Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I am going to prepare my tax return independently for the first time this year, and I truly appreciate Denis Walsh's timely article, Evaluating IRS Free File. I was told that TaxAct is screen-reader accessible and had planned on using that package. Is it accessible? What about Turbo Tax, a for-purchase software?
I hope you can offer some guidance.
Thank you,
Terri Hedgpeth
Response from AccessWorld author Dennis Walsh:
Hello Terri,
Thank you for your nice comment regarding the Free File article. I'm glad that you found it useful.
I was told by an IRS representative last year that TaxAct is accessible, but I did not find this to be the case in my Free File evaluation. Perhaps this is different with their regular online version which I did not evaluate. I don't know if you're a JAWS user, but I know at one time JAWS provided helpful scripts for TaxAct, though this may have been exclusive to their regular online version. I do not know if this is still the case.
In evaluating TaxAct offered through Free File, I found that I was able to establish an account, but the account setup confirmation e-mail I received was inaccessible. JAWS seems to recognize TaxAct screen controls, but I was unable to advance through the Federal Q&A or basic info. I had a similar experience in my second session. The primary navigation links were also not responsive.
My experience with TurboTax was similar. I have been generally disappointed with the accessibility of accounting and tax products offered by Intuit, although I understand the company is making strides as of late in QuickBooks access.
Of the 14 Free File vendors, I found 1040.com and FreeFileUSA to be the most screen-reader friendly. If you live in a state with an income tax and your income is under $30,000, you might also evaluate TaxSlayer, since it also offers a free state return. I found TaxSlayer to be pretty easy to work with also.
Finally, if you don't have a good experience with your first choice, I would encourage you to try another vendor. You won't obligate yourself to file with a particular vendor by simply setting up an account.
Good luck with your tax return.
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
The March edition of AccessWorld is wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ review by Bill Holton and Deborah Kendrick's article about the free Window-Eyes for users of Microsoft Office offer.
Thanks,
David Goldfield
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I thought Bill Holton's March article, Accessibility of the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, was a generally good review. However, I wish the article had pointed out a major shortcoming of the Kindle Fire vs the Kindle—it's more expensive, and one must either have a WiFi and/or cellular connection to buy and download books, as opposed to the Kindle Paperwhite, which lets you buy and download books from anywhere. I resent having to pay more for a somewhat accessible Kindle device that doesn't give me the same purchase and download functionality as a cheaper Kindle. I wish the article had pointed out this significant shortcoming.
Regards,
John Riehl
Response from AccessWorld author Bill Holton:
The Kindle Paperwhite that allows you to download books anytime is the Paperwhite 3G, which I note today (March 17, 2014) at the Amazon Kindle website is priced at $189. On the same page is listed a Kindle Fire HD, which includes the same accessibility features as the HDX model I tested, for just $139. I have also received any number of e-mails this past month offering the HDX for up to half off. So to me, at least, it looks like a customer would be paying for the Paperwhite's anytime download feature both in cash and features.
Also, I am not sure how this is different from other tablets, which start out at the low end with Wi-Fi only devices and then go up to the more powerful and expensive 3G models. That said, while I certainly respect your point, the intent of this piece was to introduce the accessibility features in the new Kindle line and to show AccessWorld readers that accessibility is no longer a deal breaker.
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I wish to comment on Janet Ingber's article in the March issue, A New Music Streaming Service: iTunes Radio is Here. I just purchased my first Mac, and I am finding it to work great. Kudos to Apple for including VoiceOver on its devices at no extra charge, thereby embracing the idea of universal accessibility. Prior to reading her very helpful article, I had no idea iTunes Radio was brand-new. I played around with it a bit, and I'm quite impressed. The sound quality is very good.
Best regards,
Jake Joehl
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I read the evaluation of the accessibility for the new Kindle models in the March issue. I am a Bookshare member, and I am wondering if there is an app like Read2go that can run on the Kindle and will allow you to read Bookshare documents. Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Harmony
Response from AccessWorld author Bill Holton,
Unfortunately, the Amazon app store does not currently offer an app that will read Bookshare books. The developers of the Go Read Android app are looking into ways they could support the Kindle, but for now the only way you could use a Kindle Fire HDX to read a Bookshare book would be to use the Silk browser to read books on the Bookshare site directly.
Thanks for your question.
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
The Chromecast is amazing if you run Android. I have had no problems using my Android tablet to both set up and control my Chromecast. Google has been keeping accessibility for the blind in mind a lot more in recent years, and giant leaps have been made to Google's offerings to make them more accessible.
One example of this is the Accessible Search project. Google took what they learned from that and rolled the best parts into the main Google search page.
Granted, the set-up process of the Chromecast could use just a small amount of work, but it would be hard to make the process fully accessible due to technical limitations of the Chromecast itself. The problem is that not all devices communicate the same way, so it would be easy to have an Android tablet tell Chromecast that it is running accessibility and more feedback is needed, but Apple keeps things under wraps about the status of accessibility features. Not only this, but Windows does not report screen reader use at all. This means that there is no way to have Chromecast already know you need more help. Sighted users would probably find a question relating to spoken feedback as an unnecessary step. The only way the codes would not match is if you had two people setting up Chromecasts side by side and a slight mix-up occurred, so it's safe to assume they match. The code is also written in large letters near the bottom right of the TV screen, making it easy to see for people with partial vision.
Finally I would like to add that the device was built to be used primarily with the Chrome web browser, as well as Chromebooks and Android devices. Google only opened the door to iOS and Apple as an afterthought. If you do not fully embrace the open nature that is Google's offerings, then the Chromecast is not for you, and you should stick to shelling out double if not triple the price of Google's products for something that in the honest view of myself, was designed for people who aren't exactly tech savvy. I give Apple credit for making its products very accessible, but now there's a choice. Even though there may be a few bugs and snags, I prefer Google's more open approach.
Thanks,
John Lewis
