This was posted to the British computer association for the blind
mailing list.
---- forwarded message ----
From: Techno-Vision Systems Ltd <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: bcab BBC Radio Interview with Microsoft.
Please forgive the cross posting. The following is a transcript of an
interview with two members of the Microsoft Active Accessibility Team.
Please excuse any errors or omissions.
"In Touch", questions and answers, 13 January 1998.
Jane Copsey of B.B.C Radio 4's "In Touch" Program put some listeners
questions to Luanne Lalonde and Jeff Witt.
The first question came from Gordon Keen, who has a son in the business.
My son, he says who is a software tester for Microsoft has been reviewing
the documentation for Windows N.T version 5 Beta (that's the large
powerful version of Windows that businesses normally use) and his son
tells him that it makes reference to the screen reader that allows speech
output for visually impaired users. now, the e-mail says, are Microsoft
really building a screen reader into windows n.t.? Can you find out more?
okay, who's going to take this one, Jeff Witt?
Can you tell us more please?.
It will have speech in fact it has our latest text to speech engine as we
say from our research lab and that text to speech engine is the thing that
allows programs to speak just about everything in English given certain
commands. So in addition to that speech engine you get the screen reader
program now the screen reader that will be included with windows n.t is not
the kind of screen reader that most visually impaired people are used to
using rather its a smaller screen reader, a simpler one geared for
specifically for beginning users and also for working with these
components that are included with the system.
Question from Jane.
So you are not thinking of replacing the screen readers that have been
painstakingly developed by the various independent developers of screen
readers?
Answer from Jeff.
No...
Jane Again.
Who are somewhat dancing up and down as I understand it when these rumors
started circulating, saying, you know Microsoft were always saying they
wouldn't develop screen readers and now there doing it, can you confirm
that your not?
Answer from Jeff.
Correct we are not competing with existing screen readers. We do not in
any way want to take away anybody's business by providing this
functionality, and I can't think of any users that would be able to use the
screen reader that we will include for all their purposes. It's really for
those situations where they are using a machine other than their normal
machine for essential functionality.
Question from Jane.
I understand there's also going to be a large display, a screen enhancing
software with the next release of windows, Ordinary windows, Windows 98 in
fact. Again is this going to be a fully fledged screen reader or is it
going to be something that will just enlarge the menus?
Answer From Jeff.
No again its not a full functioning magnification program or screen
reader. There will be a program included both in Windows 98 and Windows
NT 95 called "Magnifier", that enlarges a portion of the screen in a window.
Same story. Really the functionality you get in the box is to get you by.
If you want to do more sophisticated things you will need a regular utility
from a specialist company.
Second Listeners Question From Steve Plumpton of Coventry, Chairman of
B.C.A.B, That's the British computer association for the blind.
Last October, he says Microsoft brought out a new version of a web
browser, Internet explorer, this was version 4, and they had promised
that it would include some extra accessibility features to help disabled
users, known as M.A.S.A. Now M.S.A.A. is already included in version
3.2 of this and people found it helpful, but when version 4 did hit the
streets the features weren't there. In other words, it was taking a step
backwards. And though there has been recently a new release 4.1 which DOES
have these M.S.A.A. features this has caused problems for screen reader
designers and their customers trying to keep up with all this erratic state
of affairs. Steve says, its welcome of course that Microsoft are
introducing more accessibility, but why can't they stick to new features
once they have started them off?
Answer from Luanne.
I think you should see much more of that, "Stick to it", I guess, if you want
to call it that, from Microsoft in the future. An end user who needs that
kind of functionality would want to get Microsoft Internet explorer 4.01
and I think a lot of people have gotten that message but Microsoft does
apologize for the fact we did, you know there was quite a bit of confusion
when the first version did come out and the Internet explorer team is very
committed to keeping up with M.S.A.A. now and a lot of Microsoft has now re
committed to M.S.A.A. and accessibility in general and Steve's point is
very well taken but, I think he'll see a change in Microsoft in this regard
in the future so I think people can be a bit calmed by that.
Windows though Windows 98, Windows N.T. 95 will have it built in so an
end user working with a screen reader say and needs M.S.A.A. in order to
use that, right now they're getting M.S.A.A. from their screen reader
manufacturer, they may not know that but that's how they get it now. In
the future it will be built in to Windows and you won't even have to think
about it.
More next week.
[end of interview]
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