NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) is a screen reader for Microsoft Windows that is totally free, yet fully functional and portable; you can download it to your PC or to portable media such as a USB stick.   Browser Compatibility: NVDA works well with Firefox and Chrome. NVDA also has good support for Internet Explorer and […]

JAWS: Job Access with Speech is a screen reader developed by Freedom Scientific. Browser Compatibility: JAWS works well with Chrome and Internet Explorer. Previously, JAWS has worked best with Internet Explorer, and that combination still work well, but Internet Explorer is old and will never be updated with new features, so it is best to […]

Screen readers work with the accessibility API of the operating system and browser The operating system has an accessibility API which conveys information about the names, roles, values, and structure of web content, plus events that should be announced to users. Browsers have additional accessibility architecture features which screen readers can detect and interpret, then […]

Screen readers cannot make inaccessible web sites accessible. The web sites have to be designed with accessibility in mind, or else they won’t be compatible with screen readers. To be compatible with screen readers, web sites must follow the rules in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.   Web accessibility testing with screen readers is […]

Screen readers are software programs that convert digital text into speech (via a software-based voice synthesizer) or Braille output (to a refreshable Braille device). Screen readers have changed computer accessibility for people with disabilities, especially those who are blind and deaf blind, though other people use screen readers too. Screen readers help blind people to […]