Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Output Devices

The normal sources of output for most everyday computer usage are the monitor and speakers. Captioning or transcripts can be of assistance, or users can turn to:

Screen readers

Most screen readers are programs that interpret and interface with the actions that occur within the operating system and the applications that run on it. They provide extensive functionality through keystroke combinations and offer specific modes for specific functions. For example, Freedom Scientific’s JAWS (http://www.freedomscientific.com) has normal reading, tables reading, and forms modes. They generally read some combination of the rendered HTML on the screen and do so based on source order. Other screen readers include: Window Eyes (GW Micro, http://www.gwmicro.com), HAL (Automated Living, http://www.automatedliving.com), and SuperNova (Dolphin Computer Access, http://www.dolphincomputeraccess.com).

Screen magnifiers

Used by people with low vision, screen magnifier software simply provides an enlarged view of the onscreen text and graphics. Examples include ZoomText (Ai Squared Software, http://www.aisquared.com), SuperNova, and MAGic (Freedom Scientific).

Aural browsers

Similar in function to screen readers, aural browsers are specialized for web use and provide less functionality than a full screen reader. Some examples are Home Page Reader (IBM, http://www-3.ibm.com/able/solution_offerings/hpr.html), which is a standalone program, and Connect Outloud (Freedom Scientific) and Browsealoud ...