NVDA an open source free screen reader

Posted by jpgreer on 3/13/2007 at 7:38 PM

Here is a link to an open source screen reader called NVDA or Non Visual Desktop Access. It has the ability to navigate the Windows desktop, browse the internet using Internet Explorer and Mozzilla Firefox, it works with Microsoft applications like Word, Eccell, Outlook and Outlook Express, and much more. Go to http://www.nvaccess.org/nvda/ and check it out.

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Re: NVDA an open source free screen reader

Hi, I am happy with NVDA on my refurbished computer and have found the digest form which one can subscribe too, frequently helpful to a given concern on using NVDA. So far, people are courteous and respond within a reasonable amount of time to questions I have raised about using NVDA.
Once I get over my own angst about transitioning from Jaws to fully embracing NVDA, will then be good to go.
My work computer uses jaws, and this has been my screen reader for 10 or so years.
I suppose once the virtual company for whom I work, catches wind of NVDA being a free screen reader, they will think twice about continuing with Jaws unless they and Freedom Scientific have a good marriage going!

Re: NVDA an open source free screen reader

jpgreer, i want to thank you for standing up for the new version of nvda. mine doesn't crash or anything. aleser, the only reason jaws takes up less space is because it isn't free or opensource. it is outrageously priced. no one can afford it. so is window eyes. i wouldn't be surprised if everyone eventually switched to nvda. ms

Re: NVDA an open source free screen reader

collegeboy, it means it is free. opensource, free. ms

Re: NVDA an open source free screen reader

Hi, I posted elsewhere before noticing this thread is here. Where can I get a list of command keys to braille out so as to help myself transition from Jaws to NVDA?
David

Re: NVDA an open source free screen reader

I use NVDA too and love it. I installed it on 2 computers at an office where I work, but I haven't used it there in awhile and it probably needs to be updated. But I installed the latest stable release on a Dell laptop which I got for Christmas last year, and it works flawlessly. Now if I could only figure out these plug-ins I'd be one happy camper not to mention unstoppable! In addition, if I had the resources to do so I would donate a whopping sum to NV Access in a heartbeat. Theirs is truly a fantastic screen reader and I hope they can continue to develop it.

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

I caught this on the AT Network Blog:
"Luckily the two programmers [NVDA] don't have too much qualm about people changing voice engines. So I use IVONA Emma II British English Voice Engine on NVDA, and the result is promising ..."
===gm===

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

I've been using NVDA for about two and a half years now as my primary screen reader. I use it for running my business, and it does everything I need it to do. When I first started using NVDA, I had been using JAWS for about 12 years and after using NVDA for two weeks, I completely stopped using JAWS. I'm a semi-power computer user and nVDA is a great screen reader!

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

I absolutely love NVDA. It is my backup screen reader for times when my PC gets overloded. I can just bring it up and fix any problems I was having I hope to be able to support it's growth and development inthe future.

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

Hand to Mouth: Assistive Technology
http://hand2mouth.wordpress.com/feed/
led me to Screen Reader Central
http://screenreadercentral.klangoblog.net/
which reports on screen reader NVDA 2010.2. It has lots of details.

BTW, 'nvda vs jaws" can be found on the TeenConnect message board.

===gm===

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

Hi. My name is chris. I use nvda too. I have the latest version of it. It also works with windows vista. Nvda works better with windows vista more than windows xp. I used nvda with windows xp at school and it crashed the computer a lot.

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

open source software means that the source code is open for the public to download, modify and change. For example if there is a feature in NVDA that someone wants to see put in NVDA, if the person knows how to program in the Python programming language, he or she can download the source code program it and submit the changes to the NVDA team. But yeah in short, open source means that programmers and everyday users for that matter, can download the source code and program for it. As for the earlier post of it was crappy and it crashed, I would suggest downloading it and trying it again. The other advantage to open source software is it can change and bugs can get fixed much more rapidly than closed source software in most cases. What is closed source software? Closed source is software like Microsoft Windows, Window Eyes etc., that you can't download the program code for. Another example of a bit of software that is open source is the Linux operating system. What is Linux? Linux is the operating system That runs about 80 or 90 percent of the internet servers around the world. What is an internet server? It is the computer that allows you to get on messenger, check email, post messages to AFB's message boards, and most likely runs AFB's website.

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

the new address of the nvda is http://www.nvda-project.org/ kindly visit the new one.

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

I would suggest against NVDA unless you -absolutely- need to use it due to lack of financial resources. It is quite buggy, crashed multiple times on my system, and ate my cpu (JAWS uses alot less, which is saying something)

Re:NVDA an open source free screen reader

Thanks! I don't know what this software is for yet but I hear this term open source used a lot by people around the campus. I am totally blind. I am trying to get all of the software that I can to help me succeed in my information technology course.