Visual impairment
Software for the blind and visually impaired has always been expensive, and unfortunately this trend is continuing, if not worsening. There are other possible options if your visual impairment is not severe. Using a standard screen reader aimed at the literacy market, or altering your Windows settings, will vastly reduce the cost, but there are people who won't find those options satisfactory.
Software for the blind and visually impaired is packaged in one of three ways: a screen reader that will speak out loud what is displayed on the screen, a screen magnifier that will magnify a part of the screen and display it in an enlarged version elsewhere, and a combination of both screen reader and magnifier.
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Jaws A screen reader for use by people with no vision or very limited sight. It can give you spoken tips about how to use Windows.
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Another Lens This is a useful alternative to the Windows magnifier. It enlarges the area around the mouse cursor inside a box that can easily be resized. |
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Power Talk A program that automatically speaks the text in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
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SuperNova SuperNova is extremely useful software that combines a magnifier and screen-reader with a Braille output function.
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Accessible Podcatcher An accessible program for receiving podcasts (audio files such as news) on your computer. It has been designed to be easy to use for the visually impaired.
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iZoom A screen reader and magnifier for the visually impaired.
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