Tips for a blind writer?

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Shalon

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I'm posting this for a friend who is blind. He is longing for the days of Dos 5.1 -- however, his text-to-voice software doesn't work with Dos.

He was complaining bitterly about how difficult it is to write with Word, and how he loved WordPerfect from the good old days.

Anyone here know of any affordable (free?) software or tips to help a blind writer get back to a comfort zone?

Thanks in advance for your help...
 

DarienW

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If the old computer isn't dead, can't s/he still use it?

Assuming no, I think Dragon is the cheapest, but I can't imagine the challenges for a blind writer. My heart goes out to your friend and I thank you for supporting s/he.

I tried Dragon briefly, but it takes a while to get all your speech right, think of speech to text on a phone. It was similar and I didn't use it long enough to see how it developed. I mostly needed it to just listen.

:Hug2:
 

Shalon

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I think he touch types, and that's not the problem (voice to text). The problem is that he needs to edit and for that he uses a text to voice software.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.
 

cbenoi1

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Jarte? http://www.jarte.com/

Jarte has become a particularly popular word processor for the blind community due to its special screen reader mode. When Jarte detects the presence of a running screen reader program it starts in screen reader mode with an interface that is specifically designed to maximize accessibility via screen reader programs. An example of Jarte's screen reader friendliness is its pop-up menu driven spell check feature which directs the screen reader to audibly spell out misspellings and spelling suggestions. Jarte Plus also provides an optional audible notice when it detects a misspelled word has just been typed. Jarte is committed to being a great word processor choice for the visually impaired.

Jarte may also be the best portable word processor available. Jarte can easily be run directly from a USB flash drive (or even a DropBox folder), so your word processor is always ready for you no matter what PC you're using, providing the ultimate experience in portable word processing.

-cb
 

AW Admin

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I'm posting this for a friend who is blind. He is longing for the days of Dos 5.1 -- however, his text-to-voice software doesn't work with Dos.

He was complaining bitterly about how difficult it is to write with Word, and how he loved WordPerfect from the good old days.

Anyone here know of any affordable (free?) software or tips to help a blind writer get back to a comfort zone?

Thanks in advance for your help...

It's still possible to run WordPerfect 5.1 in a special DOS mode under Windows.

He would need to talk to someone proficient with Windows, but I've been reliable informed by a colleague that it's quite doable.
 

Shalon

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Thank you, CB and .... ? Admin guy. I have passed on both of those options to him.

I think the problem is that he needs someone (like me) to do the research and install it all, and then teach him how to use it because just the effort of researching, installing and learning is an obstacle. After a certain point, he just gets sick of asking for help from people because he needs help with so much.

I like the idea of Jarte, because it does seem to be catered to blind people, but again the barrier of having to learn an entirely new system is large. Whereas simply installing Wordperfect on his Windows machine is a pain in the butt for me, but then he would be able to get straight to work.

We'll see! Thanks!
 

AW Admin

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Thank you, CB and .... ? Admin guy. I have passed on both of those options to him.

I think the problem is that he needs someone (like me) to do the research and install it all, and then teach him how to use it because just the effort of researching, installing and learning is an obstacle. After a certain point, he just gets sick of asking for help from people because he needs help with so much.

I like the idea of Jarte, because it does seem to be catered to blind people, but again the barrier of having to learn an entirely new system is large. Whereas simply installing Wordperfect on his Windows machine is a pain in the butt for me, but then he would be able to get straight to work.

We'll see! Thanks!

I suspect that Canada offers support for technology use for disabled people. Ask at the public library?

There's a lot for visually disabled users in terms of computers, but it's something that needs to be tailored for that specific user.
 

KBooks

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The NVDA screen reader is free to download, although a donation is requested in order to support the software being made available free to all.
 
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