John,

Jaws is probably the most powerful screen reading product on the
market and is also costly. In terms of configuration it is
certainly the most flexible but as a result can be a bit
complicated.
You can download a fully functioning demo at
www.freedomscientific.com.
The demo times out after 40 minutes. You an run it again after
rebooting.

Because Jaws is so popular, there are several mail lists
dedicated to jaws users that are very helpful and I would suggest
looking at both my web site www.NLSpro.com and
www.BlindProgramming.com for additional information.

As far as e-mail programs go, my mom is 83 and well beyond
legally blind. She has been happily using Juno, www.Juno.com for
several years. Outlook express is quite manageable as well and
she is now using both.

The advantage with Juno is it is free and includes it's own USA
dialup connections if you want to use them. Of course, you do
receive several adverts via e-mail every day and there are also
two splash screens at startup. Not a big nuisance but something
to be aware of.

Also, they offer 2 levels of paid membership. With a paid account
you do not get the advert e-mails and you also have no obligation
with their distributed computing plans. So far the free accounts
can also opt out but I do not know what their plans are.
My mom has the cheap plan, something like $30 per year but I only
occasionally see that plan offered. You will have to look
carefully.

Daine Pearson
Natural Light & Sound
E-Mail: MailTo:[log in to unmask]
WebSite: www.NLSpro.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: John A. Byerly [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 18:55
> Subject: JAWS
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> My mother currently is legally blind and has been
> searching for ways to use
> e-mail.  She has heard about JAWS, but is a bit
> hesitant to spend the money
> because she was very disappointed with a screen reader
> she evaluated.  I
> told her I would ask around.
>
> Does anyone on this list have experience with JAWS?
> Is it helpful?  Do you
> need to be able to see to configure it?
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
> JAB
> --------------------------------------------------------
> John A. Byerly
> Engineered Software Solutions, Ltd.
> http://www.ess-quality.com
> (724) 598-7990 (voice)
> (724) 598-7992 (fax)
>