Provide low cost information technology solutions, NVDA

Jul 15, 2023

Contents

NVDA Product description Background of Production NV Access About Current Screen Reader Status reference

I think NVDA has created a flow of use screen readers for free. That's why I want to introduce NVDA and you can see the power of the open source Development.

NVDA

Product description

NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is software that allows blind and vision impaired people to independently interact with the Windows Operating System and popular third party applications by outputting content in either synthetic speech or via a refreshable Braille Display. Developed by NV Access in partnership with a dedicated open source community, NVDA enables blind and vision impaired people to increase their chances at education and employment, and to participate in and contribute to society.

Background of Production

Michael Curran and James Teh met as children on a music camp for the blind, where they realised they shared a strong interest in computers. Several years later they decided to join forces to help improve the accessibility of computers for blind and vision impaired people.

For blind people to use a computer, they need a screen reader which reads the text on the screen in a synthetic voice or with a braille display. But in many cases screen reading software costs more than the computer itself(usual $3000 cost).

https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/

In the past this has left computers inaccessible to millions of blind people around the world. This is a critical problem, because without computers, access to education and employment is severely limited, not to mention everyday functions such as online banking, shopping and news.

In April 2006 Michael began to develop a free screen reader called NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) for use with computers running on Windows. He invited James, who had recently completed his IT degree, to develop the software with him.

Together these two fully blind men founded the not-for-profit organisation NV Access to support the development of the NVDA screen reader. Before too long they were able to work full-time on the project thanks to a series of corporate grants and individual donations.

NVDA has been translated by volunteers into more than 55 languages, and been used by people in more than 175 countries. It has also won multiple awards.

NVDA is open source software, which means the code is accessible to anyone. This enables translators and developers around the world to continually contribute to its expansion and improvement.

NV Access

NV Access was established in early 2007 as a result of the increasing support needs of the NVDA project. NV Access develops and supports free and open source software that facilitates access to technology for blind and vision impaired people. We do this by employing developers, providing technical resources such as internet hosting and development tools, and facilitating attendance at conferences and events. As we are a non-profit organisation, our work is funded primarily through grants and donations.

The purpose of NV Access is to lower the economic and social barriers associated with accessing Information Technology for people who are Blind or Vision Impaired. The company is thus dedicated to the ideal that accessibility and equitable access is a right and should not come as an extra cost to a person who is Blind or Vision Impaired. In a world where information and technology are an increasingly important part of daily living, this ideal facilitates greater participation and independence in all facets of life , most importantly within the areas of education and obtaining employment.

About Current Screen Reader Status

In May - June 2021, WebAIM surveyed preferences of screen reader users. We received 1568 valid responses. Data below shows the answer to each question.

Which of the following desktop/laptop screen readers do you commonly use?

Usage of JAWS and Narrator increased notably over the last two years, with NVDA and VoiceOver usage decreasing. Narrator—freely available in Windows for several years(Narrator is a screen-reading app that's built into since Windows 10(2015), so there's nothing you need to download or install.)—is the primary screen reader of only .5% of respondents, but commonly used by 41.3% of respondents (up from 21.4% in 2017 and 30.3% in 2019).

What operating system are you on when using your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?

Response	# of respondents	% of respondents
Windows	1412	91.1%
Mac	101	6.5%
Linux	22	1.4%
Other	15	1.0%

Respondents without disabilities were almost 4 times more likely to use Mac OS than respondents with disabilities.

How did you obtain your primary desktop/laptop screen reader?

Response	# of Respondents	% of Respondents
I downloaded it free of charge from the Internet	447	37.0%
I bought it myself	274	22.7%
It was provided to me by my employer	157	13.0%
It came with my computer or operating system	146	12.1%
It was received through a government program	134	11.1%
I'm using a pirated version of a commercial screen reader	17	1.4%
It was provided to me by my school	13	1.1%
I'm using a trial version of a commercial screen reader	3	0.2%
Other	18	1.5%