Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 12:12:02 +1000 (AEST) From: Jason White To: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Subject: [opendos] Accessibility of OpenDOS with braille and speech output devices Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net Precedence: bulk It is pleasing to note that there has been some discussion on this list of the desirability of ensuring that OpenDOS is accessible to people who use speech synthesizers to read the screen. I would personally not be opposed to the inclusion of an option that would enable direct writing to video memory, provided that it could readily be deactivated by users who preferred to rely on the BIOs. I would encourage the developers of OpenDOS to consider the needs of people who are using braille display devices and speech synthesizers when designing improvements to the operating system. I plan to download OpenDOS later this week and to test it with one of my computers, which uses a speech synthesizer for output. I have heard that some multitasking environments under DOS interfere with the operation of screen access programmes that drive braille displays and speech synthesizers. These programmes are essentially TSR applications which monitor screen output, for example by capturing text that is sent to the BIOS. They also control the keyboard to enable the user to review the screen selectively and to modify the parameters of the braille display or speech synthesizer while other programmes (for example, word processors, DOS utilities, or command.com) are running. The availability of a multitasking, text-based version of DOS with support for internet access would be a significant advantage to many people with vision impairments and related disabilities who require alternative output devices. It is desirable therefore that future versions of OpenDOS be compatible with screen reading software, including the multitasking system, the network support and any other options that are to be added. Regards, Jason White.