JAWS 9.0 with AJAX Support?
Published: Jul 26, 2007RIAs like Ajax often have an accessibility weak spot since they need to work with JavaScript off to meet the basic accessibility guidelines.
Rumour has it that the next version of the popular screen reader Jaws may be able to handle Ajax interfaces.
Accessify’s Ian Lloyd recently made reference on his blog to rumours regarding screen reader Jaws 9.0 possibly having support for Ajax. According to Ian’s source, the release notes for Jaws 8.0 made reference to support for Ajax functionality, however all references were removed prior to launch.
It would be an interesting development if Jaws 9.0 were to support Ajax. Ajax and other similar technologies such as Flex have revolutionised the way in which we interact with the web and have enhanced the user experience significantly. If this increase in usability was available to blind or partially sighted users then their entire experience of the web could be different.
Presumably the new version of Jaws will be using the small data transfers that occur in AJAX as triggers for the screen reading interactions, rather than full page refreshes which is currently used. Still, careful standards-compliant coding of the page will no doubt be necessary.
