For the visually impaired, there is no such thing as a comprehensive guide to Microsoft Windows. Sure, there are thousand-page books describing all of its features in detail, and there are shorter texts that can teach you useful tips and tricks for getting things done using the Windows operating system. But when it comes to accessibility, most of these reference works mention the fact that several built-in accessibility features are available, then skate ahead to the next topic.
Imagine how lengthy a book would have to be to cover Windows thoroughly, including the accessibility features. In the August issue of AccessWorld, AW readers were treated to Tamas Geczy's excellent article, Stepping Over The Threshold: Windows 10 In 10,000 Words, and at this length the author could take only a cursory look at the new Windows 10 features.
The introduction of Windows 10 has stimulated a number of questions among the sight-impaired community. "Should I upgrade from my current Windows installation, which seems to be working fine?" "If I do upgrade, can I do it myself, or will I need sighted help?" "I've heard the new Start Menu is different; is it going to be difficult to learn how to use it and will it work with my current accessibility solutions?" One of the first eBooks that attempts to answer some of these questions is Making Windows 10 Easy to See, by Quentin Christensen. The book is available using PayPal for $20 AU (approximately $13.98 US at the time of publication) from 22point.
The book is available in ePub format. It is fairly brief; I read it from cover to cover in less than two and a half hours on my iPhone using Voice Dream Reader. It can also be accessed using Google Books on either an Android phone or Windows PC.
As mentioned above, any book that deals with Windows 10 is only going to be able to cover a tiny slice of the available material. The slice Christensen has chosen to tackle is announced right there in the title: Making Windows Easy to See. The book is aimed at low vision individuals who can benefit from Microsoft's built-in accessibility features, primarily Screen Magnifier and Narrator. Family members and others interested in assisting an individual with a visual impairment set up and use a new computer are also targeted. The author mentions another book in the "Making Windows Easy" series, Making Windows Easy with NVDA, however this eBook is not yet available. Christensen has stated that copies of this eBook will be free to purchasers of the current book, when, and—a bit worrisome—if it is completed. In the meantime, he feels there is much useful information for screen reader users in this book as well, and I do agree, to a point.
The book includes 11 chapters and an equal number of appendices, all of which are well-formatted for eBook reader or software navigation. Each chapter includes a detailed summary, which is handy for moderate to experienced accessible computer users who will wish to skip ahead. The author includes step by step learning activities for each covered topic, then concludes with a summary of information covered, then rounds things out with a brief quiz. There is no answer key; some of the answers are in the preceding text, others are open-ended and designed to help the reader determine what accessibility choices are best for him or her.
The book begins with a pair of chapters introducing first the book, its layout, and conventions, and then computer hardware. In the latter chapter, the author appropriately describes the differences between desktops, laptops, tablets, and convertibles. This is useful information for the novice computer user with vision loss, and the chapter includes many valid observations regarding comparative screen size, speaker quality, and port configurations. The rest of this section seems a bit overdone, however. The novice user can only become confused and possibly intimidated by a discussion of processor cores, memory speed, and the comparative value of spinning versus solid state hard drives. Especially in these days when nearly any computer on the store shelves is up to the job, even with the extra overhead of screen readers and magnifiers.
For most readers the real meat of this book begins with Chapter 3, where the author offers an excellent, step-by-step guide to installing Windows 10, either via upgrading an existing installation of Windows 7 or 8.1, or using a DVD copy of the OS. My only qualm here is that when the installation reaches the point where either Narrator or Magnifier can be enabled to complete the installation, the author basically offers up a few hotkeys, suggests that they be turned on, and directs the reader to a much later chapter to learn more about them. A bit more is needed here, though I do commend the author for his use of both keyboard commands and mouse clicks here and in the rest of the book's learning activities, which serve both low vision and blind readers.
It's at Chapter 4 where, for me at least, the book steers a bit off the rails. The entirety of this chapter, along with more than half the links listed in "Appendix 10: Resources and Further Reading" are devoted to ergonomics. This is an important topic, especially to low-vision users for whom avoiding eye strain is critical. I also agree with the author when he opines that learning touch typing is an absolute necessity for users of accessibility. He suggests a typing tutor program, however he offers no software names or download links. He does, however, discuss in great depth stretching exercises, tips for choosing of chair and keyboard, and several other topics which do not seem to belong here. Perhaps the entire chapter should have been condensed, or confined to the book's first, "Using the PC Comfortably" appendix. Especially since when we left our intrepid novice, he or she was sitting in front of a freshly installed copy of Windows 10, willing, able, but not quite ready to go.
The next several chapters take the reader from turning on the computer to exploring the desktop, navigating program ribbons and menus, with a break in the middle for a deeper dive into the various components of the Microsoft Ease of Access Center. Most of the material in these chapters is well written, and aimed toward first time accessibility users, and it tends to be PC-centric. Windows Tablets and touch screen convertibles are mentioned, and especially for many low-vision users their close-up viewing potential may be preferable to a fixed desktop or heavy laptop PC. However there are no touch screen specific activities, or even a mention of the touch screen methods to toggle Narrator and Magnifier on.
With that exception, I found the step-by-step learning activities well executed. Unfortunately, they conclude far too soon. The reader is introduced to WordPad and the Windows Calculator, and by the end of the book he or she is able to open a program, enter text, navigate and edit that text, then print and save their work. That is where the activities stop. There is no help at all for web browsing or sending and receiving e-mails. Cortana, a Windows 10 marquee feature, is barely mentioned. Christensen saves these for another, not yet available eBook, Making Windows Even Easier to See: The Advanced Guide. This might have been acceptable 20 years ago, but today, I can't imagine any new accessible computer user who would be satisfied with a computer training experience that does not include e-mail and web browsing. At the very least, I believe the publication of this book should have been held until the screen reader version and the advanced volume were available. More to the point, I think this book and the upcoming advanced title should be combined into a single volume. The author also needs to spend some time alerting his readers that unlike with Apple, the Microsoft accessibility solutions are not the last word in screen access technology. NVDA and JAWS are briefly mentioned, but neither product is described and links are not provided. Third party screen magnifiers are not mentioned at all.
Doubtless there are those who will find Microsoft's built-in accessibility solutions sufficient for the tasks they need to accomplish. However this is a small subset of the potential audience of new and existing screen access users, and I feel the author would be well served to expand the scope of this book, or at the very least offer a package deal for this and the other, unfinished guides.
Related articles:
- Stepping Over The Threshold: Windows 10 In 10,000 Words, Thoroughly Reviewed by Tamas Geczy
- Overthrowing the Desktop: The Revolution 22-inch All-In-One Magnifier and Tablet by Shelly Brisbin
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