This guide describes the most popular accessibility features of Windows and Microsoft Office. It also covers assistive technology products for Windows and Microsoft Office that are designed for people who are blind or low vision. For a more complete overview download the full guide.
a Blind People download
Microsoft Office comes with built-in accessibility features designed for people who are blind or low vision. You can also customize options in Office to meet your individual vision needs and preferences.
A screen reader is an essential piece of software for a blind or visually impaired person. Simply put, a screen reader transmits whatever text is displayed on the computer screen into a form that a visually impaired user can process (usually tactile, auditory or a combination of both). While the most basic screen readers will not help blind users navigate a computer, those with additional features can give people with visual impairment much more independence.
Many people could not afford the expensive price tag associated with some of the more sophisticated screen readers. Luckily for them, there are several screen reading software that are completely free. The following is a list of free screen readers that one can download:
NVDA has been designed by a blind software engineering graduate, James Teh, for use with Windows computers. This free and open source screen reader has a synthetic voice that reads whatever the cursor hovers over, and can be used directly from a USB stick, making it ideal for students.
This downloadable and complete screen reader can be used even outside your browser, thus making it one of the quickest ways of getting a screen reader up and running on your system. Serotek offers extended versions for a fee, although it is much cheaper than other screen readers.
ORCA is a Linux based screen reader which has also been evolving for the past number of years. Although it is not the sole Linux-based screen reader, ORCA is definitely the most popular. Recently it has been included with the Ubuntu installation CD, and with a couple of initial key presses it allows blind people to have audible interaction during the installation process.
BRLTTY is a background process (daemon) which provides access to the Linux/Unix console (when in text mode) for a blind person using a refreshable braille display. It drives the braille display, and provides complete screen review functionality. Some speech capability has also been incorporated.
WebAnywhere is a web-based screen reader for the web. It requires no special software to be installed on the client machine and, therefore, enables blind people to access the web from any computer they happen to have access to that has a sound card
Spoken-Web is a Web portal, managing a wide range of online data-intensive content like news updates, weather, travel and business articles for computer users who are blind or visually impaired. The site provides a simple, easy-to-use interface for navigating between the different sections and articles. Using the keyboard to navigate, a person who is blind or who has a visual impairment can hear the full range of an article content provided in a logical, clear, and understandable manner.
Such software is essential for blind users to read the content of web pages or communicate with friends and colleagues. As more sophisticated software has been made available to a larger audience, people have begun turning their attention to developing leisure programs that are designed with accessibility in mind. For example, the website blindsoftware.com has an accessible mp3 player to download and a selection of games.
When it comes to universal access, several people with hearing or visual impairments or illnesses have found that it can become a barrier to using traditional software. The goal is to remove those perceived barriers and help them be able to achieve results beyond their imagination. This is why it is important that developers continue to work on making software as accessible as they can for a wide range of people, so everyone can benefit from the powerful tools computers offer.
Directly integrated into iPhones, Siri is an easy-to-use vocal assistant. For blind or visually impaired people, for whom finding and clicking on the right button can be difficult, using a voice control enables them to save time!
Developed by Okeenea Digital, this app is the first indoor wayfinding solution for people with a visual impairment to navigate in complex venues such as museums or universities! Evelity works like a GPS.
Compatible with VoiceOver and TalkBack, the app provides audio instructions to blind and visually impaired people to guide them step by step. People with disabilities can easily find the reception desk or the classroom without needing to know the premises in advance.
Although the app can be downloaded for free, users are charged according to the different plans and services Aira provides. Depending on the formula they choose and their needs, the cost can thus be high.
Hearing Impaired People: a Multitude of Profiles for Different Needs Did you know that hearing impaired people have several profiles and that the way they identify themselves is important? You may be familiar with deaf and hard of hearing people but for each of...
All of the software programs are available for download for free for you to use. They help you to read web pages, listen to radio and audio on the web, and much more. Choose the program you want from the list below:
Testimonials gives you some user comments on using WebbIE. This WebbIE downloads page gives you old and development and abandoned versions, support files and a complete list of installers and non-English versions. Otherwise, see the listings for the individual programs below.
WebbIE used to come as one big installer, up to January 2013. Now it's split into different installers for different programs. You can still download the old single installer, but less and less will work in it as time goes by.
Thanks to the efforts of Amazon and the developers of the popular NVDA open source screen reader, Kindle books are now accessible to blind people using a Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 computer. First download the Kindle app on your computer, and make sure you have the latest version of NVDA installed.
People who are blind or have low vision may be presented with many challenges daily. Running errands, recognizing faces, performing tasks, or even preparing meals can become overly complicated and frustrating.
VoiceOver is a free built-in screen reader that provides screen magnification, output, and speech for the low vision or blind user. It also has refreshable braille displays that can be connected and used.
Seeing AI is a multipurpose app available on iOS. It allows visually impaired people to read and describe all types of documents placed under a smartphone camera. This app may help blind people read banknotes or product barcodes with ease. It recognizes colors, faces, and images.
Microsoft developed this app, which uses audio 3D technology to describe the environment to people who are blind or have low vision. Soundscape helps blind people perceive their surroundings better. They can use this app even if their smartphones are in their pockets.
Blind Bargains assists people with visual impairment by providing the latest deals in one place. Your friend may use this app to purchase screen readers, braille printers, and other accessible products.
Modern technology and innovation have opened the door to a world of possibilities. They have torn down barriers, making real inroads into improving accessibility. With the help of apps especially designed for the visually impaired, blind people can now live their lives as normal as possible.
The newest iterations of Android offer a number of features that can easily enable the mobile device for those who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing. I will use the Samsung Galaxy S21 particular device to illustrate how Android works when accessibility is in order. Not all needs can be met, but these options can go a long way to help out many users.
AFB's own websites are designed for accessibility, and AFB Tech, AFB's technology division, regularly helps businesses to make their online presence more user friendly for people with disabilities. Initially, the AFB Accessible Player was developed for visitors to the AFB family of websites, but because so many developers are looking for specific solutions to make their websites accessible, AFB made the decision to share the player online.
"As an organization, we are committed to promoting accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired," said Carl R. Augusto, AFB president and CEO. "We encourage developers to download and use this video player. With more than 20 million Americans living with vision loss, a lot of people could benefit from wide use of this player."
About AFBThe American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. Headquartered in New York, AFB is proud to house the Helen Keller Archives and honor the more than 40 years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB.Contact:Tina ChapmanAFB Communications212-502-7614tchapman@afb.net
When people scan mental images, their response times increase linearly with increases in the distance to be scanned, which is generally taken as reflecting the fact that their internal representations incorporate the metric properties of the corresponding objects. In view of this finding, we investigated the structural properties of spatial mental images created from nonvisual sources in three groups (blindfolded sighted, late blind, and congenitally blind). In Experiment 1, blindfolded sighted and late blind participants created metrically accurate spatial representations of a small-scale spatial configuration under both verbal and haptic learning conditions. In Experiment 2, late and congenitally blind participants generated accurate spatial mental images after both verbal and locomotor learning of a full-scale navigable space (created by an immersive audio virtual reality system), whereas blindfolded sighted participants were selectively impaired in their ability to generate precise spatial representations from locomotor experience. These results attest that in the context of a permanent lack of sight, encoding spatial information on the basis of the most reliable currently functional system (the sensorimotor system) is crucial for building a metrically accurate representation of a spatial environment. The results also highlight the potential of spatialized audio-rendering technology for exploring the spatial representations of visually impaired participants. 2ff7e9595c
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