Go to previous article 
Go to next article 
Return to 2000 Table of Contents

Windows 2000 Through The Eyes Of Windows-Eyes

Doug Geoffray
GW Micro, Inc.
Voice 219-489-3671
Fax 219-489-2608
geoffray@gwmicro.com or doug@gwmicro.com

In the past as new software and operating systems were released to the general public, the blind and visually impaired people had to traditionally wait several months if not years before they had equal access. Thankfully, this trend is slowing and in many cases not even an issue.

Adaptive software is making tremendous strides in breaking down this horrible barrier. GW Micro, Inc. is one of the leading companies to help blind and visually impaired people. Microsoft is scheduled to release the latest of operating systems, Windows 2000, by the end of 1999. GW Micro is prepared for this release with it's latest version of Window-Eyes.  Window-Eyes is a Windows based screen reader that has grown to be one of the top screen readers on the market. Window-Eyes started by supporting Windows 3.1x followed by Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium, and finally Windows 2000.

Window-Eyes has a strong reputation for being extremely reliable, stable, and responsive. My plan is to show that none of these features had to be sacrificed to support the latest version of NT. In fact, NT offers additional features that could not be found in older operating systems.  Window-Eyes will be demonstrated running under Windows 2000 in many facets.

1. The operating system in general will be discussed. Some of the unique features that Windows 2000 offers will be demonstrated.
2. Several of the accessories supplied with Windows 2000 will be demonstrated and shown how easy they are to use for blind people.
3. Microsoft Office will be demonstrated and shown it is just as compatible as previous operating systems.
4. Internet Explorer and the power of the Internet will be demonstrated.

| Top |

General questions will be accepted from the audience for the last five minutes.  The basic reason for this session is to show that Windows 2000 can be used just as efficiently, if not more so, by blind and visually impaired people than by sighted friends and coworkers. There is much confusion as to if Windows 2000 is something necessary for a typical user, blind or not. The pros and cons of this will be discussed. All-in-all, this session is to erase all those mysterious concerns/questions that exist about Microsoft NT based operating systems.

Go to previous article 
Go to next article 
Return to 2000 Table of Contents 
Return to Table of Proceedings