Michael Gaigg: Über UI/UX Design

Get started with Screen Readers

Posted by Michael Gaigg

Browsers

The following browsers have support for Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) and are supported by several screen readers that also offer support for ARIA.

• Firefox 3
• Internet Explorer 8
• Opera (has support for ARIA but isn't supported by screen readers)

Screen Readers

The most popular screen readers for Windows are:

• JAWS (free demo, Standard: $895, Professional: $1,095)
• Window-Eyes (free demo, Standard: $895)
• NVDA (Firefox 3 only, Open Source under GNU 2)

Installation

Please refer to Todd Kloots' fine blog entry on how to 'Configure your machine for testing with a screen reader'. This is a summary of his installation steps:

1. Install virtualization software
2. Install browsers & take a snapshot of that state
3. Install and configure screen readers
4. Restart the virtual machine & take a snapshot of that state

Which screen reader are you using? What are your experiences?