out extra money for the JAWS license. I don't see myself paying for a Braille display, and a license. A JAWS license cost more than a moderately priced computer, it's shameful.
blind_cowboy [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thanks for all of the discussion so far. I do admit I miss the way you could control the mouse with the keyboard on jaws.
HDMILex 0 points 3y ago
Agreed, virtual PC cursor is so convenient sometimes.
CloudyBeep 1 points 3y ago
No, I think the JAWS cursor is what is being referred to here.
HDMILex 1 points 3y ago
JAWS is trash. Use NVDA!
CloudyBeep 1 points 3y ago
I use JAWS full-time and I like it. I like JAWS because it has features I use regularly that NVDA doesn't have.
ErtaySh 2 points 3y ago
I am an NVDA user but I am curious, do you mind sharing which features?
retrolental_morose 5 points 3y ago
Not the OP, but ...
I had been a JAWS user for many years. I spent ages learning to script JFW3.7. So apart from the scripting, which NVDA does better but differently, there's a few big JAWS gotyas that I miss, and so keep JAWS around for.
First and most annoying are the little annoyances on the web. JAWS treats the information about virtualised text as part of the buffer, so you can here "list of" or "table with" and skip it. Opening items in lists, tables etc are also therefor on the next line.
Navigating by paragraph and sentence is a different experience and that works best with JAWS, and the way you find text in virtualised documents is also handled better with JAWS (NVDA doesn't provide much context if you do an in-page find-next).
Next, JAWS ability to OCR both screens, controls and standalone gfiles/documents is vastly superior to NVDA. I recognise of course that's because of a paid-for system, but that doesn't change the level of effectiveness.
Finally, JAWS has some tools that I've just grown used to. the inconsistency checker that ships as part of the JAWS text analyser is very handy professionally. JAWS ability to adjust synthesizer settings or play sounds for certain text characteristics is potentially game-changing for some, and of course having all the voices available may also be attractive.
That said, I do now use NVDA full-time on Windows. Remote access is my main reason for shifting - I spend so much of my time on other systems it's just impossible to do that with JFW. Often I can go hours without knowing which I'm using, there's very nearly parity.
I'm very much a fan of NVDA. Maybe one day I'd learn to code addons to solve my little gripes.
I had been a JAWS user for many years. I spent ages learning to script JFW3.7. So apart from the scripting, which NVDA does better but differently, there's a few big JAWS gotyas that I miss, and so keep JAWS around for.
First and most annoying are the little annoyances on the web. JAWS treats the information about virtualised text as part of the buffer, so you can here "list of" or "table with" and skip it. Opening items in lists, tables etc are also therefor on the next line.
Navigating by paragraph and sentence is a different experience and that works best with JAWS, and the way you find text in virtualised documents is also handled better with JAWS (NVDA doesn't provide much context if you do an in-page find-next).
Next, JAWS ability to OCR both screens, controls and standalone gfiles/documents is vastly superior to NVDA. I recognise of course that's because of a paid-for system, but that doesn't change the level of effectiveness.
Finally, JAWS has some tools that I've just grown used to. the inconsistency checker that ships as part of the JAWS text analyser is very handy professionally. JAWS ability to adjust synthesizer settings or play sounds for certain text characteristics is potentially game-changing for some, and of course having all the voices available may also be attractive.
That said, I do now use NVDA full-time on Windows. Remote access is my main reason for shifting - I spend so much of my time on other systems it's just impossible to do that with JFW. Often I can go hours without knowing which I'm using, there's very nearly parity.
I'm very much a fan of NVDA. Maybe one day I'd learn to code addons to solve my little gripes.
ErtaySh 1 points 3y ago
Thanks for the detailed answer!
CloudyBeep 3 points 3y ago
Some include:
• Picture Smart
• SPEECH History
• Command Search
• PlaceMarkers
• showing spelling errors in braille
• Touch cursor (and formally also the JAWS cursor)
• Default Alternate User Directory Mode
• easier to get professional tech support
• purpose-built scripting language• Screen Shade• And lots more.
I'm aware that NVDA has equivalents for some of these features, but the JAWS versions tend to be better for me.
I also find that JAWS has better support for Office, and its braille support (which I use extensively) is far superior to what NVDA offers.
• Picture Smart
• SPEECH History
• Command Search
• PlaceMarkers
• showing spelling errors in braille
• Touch cursor (and formally also the JAWS cursor)
• Default Alternate User Directory Mode
• easier to get professional tech support
• purpose-built scripting language• Screen Shade• And lots more.
I'm aware that NVDA has equivalents for some of these features, but the JAWS versions tend to be better for me.
I also find that JAWS has better support for Office, and its braille support (which I use extensively) is far superior to what NVDA offers.
ErtaySh 2 points 3y ago
Thanks for sharing.
kmorg80 1 points 3y ago
Since the May Windows update jaws has gone worse. Very sluggish with office 365 skips words when reading words documents etc generally loads of bugs and crashes throughout the Windows operating system. reported these bugs but freedom scientific come back with cannot reproduce and refuse to address these issues. Now using NVDA
Clavast 1 points 3y ago
Haven't had this issue at all. I don't think it's universally experienced.
CloudyBeep 1 points 3y ago
I haven't experienced these bugs, but I'm still using Windows version 1803.
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.