Category: Geeks r Us
Hey!
I just downloaded the free thunder screenreader. Has anyonen else used it and liked it?
I personally don't like it.
First of all at the website it doesn't say when the last version was uploaded so we wouldn't know if we have the latest version and when we need to update.
There is an update button in the thunder interface which doesn't seam to do anything. Also it doesn't seam to save the changes we make.
Another thing that i don't like is the fact that the installer installs webbie and the accessible programs without asking so if somebody already has got them they will have them twice. Also it installs sapi4 voices without asking. I think thunder should come with those additional applications but it should ask before installing.
I personally like more the NVDA free screen reader at www.nvda-project.org and system access to go www.satogo.com.
They are both free.
I don't like Thunder Screen Reader. I've heard the latest version but the person who was using it heard the start up sound then no speech. For some reason, it had all the accessible programs. I thought the old version was really rubbish, because it used microsoft sam voice.
I have never used Thunder screen reader. I have got window-eyes 5.5. I don't know anything about Thunder.
I've never used thunder but I've used nvda. It comes in handy when my copy of window eyes 6.1 stops working. I tried system access to go but you have to have internet access to use it.
I've used Thunder screen reader my experience with it: it's very bad. Not really accessible and the Microsoft SAPI4 and 5 5Bleahoices ... bleh! I like the new one that ships with Windows Vista. I haven't tried out NVDA, but thinking about trying out that soon
---Dom.
No, I didn't like Thunder either. You couldn't change the voice, and like someone said, the accessible programs it comes with are nice, but there should be an option of whether you want to install them or not. Plus I don't like the fact that it would automatically start up when my computer starts. That makes it start slower. That's why I turn JAWS on after I start, because enough crap comes up as it is when my computer starts.
Ok, i've used thunder, but I didn't like it much. I didn't care about the voice, because unlike most of u, i like sam't voice, and I don't care what voice I use. O, and u can turn it off at startup, its in the preferences. But, I will agree that they should ask u about the other applications, instead of just going ahead, and installing them.
Microsoft cram can go die.
As for this screen reader please refer to the 50000 screen reader topic it will answer a lot of yoru questions. Why are we bothering to use it we all know it blows and we have nvda that is already further developed. and I look down on those developers who insist on recreating the wheel.
Squiggles, that post didnt' contribute anything. Firstly, Microsoft "crap" does not suck, that view is distorted and you're simply wrong, I find people who are into Apple or linux are fanatically wrong about Microsoft and their "hate" of Ms makes me think they're propaganda for their OS of choice is misplaced, it's kind of like a super religious person with 30 panflets who chases you around every day trying to convert you, it turns me off of trying those things, seeing how the users of such technologies behave (on this site you have gentlemen like mr Willy the Woof who has got me genuinely interested in trying out Voiceover, although I'd never admit it of course).
Thunder is a lousy screen reader, it is true. But the point is there are many ways to write screen readers, both of getting the information from the OS and presenting it to the users, that's why we have many screen readers. In addition, of course, the code of the commercial screen readers, sadly (or not), is a trade secret so they do not publish or reveal how they do this for others to use as basis for further development. That's the beauty of the open source movement. If you don't believe that writing a screen reader is a lot of work, tgo check the NVDA blog and see the types of issues they are dealing with. I'm happy that reader is open source, I think it could prompt a lot of progress, although I am mostly hoping for better communication between the OS and the screen readers, I hope the video intercepting technique will be replaced by better adherence to MSAA and direct APIs, Vista has already come a long way and you see companies like Adobe do a lot of good things providing information programatically.
So, the argument still stands that many different screen readers can be developed that do slightly different things, if we stick to mr Squiggles way of doing things we'd still have Word Perfect, Dos and Lotus Notes, because who needs more than one Word processor, heck, we would've cancelled two out of 3 operating systems, why do we need anything besides Windows, they all do the same thing after all (yes, yes, the fanatics will jump on this and point out that unix was the first and that Ms stole their ideas from Apple etc, I am well aware of the fact).
I find it sad and ignorant when users start their posts with "Microsoft is crap" and it lends no credibility to the remainder of their posts, whether they have something interesting to say or not.
I really like what I've been seeing with System Access, I think we might finally be getting somewhere with a low cost and effective screen reader, they try to avoid the video intercept work arounds and I believe that Linovo desktops will start shipping with SA pre installed soon (at least some line of their PCs) and that's a huge step, I think the screen reader should not be a part of the U.S. but that the manufacturers should strongly consider shipping their PC with a working screen reader, that's the way to go.
cheers
-B
I agree with B, put don't try to change his mind on anything. Once its set, its set, and theirs no way of getting him to change his mind once its set on something.
Damned straight, because I'm not a follower. I don't follow the rest of the sheep into buying loads of useless shit. you can have several ways of presenting the information from the o/s to the listener, but at the end of the day, what the hell is the difference? Do not, ever, compare a screen reader to a word processor it doesn't not make sense. And dont' give me a car analogy. you cannot compare this to anything because it is a specific argument. i dont' bash microsoft. I'm jsut pointing out the many many flaws and you people dont' like to hear about it. and I'm sorry for htis.
Ok, I'll post one mroe thing on this and then quit it, because I don't want any geek related discussion to deteriorate into Apple vs Microsoft discussions but I just have to comment on a few things from this post:
How does the first line from your previous post "Microsoft cram can go die." not be Microsoft bashing, is this may be a sentence that really means "I have nothing against Microsoft".
Secondly you present no argument why screen readers and Word processors can not be compared, there are many ways of achieving the same functionality with both, both have fairly standard interfaces, internal processing of information, Word processors do store the information so they have a wider functionality in a sense, but I disagree that those cannot be compared, because they very much can be, just like media players, email software, browsers etc. Why do we have FireFox and Internet Explorer (forget I asked, you'll probably say because Explorer sucks, which it doesn't, if it did it wouldn't have 90% of the market, even if I actually prefer Firefox by now, if we followed your arguments we surely wouldn't have Firefox). And in any case you said that comparing Word Processors and Screen readers makes sense (well, you actually said that it doesn't not make sense) since we have a double negative it clearly means you agree with me, which is a happy thought.
Once again, I agree with ya B. Dude, watch your sentence structure, if u don't want that happening. Mike.
Hell its got 90% of the market because to many people are dumb enough to go get firefox. You saying my grandmom is going to say "hey cody show me how to go get firefox". So, yes it does blow, because of the security holes, however no one who is a minor computer user cares about FF.
Sam sounds horrendus
you are going to compare an email client to a screen reader? hahahaha gotta here this one.
Please express your thoughts on why IE is better than FF. Oh and not to mention that its coded into the o/s itself how could anyone not use it sheeesh.